Instead of my normal indoor workout today I wanted a ride while riding is good. Today I chose the Katy Trail and NE 63rd. I think I noted previously that running Reno Avenue westbound I often start off on the sidewalk that runs all the way from Heritage Park Mall to Sooner Road. It’s exceedingly rare I see any pedestrians on it, and I always yield to them anyway, telling them they have the right-of-way. From there it’s just a half-mile to Vickie, my entrance to the NE 4th bicycle route. Just the other side of I-35 the Katy Trail joins from the west, and I turn sharply back below the overpass until the trail heads north. Right at that curve we are on the backside of a small golf course up against Douglas High School. There’s a very old run-off ditch between the trail and the golf course. It’s mostly swampy, but a little dry right now. Repeated hard freezing reduced all the foliage to a dry and yellow mass.
The Katy Trail is peaceful and today I had it to myself. With a tailwind it was a pretty quick ride all the way up to the Zoo and Remington Park area. Today I left the Katy Trail and crossed NE 50th so I could swoop through the several acres of blacktop parking for Remington Park. I noticed today their giant outdoor TV screen was on; faces from a commercial were 50 feet tall. My immediate goal was the pond they built off the northern edge of the parking area, catching the drainage from a tributary to the Deep Fork River. The dam is solid and accessible, so I rode out to a clear spot to catch this shot. They matched the dam to the height of the ridgeline along the bank. The pond is on the right edge of the picture.
Out and around to NE 63rd, it was eastward up and over the ridge to I-35 again. I pulled into the parking lot of Braums corporate headquarters. I wonder what it’s like to work at the Braums Dairy Store on the same lot, with corporate bigwigs looking over your shoulder? Anyway, I found a decent view of the Deep Fork again from the back edge of the parking lot. I then had to pass by several good shots on the north side of NE 63rd because it was just too much traffic. I’ll come back again with my better camera; today it’s just the pocket Coolpix. I stayed on NE 63rd over hill and dale all the way to Midwest Boulevard. The drivers were all friendly about giving me room.
Today’s prayer chapel was at the bridge over the North Canadian River. I sat on the concrete side barrier and rested my feet on the odd hump of dirt they left right on the edge of the slope above the fence. I stayed long enough to have lunch and let the silence soak into my bones.
Besides, I needed the rest. The stiff southerly winds made the last few miles home very slow. Today I took the time to dart into the exceedingly rough driveway just south of where Midwest Boulevard crosses NE 23rd. I knew from satellite surveys there was a lake hidden in there somewhere on that southwest corner, and could only catch glimpses through the trees when winter stripped off the foliage. I’m sure it’s private property, but there’s no gate and no signs. So I stopped near the edge of the water, now quite low from the long dry season, and spooked the Canadian geese. You can see that this place was carved out of the hillside. On the far side is the back edge of a trailer park up there.
The battered but overgrown driveway leads back to an old vacant house. The glass from the windows is long gone. I stayed where I was and used the telephoto.
With that, I turned and headed back out onto Midwest Boulevard. Just a couple more miles and I was home.
