Today was Eric's last day in school. I didn't want to be in his way and made this a day of solo exploration with the dogs along sections of the Circle Trail . Weather was in the mid 60s and breezy. The trees in the historic old town were still dropping their leaves.
The downtown has seen a revitalization since my last visit here in 2015. Modern restaurants, two coffee shops and a few good diners and a brewery are all new, bringing customers to this forgotten part of WF. After a quick walk in the small historic section, and a stop for a cup of pumpkin latte at the Odd Duck coffee shop, we started our walk at 10:24am at the convention center. A small ten-lot parking lot for trail users is right here.
I continued walking the Circle Trail from where I left off yesterday, just past the mile marker and the waterfall to Williams Park by the water sanitation center. The Circle Trail here follows the Wichita River, but here the river is badly trashed, with styrofoam, beer bottles and cans and plastics along the shore. It also smells of affluent. The floodline from earlier this past May is still visible. A lot of dog owners also don't clean up after their dogs. It's a shame, as this is a shaded part, with old sandstone bridges ferrying traffic above. Families with strollers, joggers, and a few cyclists passed me on this route. Whenever there was a s break in the treeline, I'd take the dogs down to the water. Minnie looked forward to every dip in the river I granted her. She had a blast. Zeke just stayed on the banks and pretended to want to play fetch.
My cellphone died after only a half-mile, so I didn't get to record the best part of the walk. The first four miles of the Circle Trail is through the poorest part of town (evident only when I drove the streets parallel to the trail to record the distance). Minnie slowed me down quite a bit, but the fact that she did a good five miles today shows her dedication. The river motivated her! We turned around at the gazebo just before the water sanitation center, then walked back the way we came. The Circle trail moves away from the Wichita River and continues through Williams Park for a mile, before it resumes its river course along the dredged canal, Holliday Creek, on the southeast side of town. This section is now totally exposed.
Zeke and I walked 2.4 miles here by ourselves, leaving Minnie to rest in the car. The cool breeze and overcast sky were ideal for a break. It looked like rain, but it held out long enough for Zeke and me to get a few more miles in before I took a beer break at the Wichita Brewing company in downtown. The place doesn't open until 3pm and I timed our arrival just right.
I was quite surprised by this brewery. It's very nice inside and offers plenty of beer on tap! Only service dogs are allowed inside, but the dogs were tired and appreciated a rest while I sampled some of the wheats. I appreciate brewers that brew more than just IPAs or sours. The brick building is an old corner department store, with plenty of space inside. The line-up the brewery has, both of flagship and seasonal beers, (even a few "experimentals") is impressive. I sat at the counter and asked one of the beer tenders, Eric, lots of questions. It wasn't very busy but I gave him plenty to do.
With waning light now engulfing me, I drove around the southwestern part of town along US277 and Kemp Boulevard, where the Sikes Senter Mall is and many more eateries. Eric and I were in the mall last time, but this time I avoided it. I noticed more chirping blackbirds in the trees. What is up with blackbirds and Texas? I finished dinner at Heff's Burgers, another Texas franchise, and tapped the evening off with two more miles along the Circle Trail just east of the Lake Wichita Park. I took Minnie on this stretch again, walking the breezy spillway in the dark, but with no one else around. I'm glad of that, as I had the dogs off leash here. I had done seven miles along the nicer sections of the Circle Trail by the time I was done for the day. I avoided the sections that veer away from any water. It was an exhausting day for the dogs, but without this Circle Trail in town to explore, I would have been bored and probably would have sat in a brewery and had more beer instead. I can do that at home!
The Circle Trail will be 24 miles once it's completed, but articles I found online say the locals are against funding any more sections. What a shame, as people need an excuse to get out and exercise. I sure took advantage of what I could of the trail while in town, and got to see the city a bit more intimately. I wouldn't have brought Minnie on this road trip had the river not been available.
http://www.wichitafallstx.gov/864/Maps
http://www.wichitafallstx.gov/86/Circle-Trail?nid=86
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