Tag Archives: Edmonton

Our (almost) Daily Walk

Glenora/Ravine Drive

Colourful walk yesterday with Tom, along our usual route. This is our most common walk, starting in Glenora and ending on 142 Street close to Laurier Heights, with a long stretch along beautiful Ravine Drive. It clocks in just under two hours, and around 13,000 steps. It can be repetitive, but it’s always beautiful. We mix it up by walking down into MacKinnon Ravine sometimes, but generally, it’s just a good, dependable walk.

Along Ravine Drive

Today we saw pelicans flying in V formation in the sky, but I wasn’t quick enough to snap a photo, so I relied on the usual spring suspects: dandelions and lilacs.

Windy and cool(ish). 14C.

Fort Edmonton Trail in the Spring

Fort Edmonton footbridge

Beautiful walk this afternoon along the Fort Edmonton/Terwillegar trails, featuring two of the city’s newish footbridges. It’s a beautiful walk, although the foliage is not quite there yet. Last year when I walked on this particular trail for the first time with Sharon and Stella, it was a revelation. We are so lucky in this city to have such beautiful, diverse trails.

The river, from the bridge
Woohoo!

About half way along the trail, we ran across a tree decorated with Oilers gear. The playoffs are about to start. Let’s go Oilers! Addendum: they were swept in the first round 🙁

Terwillegar footbridge, looking in the direction of the dog park

Sunny, about 12C. A slow but steady recovery from the $&!?@! mini cold-snap. 14,024 steps.

Park patrol

Hello Whitemud Ravine

Whitemud Creek from the powerline footbridge

Beautiful solo walk in Whitemud Ravine this morning, starting at the Power Line (which is missing a huge swath of trees on the south side), and then into the ravine, up and around, back into the ravine, and then out at the other side of Westbrook.

Whitemud Ravine Creek from the first viewpoint

It’s been a long time since I’ve taken this route, which always reminds me of Maggie. The birdsong was magnificent, but the creek could use some rain.

Whitemud Creek from the ‘second’ bridge
One of the many frog bogs, which could use some water. No frogs obvs.
Life!
Ubiquitous chipmunk on the viewing deck, above the boardwalk
Bring on the rain!

About 10,000 steps. 19C and humid.

Don’t Rain on Me

View from over the 102nd bridge over Groat Road

Just a short walk, to Tom’s and then back. Somehow, it didn’t rain on me, although the skies were very rumbly and dark. This is the only kind of cloudy sky I like, when it looks like it will storm (even if it doesn’t).

Blue sky to the east. My favourite view from the museum is coming along…

The Geese are Back!

The North Saskatchewan River looking very curvy

It’s a beautiful blue sky 15C afternoon so Tom and I did the most logical thing – we walked to Hawrelak to officially welcome back the geese. There was a lot of them. We couldn’t get too close, either because the ground was too wet or the geese were too angry.

Two of a thousand returning geese
That’s close enough…

March has been incredibly warm, so we’ve lost most of the snow and the river is slowly melting. The gorgeous patterns of the thin covering of river ice cover changes daily.

Doesn’t really capture the majesty of hundreds of squawking geese

It was a great walk, but long and warm. I had my coat tied around my waist and there were lots of pebbles in my running shoes. Well worth it though to see all the geese. They always seem to come back too early, but this year it seems like we’re getting early spring.

Emily Murphy Park on the way back

16C!! 15,214 steps.

Yo Whitemud!

Crazy beautiful walk with Sharon and Stella in Whitemud Ravine (south) starting at the Westbrook trail head. As per usual, Stella wouldn’t pose, but also as per usual, affable company.

You can’t make me look at you

With lots of fairly steep ice-covered hills, spikes are absolutely necessary, at least for the near future. Even with them, it was a bit iffy, but I stayed upright. Always a good thing.

Even walking from one end of the trail to the other (ending at Rainbow Valley Road) it’s not quite 10,000 steps but they are quality steps, and the rest were easily made up just walking around the grocery store.

Sure is purdy

10C!