A cloudy Mendon day

November being right around the corner, it dawned on me recently that there aren't that many days left in 2016, and time is getting very short for me to complete my challenge. As of this morning I had 15 more parks to explore. I managed to make a dent in that list today when I traveled south to Mendon.

Before today, I have never really explored Mendon at all. I might have driven through it once or twice, but never really SAW it. I'm glad I had the chance to today, because it is a very cute little hamlet, made even more so by beautiful autumn foliage this time of year.

This, by the way is a great general destination for hikers and bikers. The Lehigh Valley Trail crisscrosses this Mendon/Honeoye Falls area. Lots of potential for great day trips.

Mendon Station Park

This is an interesting little park. Its official title is the Mendon Station Park Recreational Facility and Museum Educational Complex. It's basically a section of the historic Lehigh Valley Trail that runs through the hamlet of Mendon between Rts. 64 and 251, at the former site of the old Mendon Station Depot.

The original plan for the park, established in 1995, was very ambitious, and included a pond/ice rink, pavilion, gazebos, a water tower, paddlewheel boats and a warming house. Much of those features never came to fruition, but it still a nice little park, a comfortable way station for walkers and riders of the Lehigh Valley Trail.

The park's spacious parking lot is on the west side of Rt. 64, immediately north of Mendon's four corners. The paved path which leads from the lot to Rt. 251 is only about 250 yards long, but is dotted with benches and historical markers which highlight the rich railroad history of the area. There's even a section of the original Black Diamond run there, thanks to the efforts of Eagle Scout Evan Schmidt.

This is a very cute little park and should make Mendon proud. It's a little bigger than your normal pocket park, so I don't know if I would lump it in with them. But if I were to do that, I would rank it as one of my favorites.

Dreisbach Fields

This is a very accurately named park. Dreisbach Fields, located on Semmel Road southwest of Mendon, is exactly that. Two soccer fields. Oh, yeah, and a large parking lot.

Clearly nothing much else happens at Dreisbach Fields aside from soccer, because the driveway gate was locked (requiring me to park near the road and walk in) and the restrooms were also locked. It is a beautiful setting, however, nestled within some autumn-colored hills. Unfortunately it was rather dreary today, so even that experience was muted.

Semmel Road Park

Just down the road from Dreisbach is Semmel Road Park. Even though there were no sports fans, children or families here today, at least the gate, and the restrooms, were open.

There's no sign at the entrance to this park, but it's hard to miss on the north side of Semmel Road. There's much more to do here than at neighboring Dreisbach. There's are tennis courts (no nets, though), a full-sized basketball court (which has seen better days but is still OK) and a wood-chipped playground with a few benches.

There's also a softball field, which I tend to think is the most commonly used feature of this park. The playground, I suspect, is to help parents keep squirrely toddlers entertained while their older siblings play ball.

This park also has a feature I have seen nowhere else (aside from a city street): a graffiti-tagged bus stop shelter. I saw it from afar as I began to drive away, and had to pull over to check it out close-up. It's located by the entrance gate for the basketball court. Maybe it's designed for people to sit while they wait for a game to be completed. But I wonder who would be playing ball in the rain or snow or winter, when a shelter is really needed. Do they flood the court for ice skating over the winter?

Curious.