Peregrinations

"An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day"

I cannot find the attribute for the above quotation, but I can readily testify to the truth of it. I have been a steady morning walker for years; twenty five years of strolling back and forth to work while I was employed, and four years plus of dawn patrols since retiring. I took periodic breaks from this regimen, especially when I was struck low by the West Nile Virus in October 2021, but for the most part I have put in a couple of miles every sunrise whenever possible. My walking companion in Tucson, Rick, is as convinced of the health benefits as I am, and I am delighted to report that Ronald has joined me in this practice during our visit here in Gloucester.

Although their lovely home is well within walking distance of the small town, Ronald and Jane cannot safely make the journey on foot because the narrow channel of Thunderbolt Way forces one to walk inches off the pavement and much too close for safety. This unfortunate

feature only lasts about 100 yards, after which there is an excellent pathway leading safely alongside the road, but that 100 yards could get you killed here easily, especially with locals who seem to be in a much greater hurry than I would care to drive. Additionally, a common enough occurence here at dawn for a heavy fog to blanket this valley making a combination of hazards difficult for a waker to survive that 100 yards. As a result, Ronald gets behind the wheel of his "ute" and we drive the ridiculously short distance to the Gloucester District Park, a large green swath of cricket ovals, swimming pools, and paved walking paths that wind along the river and over open meadows. It is a great place to walk, and each morning we encounter many

locals exercising their dogs or otherwise doing the same as us: trying to prolong our septuagenarian lives. (Actually, I am a few months shy of qualifying for that label, but Ronald isn't.) Along the path are a variety of brand new excercise machines that use one's own body weight for push ups, pull ups, pull downs, leg extensions, and other tasks that can help a walker keep his or her upper torso in as good a shape as the legs. Overall it is a first class park, and pretty as a picture. Added to the novelty of such a large park in such a small town is the signage, which to this American seems particularly whimsical. We will begin our train journey next week and will have to forgo our walks, unless one gains access to the top of the passenger cars and leaps from carriage to carriage ala Jesse James. That seems a lot more dangerous than that 100 yards! As it stands we will likely have one more walk before our drive to the Newcastle airport on Friday, and then perhaps a few strolls around the Adelaide CBD prior to boarding the Ghan for Darwin. Regardless of where we walk in the mornings, I am fully expecting that all day blessing.