But before we do, let me tell you about our latest biking adventure to the Public House in Elmhurst. We like to take advantage of those nice warm summer-like fall days and when we heard the weather forecast a few weeks ago, we put aside the yard work and went for a ride.
 |
| The Salt Creek Trail on a beautiful autumn day |
We got on the Salt Creek Trail at Brainard – we really do like to leave from home, no driving in the car at all if possible – and went under the tollway, onto Canterberry and crossed York Road, rode in front of the church at 31st and York, then continued on past Butler and the ‘public’ Butler along York Road.
We left home about 2:00 in the afternoon and the days were getting shorter, though we figured we had plenty of time to get to our destination, eat and head back home.
We crossed 22nd at York and rode along Cermak Rd and crossed the tollway. We found ourselves in a very well-maintained forest preserve running right alongside Roosevelt Road. What is amazing is how often we travel these roads and streets by car and here we are just a few feet away from the busy roads surrounded by the beauty of nature. Wildflowers were in abundance – bright lavenders and white flowers lining the path – when you see no electrical or phone wires, it is like you are stepping back in time – right in the midst of the busy, burgeoning suburban Chicago network of roads.
We followed the trail along the creek and came upon Eldridge Park. There was a wedding going on in this lovely setting – photos being taken with nature at its finest in early fall.
We continued on the trail – still Salt Creek Trail to its end. We were on the corner of Madison and Fairview in Elmhurst when the trail stopped. We took Fairview north about 5 blocks and got on the Illinois Prairie Path and followed that trail west about one half mile. Then we found a continuation of Salt Creek Trail. We took that north one block to Wildwood and we traveled through a couple of lovely residential streets and came out on St. Charles Road – right across from the Public House at 683 St. Charles Road. The phone number is (630) 834-8989.
 |
| The Public House 633 St. Charles Rd., Elmhurst, IL |
Don’t get me wrong: even though my husband studies the maps, there is always a slight (sorry, hon) question as to whether we are really going to find our destination. It is a delight when we do – and he really hasn’t missed yet – I just don’t want you to think that these trips are without a little (a lot?) of angst on my part. And usually the mileage is a little off. By the time we arrived at Public House, my odometer read 7.1 miles, a healthy half journey.
We settled into a booth – a little late for lunch, a little early for dinner. By now, though we had to watch the clock, as we figured dusk set in about 6:15. It was about 4:00 when we ordered.
We had the burgers of course – they were great! We gave them a 2B rating – 1B is bike-able; 2B is better; 3B is best and 4B is bodacious. They were hearty, the bread was very good, very soft and the burgers came with really good fries. Beer was cold, lots of draft beers to choose from.
The bar is large with seating and lots of big TVs for sports viewing – there also are banquet facilities and a large dining room. Plenty of room to spread out, have a party, have a beer with folks at the bar. A comfortable spot – a new discovery for the biking adventure.
The ride home was just as picturesque – on the way home, I was able to enjoy the scenery even more than the ride out. It was getting chillier and dusk was upon us as we came upon the public Butler course on 22nd – see photo of “Sunset on Cermak”.
We made it onto the final stretch of the bike path just as the sun was sinking down into the horizon – a great ride on one of the final days of Indian summer.
 |
| Sunset Over Cermak |
No comments:
Post a Comment