Point Du Sable

For our bike ride on Sunday four of us met up, one of whom was Sister Glavin and a conversation prior to the ride included history of Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable, who in history is known as the first Chicago resident, and later in life moved to St. Charles, for reasons which are unknown. Sources say he was of African descent, however, may have been a native of Santa Domingo. He married a Potawatomi woman named Catherine, had two daughters and was an avid Catholic. And, I need to get my facts straight on this part, however, I believe Sister Glavin told us that Dusable was believed to stay with a daughter or grand daughter when he moved to St. Charles and that her home was located where the workshop for the Academy is on the corner of 2nd and Decatur.

I had already decided to try to go the North direction on the Katy for our ride, as I wasn't sure that everyone knows about out newer Eco-Park which lies right along the river and goes under the 367 bridges for trains and also the highway. The Eco- Park shoots off of the parking lot of the boat loading ramp area down to the river and goes through to Dusable Park. The kids and I have been going to Point Dusable for a while now as it is a nice walk from our house. The park is a little older, however, there usually aren't that many people there and it can be a nice place to exercise while the kids play.

From Dusable Park the Eco-Park continues with a trail that goes under the bridges and now includes several areas where you can lookout over the river, and in one particular area there is a circular meeting point with benches and a middle campfire spot.

There are several informational stands on the trail with history of the Missouri River, Riverboats, St. Charles, and the Native Indian Tribes.

The Katy Trail was extended sometime last year, and the Eco- Park leads back up to it- where we rode up to the point of about 5 miles out. It was amazing riding along the river, as for the third week in a row we have had pure sunshine which glistened off the river right next to us.

I think I can honestly say that everyone was floored by this hidden gem right in our own backyard. I am so happy that I live in the area and have walked and biked it - so that I can show others how wonderful St. Charles is. Anyone whose children are attending ASH should really take advantage of seeing these beautiful areas right from Dusable Park- on a path that is all easily walkable.

I plan to ride up further in the near future to see how far the trail actually goes, and we wondered if it goes all the way to the confluence.

On a different less historical note, biking has been tough during the week for the past three weeks with all of the cold and rain. This truly has been an exceptional spring. I need to get out there more during the week as the weather gets warmer.

Tomorrow we are again scheduled for sunshine and if there are any cancellations I WILL POST ON THIS BLOG, by 7 a.m. on Sunday morning.


My own pictures to post later- as that makes this so much more interesting... :)