by Pa Rock
Hoofer
Yesterday marked my 35th day in a row of walking more that ten thousand steps - and it proved to be very challenging in staying up with that goal because I spent the better part of five prime walking hours sitting in my car as I made the long drive to Kansas City. But I got up extra early and did an extended version of my pre-dawn walking routine in the yard and along the roadway, and by the time we left for KC, right at dawn, I was two steps shy of thirty-five hundred. Then I walked during a couple of our regular travel breaks - and hit it hard when Rosie and I got to Tim's house - and by bedtime I was about four hundred steps over my daily goal.
Today will be rougher because we have people to do and things to see, but I will persist. (It is thirteen hundred steps to the local quick stop - and another thirteen hundred back to the house - so my day will include at least one trip there.)
When I am home I have taken to walking once a day at at Galloway Park, a neighborhood picnic area designed as a conservation habitat around a scraggly little creek. The park has a covered "pavilion " with picnic tables and a big grill, a wooded picnic area, and a long graveled trail that turns through a prairie habitat and a wooded area. The trail features three wooden bridges, including one that is partially covered.
Most weekdays when I am at Galloway Park it is basically empty. Often I am the only one walking the trail, and if there are a few others, they are mostly dog walkers. Sometimes I will see the occasional solitary individual sitting in a car or at one of the tables at the pavilion - usually involved with their telephones or reading a book. There is also a beautiful calico cat who frequents the trail and she often walks along with me.
The park traffic picks up on weekends, but usually not by much. Last Sunday, however, was an exception. When I arrived at the park in the early afternoon for my daily walk along the trail, I noticed there were several cars present. Fearing the worst - a wedding or a kid's birthday party - I parked and headed for the trail anyway.
Once I started walking, I discovered that the cars weren't the harbinger of some noisy event, but rather just a collection of interesting people who all happened by at the same time to have a quiet afternoon with nature.
I have my own unique walking path that I have created over the past months. It begins with a stroll to the pavilion and then onto a small cement trail that branches off from there. Then I backtrack and head for the wooded picnic area, and then onto the long trail that wanders through the prairie grasses and woods.
At the pavilion I encountered two older ladies (older than myself) doing needlepoint and enjoying the pleasantly cool weather. We spoke briefly and I picked up some trash as I walked the cement trail. The wooded picnic area was occupied by several young men - high school or college age - playing frisbee. Out on the trail I encountered another pair of women who were walking two very large dogs. We met twice along the winding trail, and talked about the weather as we passed. I also scored a couple of empty aluminum cans on that excursion which I smashed and pocketed.
As I got back to the wooded area I discovered that the young men had finished chasing frisbees and had strung hammocks among the trees and were in various states of "hammocking." "Hammocking" was a fad of young people in Kansas City a year ago, and I wasn't surprised to see that it had finally reached West Plains. To properly "hammock," participants lay in the hammocks in a traditional manner, or they sit in them and swing as they read, mess with their phones, or visit with other "hammockers." After relaxing and socializing in their hammocks for a sufficient amount of time, the relaxed revelers take down their hammocks and move onto other pursuits..
Party hearty, you animals!
This Sunday I am in Kansas City, but I am sure that some interesting individuals have gathered at Galloway Park and are having a good time. I will swing by and pick up their aluminum in a couple of days!
Hoofer
Yesterday marked my 35th day in a row of walking more that ten thousand steps - and it proved to be very challenging in staying up with that goal because I spent the better part of five prime walking hours sitting in my car as I made the long drive to Kansas City. But I got up extra early and did an extended version of my pre-dawn walking routine in the yard and along the roadway, and by the time we left for KC, right at dawn, I was two steps shy of thirty-five hundred. Then I walked during a couple of our regular travel breaks - and hit it hard when Rosie and I got to Tim's house - and by bedtime I was about four hundred steps over my daily goal.
Today will be rougher because we have people to do and things to see, but I will persist. (It is thirteen hundred steps to the local quick stop - and another thirteen hundred back to the house - so my day will include at least one trip there.)
When I am home I have taken to walking once a day at at Galloway Park, a neighborhood picnic area designed as a conservation habitat around a scraggly little creek. The park has a covered "pavilion " with picnic tables and a big grill, a wooded picnic area, and a long graveled trail that turns through a prairie habitat and a wooded area. The trail features three wooden bridges, including one that is partially covered.
Most weekdays when I am at Galloway Park it is basically empty. Often I am the only one walking the trail, and if there are a few others, they are mostly dog walkers. Sometimes I will see the occasional solitary individual sitting in a car or at one of the tables at the pavilion - usually involved with their telephones or reading a book. There is also a beautiful calico cat who frequents the trail and she often walks along with me.
The park traffic picks up on weekends, but usually not by much. Last Sunday, however, was an exception. When I arrived at the park in the early afternoon for my daily walk along the trail, I noticed there were several cars present. Fearing the worst - a wedding or a kid's birthday party - I parked and headed for the trail anyway.
Once I started walking, I discovered that the cars weren't the harbinger of some noisy event, but rather just a collection of interesting people who all happened by at the same time to have a quiet afternoon with nature.
I have my own unique walking path that I have created over the past months. It begins with a stroll to the pavilion and then onto a small cement trail that branches off from there. Then I backtrack and head for the wooded picnic area, and then onto the long trail that wanders through the prairie grasses and woods.
At the pavilion I encountered two older ladies (older than myself) doing needlepoint and enjoying the pleasantly cool weather. We spoke briefly and I picked up some trash as I walked the cement trail. The wooded picnic area was occupied by several young men - high school or college age - playing frisbee. Out on the trail I encountered another pair of women who were walking two very large dogs. We met twice along the winding trail, and talked about the weather as we passed. I also scored a couple of empty aluminum cans on that excursion which I smashed and pocketed.
As I got back to the wooded area I discovered that the young men had finished chasing frisbees and had strung hammocks among the trees and were in various states of "hammocking." "Hammocking" was a fad of young people in Kansas City a year ago, and I wasn't surprised to see that it had finally reached West Plains. To properly "hammock," participants lay in the hammocks in a traditional manner, or they sit in them and swing as they read, mess with their phones, or visit with other "hammockers." After relaxing and socializing in their hammocks for a sufficient amount of time, the relaxed revelers take down their hammocks and move onto other pursuits..
Party hearty, you animals!
This Sunday I am in Kansas City, but I am sure that some interesting individuals have gathered at Galloway Park and are having a good time. I will swing by and pick up their aluminum in a couple of days!
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