Walking The Canal Trails

We've been having small snowfalls regularly since August.

It has snowed at least once every couple of weeks since the end of summer.

Sometimes small snowfalls.

Sometimes big snowfalls.

And every time it has quickly melted away.

As I write this close to mid-January, we have no snow on the ground again.

The day I snapped these pictures (sometime in early December) there was still a good deal left, and I walked in town with Kory while LC was at what I knew would be a lengthy doctor's appointment.

We made our way through the snowy and icy sidewalks for a half mile before picking up the Canal Trail................

The Canal Trail is a actually a series of trails that once followed a canal that ran through the town of Cody.

There is no downtown canal now, but the short trail system is still a wonderful and private place to walk in the center of town.

Eventually all trails lead up the hill to the expansive complex that houses the arena, the rec center and the library.

Kory and I walked this trail often last winter, when we were still living in a tiny off-season cottage downtown, when we were still looking for a house to buy, still wondering if we would end up in Cody or some other surrounding town, and still trying to get our feet underneath us after having sold our home in Idaho and moving back to Wyoming to start our life all over again................

In the summer these trails are wide open green spaces filled with walking people walking their walking dogs.

In the winter the trails are frozen and empty spaces ripe for a woman and dog to enjoy alone....................

Climbing higher and looking out over the surrounding hills and mountains................

Along the trails there are multiple information boards.

Information, photographs and maps speaking to the history of the downtown area and the old canal system....................

Reaching the top of the Canal Trail, Kory and i found this.

Leave a book.  Take a book.

No names.  No paperwork.  No log in or log out record.

Just a small thing that appears to be working.

I took a book from here last winter.

And then returned it when I was done, along with another book.

Locals appear to enjoy having this option.................

The arena and adjoining recreation center, across the icy parking lot from where Kory and I stood.

Instead of walking across the ice, we stayed on the snow covered grass, followed along the outer edge of the parking lot and made our way across to the library complex......................

One of my favorite places to walk in town in the summer.

The library is a beautiful building completely surrounded by a man-made lake, small waterfalls, endless green space, picnic tables and wonderful landscaping.
It overlooks Heart Mountain, Cedar Mountain and Rattlesnake Mountain.

You would never guess that a major shopping complex was only two minutes away......................

In winter the lake is drained of course, and at this time of year the green space transitions into a wall of whiteness.

The trails are silent.

The trees are bare.

The place is still beautiful to walk................

Condos at the edge of the Canal Trail.

McCullough Peaks in the background.

When we were still at the cottage we did not discount any possibilities in terms of a permanent place to live.

Looking back now, it is difficult to believe that we even considered condos as a housing option.
But only briefly......................

Snowy Heart Mountain..................

Cedar on the left and Rattlesnake Mountain on the right................

Kory and I slowly wandered the snow-covered perimeter of the library, wandered back across the rec center parking lot and picked up the Canal Trail system again, heading back down to the main level of town.

One more information board found during the walk down..............

Once we arrived back at the main level of Cody my sweet dog and I slowly made our way back the way we had come.

There was no rush.

Although we had been walking for about 90 minutes LC had not called me, so I knew that he was still in with the doctor.

Routine, but time consuming things, and Kory and I headed in the direction of the doctors' office.

A bright red house seen along the way.

I have always loved this house.

Always loved the bold color choice, the historic lines, the large banks of windows, the mature trees.  All of it.

It was a good walk.

A quiet walk on a snowy and cold December day in places that both Kory and I knew well......................

All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.............Friedrich Nietzsche, Twighlight of the Idols