Discovering Your Town Series: The Trail at the Woods, Allen

It's easy to miss the entrance to The Trail at the Woods if you blink too fast. The entrance is in a suburban residential community, right off of a main thoroughfare into the community. 

The trail starts off Rollins Dr, between Longwood and Belhaven Dr. You are plunged right away into a dense hardwood forest. The homes are just a stone's throw away but the dense, lush forest simply transports you to a faraway place. 

The trail is a wide paved path but halfway through, you can stroll through smaller, dirt paths that are basically interpretive trails. These are well marked and have informative signage that identifies the trees and plant life in that area. These rough trails are the best part of the Trail at the Woods as they take you deeper into the woodlands and close to Rowlett Creek. There are several lookout points to take in the pretty creek views. 

The Wetland trail snakes through swampy land that is important to the ecosystem of this area. There is a small, rough hewn amphitheater with chunky stone benches - a great place to have a campfire if you want to venture out for a night hike and experience the woodlands after dark. Another interpretive trail is the Pecan Grove trail  - a  dense, wooded trail that loops around back to the main trail.

You can continue on the main trail for about 1/ 2 a mile until it reaches Alma Dr. Once past Alma, the trail connects eventually to the Connemara Nature Preserve, a 72 acre natural habitat filled that is abundant in wildlife, birds, and plant life. But that will be another post.

Stone benches scattered through the trail to rest and experience the habitat

Rowlett Creek Views

Amphitheater

Discovering my town series: Goar Park and Williams Park, Dallas

Goar Park is one of many area parks maintained by the City of Dallas. It is located in the Highland Park area which is a rather exclusive residential community in the metroplex. 

I started my walk at the Highland Park Presbyterian Church which is a beautiful Gothic Revival structure built in 1920s. Walking East from the church you will reach Williams Park, a small urban grassy knoll overlooking a pretty pond. 

Williams Park is home to the iconic LOVE sculpture created by political pop artist Robert Indiana. This piece is on loan from Pauline and Austin Neuhoff and the city of Dallas and its residents are fortunate to be able to enjoy this public art installation. 

As you stroll along the pond, south on Williams Parkway, you will pass the beautiful Highland Park City hall and city offices, well manicured lawns and tastefully landscaped grounds. The City Hall grounds are landscaped with a lovely water feature that meanders along to Goar Park.

Goar Park has large, open grassy areas and a pretty gazebo that stands at the center of the park. This is a popular place for photo shoots. At night,the gazebo is beautifully lit and makes you want to linger and enjoy the quiet, evening hours.

Williams Park and Goar parks are two small parks but it's surrounded by beautiful residential homes that back to Turtle Creek. If you're looking for a short walk along a pretty creek with beautiful landscaping and the chance to enjoy some iconic art installation, head to Goar Park and Williams Park.

Highland Park Presbyterian Church

Iconic public art installation by Robert Indiana

The Gazebo at Goar Park

Turtle Creek

Williams Park

Water feature at City Hall

Beautifully lit gazebo at dusk

Discovering my town series: Cottonwood Creek Trail, Allen

The city of Allen has some of the most beautiful trails in Collin County.
Cottonwood Creek Trail is a 7.5 mile trail that runs through wooded areas, parks, and residential neighborhoods.  Heading out from the northern end of the trail from Hwy 121, the trail takes you through towering trees lining Cottonwood Creek that evokes an East coast feel. It continues across busy Stacy Road and the terrain changes to the familiar Texas prairie landscape as it approaches the US-75 underpass.

Past US 75, the trail traverses through a small tract of wooded land before reaching an old unused railroad. This is a high point of the trail, especially for the photo buffs who will enjoy the vibrant graffiti backdrop on the posts and structure supporting the railroad. If you are athletically inclined, you can also climb up to the railway track for some cute albeit cliched pictures.

Cottonwood Creek trail continues from the abandoned railroad to take you to the Allen Stone Dam - a landmark site and a tribute to Allen's early history and growth. The Allen Stone Dam was constructed in 1874 by the Houston and Texas Central Railway Company to provide water supply to steam locomotives. Subsequently a larger dam was constructed near what is now Exchange Parkway to service more rail traffic and the old dam was submerged and forgotten. Flood waters eventually breached the higher dam and lowered the water level which revealed the old stone structure. The Dam is designated as a Texas State Archaeological landmark and listed on the National Register of historic places.

From Allen Station the trail takes on an urban path along soft ball fields, a skateboard park, and eventually ends at the Allen Heritage Village.

So, next time, when you have guests and are wondering how to entertain them don't forget that you can provide them with a a glimpse into our very own bit of local history and culture right here in Allen.

I used to be disappointed that there was not much to explore in the DFW area other than the Sixth Floor Museum and the Reunion Center.  But ever since I started scouting my city and the neighboring towns for nature trails, I began to discover a wealth of natural beauty, woodlands, pristine lakes and a whole new way to observe and experience the local history.

