Glen Cunningham Lake, NE

We took the long way!  I thought I'd be smart & try my own route to the park.  You know how I've said I don't like going to a new place with Farah in tow until I've checked it out?  Well, the last cool day - probably of the month - seemed like a good time to go.  We toured a section of Omaha - thanks to construction.  Next, we toured every entrance - each with a sign designation for; marina, camping, etc.   When we did find the final entrance - the one place for horses had no signage saying so.  I was so thankful for the Bronco's tight turning radius!

Entry sign

 It took us over an hour to get there - not like the 40-min. I was expecting.  The day had turned overcast & the humidity was lower than I expected.  Farah unloaded, took a look at the lake & started grazing.  Once she was saddled, we walked around looking for the trail?  There was a concrete path - heading out across a wetland type area.  I decided to walk her out that way - since it seemed to be the only option.  We found road apples!

Heading out on the concrete path~

The concrete turned to old paving & finally that turned to dirt just before we entered a beautiful wooded area.

Very overgrown with brush~

Overgrown, the trail was actually wet & a little muddy through here, but it was so nice to be in the timber.

Climb up~

Soon we were through it & headed up a short hill. From up on top, we could just see over the trees to the lake.

Lake View

The grass was plentiful~

Enjoying the lush grass~

The trail dropped us down onto a gravel road, we trotted along it past a parking area & found the trail again on the far side.  Now, we were right along the shore of the lake.

Farah sees a sail boat!

Again the trail crossed the path & headed up to what was the east perimeter fence line of the park.

East fence line~

We rode along this fence for a way - then dropped back into another beautiful section of wooded trail.

In the trees~

It was just so pretty & oh so pleasant to be riding without the oppressive heat!

Through the trees~

So lush & so pretty - what's left of a wonderland - now surrounded by a city.

Enjoying the green~

All too soon, we found ourselves coming out back at the trail along the lake & took it until we arrived at the campground we'd toured earlier :-)

End of the trail~

Nothing to do but turn back.

American Elderberry

The Elderberry that grows here is so different from the WA state variety.  Beautiful & edible from what I've read.

Heading back~

 Once we left the lake trail, crossing back across the gravel road, Farah picked up on a path back up the hill.  We took it & ended up at yet another camping area.  There were a few people setting up tents for the weekend.

Nice area~

Now we were up on the perimeter fence again.  Rather than take the trail we'd come out on, I decided that we'd follow the fence line.  Farah loves new places & I love riding her walk. :-)

As we entered the timber again, there was a guy wearing a lime green shirt on the far side of the fence.  He was part of a landscaping crew of at least half a dozen men who were working on the estate in the photo below.

Stunning~

This home more than rivals anything I've seen in the Redmond, Bellevue area of Washington State.  Just a short walk away - was another amazing home!

More my style :-)

I loved the timber frame style of this one.  It had a full story below, hidden by the hill & grass.  We came to a little grassy clearing & here was a Mulberry tree full of ripe fruit!  Wow!  I parked Farah under the tree & started picking, eating & picking some more!  It took me right back to my childhood, standing on my saddle & picking from Topsy's back!  I offered Farah some berries - which she refused - unlike Topsy - who ate as many as I could pick!

Ripe Mulberries!

Still following the fence, we skirted the area of timber & surprised a large doe.  She saw us before Farah saw her :-)

Whitetail deer~

These deer are so much larger than the ones we used to see in WA, she moved off before we got too much closer.  We looped around & ended up back on the concrete walkway.  The ride was over quicker than I would have liked.

Almost back~

I'm told there's a little more trail on the far side of the road - but I decided to leave that for another day & head home, wondering about Friday afternoon traffic.

Back at the trailer~

Farah hadn't broken a sweat, just under the saddle pad.  I let her graze a while, always her reward for taking me out :-)  The field hydrants were locked shut, so I filled a bucket with lake water - which she refused.  I later read that the water has E.coli bacteria.

Omaha ahead~

I decided to wise up & let google take me home!  It was so much quicker & easier than our drive up!  As you can tell from the above photo, traffic wasn't an issue.  Since Farah's stable is north of town, I could have saved myself about 15-miles if I'd just gone north from there.  I dropped her off & by the time I was home - it was another 100-mile day.

Our route~ 6.27 miles

Friends had told me they thought there were about 12-miles of trail, which was one of the reasons I wanted to check this area out.  Riding every trail I could find, minus the trails across the road, my Garmin recorded just over six.  Still - it's a beautiful park & was an enjoyable ride.  It reminded me a little of Bridle Trails, in Bellevue, WA.