Nature Journal: Part 5

            On October 1st, my roommate and I decided to rent a bike from Fort Worth Bicycle and explore the Trinity Trail. We picked up our bikes from the location of campus and started down University. On our way down University, I took a second to stop by the log cabin village across from the Fort Worth Zoo. I had always driven by it before but never took the time to stop and see what it was about. The log cabins were surrounded by trees and there what looked to be farming plots within the area. After leaving the log cabin village, we continued to bike down University where there were two huge pieces of open grassland on either side. Once we made it to the bridge, we took a left and started towards Press Café. There were other bikers, runners, and walkers on the trail. Some of the people walking and running even had their dogs with them. Within a quarter mile, the trail split into a gravel road and a concrete road. I chose to follow the gravel road because it took you right underneath the trees. The shade was nice, and the view was great. On the other side of the river you could see the back holes of Colonial Golf Course. It really was picturesque. The rest of the way to Press Café was pretty similar. The trail was surrounded by trees on the right side and the river was on the left. However, once we got closer to Clearfork, we stumbled across a pasture with cows in it. I was surprised to see anything like this so close to TCU not to mention right next to a large commercial development. Although I could only see three cows, I did see one calf. They were all grazing in a pasture that seemed to extend so far into the trees I couldn’t see where it ended. I took a second and got some water at Press Café and looked around. A closer analysis of the river showed that two parts of the Trinity merged into one at this very location. We proceeded to continue on past Press Café until we reached another shopping development. Unlike the earlier portion of the river, this portion had more trees and seemed to be less developed until an abrupt stop at a large bridge. Overall, I think biking provided me with the unique opportunity to take in all the Trinity Trail has to offer. Although I have run the Trinity many times before, I have usually been so focused on my running that I forgot to take a look around and take it all in.