Ravine Exploration

Since the snow has melted Ryan and I have discovered that we have a great system of trails running through a ravine not far from our apartment. We've been walking, biking and geocaching through the area many times now and it's a blast. We discover new things all the time.

We recently found a few beaver dams and even got to see the occupants! I don't think I've ever seen a beaver before so spotting two in one day was pretty neat.

I think my favorite thing that we've discovered is a completely overgrown campground. Not only has nature taken over, but the city has grown around it as well. I imagine this space would have been a bit further from the hustle and bustle in it's day.

I particularly like this set of stairs that are being swallowed by growth and forgotten by people.

We've walked and ridden our bikes around these areas enough times now that I feel confident that I won't get lost. I know how to get places and then back home again, though we have been trapped within tangles of trees and unable to find geocaches along the way!

This whole area is a hot spot for families with young children to go geocaching. All the turns and bends in the path, undeveloped green space, trees and hills make this area perfect for hiding caches and easily accessible for the little ones. We've seen tons of groups out hunting for their treasures along our way.

We found one specific little man-made "lake" in the middle of a neighborhood and I fell in love with it. A perfect piece of nature within the city, even if it's fake. Every time we go through the area I can't help but listen to the Red-Wing Blackbirds that have made this their home, calling out to each other and filling the air with sweet songs.

Ryan likes to tell me that he will be a birdwatcher in his retirement.

I'm gathering that a lot of the people who have houses backing onto the ravine like to watch the different birds as well because there a sweet little bird houses in plenty of the trees along the path. Some of them even have names painted on.

I can't get enough of our little area and I'm always looking forward to going back out to explore further. Maybe once I've worked myself up to running that 10km I talked about I'll go around here, it sure beats sidewalks and traffic.

If you know of any other areas in Edmonton like this I would love to hear about them!