Thursday June 21st 2018

It’s officially summer. The weather has been “summer like” for the last month. Today was no exception. The temperature topped out around 90 with high humidity early and drier conditions late in the day. Yesterday’s late in the day rain ended with the day. The sound of rain on the roof of the RV was gone by midnight. I woke up to bright sunshine this morning.

A deer and her fawn walking along the trail ahead of me. This image is zoomed and cropped. I didn’t get very close before they turned into the woods.

I returned to the Two Rivers park with my bicycle this morning. My goal was to ride the trails in the park and follow the trails east along the Arkansas River toward downtown Little Rock. Most of the trail is tree lined and there were enough clouds in the sky that I didn’t think the heat would be a problem. I would have been fine if I’d set a slow pace and remembered to drink water. As it was I only got to the “Big Dam Bridge” before I was feeling the heat. I sat under a tree opposite the Murray Dam and sipped my water for fifteen minutes or so. My return trip was at a slower pace with more water breaks. I wasn’t going to risk going further today.

Interstate 430 over the Arkansas River.

Pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the Little Maumelle River just before it joins the Arkansas River.

The “Big Dam Bridge” pedestrian bridge above the Murray Dam.

The “Big Dam Bridge”, the Murray Dam and the Murray Lock in the foreground.

On the ride I passed the swamp I watched the deer in on Tuesday. There were two deer and several birds in the swamp today. Further down the trail I started to ride up on a deer with her fawn. I stopped to take a picture from a good distance away. They got spooked and went off the trail into the woods. It is amazing that a relatively small area between two rivers near the build up of a big city has so many deer.

Two deer and several birds in the swamp.

I rode about six miles overall and could have kept going when I got back to the car. Between the animals and the great views of the river it was a nice ride. Tomorrow I’ll be more prepared and will take it slower. The chance to see more deer and more of the river is drawing me back.

Blossom of the Day.