Be as happy as you want

"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."

- Abraham Lincoln

 

My mother used to take me to a great sledding hill in a local park when I was a child. Little did I know that just a short walk from the sledding hills was a great old summer home of the areas most elite. The family has a building in downtown Detroit named after them and two roads in a neighboring county also named for their family. Evidently, while sledding here in the 70's, the old woman that lived there was enjoying her mansion just through the trees. They tore down her home in the 80's and all that is left now is a stone wall that surrounded it, the stairs that led from the tennis court up to the house and the old tennis court. There is a lovey tree lined lane leading up to the old estate grounds that takes your breath away. Then you come to these stone steps. Absolutely amazing. We ran across this last year while hiking in the woods and wondered what it all must have been. A little research has led to the fact that the family had donated the land where the park sits now.

The park boast over 35 miles of dirt trails and 6 miles of paved bike paths. It has 4461 acres of land including a small river and a lake with two beaches and an island. There is a golf course, disc golf course & ample picnicking areas galore. It seems to go on forever and they've barely scratched the surface when it comes to the land usage.

Growing up in the area, I really had no idea how grand this little park was. I've now got a new appreciation for it and plan on visiting at least once a week. At least that's what Pugsley tells me.

I've made up my mind to be quite happy with this new (old) find of ours.