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We've gone to a lot of great places in Michigan this summer, but this was New York Times article-worthy!
Suzie has been working on a project in Belle Isle for two years, and this was her 50th site visit. Her project is the Iron Belle Trail, which starts in Belle Isle and goes all the way to Ironwood, through the entire state of Michigan. (The site says it's 70% done.) She worked on the trailhead and trail through the park. She needed to check on some things and of course wanted to go on the slide that has garnered so much attention. (There are so many videos, news stories, posts, and even a rap song about it...just over the last week.) Gmac Cash's lyrics include:
"It's like jumping off a roof. Man, you could lose a tooth. Man, you can break your back (on the giant slide), you can even break your neck (on the giant slide), you can even bump your head (on the giant slide), man even watch your arms and legs (on the giant slide)."
Doesn't that make everyone want to ride it?!
We got to the slide 20 minutes before it opened, and there was a line, but there were as many media people as people waiting to ride the slide! There was a news helicopter circling, multiple people interviewing riders in line, people taking live videos, several news stations...and us. We knew we were in the right place.
We told the boys we would video them, and they could video us. They were spraying it down with water after each ride to make it less slippery, but we still saw some epic falls - some on accident, some on purpose, with 20 cameras at the bottom catching everything.
The boys went down fine, and then it was time for Suzie and me. When I got to the top, I was nervous because I just saw a grandma and her little grandson bite it and hit their heads. But they were back in line, so it couldn't have been that bad, I figured.
We hopped into our burlap sacks, and we were off! I got a little speed, but managed to not fall in front of the many cameras.
All the boys went one more time, and Cole leaned way back to get speed and some air. Josh lost his hat, and Ty grabbed it on his way down to much audience applause. One of the live video guys yelled, "That's how we do it in the D!"
A photographer approached us and got our numbers, and shortly after that the New York Times reporter called to get quotes. Ha!
Suzie gave us a tour around the island, pointing out popular beaches and parks, the aquarium, the tower, the abandoned zoo, and how you can see Canada across the water. There were lots of people out, and she said that every time she's been there, there were always lots of people enjoying the park.
We walked to a graffiti bridge on a road closed to traffic, and it was strangely striking.
The best part was Suzie showed us her project, and toured us around the signs, the artistic map, the art on the trailhead, and the trail itself. It's always fun to see a friend doing work she loves, and if there's a semi-dangerous slide there, all the better!
Videos here:
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