A Fun Trip to an Urban Oasis

I love love that The Boxer Farm is in the middle of the city of Dallas.  Not downtown.  But not *far* North Dallas either.  Dallas proper.  And so is the Harry S Moss Park Native Area.  In fact, it's literally 1 mile from the house.  I took Susie (the dog) there this past week for a hike.  I'd never been before, and I found a magical little land that transported us from a cloudy day city to a real forest.

It's super unassuming.  From Greenville Ave, go east on Royal, then turn right on Arborside.  According to directions I got from a customer at work, "Drive about 20 seconds, then park anywhere on the street and you'll see the entrances."  I had full confidence in these directions and I was not disappointed.  We drove about 20 seconds and saw this sign:

I mean, is this the best entrance or what?  Feels like a secret path from childhood, complete with rustic wooden foot bridge.  Guaranteed to take you to another place, another time, another dimension.  It did not disappoint.  The foot paths were carved organically by actual feet.  The birds were singing.  The mosquitos were biting (for real). The peace was palpable.  

It was unbelievable that we were in the middle of the city of Dallas.  It felt like a true adventure, off the proverbial beaten path--ironically, because the path was *literally* beaten, by feet.  One of the things that I enjoy about being out in nature is seeing the little things--the tiny flowers, the interesting leaves, the minutia of it all.  So many glorious details in such seemingly innocuous places--feels like something higher at work for sure.  I took several photos of beautiful things we saw on our urban hike.

Tiny little beautiful flowers hiding in the woods

What lives here?  My best friend, who is a veterinarian, said that these holes are created by crawfish.  There is a creek, that runs to White Rock Lake, running close to these trails.

Here is a panorama photo of the woods, the atmosphere, the juxtaposition of knowing that this is in the middle of Dallas.

We had a wonderful time.  Susie ended up *covered* in burrs--not the gnarly kind that hurt, but the sticky kind that look innocent enough until you try to remove them.  Poor thing, I had to comb them all out with the kind of comb you use for kids with lice. But, I know she loved it, and she had the best time navigating all the trees, rocks, and mud. Look how happy she is!!

To read more about Harry S Moss Park, please check out this article from Advocate Magazine, Lake Highlands: Harry S. Moss Park. Seems there's more to this park than meets the eye......