Seeing a different section of the Hike and Bike

Today we went to the Hike and Bike, but we didn’t do our usual route. My sweetie wanted to do “the levee.” I had no idea what he was talking about. “Levee” can mean any elevated long lump in the landscape, in practice. It turned out that what he meant was to take a left on the paved turn-off along the way, before we reached the bridge with the swallows. The blacktopped, elevated path was indeed a levee, as it was a good 6 or 8 feet above all the surrounding area.

Little though one could tell it with all the brush growing up. We saw brush piles where a tractor had pushed out mesquite trees in the past, but they were next to 15 foot tall, thick-trunked mesquite trees and bushy nopal cactus plants that must have been 8 feet across and 7 feet tall. So the brush clearing activities were all in the past. After a while we came to a place where the blacktop turned left and descended to meet the regular (also blacktopped) path that we usually walk. There was another path, though, just a set of tire tracks along the top of the levee, and we took it. We saw the biggest walking-stick bug I have seen in a good while along it. We got a good overview of the city’s project to install—I guess—water pipes along the road. Eventually we got the the road and found the turn-off that leads to the parking lot. That was steep, but the dirt was dry and the rocks in the dirt were not loose, so it was okay to walk down on. When we got to the bottom, we found a sign (facing the parking lot, of course) that said “Levy run”. And then I realized what my sweetie had been talking about when he said he wanted to do the levee.

It was a fresh, beautiful Monday morning, with very few people out. We saw a collection of cottontails, and a dove that was dancing on the path to lead us onward, and a roadrunner (paisano bird) that was dancing around between trees off of the path. I think there must be at least two, and maybe three, pairs of roadrunners that live in the Hike and Bike park. Along with the small group of javelinas.

On Thursday last, we saw a javelina boar, but he wasn’t posing for pictures and we didn’t get the camera out in time, so his handsome profile went uncaptured. (Darn.) Today, no javelinas, even though we got to the Hike and Bike around 0740.

Also today the new camera arrived. I will try to learn how to take good pictures to upload with it. Today’s pictures are still with the old camera.

because every Valley blog needs a palm tree!

The walking stick, next to my sweetie's hiking boot for size.