Disappointed Again

The end of the Foothills Rails to Trails at South Prairie

I honestly thought that now that Pierce County owned 1.36 acres of the South Prairie RV park, that I would be able to bike through it, even if no trail work had been done yet.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/11/22/2908563/county-pays-1-million-for-land.html

I was mistaken.  We happily set off on our bikes from Orting, thinking maybe this time we could keep going a bit past South Prairie.  But no, the old railroad bridge over South Prairie Creek is still boarded up.  OK, so we went to the road and walked our bikes over the bridge and into  Dwight Partin's RV park.  We were not welcome here, with no trespassing signs and private property signs everywhere.  We could find no evidence of county property anywhere.  Someone came out of the RV store and shooed us away, saying we would have to go back out on the road and bike to Buckley and get back on the bike trail there.

I was a member of the Foothills Rails to Trails coalition way back in theearly eighties, when there was so much opposition in Orting.  Now, all that opposition is forgotten and the people of Orting are happy to have the bike trail in their community.   I'm sure the people and businesses of South Prairie will also be happy  someday to see the blockade there finally come down, ensuring more happy bikers and walkers going through their town, instead of just having to turn around there. 

While waiting for the Foothills Rails to Trails to be completed, I have had three children and raised them to adulthood.  I have had two successful careers and have now retired.  I am now a grandmother, and still the trail is not complete.  Given the present trajectory, it appears as if it will not be completed in my lifetime.  So sad.