Fort Yargo - Dusk Hike (Barrow County, Georgia)

In an attempt to get a few more miles in this week, I signed up for a ranger-led "full moon night hike" at the nearby Fort Yargo State Park. The hike was scheduled to start at 8:00 pm, but before leaving my house, I checked and noticed that moon rise wasn't going to be until 9:39 pm, meaning we wouldn't really get to see much of the moon. To further complicate things, spotted rain showers powered down on me the entire drive to the park. 

When I arrived, I found a couple of ranges and a couple of other participants standing around the visitors center and taking shelter from the rain, which had been reduced to a very light sprinkle by now. After chatting a few minutes, the ranger made the decision to cancel the hike due to muddy conditions on the trails. I wish he would have said something sooner, but he did say that the park and trails were open until 10:00 pm if we wanted to explore on our own. I came to get miles in and that's exactly what I intend to do.

Leaving the visitors center, I headed south over the long bridge/boardwalk to the other side of the lake. There was still plenty of light at this point, but I had my headlamp ready to go just in case. I was keeping a pretty good pace, but he humidity after the rain was brutal. Following the trail system, I arrived at the newly opened beach area and decided to turn back. Lightning bugs were beginning to come out, which made for a magical return trip. 

Nearing the long bridge again, I spotted a large heron standing on the shoreline of the lake. I gently moved to get a picture and was able to capture his silhouette with the lake in the background. I thought it was a nice picture. With darkness setting in, I decided to call it a night and finished the hike back at my car with about 2.4 miles completed. Not much, but better than nothing. 

CRNRA Bowmans Island (Forsyth County, Georgia)

 Once again, the area I live is dodging storms, but it seems they are moving south of me today. I'll take advantage and get some trail miles with the Meetup Group. After arriving at the Bowmans Island parking area, I was greeted by several friends before we did our customary round of introductions and hit the trail. Our plan was to hike across the dam, up the stairs and explore several of the peninsulas jutting out into Lake Lanier, but for whatever reason, the park service has the gate to cross over the dam closed and locked. 

We quickly shifted our plans and began heading south into the Bowmans Island Unit of the CRNRA (Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area). I've hiked all of this before and for my purposes today, one trail is as good as the other. The trail follows the river for a bit before ducking inland just a bit and then returning to the river and continuing south. Eventually, we reached the Buford Trout Hatchery. This facility is open to the public, but since my last visit they have constructed roofs over the hatchery tanks and applied a chicken-wire fence around them. It still allows folks to see the trout of various ages swimming in the tanks, but presumably protects them from predators (and perhaps degenerate visitors). 

Returning to the trail, we began making our way back towards the calls. As always, we enjoyed some great conversations along the way. It was a great way to distract from the overbearing humidity. It's hot today and I'm sweating like a pig. Getting back to the parking area, I see we got in about 7.1 miles. It was great to see friends, but now I need to get my stinky, sweaty butt to my shower.

Roswell Riverwalk (Fulton County, Georgia)

With more storms coming in this afternoon, I didn't want to venture too far from home, but I still wanted to get some exercise and trail miles in today. I decided to re-visit the Roswell Riverwalk, which is only about a thirty minute drive from my house. It's going to be a hot day, but this paved trail along the Chattahoochee River will offer some shade and it will give me a chance to continue listening to an audio book series I've been on. I wouldn't normally hike with headphones, but this is a paved urban trail with a few sections of boardwalk. So, I'm not really concerned with wildlife elements.

Parking my car at Don White Memorial Park, I used the nearby restroom, started my audio book, and headed west along the paved trail. I guess a lot of other people had similar ideas today as the parking lots are filling up and many walkers, runners, and bikers are using these urban trails today. It's still early and I turned my ball cap around to allow the bill to protect the back of my neck a bit as I start my walk. 

Reaching Riverside Park just a half-mile or so down the path, I stop to read a number of placards describing some of the atrocities visited upon the Cherokee when they were forcibly removed from their land and sent along the Trail of Tears to the Oklahoma territory. Further, I read another sign that describes the lynching of a black man in the 1930's for the offense of kissing a white woman's hand. Sadly, no one was ever charged with his murder. I know I'm not responsible for the acts of my ancestors and I can only try to ensure that I spread a different message of hope and equality. I try my best.

The trail continues onto a couple of sections of boardwalk through some swampy areas and I take some time to admire some wildlife, including a banded water snake swimming along at the Confluence of Vickery Creek and the river. Further along, I also see what I believe are catfish flopping about in the shallow muddy waters. It's great to see these creatures.

Finally reaching the very long boardwalk section that ends at Willeo Park, I turn around and head back. As I pass back through the muddy backwaters area where I had seen the catfish before, I spot a snapping turtle about he size of a hubcap raise his head from the mud for a breath of air before returning to his camouflaged resting place. 

The final couple of miles on the way back to the car were uneventful, but as the clouds start rolling in, I realize that it is time to head for home. When I finally get back to my car, I notice that my GPS tracker was showing over 9.5 miles on this trek, which I know is off. When I review the path, it seems something weird happened around mile 6 on my way back and it had me bouncing all over the place. I know from past experience that his walkway is about 7.6 miles and so, I'm going with that and using a track from a previous visit. While there is nothing special about this little riverwalk, it is a pleasant way to get some fresh air and exercise. I'm glad I was able to enjoy it today before the coming rains.

Dinosaur Caves Park (Santa Barbara County, California)

Driving back to the Santa Barbara Airport after attending a craft beer festival with some friends in Paso Robles, I decided to stop at the Dinosaur Caves Park just a few miles from my destination and stretch my legs a bit. The name is a bit misleading, but still an interesting landscape to explore. Apparently, local businessman had a large metal-framed dinosaur built here in the 1940's as an attraction. A staircase inside lead down into one of the large sea caves along this section of coast. The community never really liked the site of the dinosaur and the largest of the sea caves eventually collapsed, leaving the site in some distress. In early '90's, the city purchased the land and eventually turned it into a small park adopting the current name based on the history.

The park is small, but offers some amazing ocean views. After parking my rental car, I start walking around the paved and gravel trails taking it all in. It's a bit brisk this morning, but the interesting vantage points keep me warm enough. The park is built atop sea bluffs, into which the battering waves have created a number of caves and in addition, left tall jutting islands out just past the shoreline. The number of sea birds here is impressive. Pelicans, gulls, and many others seem to like to perch in mass atop the various rock formations. In addition, I see a number of small chipmunk like creatures in and around the flora atop the bluffs as I leisurely stroll along the path. There is just so much life here. It's truly amazing. 

Finally, I decide that it's time to move on and return to my car. I need to get some food and return the rental car before my flight takes off a couple of hours from now. This was a worthwhile stop though. Nothing spectacular, but certainly enough to make someone take a slight detour to see.