A Hike and A Bike

Last Sunday, I decided to go for a hike and get some exercise so I headed out for a local park that I'd not visited for a year or so. The day was hot and balmy and of course I forgot insect repellent so I made a super human effort not to perspire. Yeah, right!

 The creek was beautiful but very low, the lowest I'd ever seen it and it made me realize how much we needed rain. Thankfully, mosquitoes were scarce but with all the standing water, that would not be the case in a couple of weeks.

 I really liked the symmetry of these plant leaves.

Once again, I was in an area of outstanding beauty and nobody was there to share it. The only other person I came across was this fly fisherman. There were plenty of small fish in the creek but I'd not seen any large ones so I assumed he was just getting some practice in for later in the season. I don't understand how such a heavily populated area of America can not want to escape and enjoy areas of natural beauty especially at the weekends, but I really didn't care; it was wonderful to have it to myself.

 The creek was low along the whole course that I walked but it wasn't preventing wild flowers from growing and blooming. The bluebells were finishing but the floors of the glades were carpeted with wild violets and anemones.

 The path was rocky in places and I came across 2 blue herons wading on the creek's edge. I didn't get photos, I just enjoyed the moment.

 An abandoned water treatment station.
After hiking about 5 miles, I returned to the car grateful that I'd escaped being bitten. Back at the condo, my friend Jeff and I decided to go for a bike ride, so after changing shorts and shoes, I hopped on the bike and we set straight out. Jeff knows a lot of trails around the Centreville area so we decided to opt for the 9 mile ride.

 Jeff is also used to riding in DC and competing with downtown traffic so he had me weaving in and out of cars and twisting around corners to reach pavement ramps more easily. At first I found it a little unnerving, but I was soon laughing and following his lead.

 We both have a fascination for electrical pylons and finding plenty of those, we had to stop a couple of times to take photos. The crackling electricity above our heads was very cool but I wondered about the danger of houses built so close to these. We clipped along at a relatively fast pace and were soon back by our communities but not wanting to stop, we tooled around the area to add another couple of miles on. What a fun workout day.