An Evening with Elizabeth

I had the opportunity to spent the evening with my granddaughter Elizabeth tonight. I have been out hiking the last two evenings, so why not a third evening. Mom dropped Elizabeth off and we got packed up. We had jackets, water, snacks, a first aid kit and a flashlight just in case we went on a long adventure. As Elizabeth was in shorts, the first aid kit had the possibly needed band-aid for a scraped knee.

We hiked northwest towards the river bottom bike trail. Once on the trail we we headed west. Elizabeth was quick to point out he dogs and birds along the way. We even touched the leaves of a few things like a tamarisk tree and wild grape. We soon were padding Carlson Dog Park. Elizabeth always gets excited seeing all the dogs. A large yellow Labrador retriever came to the fence where we were and rolled over on his back and stated moving around in the grass on his back. Elizabeth got a kick out of the dog scratching its back.

We slowly climbed our way to the top. Once on top, it was time for a snack and some water. Elizabeth has got the idea that going for a walk with grandpa is fun because it is more like a ride. After a long ride up a hill, a girl has to get a drink.

After snacks and water it time to climb and explore. It was a little difficult in flat bottomed shoes to climb rocks. Especially with a little decomposed granite rolling around. However, Elizabeth tried her best to go everywhere.

Soon enough she was tired of her shoes. She wanted them off. I checked the surrounding are and there was nothing but rocks or decomposed granite. She loved running her feet through the decomposed granite. She also liked the traction she got with her bare feet.

The wind was blowing and it was getting a little cool so she asked for her jacket. We spent a little more time and then started our way down. I let Elizabeth walk for about a third of a mile which took 20 minutes. With her on my back I was going uphill and covering more than a mile in less than 20 minutes. I would have to say that she is easily distracted. I also used the first aid kit to firmly attach her shoes as she was inclined to take them off.

It was a fun hike. We covered about about six and a quarter miles. We saw lots of dogs and a few birds. Both Elizabeth and I had a great time.