What a great day to go walking!

My husband and I went to a small wedding reception Friday night and stayed out later than I should have. So I slept in and went out to walk after 11 a.m. I thought it would be too hot, but it was beautiful! I was scheduled to do 6 easy miles and it was great!

I ended up going to the local park with a lake and a 1.2-mile loop around it. Though this is usually one of my favorite places to walk, I haven’t been here in a while. It can get pretty crowded when the weather is nice, but the real reason is that a young woman was nearly attacked by a creep with a knife a couple of weeks ago. (She fought back and was unharmed.) Over the years there have been occasional incidents in isolated areas along the bike trail. I try to be careful, especially when I’m on the trail rather than looping the lake. If I feel the least bit uncomfortable, I head back home.

The bad thing is, I like walking when there are no people around. One of my favorite walks in that area was a few years back in a steady warm rain in July. There were fewer than 6 people out that day, and we bonded under the bridge waiting for the thunder and lightening to stop. Because the rain was warm, it was a great walk until the lightening started.

I also have a creepy memory from that area, which also involved rain oddly enough. One early Sunday morning, right after it had stopped raining, I went out to do my long slow distance. It started out just being a nice walk on a tree-lined trail. I went south on the trail for about 4 miles and never saw another person. There are several blind turns and the trees can be pretty thick in places. After awhile I started to feel uncomfortable. It was the first time I had ever been out there and didn’t see a single person! I was debating whether to head home the way I came, when a few bikers rode by. As time went on there were a few joggers, too.

Anyway, I will go back to the lake and walk the loop, but I doubt I will walk on the trail unless they are crowded or I have someone to walk with.

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