Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is a time of giving thanks, feasting and reaffirming long held traditions. Thanksgiving 2020 may be different for a lot of people due to COVID19.
Hopefully everyone can safely spend quality time with friends & family on this most American Holiday. Has anyone found an “aroma option” on Zoom?
Part of our family tradition is being tortured by the delicious fragrance of roast turkey and apple pie for what seems like days, before you can actually sit down and eat.
If you need a breather between the main feast and a round of desserts, why not cruise out to Quartz Mountain? Tour the park, check out the lake level (~17%), admire the deer grazing, stroll the beach or amble around the Cedar Valley Interpretive Trail.
Then it’ll be: Bring on the pie!
If thirds on desert or maybe an extra helping of sweet potato casserole have you in need of a longer stroll, the Heart Healthy trail (previously known as the paved bicycle trail) might just do the trick.
It is just over one and a half miles long (one way), stretching from the paddle boat parking lot to near the intersection of SH 44 & SH 44A. This trail has gentle hills and slight curves that provide some anticipation as to what might be just out of sight.
Will there be a good-sized buck, a flock of turkeys or a roadrunner around the next bend? Several benches along the trail provide the perfect excuse to stop and observe. You’re not resting- you’re waiting for wildlife!
Please be aware most of the bathrooms at Quartz Mountain are winterized- including the restroom near the paddle boats. The only bathroom in the Main Park that remains open is the one in Scissortail Campground. The Park Office is open 7AM to 8PM, seven days a week, so that bathroom is also available.
If you start at the Park Office the paved trail is 2 miles one way and 4 miles round trip. That definitely earns more pie!
If some in the family have just too much energy for a walk, amble or stroll, a good hike or climb may be in order. With the start of deer season a few of the more challenging trails at Quartz Mountain are closed (Sunset, Black Jack Pass and Rock Creek Canyon) due to hunting on nearby private property.
However, Quartz Mountain still has some great trails that will provide the challenge some need.
The New Horizon Trail, right up the hill from the Park Office, climbs almost 500 feet in less than a half a mile. A great view of the park, golf course and Lake Altus-Lugert await those who scale its heights. Access to the Lodge Complex is restricted this Thanksgiving. The Lodge is being prepped for major renovations.
Spend some time quietly observing the mountains from near the top of any peak for a unique perspective. You MIGHT even be lucky enough to view a bald eagle or two roosting in a nearby tree. Or soaring very nearby.
To SEE a bald eagle-our National Symbol, free in the wild, for yourself, on Thanksgiving Day… wouldn’t that be another thing worth giving thanks for?
Please have a Safe & Happy Thanksgiving.