what took me so long?

i knew it'd been awhile, but three months? egads. i'd love to tell you my hiatus was due to extensive world travel (ok, spain and morocco) or my whirlwind romance with val kilmer (who won't even return my calls), but it's actually something far less exciting: i've become horribly lazy.

ok- maybe not that lazy, but after taking work, sleep, and this new treadmill habit i've developed (so as not to scare small children in the event i wind up on a beach in a bikini), i've got about an hour and a half of free time daily....and since it takes me a while to pound out a post, i'm afriad the blog has fallen by the wayside. (at least the porno spam has settled down a little, though.)

anyway, i recently read in some women's fitness magazine (either shape or self- i have subscriptions to both) about the hazards of developing "treadmill butt". from what i recall from the blurb in the magazine, since one uses a slightly different motion on the treadmill than when pounding pavement (more of a "bounding" to avoid flying off the back of the treadmill, as opposed to striding to actually propel oneself forward), too much treadmill time can lead to a flat butt.

so, since i'm on the treadmill several times a week (though at an incline, which hopefully helps to combat the problem), i've been going hiking/walking after work on saturdays. since SO has been unavailable the last couple of weeks, i've spent a couple of hours after my saturday shift walking a 3-mile stretch of the three rivers greenway, which i can access on my way home from work. (to borrow from the church lady- which is only appropriate on a sunday, i suppose- how conveeeeeenient.)

here's a handy map for your reference:



i've been parking at the dams and lock at the northern end of the trail,




and walking south, toward (and a little bit beyond, actually) the remains of the state penitentiary and the waterworks (to the right and left in the photo below, respectively)



i'd love to go further on the trail, but it crosses an active power plant, which is closed on the weekends, as i was informed by a helpful park ranger at the beginning of my walk, right after he crossed my path as i was walking out of the wrong restroom. (to be fair, i'd only glanced at the sign, and while i wondered why the seat is up and there wasn't any toilet paper floating in the yellow water, i decided there must have been a line to the men's room (i know, i know- like that ever happens) and someone didn't want to wait.)

it took me about two hours to cover the six miles, though when you factor in the time spent snapping 76 photos (really? i figured i had 20, maybe 25 at the most), i guess that's not too bad.

some other favorites:

wildlife sightings


turtles along the greenway. according to a sign i found, there are at least three different kinds of turtles in the area, including softshell turtles. however, i didn't get close enough to any of them to determine exactly what type they were, aside from "brownish"


this bird was hanging out on the railing across the waterworks levee. i'm no ornithologist*, but i'm guessing it's a crane....


this snake was sunning itself across the sidewalk during my walk back to the dam. i'm not a fan of snakes, but i like to think i've grown- i no longer shriek and run in the other direction when i see one. i'm not sure what this one was, but it didn't have a rattle, white mouth, or red bands, so i figure it was pretty harmless. wish i'd thought to whip out the camera sooner, so i could've gotten the whole thing on film....er....in pixels.

bridges over troubled(?) water


pair of hwy 126 bridges, heading out of downtown columbia. i liked the lines of this when i took it, but must've shifted slightly when i snapped the shot. guess i'll have to take the camera with me next time and try it again.....


broad river road bridge. the original was burned during sherman's march through columbia. i have no idea when this one was built...perhaps at some point, when i have free time or something, i'll look it up.


*i had to look it up, because all that came to mind was "herpetologist", which, contrary to popular belief, is not a scientist who incorporates valtrex into their studies, but one who studies reptiles.