Red Deer Three Mile Bend and Discovery Canyon

April 20, 2009 I was fortunate to visit Red Deer with a friend of mine and walk some of the Three Mile Island Trail there. This was a leisurely 6 km walk along the bank on the Red Deer River that took about 2 hours. I have hiked this trail previously on September 22, 1998. At that time I used a Garman GPS (Government issue I think) to track my walk and I later sketched out the river and landmarks in my journal.

This is a paved trail. It is an off leash area for dogs. Judging from the number of walkers that were out on the trail in the midday I can assume that the trail is well used. Because the trail is along the Red Deer River it affords ample opportunity to observe waterfowl on the river. Mallards, Mergansers and Golden Eye were seen on this particular walk. Woodpeckers and song birds were also observed. I heard the first croaks, of the season, of the Wood Frog on this walk. There is a Canada Goose nesting on the top of a pole in the middle of a stagnant pond. I am recording these observations from memory which is generally my practice so that I can exercise my recall ability. There were also a number of butterflies out.

A perfect way to enjoy a warm spring day.