"A Thursday Morning Hike"

Earlier this morning, I decided to go for a walk. My path of choice: the tranquil Honey Creek near my home. And I actually chose to walk down beside the creek (right along it's edge), not on the nearby parkway that borders it.

Where I live, Honey Creek Parkway is part of the Milwaukee County Park System. It's a small natural creek that has been enhanced to serve as a conduit for excess rainwater after large storms. As such, it emerges from under my neighborhood (aka, underground) near my apartment, and travels for a length northward along a narrow concrete riverbed. Eventually that concrete riverbed disappears, and a rustic creek environment (flowing through forested parkland) takes it's place.

I started my walk at the "headwaters" (where the creek emerges from underground), and followed it's many peaceful curves wherever they took me. I traveled under old stone bridges, most built in the 1930's and 40's. I weaved in and out of trees and shrubs poking up through cracks in the concrete. I even took my camera, and made frequent stops to capture the beauty.

After traveling under a few of those old bridges, the concrete riverbed vanished, and the lazy water cut it's way through significant patches of forest. By this point, I was no longer able to walk beside the creek, as trees grew right to it's edge, but that didn't matter. A system of rustic unpaved forest trails traveled atop the west bank, and I followed that instead. And let me tell you, I thought it was beautiful down along the concrete parts of the creek... but the forested trail -- looking down over the shallow rocky creek -- that was even more spectacular!

I left my apartment sometime around 7am this morning. The bright sun was casting long morning shadows over the city, and it seemed like the perfect light for taking photos. I filled up my digital camera with shots, and turned around only when the batteries died on me. I returned to my apartment three and a half hours later.

But, wow! What a wonderful way to start the day! The trees were in full blossom (beautiful shades of pink, purple, violet, white, lilac, red), all manner of green leaves and grasses flooded the scenery, and the quiet babbling of the creek made my walk extremely peaceful and serene. Only God could have painted a setting like this, and boy did he go all out!

Yeah, I've definitely found a new place to explore. Honey Creek (and the parkway) continues much further north than the distance I hiked, so, I'll definitely be continuing my journey again sometime soon (and frequenting the areas I found today too!). If anyone is interested in taking a leisurely hike with me sometime, let me know, and we can hook up. I'd love the company! I'll also be uploading a few photos to MySpace later this weekend, so if you're able, feel free to take a peek.

I love my neighborhood. The places I found today, make me love it all the more!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 4:36 PM  I   I  0 comments