Thunder Woman bridge extends to opportunities for great photos

By: Billie Ann Albert

I was at the Thunder Woman Bridge in Janesville with senior Mary Ingalls and her little sister, Grace, last week. Grace and I rushed up to the bridge to run across it, seeing how bad it would shake back and forth while Mary tied her dog, Bear, up on a leash so he would not run away because she did not want to leave him in the car.

When she was done, she climbed up the stairs although she was so scared because it is kind of rusty and sketchy, but she did it anyways. Bear wanted to go up there so bad, but he is just a little Pomeranian, so he would fall off too easily.

I got some pictures of the bridge and off we went towards the actual town. There is a one-car bridge heading into the town that is a little scary because it is so narrow, although some people drive on it while there is another car because it is not that narrow.

The sun was setting perfectly behind it, and the street light was also shining right on it, and I got a great picture that I love.

We went into town after that and found the local baseball diamond and a long walking bridge with big rocks in the grass around the start and end of it. It was getting even more chilly by then, so I took a few pictures and we drove the 15 minutes back into Cedar Falls.

Thunder Woman is located near Finchford and is split into two sections by the West Fork of the Cedar River.  The 96 acres is comprised of lowland forest with areas of open woods/grass where the old campground was located.  The area supports plenty of habitat for non-game bird species and will provide bird watchers with plenty of opportunities to see a variety of species.  

A newly built boat ramp next to the Finchford Rd. bridge provides boaters access to the river.  Hikers will find plenty of territory to explore and a wide range of scenery to admire.  One of the most interesting features is an old suspension bridge, which spans the river.