One park or trail that I absolutely love is Tammany Trace outside of New Orleans.
http://www.tammanytrace.org/ I have visited this trail system maybe 5 times in my life. I found a retirement community along the trace, not just any retirement community, but the place where I want to retire to, if I ever get the chance to choose. There are so many things I love and adore about this system. There are so many places to get on and off the trail. Most of it is shaded and seems to follow a creek. It is paved. I have never been on it when it was crowded and I felt like I was either going to walk over someone or get ran over by someone. I love the way the bicyclist communicate with walkers/runners as they pass. They don't yell and scare you and they let you know if it's just one or a group. This would be a great place for a long bike ride. When on "The Trace" I totally Zen out and totally get to meditate while walking. The first time I got on The Trace I may have been by myself and it was my first visit to the New Orleans area. I was very alert and aware of my surroundings. There was the sound of the frogs, but it was coming from in the trees, high in the trees, and not in the water. There was the smell of the water and the shade of the trees that calmed me and let me release so many of life's tensions. This park sets the standard!
Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit one of my favorite places in Austin. Brushy Creek Park is in the Northwest side of Austin or maybe Round Rock, so I do not have the opportunity to visit this park frequently. http://www.austinparks.org/apfweb/park.php?parkId=634 This park system is what I think they call a skeletal system in that one park leads to another and another. I started off on the Lake Trail and then went on the Regional Park Trail to Champions Park. The park sustained a great deal of damage during the flooding last year, which made this trip ironic since we are in a drought. There was a small lake or pond along one portion of the trail that currently does not exist. When you grow up around Lubbock every body of water turns to a lake!! I like this park because there are so many paths to choose from. It's not crowded, but there are people on the trail. If I get in to trouble I know someone will be along in a little bit. I like that I never feel like I'm riding on someone's heels and no one crowds behind me. I have gotten so lost in my thoughts the bicyclist behind me scared the pejeebies out of me. This park has tree coverage, but it's not as constant as Tammany Trace. There are markers along one aspect of the trail, but I have yet to figure out how frequent the markers are. It is as if one park has one number system and the next park has a different system so the numbers may not be sequential and they are more frequent than every mile.
When I am in South Austin I do enjoy Lady Bird Lake. The park closest to downtown attracts people seeking a variety of things. In this portion of the park there are nature strollers watching the birds and trees and then you have those training for the next marathon. Since it's close to down town I often feel like I am riding someone's heels and about to get ran over. My favorite park of the Lady Bird Lake is on the East Side near Holly Street Power plant. This portion of the park has a great deal of graffiti where individuals or groups have expressed themselves and their oppression. It certainly gives fuel for the meditation.
As I explore these various parks and trails I am reminded of my time in Switzerland. I was not as in to hiking and running then as I am now and I certainly wish for an opportunity to return and explore. Then I was often pushing a baby stroller (pram as they called it) and I was more mindful of the terrain. Switzerland had a great way of naming the trails and marked them, like a city street. The markers indicated how far to the next stop.
I found the trail in New Braunfels sucks!!! I explored this park for the first time alone, which always makes me very alert and super sensitive to sounds. http://www.austinexplorer.com/Locations/ShowLocation.aspx?LocationIDWTF did I do wrong? Are they going to chase me out of the park? Where is this voice coming from? They can obviously see me, but I can't see him. How fearful should I really be? On a scale of 1 to 10 I'm a 12! Get me out of here and safely to my car!!! I will never come back to this trail!!! Mark it off my list, once and done.
It reminded me of the first time I went looking for the Brushy Park trail. The map I had looked at indicated the trail started at the Round Rock in Round Rock, TX. Since it was a new area for me and I was alone I let a friend know where I was and what I was doing. This friend is a Austin Police Officer, which gave me some comfort. I started there and never found the trail. I found nothing but deer trails or rogue trails. I sent my friend a picture of the trail I had found and it seemed to have alarmed him because he told me to get out of there. I could hear him telling me "Get out of there!!" I heard him tell me again as I heard The Voice on the trail in New Braunfels.
I tend to explore these new trails and parks alone. I know it's not the ideal situation, but regardless of how hard I try I can't make the ideal situation happen. For a period of time I was hiking and running in Brushy Creek on a weekly basis. I would pick up a friend's Labrador and we would go together. For a period of time I met a friend who brought her Rottweiler. When I go with another person we talk and visit. It's good, but I find I need that time to meditate and get ideas for solving some of my problems.
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