Mill Grove - Audubon Loop

It has been awhile since I've posted my walking log.

Totals beginning July 1, 2005 as of Tuesday evening, August 25, 2009:

Steps: 23,328,414
Miles: 9989.27

I'm eager to see 10,000 miles walked come soon. If all goes well, I will achieve that milestone sometime during the day Thursday.

The weather this evening was warm in the sun, but for the first time in awhile the humidity has eased and walking was quite pleasant. I decided to tackle the more challenging Audubon Loop trail which is about 5 miles in length and considerably more hilly than I've been doing.


The Audubon Loop trail goes along the outer perimeter of Mill Grove, the former home of John J. Audubon, the famed bird naturalist and crosses the Perkiomen Creek twice on each end of a pond created by the dam built by Samuel Wetherill to run the Mill that was in the grove. The water is now used to generate electric power.

This is the same Samuel Wetherill that owned the Pawlings Farm with the big stone barn I wrote about not too long ago.


After walking on the other side of the Perkiomen Creek, I crossed back to the Mill Grove side and soon see the towering red brick steeple of Saint Gabriel's Hall. Saint Gabriel's is basically a reform school for wayward boys. The boys (turning into young men) are often seen on the grounds doing physical activities - such as soccer, running, and jumping jacks and other calisthenics.


Some of them also participate in the Mitchell Program. An intensive 120-day residential treatment program for delinquent male youth, focusing on farm based education, followed by 6 months of community-based aftercare. As such there is an unusual farm with unusual animals. In the picture you see unique round red brick barn with a donkey eating the grass in front of it. Amongst other animals, the farm has cows, donkeys, and about a half dozen llamas.


I had to smile when a family on bikes stopped at the fence at the side of the loop trail and one of the younger girls said, "Mom! What are those!"

A harried mother, somewhat winded from the bike riding, said, "Those are llamas."

The young girl then squealed and shout, "Mom! We learned about Dolly Llama in school!! Which one is he! He's famous!"

The mother shrugged her shoulders at me when I smiled and turned to hear her answer. She just said, "The famous Dolly Llama lives someplace else and is often traveling, just like Daddy."

Bemused, I continued my way back to my car and headed home thinking about what little I recalled of the Dalai Lama, a teacher of Buddhism.

"Love and kindness are the very basis of society. If we lose these feelings,
society will face tremendous difficulties; the survival of humanity will be
endangered."

"Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn't anyone who doesn't appreciate kindness and compassion."

"Just as we should cultivate more gentle and peaceful relations with our fellow human beings, we should also extend that same kind of attitude towards the natural environment. Morally speaking, we should be concerned for our whole environment."

To me, that fits pretty well with what the reform school attempts to do with it's llamas each day.