Ducks Unlimited Boardwalk
Oct
12
Written by:
10/12/2011 8:51 AM
“ …over the boardwalk…out in the sun...”
Okay so I took a little liberty with the words; I took a lot of liberty in actually singing it, but I’m sure it sounded fine as I was outside in the fresh air with my little guy and no one else to hear me other than the odd duck and micro-organism we were reading about on the Ducks Unlimited Boardwalk. At least I hope that’s all who heard me.
On such a nice sunny day we decided an outdoor activity was required, so we parked at the Bless Shelter at the end of Rodeo Drive in Riel Park, and walked along the Red Willow Trail sidestepping numerous grasshoppers to the viewing platform. Stopped and looked through the scope to “see what we could see” which wasn’t “the other side of the mountain” but mostly sky and water, and then moved on through a patch of gravel onto the newly finished Boardwalk.
It was a great adventure to clump along and read the well spaced information boards on the different plant species, fish, birds and other inhabitants of the wetlands. The wetlands we discovered are truly an important part of our eco-system that is not recognized as such for the most part. As the one sign states, they are being paved over for residential and commercial growth to a great extent, without any thought to their value (think most recently of flooding in urban areas as an example). The Ducks Unlimited boardwalk should make more people aware of this at any rate. Enough soapbox-ing and back to our walk.
We forgot ours back in the car, but should you want to there are a number of bench-like spaces to sit and have a snack or simply a quiet pause along the way and take in the surroundings. It is not an overly long walk, but a great experience and definitely accessible to anyone in any mode of transportation. A wonderful activity to do before it gets too cold out and we have to wait for spring. Go visit the ducks!
Written by: Michelle Sware
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