I'll miss the Arb

*above the post note: I wrote this post last week before the move and just didn't get it posted. So it refers to the move in the future tense instead of the past. Going through and changing that was a hassle, so I left it. *   

I am pretty out of shape.  Not as bad as I could be, but I'm not where I'd like to be.  So, in the last year or two, I have taken up running.  There was a big break in the middle where it was too cold to run outside, or when Kate was super-pregnant, so I guess I haven't been terribly consistent.  But I have enjoyed it.

One thing that has made running less of a chore and more something I can enjoy is the Arb.  Nichols Arboretum.

Meh.  Close enough

The Arb is one thing I will really miss when we leave Ann Arbor.  It's just a few minutes' walk from my lab, so I try to go running there a couple times a week.  Some weeks are more successful than others, but I always try.  Last week, while I was on a run, I stopped for some pictures so I can remember how beautiful this place is.

I usually enter the Arb here, where I get to walk through cultivated gardens.

Once I'm in the Arb proper, there is a paved path that runs along the Huron River.

Right along that path there are a couple of places to stop and stretch or catch my breath

I love the Arb because there are big, paved paths...

...and little paths that branch off and go interesting places.

There are fields of wildflowers and scrub with paths just mowed through.

As you run, you see flowers and trees and hear the sound of the Huron.

And it's secluded enough that you often run into wildlife.

Most of all, I just love being outside, enjoying the view while I run.  It's so much better than running through a neighborhood or on a treadmill.  

I love the Arb.  I'll miss the Arb.  The only thing I don't like: since it's down in a river basin, you have to go down a big hill right at the beginning.  Which means going up a big hill at the end.