LOOPING THE LOOPS at CORALVILLE RESERVOIR

   Another FAN-TAB-U-LOUS day walking in the woods of Iowa.  Linder and Squire Points of the Coralville Reservoir was the trek de jour. On branch was called "Woodpecker." My dear friend, Maxine, joined me for a tromp that was, according to the Hiking Iowa book I've been following was only suppose to be 4.4 miles long.  But, my trusty pedometer, and my aching joints told me we walked 7.24 miles this morning.  Of course some of the trails  meander ,and the footpaths meet and separate many times along the way. And, off course, we did see some of the trails more than once....maybe  a couple of them we saw even more than  twice. LOL 

It could not have been a prettier day: sunny, warm, but not hot, just a whisper of a breeze that got those old trees murmuring their secrets as we chattered along and caught up on each other's lives. The morning flew by and if it weren't for our aching joints we'd probably still be out there circling the trails and be chattering!

The woods were lovely. The sunlight filtered through just enough to keep it light, but not warm, and we had several extra surprises along the way. A tiny deer greeted us on arrival at the trailhead. He didn't seem one bit afraid  (see how close I got with my camera?!)

 We DID get to walk down by the lake  but only briefly. We'd been told earlier that the trail didn't go near the lake. We found a teeny-tiny 'waterfall' (so small I'd call it more of a tricklefall, but it had a nice, soft, soothing purr) and the Best-of-the-Best that win's the prize for the day was ....DRUMROLL........the "Pot of Gold" of mushrooms Maxine spotted growing at the base of two trees.  They were such a bright, fluorescent, orange that, from a distance, I thought they were a piece of plastic all wadded up.

It was a very good day! I got to walk through the woods with a lovely friend. It was a day to listen and to talk. A day to contemplate on my triad of "R"s (Relationships, Reflection, and Renewal). And that's exactly what my 'walk in the woods' is all about. Today... I think I nailed it!


I'll be moving on down the road tomorrow morning  to the Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey. A serene retreat house awaits me and I'll have four whole days of walking, writing, and likely eating LOTS of those yummy caramels the Sisters make.

Life is more that good....and the beat goes on....

~Nancy