Just Needed a Deck of Cards and Someone to Play With

For today's ramble around Minneapolis, I set out for Lake Hiawatha. Since it is right next to Lake Nokomis, I knew the way. Lake Hiawatha doesn't have a path that goes all the way around it, but that's not why I was going there. I'd seen on Facebook that there was a Cribbage Board made from a downed tree somewhere on the banks of Lake Hiawatha. I wanted to go see it for myself. I used to play with my dad when I was a kid.  I was riding along the West River Parkway when I saw a bunch of kids running and squealing at the Minnehaha Academy (Lower and Middle School campus). It appeared they were chasing something. Then I saw this poor turkey running helter skelter to get away from the kids. It reached the road, but everytime it started to cross the road, a car would come, and it would run back. Finally the teacher called off the kids. Once again the turkey tried to cross the road (why? To get away from the monsters, of course!). This time there were no cars coming. I stopped so it wouldn't think I was going to run it over. It came across the road, and started walking toward me on the bike path. I stood still, and took this photo.

Whew! Made it across the road!

I got to the lake and could see the pile of debris from the tree. I rode down the path a bit until I came to the Cribbage Log.

Cribbage Board Log

Another angle

Since it was just 7 1/2 miles there, I decided to continue on the Minnehaha Trail past Lake Nokomis. I wanted to see where the trail ended. I came to what appeared to be the end, and did a short bit on the road to come out to...Lake Harriet! I had planned to just go back on Minnehaha, but now I had the option to go back on the Midtown Greenway and make a loop of it! 

Midtown Greenway

I came back the way I did the other day, only this time I followed the signs to the Dinkytown Greenway. I discovered, when coming from that direction, it is a better way to go to get to the bridge over the river than going down to the West River Parkway, then coming back up to the bridge.  So, although I didn't have any cards, or anyone to play with (and...I don't really remember how to play), I did see what might be the world's largest Cribbage Board. As a bonus, I saw a turkey and got to do a loop ride instead of an out and back!