A Linear Park

 

Arlo and I found a new place to walk near our house, and it's my new favorite destination.

The place is called Linear Park Trail, and it is a very well-maintained trail - two trails actually, east and west - along a concrete waterway. Until this last week, Arlo and I have walked about 90% of the time on sidewalks, through the local neighborhoods and along one busy street. The Linear Park Trail, however, takes us away from the roads, and takes us away from many people.

The trail is not too close to my house - maybe 25 minutes away by foot - which is why it took me so long to think about walking to it. Also, we have to walk a decent distance to find a place where we can cross the concrete canal in order to avoid walking back exactly the way we came. As a result, I have walked over 9,000 steps four times in the last week, which I only did once last month, and going forward I expect to walk more than I have been.

The miles go by noticeably quicker at 9,000 steps per day versus 6,000, which is encouraging, but I am not committing to that many steps every day yet, although I expect my pace will increase. Right now, I am 16 miles from the Utah state line, close to Loma, Colorado.

I access the trail via Chianti Road. South of Chianti looks like the picture above, with nice neighborhoods that have password-protected gates to keep people like me out, more plants and a nicer look. Heading North feels more like you are walking on a desert trail, nice enough but with minimal vegetation. This is a picture of one place north of Chianti with a bench and shade, a little break from the sun.

I made my way down these plastic steps/handles, but I probably will not again. There was no great danger, but I am too old for this type of adventure.

When I was younger, I would have walked or run down the channel and then up the other side, but the sides are just steep enough that I am afraid my foot could slip, and who knows how much damage I would do.

There was a vehicle ramp on the other side of the channel, so going back up was easy.

The north end of the trail on the east side of the waterway. With a walk this long, I stop a couple of times and give Arlo water, more for him than for me. He can definitely outwalk me if the weather is cool, but he gets hot easier than I do.

The bridge at Cabezon Boulevard, one of the places I can cross. The trail continues south of Cabezon, but I have not tested that side yet, as it takes me farther from my house.

These concrete spillways (I think the locals call them arroyos) are common around here. I have not seen any water in this one yet, but we can get intense thunderstorms here, especially in the summer, and the ground won't absorb much water, so they build channels to direct the water and avoid flooding.

South of Chianti, where the trail is a bit nicer.