When the morning hike was planned, the rain wasn't supposed to be in until tonight. But, I could smell rain in the air last night, so I knew it was coming sooner than expected. Thankfully, there wasn't enough rain to dampen the hiking adventure.
And, it was an adventure. I went hiking with my hiking buddy who is also a photographer and has also written for some outdoor magazines. She will remain nameless right now.
Our place of hiking (though I posted a picture already on FaceBook) might remain nameless too due to the "Closed" signs and the following paragraph found on an undisclosed website:
"We have been hosting work days since summer, but our work days are on hold while the City of Chattanooga Parks and Recreation Department helps remove dozens of trees throughout the park. Please adhere to the PARK CLOSED signs that you will see at each entrance. Community support for ___________ has been unbelievable, and we are very thankful! While we are excited about a grand opening in 2013, we do ask for all hikers, bikers, walkers, etc. to stay off of the property at this point. We thank you for your cooperation!"
OOPS! I did not adhere to the sign today, but instead embarked on a neat adventure and found some cool treasures. The trails have progressed since my un-named friend has worked on them at the end of last year.
We weren't alone out there today. We saw one lady with her dogs. In fact, after she passed us, I happened to look down on the ground and saw some blue metal sticking out from the leaves. I picked it up. It was a bone-shaped dog tag. I turned around and slightly yelled, 'do you have a dog named _______?' She turned around with surprise, wanting to know probably how in the world I knew that, and said yes. I held up the bone tag. She mentioned that the dog had lost that weeks ago. What a neat moment. Later we saw another outdoor adventurer walking her dogs too.
I did pick up some trash along the trail and threw it away in the trash can by the gate. A trash can that held fairly recent trash, by the way. So, not that it excuses my lack of following the clearly marked rules, I wasn't the only one in recent days to do so. So, now you know. I can be a rule breaker. I am also a rule follower. I'm a living paradox at times. There are many paradoxes in life.
Back to the hiking adventure.
Even with the clouds, the view of the city was still remarkable. I wasn't expecting it.
Even better was the treasure find of the ruins of a home and the standing chimney. From the old bricks, to the flashing above the cement blocks to the pea gravel in cement driveway-- it was cool! Looking around I found a Suzuki motorcycle seat, one of the poles from hanging the clothes out to dry, and lots of plastic and glass bottles. I would enjoy carrying out trash from there because that would be an adventurous way to help clear out the place.
The tin pie-plate trail markers were awesome. At first I thought it was part of a frisbee golf game. But if you missed your mark, you'd be going down some steep areas to retrieve your frisbee. ☺
I found a penny that looked more like a tiny rock in some mud/dirt.
There were some flowers here and there and cool trees (in my opinion). I took pictures.
The best part was simply being out in creation, out among the trees, in the fresh air. It was a little nippy (chilly), but it felt good.
It might seem odd that such an adventure refreshed my soul this morning. But it did. Being out in creation always has a way of clearing the congested and clogged pipes of life. I am able to let go of thing. I regain focus and am refreshed and strengthened by the time I spend in the outdoors.
I look forward to going back to this place when it becomes officially open.
If you know the area, you may recognize it from the pictures. If you don't know the area, I might as well go ahead and tell you where I was. Stringer's Ridge. Here is a map of the area.
Enjoy the pictures,
Debra
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