Working it off

Sheldon Marsh is one of North Ohio's best kept secrets. This place is 465 acres of wetland wildlife preserve, and is the location of the original road to Cedar Point. Sheldon Marsh is land that is the closest point to Canada on Lake Erie, so it attracts many migratory birds as a place to rest before or after trying to fly into or out of Canada. After the road on this land was washed out time and and again, the people of Ohio got wise and let the land return to a wetland, and the Cedar Point Rd was moved to about a mile closer to the Cedar Point to an area that would not flood. Once most of the old road became part of Lake Erie again, the upper part of the road stopped getting flooded. The upper part of the road is now a one mile foot path, and it perfect for a nice jog, and off to the the sides of the foot path are shorter wildlife trails and scenic overlooks.
This is the foot path I jogged everyday to work off the fries, hotdogs, and brats I ate at the Erie County Fair. It was perfect conditions for a jog.

These are the turtles I get to see sunning themselves on a log. They are just so cool looking.

Here is a view of one scenic overlook. There are carp that live in the water, and you can hear them jump out of the water sometimes. The water is rather shallow, so it is possible the carp are trying to swim, but hit the bottom while flipping around.

Here is another overlook view of giant lilly pads. I just missed a picture of a heron. They are just really fast birds. Once they here the shutter open, they are on the fly.

At the end of the foot path, there is the beach to Lake Erie. Yes, people actually do swim and hang out on the beach. There is a tidal schedule for Lake Erie, there is an under-tow, and the lake is so big that you cannot see to the other side. The sand is actually sand, not rocks. I think that Lake Erie is the best kept secret of summer vacationers because it is less expensive than the Hamptons or the Cape, and there is a Norman Rockwell small town feel to this place.