Tag Archives: Walking

Outdoor Activities | A Handy App

We have become more involved in outdoor recreational activities, especially hiking. We have a lot of trails and paths in our neighborhoods interconnecting them. Bikers and hikers use them a lot. Our local parks offer many more challenging trails for off-road bike enthusiasts. We make a point of looking up the trail systems in our state parks when we go somewhere. Nothing beats having input from people who have actually been there and can offer insight to the quality of activity the trails offer.

As we travel farther from home, the best and recommended places to play are less familiar. We found an app that can tell us what local things are available. It is called lo•ca•lei•kki. Their web site, here, says it means play local. In their words…

We want to help people be active no matter where they are. localeikki is a database of recreation locations that are publicly accessible and locally recommended. Input an address & your activity choice and localeikki will find local running/cycling locations others have shared. Not only will you know where to go, you’ll also know what it looks like & what amenities are available (e.g., bathrooms, drinking water, parking). Want to find a regularly scheduled ride or run? We have that information too! You can find us on the web and as an app for your mobile devices.

It is simple to use. Open the app. It finds your location. Click on the kind of activity you want. It shows them, what they offer, and how far they are from you.

The content of their database of places is crowdsourced. You can add your own places to the database with their easy form. If you are an outdoors person, take a look at this app. It is a good tool for your next activities. Here are two screen shots.


In the interest of full disclosure, a co-founder of this app is married to our niece.

Out the Back Window | Walnut Husks

by Jim and Melanie

Our walking path passes under Black Walnut trees at several locations. Many of the green fruit have dropped and turned brown. Some fell on our path. Squirrels came to open them for the nut. They left behind piles of dark pieces. Rain showers leave streaks of dark stain on the concrete. Twenty two years ago, we lived at the top of a hill in our town. The street sloped steeply down for 3 blocks. We would gather some walnuts from the back yard with our son who was 2 or 3 and roll them down the hill.

There’s more to this walk.