Mason, Michigan (USA)
Photo Walks Around Town

 

My photo walk of 4 July 2009

 

4 July 2009

110 minute brisk walk.

Ah, the 4th of July, American Independence Day. And a great day for a walk. I've been planning the explore north of Mason via Hagadorn Road, so this was a good time, given that I wanted to take a longer walk. First I walked down the alley behind my kids; house on Oak Street. They had friends over for the 4th (see photos at the very end of my walk photos). Then I walked downtown planning to head north on Hagadorn past the waste water treatment plant. As I walked past the Mason Barber Shop on Jefferson Street I was struck by the display of colorful flower pots. I set the Canon G9 on macro mode for the three shots below.

Then I arrived at the downtown square and found a classic car show underway (just breaking up, actually). I took several photos and included three of them below. After this I got started on the main part of my trip. The long fence in front of the waste water plant reaching off into the distance caught my eye. The water treatment plant provided many great photo opportunities. I continued along Hagadorn Road till I reached Howell Road, where I turned left and headed west towards Cedar Street. The Riverwalk Village housing development was on the left and the Capital Area Career Center was on the right as I started along Howell Road. Howell appears very rural with lots of interesting views. I particularly liked the standing water covered with green scum, which my grandson Tobias says is actually pollen. I saw a bird take off in flight from the water and a duck with ducklings. Continuing along Howell I spotted something familiar, some huge corregated pipes. I walked through this storage yard on a previous walk. This time I walked past the front entrance instead of fumbling through the storage yard hoping for a gap in the fence to allow an exit.

I turned left on Kearns Road, which leads to Cedar Street. I stopped taking photos at this point since the remainder of my trip followed the same path as my trip of May 29, 2009. Of course, after putting my camera away I still found myself tempted by a few sights that needed to be photographed.

Following the walk I viewed the annual Mason Independence Day Parade.

Click on any photo to see a larger version in a popup window with photo information.

2009_07_04 Mason Flowers at Mason Barber Shop
2009_07_04 Mason Flowers at Mason Barber Shop
2009_07_04 Mason Flowers at Mason Barber Shop
The Mason Barber Shop has an attractive display of colorful flower in pots. This was a good chance to use the G9's macro setting for some close-up shots.
2009_07_04 Mason Classic Car Show
2009_07_04 Mason Classic Car Show
2009_07_04 Mason Classic Car Show
They had blocked off a couple street intersections in downtown Mason for a classic automobile show. Many of the cars had already left but I took a few shots of the remaining cars.
2009_07_04 Mason Fence running in front of the Mason Wastewater Treatment Plant
2009_07_04 Mason Wastewater Treatment Plant buildings
2009_07_04 Barbed wire protecting Mason Wastewater Treatment Plant
Grounds of the City of Mason Wastewater Treatment Plant.
2009_07_04 City of Mason Wastewater Treatment Plant
2009_07_04 Mason American Flag
2009_07_04 Mason House on Hagadorn Road
"City of Mason Wastewater Treatment Plant" building (hard to read the sign because of the overgrowth) followed by two views along Hagadorn Road (the American flag stood out to me because it is Independence Day).
2009_07_04 Mason tree on hillside on Hagadorn Road
2009_07_04 Mason Entry to housing development Riverwalk Meadows on Hagadorn Road
2009_07_04 Mason attractive mailbox
This attractive tree on a hillside (along Hagadorn Road) caught my eye. The entrance to the Riverwalk Meadows housing development is very attactive, and I really liked this cool mailbox.
2009_07_04 Mason
2009_07_04 Mason Entrance to the Riverwalk Village
2009_07_04 Mason Capital Area Career Center
After walking some distance along Hagadorn Road I reached the intersection with Howell Road. I turned left (west) and immediately encountered the entrance to the Riverwalk Village housing development on the left (first Riverwalk Meadows then Riverwalk Village ... I think I see a pattern here!) and the Capital Area Career Center on the right.
2009_07_04 Mason Capital Area Career Center building
2009_07_04 Mason Barn framed by trees
2009_07_04 Mason Interesting striped scene
Above and following are various scenes along Howell Road.
2009_07_04 Mason House peeking out between trees
2009_07_04 Mason Still water covered by green pollen
2009_07_04 Mason Duck and ducklings swimming
More views along Howell Road. This house peeked out between trees and behind a grassy hill. The nearby river led to this area of still water covered with green. My grandson Tobias Webb informed me this was due to seasonal pollen. The last water picture shows a duck swimming followed by several ducklings. I waited for about 15 minutes for the ducks to re-appear from the plant area where they headed when they noticed me, but finally I had to give up and continue my walk.
2009_07_04 Mason Railroad crossing on Howell Road
2009_07_04 Mason corregated culvert pipes
2009_07_04 Mason Entrance sign for construction companies
One of a number of railroad crossings in Mason that have no barriers. This one has warning lights. Some smaller crossings just have stop signs. You'll see a number of photos including railroad tracks at this site, as the railroad is a major presence in Mason. I love those low train whistles as the local train passes through. After passing the railroad tracks I saw a familiar sight from a previous walk north on Mason Street. On that occasion I came to the end of the road and cut through a storage lot full of corregated pipes. Now I found the front entrance here on Howell Road. The third picture shows the entrance sign.
2009_07_04 Mason Intersection of Howell Road and Kerns Road
I take a left off Howell Road onto
Kerns Road heading to Cedar Street
2009_07_04 Mason Water tower
2009_07_04 Mason
A commemorative cross by the roadside
Howell Road intersects Cedar Street soon, but I preferred to take a left on Kerns Road, which also leads to Cedar Street but intersects a bit further south. After walking for over an hour I preferred to take a somewhat shorter route, one with additional things to see as well. Before making the turn I spotted this area with the second Mason water tower. When I first moved to Mason over 15 years ago water pressure was created by a "stand pipe" on Jefferson Street. It was replaced with a water tower near the Mason Meijer grocery store, and later this second tower was added. This commemorative cross in the 3rd picture was posted alongside Kerns Road.
2009_07_04 Mason Patterson Animal Hospital and mailbox
2009_07_04 Mason U. P. Charts on Kerns Road
2009_07_04 Mason Summit High School on Kerns Road
Businesses along Kerns Road.
2009_07_04 Mason Sign over main entrance to H & H Welding
2009_07_04 Mason
2009_07_04 Mason Day lillies with camera motion to create blur
The sign for the entrance to H & H Welding marked the point where I exitted unknown territory on my Walk of 29 May 2009. Since my route home was nearly the same I stopped documenting my current walk at this point, though I naturally was tempted to take a few additional shots. The back entrance to D & G Equipment was blocked by this impressive piece of John Deere machinery. No one was getting past this roadblock! Finally, I tried an experimental photo of day lillies using camera motion to blur the image. What fun!
2009_07_04 Mason 4th of July cookout
2009_07_04 Mason 4th of July cookout
2009_07_04 Mason 4th of July cookout
At the start of my walk I dropped by my kids' house where they were setting up for their 4th of July cookout. By the time I finish my walk about two hours later and stopped by their house (a few blocks from my home) they were just finishing up their meal. In the first photo you can see my son-in-law Jeff on the front-left and my daughter Margaret on the right. Behind them are their good friends Ray and Melissa. The second photo shows my granddaughter Hazel in the middle working on an ear of corn. Her friends Hannah and Allison are to the left and right, respectively. In the final photo Hazel gives me the "thumbs up" through the netting of the new gazebo on their back porch. Happy Independence Day!
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