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Mile 766.  Tortoise arrived a little early to meet with his friends at 3gr.la, which gave him the opportunity to go for a little walk in Koreatown.  Walking thought was by Randall Bennett ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 638.  This afternoon Lou found himself leaving Orange County on his way to Rancho Cucamonga.  Along the way, he stopped and walked miles 22 and 23 of the Santa Ana River trail in both directions.  He has now completed it from the ocean inland as far as where Yorba Linda Blvd. becomes Weir Canyon Rd.  And the river actually has water in it!  The day's walking thought was by Larry Wilson ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 408.  A coast to coast walk on this narrow body of land that Satellite Beach sits on.  With the advent of the Intracoastal Waterway, Lou supposes it is now technically an island.  What Tortoise did today was go to the beach one more time with the Ragozzines, then walk back to their house by his usual "let's find a magical mystery tour" route finding method.  Walking thought was by Mary Cook ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 405.  Walked with the Ragozzine grandchildren to the beach as the prepare to say goodbye to Satellite Beach.  How fun has it been for them to be in walking distance to the ocean!  Sure was fun for Grandpa to share this afternoon with them there!  The thought of the day was by Ann Dibb ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 403.  Making memories with Ledge!  Today's Tortoise walk was along the beach near St. Augustine..  Lou believes it was his first recorded walk utilizing flip-flops!  There's lots of pictures here of two days of memories, including the walk.  Plus the thought, by Thomas Monson ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 245.  Long walk last night, short one this morning.  Lou took Ledge's suggestion and checked out the new section of The Tracks at Brea Trail.  It is very nice.  The walking lane is hard packed dirt making for a most pleasant experience.  The adjacent bike line is nice too.  The day's walking thought was by Cheryl Esplin ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 243.  Tortoise finished work for the day about 6 pm, and headed to where Brookhurst meets Pacific Coast Highway and started walking the Huntington Beach Bike Trail.  Hands down, this is the busiest trail Lou has walked.  Maximum speed limit for bikes is 10 miles per hour, dropping to 5 when walkers are present, which appears to be always.  Beach bikes with large tires were the order of the day, as were skateboarders, runners ... and people just plain hanging out.  It's a fun place to be!

There's many pictures for your viewing pleasure.  Following them, and the numbers of the day, Thomas Monson provides a story and an accompanying thought ...

Cheerio!

16-65

Mile 165.  Greetings from mile 7 of the San Gabriel River Trail, where bicyclists and walkers share the path with a smile!  Tortoise stuck to the section to the right of the solid white line, leaving the middle section for those pedaling by.  Los Angeles County paints the miles on its paths every quarter mile, and Lou happily snapped pictures at each one he passed ... in both directions.  That and the day's walking thought by Thomas Monson are on tap for you ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 87.  Tortoise's last appointment of the day before returning home was in Rialto.  This town added another 1.25 miles to the Pacific Electric Trail in 2015, from its western border with Fontana, on Maple Avenue, east to Cactus Avenue.  Lou previously walked this trail in both directions in segments from the Los Angeles county line in Claremont east through Montclair, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, and Fontana.  This was a great opportunity to walk the new section and once again be able to say he had walked the whole trail, now 21 miles long.

The mountain in the distance is San Gorgonio, known to locals as Old Greyback, highest in southern California at 11,500 feet.  There's more pictures of it and the PE trail, along with the day's walking thought by Russell Ballard ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 1,066.  It's plenty cold in the mornings, and most of the time in the afternoons these days.  But for one December afternoon, Tortoise was comfortable walking in a long sleeved shirt.  No coat, no beanie, no scarf, no gloves.  He was in Mesquite for work appointments, and when they were done, he headed out on a loop of that city's trails, enjoying the sunshine, no wind, and temperatures in the low 50s.  Today's walking thought is by Linda Reeves ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 1,020.  Another day of tax update classes for Lou, this time in the Dixie Center.  Afterwards, Tortoise walked under the Dixie Drive bridge, got on the Virgin River trail and went just past the Riverside Drive trailhead before turning back.  The waning sunset view of the river shown above was taken there.  There's some other nice pictures as well, including some outside the well decorated Dixie Center, currently hosting the yearly Dickens Festival that attracts far greater interest than the annual two day Utah State University tax update school.  Today's walking thought is by Hugo Martinez ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 1,000.  Bluejay was the closest to figure out what Tortoise was trying to do in the past few weeks on his goal for this year -- he thought Tortoise was trying to do it before December 1.  Having as much of Lou's family to enjoy it with him was his motivator to try to do it today ... before some return to their homes after Thanksgiving.  Tortoise enjoyed Bluejay's singing (see yesterday's comments) over this happy day.

