(This is a continuance of my new Park Logs, the others are linked at the bottom. Don’t forget about our litter pick up on February 25th!)
Unless you are from the neighborhood, you would have to try really hard to stumble upon the East Side Reservoir. Living in a City that is literally known as a “Park Place”, it sort of makes sense that some of these places fly under the radar when compared to their flashy sisters like the Lehigh Parkway. The East Side Reservoir is a place that I have not visited often enough over these last three years and my journey there yesterday showed me what I was missing.
A hop, skip, and jump from some serious urban density; the parking lot sits secluded under trees, an antenna, and an old stone house. Given the nearby proximity of homes, I couldn’t escape the consideration of stories as I walked through the ridiculous raw cold, golf ball sized raindrops and meandered into the winter forest.
What would it have been like to grow up with a park that is made up primarily of deciduous forest in your backyard? A younger kid would be provided with the opportunity for endless adventure and exploration in what must seem a Terabithia-esque foreign kingdom given the city environment they are used to. This forest would become their forest. Maybe they would come back one day and steal a first kiss here.
(Yeah) I went that far probably because it was just Valentine’s Day and as a single man, the thought of a kiss in the woods seemed rather appealing especially because of how cold I was in the forest, in the rain.
Seriously though – how awesome would it have been to have this forest to grow up in? There are so many great reasons to have urban parks and this is one of the most important to me.
Wandering around the winter woods is a blessing if only because these woods are still here. You aren’t going to find this in many cities across this country with an analogous population. It is something to always be thankful for.
Regardless of whether wandering these winter woods has been the scene of the central narrative of your life or you find yourself on your first visitation, these woods offer a special gift. They are living monuments to something beyond and better than us. They are here to offer us a reminder of it and to provide us with an invitation to join them – even if it is just for one afternoon.
I walked into the woods full of worry. Between the trunks, branches, and dead leaves I found that small slice of peace that a worried man so desperately seeks. I found that which is beyond me. Be grateful for it my friends and readers – these places are endangered and likely to go missing in coming decades. For now though, hidden in a corner of East Allentown, you can find a reservoir of spirit.
Now, if I could only get that kiss.
Park Logs 2012:
1. Cedar Creek Parkway 1. : The LCA destroyed everything.
2. Cedar Creek Parkway 2. : Well, They never paved the Rose Gardens…
3. Lehigh Parkway 1: Erosion, Erosion, Erosion )
4. Lehigh Parkway 2: The Proof is on the Stream Banks
5. Parkway 3: This is Bad. Very Bad.
6. Jordan Park: What I was surprised to find
#1 by michael molovinsky on February 17, 2012 - 6:04 am
well done andrew. i had the privilege to grow up adjoining lehigh parkway. the south ridge (above the road on the stone/log house side) was my backyard. from that childhood, perhaps you can better understand my advocating the traditional park, with it’s WPA structures, meadows and accessible stream with weeping willows. Unfortunately, neither of our preferences seem to be a park priority.