Introduction
All my life I've wanted to take up trail hiking, but could never seem to find the time or ambition to do so. Recently, I've put that interest into action and started hiking around some of the local parks located in Indianapolis, Indiana, my home town for the last three years. There are some great treasures to be seen out there that I had never known about until now! My blog, "The Amateur Hikist" is about my various adventures (more like misadventures), some of the advice that I have found helpful, and some of the pictures that I have taken along the way.
For example, the little creature you see at the right is a darling little chipmunk that I tripped across while traipsing along the trails at Holliday Park. Cute, isn't he?! He sat there, quite still, on a tree root and just watched me watch him for about five minutes. This was the closest I could get before something (probably more like someone) scared him off.
Next is a stone manuscript and a fabulous statuary ensemble, found in the same park, called "The Ruins". This find was completely unexpected. We came looking for nature shots and found some great architectural features instead. Turns out these pieces were originally from a building in New York that had been slated for demolition. The artist commissioned for this work was Elmer E. Taflinger, an Indianapolis native. The whole installation is a beautiful piece, but the waterworks are no longer functioning. In essence, it has become its name, a ruin, which is a huge shame. Hopefully someday the Indianapolis parks department will see fit to refurbish it and bring it to life again.
