Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Social distancing, North Idaho style

A couple weeks ago, Older Daughter and I decided to take Mr. Darcy on a nice long walk to stretch our legs. We chose to explore a nearby bike trail which runs along the lake shore. This trail used to be an old railroad line, and when the railroad was decommissioned, one of the best things the state ever did was convert it for bike use (and pedestrian use, of course).

So we loaded up Mr. Darcy, and off we went.

It was a cloudy, cool day, perfect walking weather. The trail was also deserted. In three miles of walking, we passed only three people.


Near the spot where the parking lot meets the bike trail, the rangers had trimmed a fallen tree and left it for, I dunno, décor or something. It was of impressive size.



And evidently children enjoyed crawling into a small hole at its base, which I presume was deliberately trimmed for that purpose. Forget décor; this was a jungle gym for kids. How cool is that?


The trail incorporates an old bridge, so bikers (and walkers) can cross this shallow portion of the lake.


Making sure we were sufficiently armed with poop bags -- Mr. Darcy gets a little excited on these excursions -- off we went.


First stop, the bridge.


This venerable structure was built in 1921.


On the far side, Older Daughter noticed something on a rock at the water's edge.


Some clever wit had made a modern-day pictograph.


A solitary loon looked like it was swimming through a symphony.


On the far side of the bridge, the lake shore curls around for a view of the structure from the other side.



The views on the path were lovely.



We walked 1.5 miles in one direction, then turned around to complete a three-mile loop. Afterward, we let Mr. Darcy splash in the water...which, of course, was our whole purpose for this jaunt, right?



We enjoyed ourselves so much that we made another excursion a few days later. This time the day was sunny and warmer, and my goodness the parking lot was packed. Lots and lots of families with young kids and bicycles. It was nice to see everyone enjoying the weather.


We took a different direction this time, and saw an osprey nest.


Because the day was warmer, we made sure to incorporate a lake stop for Darcy.



This dog lives for the chance to fetch sticks in the water.



Despite how full the parking lot was, there was plenty of room for people to spread out and enjoy the sunshine.

We've been hitting this trail about twice a week now, and Mr. Darcy really, really enjoys social distancing, North Idaho style.

2 comments:

  1. Spectacular photos of the nature you live near...Thank you for sharing.
    Love from NC

    ReplyDelete