I am on a business trip at the moment. I must confess that most of my business trips are like a military operation: get in, get the job done, and get out again. There is usually no hanging around, and no leisure time. But occasionally there are exceptions. Occasionally there is a trip that goes over a weekend, and I get to be a tourist for a day or two. And that is what happened this weekend.
I am in Indianapolis in the US. In these troubled times, with Covid-19 making its way around the world, many places are closed. Sports events have been cancelled. Theatres are shut. A sombre atmosphere prevails, with the conversation in hotels, bars and at work always turning to the topic of “the virus”. In such an atmosphere it is good to get out into the natural environment. And luckily, in Indianapolis, that is easy. The city has a large park called Eagle Creek Park. The park covers almost 9 square miles, of which almost a quarter is water, and the rest is forest.
The park as a number of waymarked trails, designated by colour. The red one is the longest at 6.75 miles, or almost 11km. So of course, for my walk through the park, it had to be that one for me. I set off from the north entrance parking area, going anticlockwise. Now, because my reason for being in Indianapolis is business, I am not well equipped for walking through a forest. And especially not well equipped for this time of year. Yesterday’s weather was a mixture of rain and snow, and there was plenty of muddy ground to be negotiated on the way.
But I made my way around the northern loop of the red trail, and around onto the causeway close to the western edge of the park. The forest is naked at this time of the year, with not a single leaf in evidence. There was plenty of birdlife to be seen. There were plenty of Canada Geese. These birds are considered a pest in some parts of the US, Time was when they would come south from Canada for the winter and fly back in Spring. But in recent decades, many have stayed all year round, fouling pavements and damaging lawns.
Some birds at Eagle Creek were hard to see and could only be heard. At times, the drumming of woodpeckers could be heard in the trees, though the birds themselves could not be seen. As I went along the causeway, I saw a flock of large white birds in the water over 100 metres away. Swans perhaps? I could not see the birds in detail, but somehow, they did not look like swans. I found out later that they were American White Pelicans. I had not known that pelicans came this far north.
After the causeway, the trail went south along the lake shore for a while. The ground was muddy on this stretch, but I was afforded interesting views of the water to the west.
Then the trail turned inland before going northwards towards the start. I passed Skating Pond and Lilly Lake before coming to the Ornithology Center.
After that, it was mostly just a straightforward walk through the forest to reach the start at the North Gate again.
I ended the walk with muddy shoes which had to be cleaned to be ready for work tomorrow, but that is a small price to pay for good fresh air, free of Covid-19 and the news frenzy that goes with it.
My total step count for the day was 27625, but that included some time in the gym, and also time in the shopping mall.
Walkingman 