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Mile 969.  Washington's Sienna Hills Park was Tortoise's lunch walk starting point today. The Washington city trail map shows the trail from this park merges with the Washington Parkway Trail and then enters the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, ending shortly thereafter at the Grapevine Trail.  Lou pictured the trail going along side the Parkway and over Interstate 15 on the Parkway's bridge at Exit 13.

Please click below for pictures galore, a map, the rest of the story of where the trail really goes (it's a walker's delight), and today's walking thought by Jeanne Inouye, including this sneak preview:   "If there were not more to do than we are individually capable of doing, we wouldn’t have to make choices and we would never realize what we value most."

Cheerio!

The Sienna Hills Park provides fun children's play equipment, shade, restrooms,
and ... parking for the city trailhead.  Let's start walking up! 

This trail has changing views around every corner, and a steady 4-5% uphill
slope, good for getting Tortoise's heart pumping.  Which is the whole point.  The
pictures, fresh air, and variety are simply the sugar that helps the medicine go down.

Our asphalt trail is about to merge with the cement Washington Parkway trail.
Lou was thinking the trail would basically become a sidewalk at this point, but
No!  The first of several pedestrian tunnels under roadways appears, this one
near the roundabout near the Maverik convenience store.

Past that first tunnel is another small park.  Excellent!

As the trail nears Interstate 15 and the hill gets a little steeper, the trail narrows
and the pavement ends.  But this bridge is quite nice, thank you!

Up, up, up we go

The houses end, desert terrain abounds.  The truck gives tells us the freeway
is getting closer.

Wonder how many people getting on the freeway at that ramp up there,
notice there is a trail down here.  Tortoise certainly never has ...

Another pedestrian tunnel, this one under the northbound onramp.
Keeps us walkers, mountain bikers, and equestrians safely away
from the cars zipping by nearby.

This route is much more peaceful than walking across a freeway bridge, too.
Lou has to look around briefly when exiting this tunnel to see where the trail
continues.  Up and then right when the retaining wall ends.

You would think you were in a desert marsh with this much vegetation
just past the freeway underpasses.  But it's a desert for sure.  I don't see
where the plants are getting their water.  I'm just glad they are.

Just joined the Grapevine Trail.  3 equestrians are coming down.  I took their
picture for them, then continued up another half mile to the top of the hill
where I recorded the video at the start of this blog post.

On the return walk down.  The Grapevine Trail continues to the right.
The Washington Parkway trail is much smaller, heading off to the left
without sign or fanfare.

If Lou hadn't just walked up this trail, there would be no way to know it heads
under the freeway and into the Sienna Hills neighborhood, in less than a mile.

All the entrances and exits to the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve have these low
wood walls you step over.  Keeps the desert tortoises inside the reserve.
No, this Tortoise has not seen a desert tortoise in any of his walks here.

If you look closely in the middle of the picture, you will see the pedestrian
tunnel under the southbound offramp off Interstate 15 at Washington Parkway.
Soon thereafter the trail pavement begins.

Create Maps or Search for a route from millions at MapMyFitness

Today's walk was 3.41 miles, with 370 feet climbed in 1:01:16 hours, giving it a 4.0 tortoise rating on the 1.67 mile uphill portion.  500 calories were burned.

Here are the overall stats so far for 2014:

969.03 miles walked, which is 96.81% of my 2014 goal.

305:22:52 hours walked, which is 97.57% of my 2014 goal

47,565 total feet climbed 

153,445 calories burned
93.93% of the year has passed

I've walked 68 consecutive non-Sundays since my last missed day on September 20, and overall have walked on 281 of the 294 non-Sundays thus far in 2014, a 95.58% consistency rating.

The purpose of the percentages is to have a higher percentage of distance and time walked than of the year. This tells Tortoise that he is on track. Yes, this is more numbers than you are likely interested in, all Tortoise can say is he's really good at setting high goals and having them slip away because he doesn't do them every, every day.

And now for today's walking thought, originally presented in September 1993:

"As I think about our time constraints, I conclude that God has not intended that we should be able to do everything we would like to do. If there were not more to do than we are individually capable of doing, we wouldn’t have to make choices and we would never realize what we value most."

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The tortoise is smiling!