paint creek trail

as i've said in the past.. i've been walking a lot lately. in the new town where i live there is a beautiful trail called the paint creek trail. it used to be a railroad line, but now the tracks have been removed and its a beautiful walking trail. you can bike, walk or take your horse on it. since i don't have a horse.... i like to walk on it.

the trail actually begins in my town and ends in a town 10 miles away. one day it will be my goal to walk the entire thing. i'll probably bike it first.. cuz biking 20 miles doesn't seem quite as severe as walking it.

i walk with a friend most days.. and we've talked about parking a car at one end.. so that we only have to walk one way.

anyway.... yesterday morning was pretty stressful. grumpy people in my house, and arguments.. make for perfect fuel for walking. the grumpy people in my family (bill and hannah) actually came with me to the walking trail. they aren't accustomed to walking as far or as fast as i do.. so we actually walked separately.

i took my camera this time.. i rarely do. its hard enough to keep pace without gear hanging off my back. anyway.. the pictures here aren't great.. just snap shots as i walked the trail.

this time of the year the trail is gorgeous.. if you had any doubts that spring had arrived.. a quick walk on the paint creek trail will dispel those doubts.

i saw every spring wild flower you can imagine.. wild geraniums, honey suckle, violets, may apples, ferns, and a billion tiny purple flowers that i must look up one day.

i saw baby geese, baby ducks, and baby deer. all of the baby animals seemed very used to people..

the smells of fresh foliage and sweet flowers fill the air and my lungs as i walked. i walked a total of 2 hours yesterday, not sure exactly how far i went. but i know that when i returned the grumpiness had left my body... (probably with the buckets of sweat)

bill and hannah walked a slower pace, but it also seemed to get rid of most of their grumpiness.

even though a lot of bad things seem to have happened since i've moved to rochester.. i still love this community. i just always have to remind myself as much as it looks like a pleasant peaceful little town.. it is actually a suburb of detroit. being a suburb of detroit (a city that is in financial ruins) and the economy being the way it is.. and times just being so hard .... some people do stupid and desperate things. its sad.. the state of the world.. but a nice walk thru the woods seems to help me remember there are more things to life than just the troubles that are just completely overwhelming at times.

i promise to take a shorter walk on the trail this week.. with my camera in tow... and take some pictures that will convey the peaceful beauty that is there.