I stumbled upon a new park today, all because I walked east instead of west on the towpath leading out of Fairport. I was headed back toward the village when a dirt side path caught my eye. I walked down it a few steps, but couldn’t see very far. I was intrigued and kept on walking. It had pulled me in. 

Frederick Law Olmsted knew about this effect. That’s how he designed Highland Park. He envisioned the park as a series of outdoor rooms with connecting breaks in the foliage that drew you from one room to the next.

So I continued on the new path, and after a few minutes I came to an observation deck out over a marsh. It wasn’t ’til I got to the end of the trail that I saw the sign that named this Thomas Creek Marshland Trail. Another sign claimed that this is what all of western New York looked like in the days that the Erie Canal was being built. I didn’t see any animals, but the wildflowers and birds were beautiful. I was looking around for my blue heron friend, but he wasn’t there either.

Rochester has so many little pockets of nature just steps off the pavement. Take a few minutes to enjoy one today. 

Day 234: 11,874 Steps YTD: 2,111,165 Steps Goal: 2,200,000 Steps