Beautiful day on the trails

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We took what turned out to be a warmer-than-expected hike this afternoon on the Simpson Park Trail. From the Simpson Park parking lot off Waverly Drive, it’s a 2.6-mile out-and-back. I always marvel that this beautiful forested trail is so close to industrial Millersburg.

Near the end of the trail two dogs came darting by, their owner warning us that they had just been in the river for a dip. I didn’t take a dip, but I followed the trail to the river and took a few photos, including the one above. I often take the Willamette River for granted. Today, it was nice to spend a few minutes just appreciating it.

Before we did the Simpson trail, we hiked a mile or so on some of the new Talking Water Gardens trails adjacent to Simpson Park. We were last out there Memorial Day. What a difference three and a half months has made. We saw and heard many more birds. Ducks especially have taken a liking to the new manmade wetland, shown at left.

I

should have notified the city that we were hiking out there, but forgot. Talking Water Gardens doesn’t officially open to the public until next spring. You can hike the trails, but let someone from the city know before heading out there.