Sunday, January 27, 2013

Urban Hike: Wausau River Edge Parkway


I am totally wiped out this weekend. Charlie let me sleep in a little bit this morning and even snuggled on the couch with me while I sipped my coffee and watched the CBS Sunday Morning show. But I have a ton of office work to do today and I know she won't let me get anything done unless I get her some decent exercise. Since I'm totally sick of driving, I decided we'd just walk down to the River Edge Parkway today.

I have to admit, I feel pretty lucky to live just a few blocks from the Wisconsin River and have access to this beautiful walking trail. The trail is not completely finished yet, and the segment by my neighborhood is seldom used because of this. Charlie and I typically take a daily walk on this trail ~ rain or shine! There is a newly installed kayak/canoe launch that we use in the summer and Divepoint Scuba opened a paddle shop at the entrance to the walkway last year. I have a feeling this section of the trail is going to start attracting a lot of paddle enthusiasts ~ and I'm one of them.


The path is well-lit with street lamps that always make me feel like I'm in the land of Narnia this time of year. When the snow is slowly drifting down in the lamplight and there's that muted sound that fresh snow makes, you can literally be transported away from the here and now. A few benches scattered along the trail make great spots to take a break and enjoy the riverfront scenery.

While I appreciate all the frozen, wintery brilliance of the walkway this time of year, mostly I'm day-dreaming of all the fun we'll have once the days start getting longer. I'm looking foward to our morning walks when we can watch the sun rise and listen to the birds sing. When Charlie can play in the water, rather than standing on the ice. When we can watch the carp splashing and slurping the surface of the water at sundown. So much to look foward to!



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