River Trail

We have a trail nearby that is so much fun to explore. I went there this morning to run, and the sounds along the river were magical. Have you ever been to a zoo where they play recordings of nature to make it seem more realistic? That was the actual sound. There were various bird songs and insect chirps along with the flowing of the river. 

I love to take our daughter there. We picked up a nature journal at the library, sponsored by a local museum, and she had so much fun completing the activities (mainly they involved drawing what we saw). She loves to observe nature and collect specimens of leaves, berries, or bark. We love to notice the different types of birds and plants. It has been fun to see the transformation from winter to spring. 

Another great thing about the trail is that in addition to all the natural areas to play, there are playgrounds distributed along the trail. It is a fun way to add variety.  It is fun to start our journey at different parks or trailheads and see what we find that is new. The other day we were on a different part of the valley than our "norm", so we got to see many different things: a school of huge fish, animal footprints (I think raccoon) in fresh mud, and an animal's den. 

This trail is awesome because it is well-traveled. You can go there alone and not feel too creeped out (although realistically, I still wouldn't go there alone at night). I even see police patrolling on bicycle from time to time. It is actually a very long trail, but I have never travelled the full distance.

I love that when I go to the trail I see a huge variety in age, size, and skill level of people using the trail for recreation. There are cyclists in team apparel speeding by on very expensive road bikes, and there are also casual bikers wearing jeans and t-shirts. I see senior citizens walking their dogs, disabled individuals using assistive devices, distance runners glistening with sweat and equipped with water and gels for a long run, toddlers on balance bikes,  groups of speed walkers, parents running with babies in a sporty stroller, large families with parents herding the children to keep them moving, recumbent bikes, tandem bikes, tricycles, scooters, rollerblades, bike trailers. Some people are just getting back in shape as they work up a sweat just by walking, while others have clearly been training for some event for some time. 

It's awesome that so many people use this trail for recreation. I hope it continues to be used and maintained.