Friday, September 13, 2013

Five Ridge Prairie

I went to Five Ridge Prairie nature preserve the other day. I've been there many times now, and it has become my favorite nature park around here. But I have to tell you that it wasn't an easy place to find.

This park is at the end of a long and hilly dirt road that is kind of hidden when you're on the main highway. It took me about six months to find this place. I drove by it many times but I never could find that dirt road.

Finally I found it, and it's now one of my favorite places to visit. I don't come to this place nearly as much as I want, but I hope to change that now that I'm a bit more mobile than I was. I forget how much I love these kind of places until I finally get back to them.

That long absence can sometimes be a problem too. Five Ridge Prairie is not the easiest place to hike. It's all hills and valleys. It's pretty easy getting in there a ways, but getting out is kind of hard. I have to say it's all worht it though because the place is beautiful.

When I don't go to these places for a long time I can get kind of out of shape to be doing this stuff. I knew that would be a problem this time, but I hoped to pace myself a bit so I could minimize the pain. I've learned that no amount of pacing really helps all that much here.

Going in is mostly downhill at the beginning. And then you get to this beautiful place where there are all sorts of birds and other wildlife. You don't always see them because there are plenty of places to hide, but they're out there.

I decided before I even got there that I wasn't going to go very far into this section because I knew I'd wear myself out while I was still inside this huge place. But while I was in there I learned that I was more out of shape than I had hoped.

After a short rest I turned and began to maqke my way back out of the park. It was okay at first, but I was already tiring out much too fast. With my dog Isabella wanting to pull her leash in every direction at once while she explored, it wasn't an easy journey.

As we got to that hill we had to climb to get out of there, I was already to tired to really keep going. Still, I had to get out of there somehow, so I kept right on going. The farther I went up that hill the more I ran out of breath. Isabella wasn't doing very well either, so I had to stop and rest several times.

I did finally make it out of there, even though I thought I was going to die trying. I gave Isabella a nice big drink of water, which she needed badly. The good thing is that I got all of these pictures and some other good stuff. And now that I've made the journey once, I'll be going back as soon as I can.

I'll talk to you later.

20 comments:

  1. It's fun finding new parks, we recently found one too that is now one of our favorite places to walk our dog and very close by.

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    1. Finding them is the fun part. Looking for this one was a little frustrating.

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  2. Keep it up, Ratty! You'll be back in shape in no time. You'll bring us prairie and savannah species and stories.

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    1. I just have to remember to keep going out there and not get too distracted by other places.

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  3. What a beautiful place that you've discovered. As Sharky says, "you'll be back in shape in [what seems like] no time."

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    1. I hope I get back in shape soon. I'd love to hike a little deeper into this place.

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  4. You got some nice shots, Ratty! It sounds like Isabella is a bit out of shape too!

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    1. Isabella is definitely out of shape. That hike did her some good.

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  5. Replies
    1. You'll probably be able to hike deeper into the place than I even hope to.

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  6. One step at a time. You should be proud of what you have accomplished so far.

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    1. It's getting to that next step that I need to do now.

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  7. With almost every post you are delving deeper into areas unknown to you! Each step, each day brings another new adventure. Proud of you Ratty! You're coming back gang busters, and I don't think many others would have been able to do it!

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    1. The great thing is that there are so many new places to discover where I live now.

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  8. After going through some painful experiences, you get back some great gains.

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    1. I hope it gets less painful every time I go there.

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  9. Hello from India, Ratty. I enjoyed your post and the wonderful pictures. Your talking about being out of shape really hits home. I need to get out and start walking. In the three long visits I've had to India, I've lost forty pounds ( if I could lose forty more, I'd be happy! ). It's been monsoon season here, with many days of deluge...but I can't use that as a real excuse for my lethargy. I've become a couch potato. It's so hot, too, here in Mumbai and I miss the cool San Francisco temperatures. I'll be here till Dec 3...maybe you'll inspire me to get out and move a little. My darn right hip pain doesn't help, though.

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    1. I know when I get into the habit of staying indoors and doing nothing it almost becomes addictive. I begin to forget how much I like going out and just walking through nature. It's only when I finally push myself to get back out there that I remember how much I love it.

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  10. all sorts of birds and wildlife, ahhhh, i could imagine the sense of happiness and peacefulness of being there.

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    1. Just being out there brings back that feeling of happiness every time. At those times I wish I was always out there.

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