Walking at Night

I have just returned from a long walk. I had planned on only walking a couple of miles, but decided to try and reach the end of the book of Jeremiah. I finally gave up as the chapters got longer and longer and I needed to get back home before it got too late. I made it to chapter 51, but it takes more than 10 minutes to listen to so I decided it could wait until the next walk.

Orion - Constellation - Orion the Hunter - Orion's Belt - Orion NebulaThe night sky was clear, so it gave me a chance to look at the stars while I was walking. You could clearly see Orion tonight.

Evening Walk, Leaves, Silhouette, December Walk, Night WalkOf course this time of year there are a lot of leaves on the sidewalks, so I have to be careful. I do like the sound of walking through the leaves.

Park, Gazebo, Fall Day, Beautiful walk, exercise, Vote WalkIt would be nice to walk in the daytime, but this is not an option during most of fall. Especially during the week when I return home after dark.

Western burrowing owl, parliament of owls, owls, Athene cuniculariaSometimes I get to see owls while I walk. Tonight I saw a barn owl fly overhead. I haven’t seen a burrowing owl in the last couple of months, but I often see them while walking at night. However, there has been construction near one of the places I see them. I am sure that the noise has probably scared them off. Will they come back?

Tree lined sidewalks, walking, constuctionThis is one of the areas where I sometimes see an owl. You can see that they are doing some construction. I will be so glad when it is finished as traffic is really slowed down and the road is rough.

I must get this posted and get some rest before a long week in the classroom.

Steven

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Virtual Hike to Escalante

I have reached the next destination in my virtual hike. In my post Virtual Hike to Pioche I had announced that the next goal would be Escalante, Utah. I had hoped to reach Pioche by the end of October, but I finished well past that goal. Along with travel and being very busy with work I have done a lot less walking. Pioche, Nevada, Escalante Utah, Virtual HikeYou can see here that the distance between Pioche and Escalante was 189 miles. If I had actually been hiking this route it would have been challenging with many elevation changes.

Escalante, Utah, Virtual Hike, Google MapsEscalante is not a very big town with less than 1,000 inhabitants. Escalante is named after Silvestre Vélez de Escalante who was a member of a Spanish expedition to Utah at the time of the Revolutionary War.

Escalante is in a very scenic area. Just outside of town is the Escalante Petrified Forest and it is also adjacent to the Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument.

Escalante Utah, Virtual HikeHere is the main street of Escalante. To me it looks very familiar as there are many towns in Kansas that look similar.

Scenic Utah, Virtual Hike, Escalante, UtahPart of the route to Escalante was along UT-12 which is very scenic. Can you imagine walking along while looking at these beautiful hills?

Escalante, Utah, Scenic, Virtual HikeHere is another view where you can see a bit further off to the side. There are many scenic views along the route that my virtual hike took.

The section of the virtual hike will also be very scenic. The next destination will not be as far as I will be heading to Bullfrog, Utah. Then the plan is to take the ferry across to Halls Crossing and head on to the Four Corners. If I was actually hiking the trail it would be nice as it is mostly downhill 🙂

Now to get back to walking every night so it doesn’t take me so long.

Steven

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