Graffiti at the railroad on Cottonwood Creek Trail

Abandoned railroad  - Cottonwood Creek trail

Old Stone Dam - Allen Water Station

Beautiful bridges across Cottonwood Creek

Monday Musings

Let's start the week with those positive energies that can uplift and make a tangible difference. I read somewhere that while our life may be fleeting, WE are powerful. So let's change the frequency with our thoughts and actions every minute of every day.

Vacation Series: Kalady and Vembanad, Kerala

Recent trips to India have involved some travel and discovering some interesting places. One such visit was a short but lovely trip to Kerala to spend 2 days by Lake Vembanad.

We began the trip by flying into Cochin. We hired a car to drive us to Vembanad which was less than a 2 hour drive. Before we left Cochin we stopped at Kalady, the birthplace of a spiritual guru, Adi Shankara. The serene temple on the banks of the Periyar river surrounded by lush, softly swaying palm trees and views of the beautiful Shankara bridge in the distance transports you to a different era.

Heading out of Kalady we stopped for lunch at an authentic Kerala cuisine place. The spread, served on a banana leaf was lip smacking good and should not be missed if you're ever in Kerala.

By late afternoon we reached our boutique hotel on the banks of Lake Vembanad. It was just amazing water views for miles and miles as far as your eyes could see.The Vemabanad house is a very charming home repurposed into a hotel and  built in the authentic Kerala architectural style. Clay tiled roofs, open sweeping verandahs, warm wooden beams on the ceiling of each room, and thoughtfully curated furniture and accessories that reflected the warmth and care of the hostess characterized this lovely home. The lush landscape was dotted with towering coconut trees and various flowering orchids and hibiscus, and meandering streams in the garden with charming benches, swings, and hammocks scattered throughout the property. We felt like we didn't need to go anywhere at all - this was enough and more.

Our first evening as spent visiting the famous Krishna temple in Alapuzha where we arrived just in time for the elaborate rituals that signify the evening Aarthi. The walls of the temple are lined with small niches that are lit up with oil lamps during festive days. Unfortunately that evening was not one of the festive days. 

Waking up to a glorious sunrise on the lake and drinking hot coffee on the verandah with loved ones was the one of the best moments of the trip.

No trip to Kerala is complete without cruising the backwaters and we headed to Alleppey to hop on to a shikara to tour the canals. A shikara is a comfortable water taxi,  with colorful upholstered seats to lounge in and a knowledgeable driver who took us through various canals. We were able to view many local scenes, people going about their chores and everyday life, as we rode past their houses on the edge of the canal. 

We came back to the city and visited a few looms where some exquisite Kerala sarees were being woven by master weavers, shopped for souvenirs and of course, we couldn't go back without getting loads of delicious plantain chips.

On our way back to the hotel we stopped briefly at Marari beach  - miles of sand lined with tall coconut trees and a peaceful, laid back vibe.

Our last evening of the vacation was spent relaxing at Vembanad House, catching the golden rays of sunset, and enjoying a delicious meal prepared by our hostess.

There's so much more to see and experience but that's for another time as it was time to head home the next day.

Scroll down for more pics of this little slice of heaven on earth.

Kerala Backwaters

Morning sunrise at Lake Vembanad

Views from Vembanad House

Cruising the backwaters on the shikara

Discovering your town: Towne Lake, McKinney

Another fabulous trail in the DFW area is Towne Lake in McKinney. The large lake attracts a few shorebirds like the great blue heron, night heron, snow geese and of course the mallard ducks. So if you're a birder this would be a great place to get those bird pictures.

Wilson Creek Nature Trail

One of the other neat features of this park is the Wilson Creek nature trail that also houses a small meditation garden. This short trail meanders through the woods and makes you feel like you are far away from civilization.

This park is actually part of a 102 acre Towne Lake Recreation area that houses basketball and volleyball courts and picnic areas. The 1.3 mile trail around the lake is paved and easy to traverse and for a birder like me, the shore birds that congregate here are a plus.

Towne Lake

Snow goose

Night Heron

If you are a resident in the DFW area, this is definitely a great place to enjoy the outdoors and get the much needed Vitamin N(ature).

Discovering my Town Series: Bethany Lakes Park, Allen

The city of Allen has a network of gorgeous trails and parks and Bethany Lakes is one of those gems - an oasis  in the middle of a busy town.
This is a 40 acre park with all the facilities like sports and picnic sites. But what I love about this place are the picturesque ponds, trails, the board walk, and the variety of birds that the foliage and the water body attracts.

A serene pond at sunset

The resident Great Blue heron

Snow Goose

Seagulls

Norther Shoveler

Ring Necked Duck

Widgeon

One of the best times to visit is during sunset. The beauty of the amazing Texas sunsets are magnified in this picturesque park. The trails are rather short but if you are looking to enjoy the great weather, the wildlife and take in the sunset then this is the perfect spot for you.