Today I walked a 5K YRE (year round event) sponsored by the Greenbelt Volksmarch Club. I started at the College Park Airport which is located very near the campus of the Univ. of Maryland. It is a small airport for private airplanes, I assume. My directions took me out on an asphalt paved trail that led to a lake. This lake, as I read on a placard, was a man-made lake, dredged out by the DC Metro system to use the sand and gravel to support their rail tracks. Now it is a nice, peaceful place for walkers and bikers.
I had been on most of this trail with my biking friends here at Riderwood Village. But walking the trail was a different experience. I was able to listen to the sounds more carefully. There was the continuous buzz of the locusts, birds and their calls, an airplane flying overhead and even the roar of the Metro train shooting down its tracks to DC and back. And not far from the beginning of my walk I encountered a small deer, not too afraid of me, by allowing me to walk right past it some ten feet away. Of course, there were a few birds I recognized: a mockingbird, Canada geese and the common duck. Further, I enjoyed seeing the flowers nearby, a large bloom that I didn't recognize and many lily pad blooms.
On the last half of the trail I passed a young girl, talking on the phone to her friend. I thought to myself that she was missing a lot of the natural beauty around her, glued to her phone. I think it is good to listen to a quietude, soak in some of the beauty before us and be thankful.
Previous total 57 K
Today's total 5 K
Total 62 K (goal 100 K)
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| Deer encountered on the trail |
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| Man-made lake with lily pads |
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| Another view of the lake |
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| Flower growing by the lake (help you flower experts, what is it? |
