River Walk

September 19, 2012 – What a glorious morning in San Angelo, Texas. I skipped my yoga class and opted to go to the river for my morning exercise. After a summer of triple digit heat the 64 degree temperature was a treat. Even the sun seemed kinder, sort of like a child’s drawing complete with a smiling face.

The Concho River is one of my favorite things about my new hometown. I have lived in San Angelo for just over a year but I still say I’m new here. It is my understanding that unless you were born here you are still a newcomer. When I arrived last summer the river had been recently drained and dredged, yet I still found it a treasure. I was so smitten that I even ventured out to explore on hot summer days. This summer I wasn’t so brave, or perhaps I was more wary of heat stroke. Today’s expedition was like finding an old friend.

I parked at the Beauregard Bridge and headed east. I nodded to a woman walking her dachshunds and then realized she is my neighborhood association president. What a treat for me to see someone I know. Having lived in my former town for over thirty years I would rarely leave the house without seeing a friend. Here I don’t often see a familiar face. We chatted a bit about dogs, the drought and water restrictions and how to save our trees and then we moved on in opposite directions.

My next encounter was with a large heron. I’m saying it was a Great Blue Heron until someone tells me differently. Bird identification is not my strong suit, but according to my Google search that’s what it was. I stood and stared at it for a few minutes until I felt I was encroaching on its territory. What a beautiful bird. I wondered if it was from the nests I have been observing all year in the old tree that reaches out over the river.

Chastising myself for dawdling during my morning exercise I picked up speed and arrived at the Abe Street Bridge to find two separate crews of workers; a construction crew building forms for walkway repair and a cadre of white-clad inmates under the direction of a correctional officer stringing lights for the Christmas extravaganza. I missed this San Angelo tradition last year and I am looking forward to it like a kid going to Disneyland. What a production it must be to begin setup this early.

Continuing on I crossed Chadbourne and notice the water in front of the Museum of Fine Arts was rather still and full of trash. Styrofoam cups and plastic bottles littered the area. How sad. This is one of the prettiest places on the trail and it looked like it hadn't been cleaned up since the Fourth of July. I wondered who was responsible for picking up the trash. Whoever it is, they have fallen down on the job.

I continued on to Concho Avenue where I doubled back and retraced my steps to my starting point. At South Irving I saw an elderly woman being pushed in her wheelchair by a young girl. It made me smile to think of them enjoying the Riverwalk as much as I do, until I realized they were having difficulty accessing the path. I wondered if there was a section of the trail that is handicap friendly. Is there a smooth trail for wheelchairs? I have no idea. I left them behind and moved on.

I’m always on the lookout for wildlife on the river. I like watching the turtles basking in the sun and the squirrels chasing each other in circles around the trees. Today I saw what at first I thought was a nutria, but it was a black squirrel slinking through the underbrush. I had to leave the trail to catch a glimpse of its tail to make certain it wasn’t the rat-like tail of a nutria. It was the furry bottle brush tail of a squirrel. I had never seen nutria until last summer. I was standing on a pedestrian bridge over the river and saw them swimming beneath me. Gross. The semi-aquatic rodent is a pest and I find myself curious about what is being done to control this invasive species. It seems to me that it would have been a good idea to employ a nutria eradication offensive while the river was semi-empty during the dredging stage.

When I arrived at my car I saw that someone had fed the gaggle of geese that were so interested in me upon my arrival, but are now too busy gorging themselves on day-old bread to pay me any mind. I’m feeling a little guilty about cutting my yoga class, but it has been a good morning. I’ve missed the river. I’m looking forward to more cool mornings and more musings as I take in the beauty of my favorite spot in my new town. Namaste.