It was the final hike of the “Summer” hiking season. Ten people came out to enjoy the bracing, fresh air on a walk around the Blackfoot Recreation Area, starting and ending at the Blackfoot Staging Area on the east end of the park.
One of the joys of hiking in this park is the chance to have lunch around a campfire.
On this visit, we discovered a unique memorial bench dedicated to a Cole Thomas Lawrence. The bench hardware includes old tractor wheels and iron saddlery pieces (bits, rings, and horseshoes).
It was a beautiful fall day for our hike of the southeast
portion of Mill Creek Ravine. Fourteen people came out to the hike.
The hike started on the north side of the ravine. We soon stumbled upon the Meadows Poetry Pathway “Love Letters to the World” (www.themeadowscommunity.ca). We took our time here, entertained by the poems engraved on the sidewalk. Here are some of them.
Following the bank on the north side of the ravine to west of 34 street, we entered the ravine and descended down along the creek. We followed the creek to 50 street and over to Jackie Parker park where we had lunch.
We returned along the southern trails through Millcreek
Ravine, taking a few side trips to explore interesting small winding trails.
Have you ever been in one of Edmonton’s ravines, with the
many exits out to the neighbourhoods, and wondered what exit goes with what
neighbourhood?
We discovered that the many bridges we crossed back and
forth over the creek were all identified with a small numbered metal plaque. If
you kept a list of these numbers with a map, it might help you identify the
neighbourhoods that the exits between bridges lead to. As we all know, the ravines
in Edmonton are long and deep with many entrances and exits—knowing where you
are can be quite confusing.
We saw one downy woodpecker and a lot of magpies. Almost all the trees are bare; the fallen leaves have lost their colours—fading into dull browns, but still crunchy to walk on.
