Today was pretty much beautiful... gorgeous weather - sunshine, a few high clouds, and a warm 64 degrees. Not having anything required to do, I decided to go up to Tempe Town Lake area and go for a jog. I planned to park in AreaLot 59, but missed the turn-in and abruptly decided that I should go to the north bank, since I'd never been there. So on and around I went, not sure exactly where I was going. I was impressed by the signage, quite a bit and pretty clear. So I parked under Mill Ave. put on my runnin' shoes and took off down the trail. Now we just got 1.5-2 inches of rain Friday/Saturday (which may not sound like a lot for those of you who aren't desert rats - but, that's about a quarter of our annual rainfall). So, the trail immediately next to the "lake" was pretty wet (it's sand), so I had to run along the upper trail. Now the signs along the path, not so good. The path splits at a Y, and there's no sign describing which path goes where. So I ended up running the wrong away away from the lake, along a path which led to a nice park that had a doggy pin where you could let your dogs go and play with other dogs and run around leash free and not worry about them escaping or attacking someone. Lots of nice folks with their dogs there, and a few others. I imagine a decent population of older college students who found the hidden apartments nearby, since it's rather close to ASU but not along any major streets.

So I kept going, and ran past Rural a bit, mostly because I wanted to see the new apartment/condo buildings up close. And that I did... the path goes right beside them, like, 10 feet from their big windows and doors. Nice access for them, but not much privacy in those bedrooms if you want the windows open... at least, on the first floor. I think I'd opt for one off the ground level. On the way back I encountered this dude... perhaps encounter isn't the right word, he was off on this grass mound-like thing juggling bowling pins. At first I couldn't tell if it was a guy or a girl because of the extreme low angle of the sun right in my face (even with sunglasses on). But it was a dude. He was decent, and it was kinda random. So I continued on, and of course right when I get close to Mill, right at the end of my run, is when i see a very pretty young lady running across the bridge. She proceeded to come down to the path and run the direction I had just come from. Oh well, no such luck of meeting a potential running partner today... although, it seems everyone else who was out exercising had an ipod anyway, not so conducive to striking up a conversation.