Touching the World Outside my Door

People just don't know what they miss when they don't walk. I get such a sense of a place when I walk around it. I've been walking and bussing the streets and trails around GJ the way I do other new cities I visit. I occasionally see others out on the trails: couples walking their dogs, middle-aged men jogging, an older couple, a man with his kids. The trails are used, but not much, which suits me just fine. Nevertheless, the city is trying . . . .

These are some images of the Riverfront Trail. I don't quite grok this trail. It's so big. But it does connect the many parks that dot the river and provides a nice long biking route. This bench overlooks a bare field and a wall of tamarisk and russian olive right now but the city is in the process of removing these plants and replacing them with natives.

This photo is a random shot of the walkway. Not many people out enjoying themselves. Along some stretches of the path lamps also light the way.

This next photo was taken down along the river, along the trail, just behind the Botanical Gardens.The blue dome of a tent appears just to the right of the tree. Many more people living down there than I'm aware of, I know. I'll hear a dog bark or see someone breaking branches for a fire. Under all the bridges are little homes: pillows, papers, bags.

And the last two . . . moments of beauty and humor.