I was fairly close to withdrawing my plan to walk today... it just seemed a bit excessive, and not very interesting to write about,... and I was planning on justifying it by calling the Super Bowl viewing my 'activity.' But, alas, I felt I had to follow through with the task that I had promised. I owe it to my loyal 'followers,'... all four of them.
So, to those who are on the edge of your seat, anticipating the deep parallels to life that one can draw from a walk like this, this vision quest, well here it is... it was a walk. A long walk. Sadly, I didn't have any epiphanies or life-altering moments. However, with that said, it was a wonderful walk.
Everything you hope to get from a walk, this turned out to be. I started off at SilverWood Park on the shores of Silver Lake. I was able to spend a very serene 45 minutes wandering through it's paths and inquiring into its offerings. No car motors or loud crowds mixed with the hushed sounds of the wind in the trees and the sounds of my own footsteps. I ventured out onto the lake a bit, and explored the lake's islands a bit. As I drew back around, I walked near the only open water I have seen all winter. I'm still unsure the exact reason for the open water, but the ducks and Canadian Geese that filled that pond didn't seem to care about it's purpose... they just gloried in its availability.
I continued through the park's paths, passing by trees that apparently house some nesting owls (but alluded me). I finally made my way to Silver Lake road, where those previously absent noises of city life reappeared.
The walk from then on became more of an endurance challenge. The neighborhoods I walked through offered the usual; people shoveling their driveways, cars zipping by late for an appointment, etc., etc,. However, once in a while, I'd encounter a pleasant pedestrian inquiring about my day, or a small woodpecker so engaged in pursuing a meal that he barely noticed my approach.
I even experienced a moral dilemma. I had my mind set on walking the train tracks for a bit. But, when I came upon the tracks, I was welcomed with a pretty visible sign that clarified the illegal activity that walking those tracks would be. After staring at them for a good two minutes while the angel and devil on my shoulders had it out with each other, the devil went whimpering home, and I crossed the tracks and continued on the street.
One final encounter worth mentioning is that I happened across a train yard just as the train was coming to its final stop of the day. I meandered into the area and was able to catch the engineer just as he finished his last adjustments on the train, gathered his belongings and began walking toward the lone building in the yard. He was happy to share with me about how Steven's Point is where these trains originate from with all there cargo. He continued to go in greater detail, but my mind was sort of a blur at that time, as I had been walking for two hours straight by then.
I eventually made it home at about 2 and a half hours after I set out. I was exhausted. My toe hurt. My legs were jelly. There was only one thing to do.
I went outside and worked on my igloo.
The Woodpecker
My Moral Dillema
Pole Yard near Train Yard
Train Yard
Thin Ice
2 comments:
This is just the kind of thing i've come to expect from you. I both commend you and worry about you - see, nothing's really changed. But you're right, sometimes there's nothing like a nice, long walk.
Yep, it is all a bit crazy. But, I'm discovering that idol hands, although not in every case, are truly often the devil's tool. These 'outings' have really kept my mind (and body, to some extent) active.
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