Lou picked the warmest (44 degrees), calmest part of the day to do his one thousandth mile by going a half mile northeast from the Crosby Family Confluence Park with Floryne, Becca, Josh, Ethan, Kate, Riley, and Maude.  They then turned around and retraced their steps.  Lots of celebratory pictures when you click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

15-269

Mile 783.  Tortoise is not sure what image comes to your mind when you think of Las Vegas, but he is fairly confident that this picture of the bridge joining the Cedar Drainage trail with the Vegas Wash trail is not it.  Lou is glad to be of service in expanding your horizons!  It was a hot afternoon, even for late September, and Tortoise struggled to complete this walk.  He suggests bringing a full liter of water, having rationed a half liter and feeling the effects of it.  Lou did take lots of pictures and is confident you will enjoy them, so here they are ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 420.  Tortoise got to an appointment in Santa Fe Springs a little early, so he snuck in most of the day's walk then.  Then on his way home Lou exercised extra resistance, stopping at the Wendy's on Roy Rogers Drive in Victorville where he could get a grilled chicken sandwich and substitute chili for the fries, rather than eating the quite delicious offerings at the nearby In-N-Out.  This after filling up for gas at the Costco for the low, low price (by California standards) of $3.499 and finishing up the rest of his walk in their parking lot.

For an additional picture, additional details, and the day's walking thought by Russell Nelson, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 418.  Tortoise previously walked The Strand in Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach, then discovered it was part of the Marvin Braude Trail that follows the coastline as far north as Santa Monica, so he started making his way that direction.   Today he was closer to Torrance, so it was a good day to find the beginning point of the trail adjacent to Miramar Park, pictured above with the Palos Verdes Peninsula in the background.  From there, Lou walked through the Redondo Beach Pier up to the starting point of The Strand before returning.

For more pictures, a map, and the day's walking thought by Dallin Oaks , please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

15-148

Mile 412.  Tortoise headed over to continue walking the San Gabriel River Trail on his way between appointments, this time covering from trail mile 23 to 20.75 in both directions plus connections off trail to a parking place.  This trail segment is near two heavily traveled freeways, Interstate 605 and State Route 60, but what Lou saw along the way was the Whittier Narrows Nature Reserve, a dam, lots of foliage, and the Pico Rivera Golf Course.  The Golf Course has a welcoming sign on the trail offering free water along with various menu items.

For more pictures, a map, and today's walking thought by Stephen West and dedicated by Tortoise to ... The Ledge, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 239.  Tortoise celebrated pi day by walking pi/2 miles on the Pacific Electric trail beginning at the historic Etiwanda station, then retracing his steps.  Lots of other people had the same idea, as you will see in Lou's pictures ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 236.  Another part of a continuing slow effort to catch up on posts from past days when walks happened but writing didn't.  This one is from March 13, 2015 ...when Lou took a break from business in California and walked two miles of the Pacific Electric Trail beginning at the current eastern trail end and walking west to Sierra Avenue in Fontana before retracing his steps.  Walking thought is by Jack Goaslind ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 205.  Tortoise snuck in a walk along the beach this morning before getting on his plane home.  His path was the Marvin Braude Trail, miles 9.75 to 11.5 in both directions, which had ocean to the west and a hill on the east separating him from the Los Angeles International Airport.  For more pictures, a map, other details, and the day's walking thought by Elaine Jack, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

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Mile 201.  Tortoise continued on the San Gabriel River Trail today, this time from miles 23 to 25 starting from Peck Road near the interchange of the 60 and 60 freeways in South El Monte, CA.  For more pictures, a map, other details, and the day's walking thought by Joseph B. Wirthlin, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!