Belle Isle in August

I thought that I would be getting pictures of my next ship from Belle Isle.  Since I had a little time and I wanted to keep my Belle Isle project on track, I figured I would do my Belle Isle in August pictures.

 This is a shot of Sunset Drive.  This is the first road you run into as you enter the island.  As you can see, the park is pretty well used.  It is pretty nice to take a drive around the island.

 A shot of the Scott fountain.  I don't remember if I've gotten it from this angle or not but I did like the angle.

 And a shot of the Strand.  It's hard to believe that 8 months ago, this was covered in snow.

 James Scott, the namesake for the fountain.

 The fountain itself.  It's pretty sad that I haven't seen it on yet.  It is pretty impressive when it is turned on.

 The Ren Cen peeking out.

 The main part of the fountain.

 A closeup of one of the lions.

 Downtown Detroit from the steps of the fountain.

 The front of the lion.

 I really love all the little details on this foutain.  The snapping turtles are pretty cool.

 The little friezes are pretty cool too.

 The lion from a different angle.

 The stem of the fountain.

 I really like the little cherubs riding the fish.

 Just as I was getting back in my car, they started to turn the fountain on.

 Fountains really should be on all the time.  It's what they are supposed to do.

 I'm just glad that it is fairly well maintained.

 Although there are little hints of rust.

 But not enough to detract from the beauty of the fountain.

 I don't think I've ever paid attention to this part before.

 It is really photogenic though.

 The heads are pretty cool.

 And it looks nice set out agains the blue sky.

 I kind of wish there wasn't the railing there.

 The Nancy Brown Peace Carillon.

And the Scripps Conservatory.

I was hoping to get a picture of the Lighthouse too but there was something going on at that end of the island.  I was also hoping to get a shot of my next ship from that end because you can catch them straight on as they enter the River.  But alas it was not to be.

Lately, there has been some talk of turning control of Belle Isle over to the State.  There are many people that are opposed to that idea because they feel that Belle Isle is Detroit's Gem.  But when you think about it Riverside Park is supposed to be Detroit's Gem and there are many other parks in that category and look at how well they are maintained.  People will say that Belle Isle is well maintained.  I would probably call it maintained because there are many rough edges.

The DNR at least has the resources to maintain this park and they may be able to start re-opening some of the currently closed buildings on the park.  I mean, compare Milliken State Park to this one.  Milliken is very well maintained and the people there are pretty well behaved.

At any rate, it is in limbo on whether Belle Isle goes to the State or not, so we'll see what happens.