Robert Frost wrote a poem called "The Road Not Taken". In perhaps one of his most famous lines he writes:

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by, And that made all the difference

Indeed. There is much truth in this. Well I was thinking when people take roads and routes that are often traveled, these roads, leave seldom noticed beauty.
I thought of this while walking through the University of Nebraska at Omaha's campus and while riding in the passenger seat of a rented car with my Dad heading west on Interstate 80. The Sunset was remarkable off of this often traveled road.

So on your morning commute or during the drive home in the afternoon when traveling those roads that are so often traveled day after day; keep your eyes open for the beauty that always surrounds us.

Urban Hiking Failure

Hello.

So I got up on Sunday and prepared to walk from UNO to St. Cecilia. The sky was gray and the air was stupid cold. I did the walk anyway.

BUT I could not find my camera and so I have no real post besides this. I was so mad. I tore my room up looking everywhere. I couldn't figure out how my phone would have gotten out of my room. I left my house flabbergasted.

Well, I found my camera. It was right where I left it, on my tripod.

New post next week: probably the urban hiking post.

Thanks

This is what it's going to be

OK. So I am going to do something a little different tomorrow. The title of my blog is Omaha's Natural Distractions.

For my Omaha natural distraction, tomorrow, I plan on walking from the University of Nebraska at Omaha to St. Cecilia's Cathedral.

I will arrive there and help my friends from Food Not Bombs prepare food and take it to Gene Leahy Mall, downtown across the street from the library.

It should be fun. It should also be cold. And there will be pictures.

Tomorrow: Urban Hiking

Fall is here

Hello

Fall is here. The seasons are changing. Hopefully winter won't muscle fall out this year though it seems as if it is trying. Possible snow on Saturday the 10th.

As fall arrives and leaves fall my focus in parks shifts a bit. See as I child I knew nothing of leaves changing colors. Miami and San Antonio never provided me that experience. Well, I have been in Nebraska for some time and now I know: leaves fall and change colors.

Where are some good places in and around Omaha to see fall foliage die? heh heh.

As for this weekend. I am not sure what park I will got to or if I will go to one. I may do Memorial Park. We shall see.

Sunday in Elmwood Park

I went to a classic Omaha park today. At least it's a classic in my opinion but I am not native to Omaha.

Elmwood Park is located right off of the University of Nebraska at Omaha's campus. You can get there by traveling east on Dodge Street and taking a right onto Happy Hollow Blvd. or by going east on Pacific and turning left onto Happy Hollow blvd.

Elmwood Park is definitely an urban park. It's situated by UNO and in the Dundee area. The park stretches a few blocks. There is a large open space for picnics, play areas and a ball field. It's a good place to gather.

The park offers a few nice trails. They snake through a small creek area and offer some nice greenery for eyes wary of concrete. However, the endless noise of vehicles and people persists unless you choose to walk later at night. I prefer night walking but that is me.

For the sake of some photo's I went during the day. Just a note: I like city parks at night and country parks in the day.

Elmwood has history:

In 1889 H.W.S. Cleveland recommended that Omaha acquire a park large enough to shut out city sights and sounds in order to refresh the senses. Elmwood Park, founded in 1889 at 802 South 60th Street, was one of Omaha's largest parks through the 1950s.^[6] Soon after the city acquired an initial 55-acre (220,000 m²) donation of land for the park, the Omaha Bee described it as a "wild and romantic place... containing a wooded ravine that followed the course of a small stream." They continued ...

This is taken from Wikipedia.org and is more than adequate as a start to learning about Elmwood's history.

All in all Elmwood is a great urban natural distraction. It's a great place to spend some time.

OK

So that last post was really long. It's interesting if read though.

This weekend. I want to go somewhere, outside, off the beaten path that is cool.
I am not sure where I will go. But I need to go. MARK NEEDS NATURE.

Anyhow I will update when I know.