Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Off The Beaten Path



The Beaten Path

   There are somethings that simply make some places special. I'm sure every place has them if you're willing to look for them. Here in Ripon, we have the river trail. I don't even know if there is an official name for it, but it is a trail that leads from one side of town to the other along the north shore of the Stanislaus River. Some of it is paved, much of it is not. The picture on the left shows a section of the trail that is just down the street from us. It takes us about 5 to 10 minutes to walk to the entrance to the trail.


You can spend several pleasant hours walking along the beaten path, and there are some very wonderful sights. However, if you are willing to invest just a bit more, you can find place like the one in the video on the right, places just off the beaten path.


Off The Beaten P
The Stanislaus River, swollen by last season's snow pack, has fashioned an ephemeral treat, a new channel that snakes through what used to be dry land. It is surprisingly gentle and clear, perfect for the rope swing on the tree, something Alex and Lillian took complete advantage of. At its deepest, the channel was about waist deep on Alex. This spot is maybe 20 minutes from our front door at a leisurely walk, but when you're there, you could believe you're on another planet. 


I know that it's a screwed up and scary time right now, but in this spot, it just seemed that all was right with the world.

God is good.

1 comment:

  1. I'm reminded about that show on the history of the universe, from Big Bang to Heat Death. Human civilization is such an imperceptibly tiny blip in time and space. This river channel - which simply does not exist most of the time, and if it does appear, typically does so only when it's too cold to go wading - was a tiny dot on a tiny dot on a tiny dot.

    But such a brilliant dot!

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