Had a great hike today to Cox Arboretum and Gardens Metropark near Dayton, Ohio. Originally I wanted to hike this trail on Wednesday last week when it was 75 plus degrees, but sadly my transmission went out on my car and by the time I got my car settled, acquired a rental car and drove the distance to the park, it was already getting dark. It was around 50 degrees today for the hike, but instead of hiking alone like I would have on Wednesday, my friend Lorrie joined me so it was worth the wait! We hiked 2.83 miles in one hour and 10 minutes.
It was a really blustery day today and Lorrie and I both thought that the wind would make the hike somewhat unpleasant, but it didn't really bother us much. This was another beautiful park, one of several that we hiked this year in the Dayton Metroparks park system. I will look forward to hiking some of the other parks that were not in the book next year. There is a beautiful educational building at the entrance to the park with a couple of ponds and some amazing gardens. I was surprised by the number of people at the park considering the gloomy, chilly and windy weather. There was a young couple getting their engagement pictures taken and several families enjoying the park.
When we finally reached the hiking trail it was mostly gravel. There were signs along the route with the park maps and "You are here." Love it! Hiking for dummies! We didn't have to think much about which way we were going at all! It makes for a much more relaxed hike! I was surprised by the drastic change in the amount of leaves on the trees in just two weeks time since my last hike. Most were on the ground. Lorrie and I both commented about how it felt like this whole adventure is now coming full circle because the trail is starting to look like it did when I started almost a year ago. Many of the trees were marked with signs that had a phone number you could call on your cell phone or you could use your cell phone's QR reader and get information about each individual tree. How's that for modern technology?
It was an easy hike with very few ups and downs, and the trail was wide enough for Lorrie and I to walk side-by-side. Once we finished the wooded part of the trail we entered a wetland area. As we returned near the park entrance there was a very cool observation tower that we climbed. It had spiral stairs and when we got to the top it was swaying in the wind. It made me a little nervous. We took a few pictures and descended quickly!
As we walked along the ponds and gardens to head back toward the car, we noticed a sign that said "Working Dog in the Area." It explained that Zipp, a border collie, was trained to work in the park doing "goose patrol." We saw Zipp when we first entered the park and wondered who he belonged to...now we know. I wonder what a job like "goose patrol" pays? I hope they take good care of Zipp for doing such a thankless job!
Nearing the end of 10 months of hiking. I only hiked 6.77 miles in October. That seems like a very pathetic number. I am definitely losing steam! I have 7 hikes left that will need to be done in 3 outings because of their remote locations. It sounds doable, but I am really pushing myself at this point. I am hopeful that I can get some friends rallying behind me and come and join in a fall outdoor adventure to get me through these final trails to my goal.
53 hikes down and 7 to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm so impressed, Mary! You can do this - but I know how when you're nearing the end of something, sometimes you just want to stop. I found it pretty funny about the QR reader on the trees! Really? I thought the point was to UNplug, but I guess you can never be too safe or uniformed :)
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