Jordan River Parkway Ride-8/1/2008

I ride my bicycle to work and back on the Jordan River Parkway. The Parkway trail winds along the Jordan River through the Salt Lake Valley. It is a beautiful stretch of green space through the center of this urban, very desert valley. Its 8 miles to work and all but two of them are on the trail. I observe the seasons changing first-hand on my daily route.

Yesterday began as a typical ride. Although daylight is delayed a little bit each day, it is still very light when I leave home at 6:45. I don my sunglasses about half way to work these days, and soon, I won't need them until the trip home.

About two miles into the ride, I heard the sound of a large startled animal. A familiar sound you often hear hiking in the mountains. The sound of an agile creature jumping from a resting position to four alert feet, then the thump, thump, thump of it bounding a few steps, then the silence when the animal freezes to pay attention what startled him in the first place.
Right in the middle of the asphalt trail in front of me was a four-point buck looking right at me! He was beautiful. His antlers weren’t wide, but very high, probably 6 to 8 inches above the top of his ears. They were covered in velvet, which he hadn’t begun shredding, yet. His coat was the tawny tan that gave rise to the term buckskin, and he appeared well-fed and healthy. He wasn’t about to stick around long enough for me to figure out how to use the camera on my cell phone. He was with a doe. She stayed in the thick brush near the river’s edge. The exchange took only seconds, but seeing the pair restored my faith in the healing power of nature. I’ve been renewed.