Eleven at the Lake

Yesterday morning Mom and I knocked off our 11 mile walk around Lake Shawnee. I'd never really been around the entire lake, so I was looking forward to seeing all it had to offer while walking the new hike/bike trail, which was supposed to go all the way around. We drove to the lake and got there just after 7:00 a.m., when the weather was absolutely beautiful. It was only about 60 degrees and there was a wonderful breeze. We guessed the trail was about 7 miles total, so we found a parking lot and headed out around the baseball fields and across the dam. The view of the early morning sun on the lake was just beautiful! Of course I forgot, again, to bring my camera along, and this would have been the perfect spot for lots of pictures! We resorted to taking a cell phone picture with the cute little ducks.

One of the most beautiful areas around the lake that made me most regret that I'd forgotten a camera was the botanical gardens on the west side. I found one picture on the web that gives you a tiny glimpse of how beautiful this area is, so picture this scene times about 100. There are TONS of beautifully landscaped flower gardens and walkways all around. There are gazebos, bridges, streams, benches and all sorts of other viewing areas that make it the place perfect for photos. In fact, there were several professional photographers there taking family pictures! The area was so beautiful. I told Mom we are definitely going back next week and I'm bringing the good camera! I did take this one picture with the cell phone that might give you an idea of the beautiful landscape around there.

After walking through the flower gardens we headed back down the main trail, passing boat ramps, the "junior" lake, tennis courts, play areas, shelters, and fishing areas until we came to the golf course. After walking along the golf course for a while, the trail abruptly came to an end. We followed the road for a little while, and then saw a sidewalk over to the right, so we decided to take it. We had no idea where it went, but we followed it up a hill and into a really nice residential neighborhood. We wound through this neighborhood for a little while until our sidewalk again came to an end. As we pondered where to go and what to do, I noticed that my Garmin Forerunner said we'd gone exactly 5.55 miles, which meant we were exactly half way done with our walk. Even though we were running a little low on water and snacks (we'd planned to go back to the car and refuel in 7 miles) I suggested we just head back the way we came, so that we'd get back to the car in exactly 11 miles.

Looking back, this probably wasn't the smartest idea, because it began to get really hot, really quick. After tracing our steps back in the other direction we walked for a couple more miles until we found a beautiful shady spot to sit and have the couple of protein bars that Mom had smartly packed. We changed socks and did a little stretching, and then after about 15 minutes we headed back out onto the trail. We walked back through the flower gardens a little later, took a quick break to watch the sailboats dancing around the water, and then finished up the last 3 or 4 miles. With about 2 miles left, as we were rationing what little water we had, Mom started getting a little lightheaded, but we took a quick rest in the shade and I made her remove the hat that was trapping all heat in her body. That helped quite a bit, and we finished up our last couple of miles just 4 hours after we started. We slowed down quite a bit at the end, but it was understandable since it was 86 degrees by this time!

Overall we had a wonderful experience at Lake Shawnee and I'd totally recommend going there if you get the chance. It's not at all what I imagined when I thought of a lake in Topeka! :)