Secret Passageways

One of my most beloved things to do is go for a bike ride.  I did this as a kid all summer long or whenever the weather was nice.  I knew my neighborhood like the back of my hand.

We recently moved from a super cool neighborhood (Sleepy Hollow) that was surrounded by prairie (i.e. snakes) so we never ventured farther than the edges with our bikes.  It was nice to know our kids were safe, there, but left little for adventure.

Now that we live in Billings, we've all gotten our bikes well-accustomed to its streets.  We live near a fairly busy area, but also close to some surrounding neighborhoods.  My kids and I have seen how far we can go in most directions.

Since my older kids are in school, now, I was afraid my bike rides would be limited on length since I'd have to corral my 4 yr old to safer areas.

Last time we went out, we were already out for an hour and on our way home when we found a mysterious sidewalk that led between some houses.  Next time, we decided.

Today was that "next time".  We headed straight for the mystery path to see where it led.  

If you've been to Billings, you know it's green and tree-filled and BE-A-Utiful.  This sidewalk led to just that.

We were faced with several rights or lefts but didn't know exactly where we were because we weren't on ANY streets - this sidewalk was placed ever-so-awesomely behind/between houses.  It's the world's longest greenbelt, I've decided.  

We rode and rode, often coming across random picnic tables, past tree after tree, surrounded by grass and the backs of houses the entire time.  It was 

AWESOME.

We could've kept going but I had no watch and no inkling as to what time it was (we were aiming for a 30 minute ride but ended up back at home after an hour!) so we had to head back.  

But, that leaves the rest to be explored another day! 

Poor Quin, though, started complaining that he couldn't make it when we were in the home-stretch.  We even had to stop for a brief break.  When we got home, I realized his tire was flat.  No wonder it felt impossible to go on!