Walnut Creek in the Fall

Walnut Creek Recreation Area | October 2020

Pandemic and political drama aside, October was a pretty good month for us. For the first two weeks of the month, Curtis attended a training related to his job, which would let out early enough in the afternoon so that we could go out for hikes every day. This aligned perfectly with the peak of fall colors in our area, giving us extra incentive to get out of the apartment!

We were so excited to experience a real fall again, though I will say the colors here can’t compete with what we enjoyed in the Northeast a few years ago. There aren’t as many red or orange leaves to add variety, but we found beauty in the golden leaves and prairie landscapes for a few weeks.

Having moved to Nebraska mid-pandemic, we haven’t done hardly any of the popular things such as the zoo, botanical gardens, or any indoor attractions. We also haven’t gone out to eat at all so we don’t know what kind of restaurants are out there. However, we know many of the parks and trails in the area like the back of our hands. One of our favorite go-to spots is Walnut Creek Recreation Area in Papillion. There’s a paved path around a lake that takes about 1-2 hours for us to walk, depending on how often Charlotte wants to stop and sniff. The entire loop is about 3 miles long. We always enjoy seeing water fowl and muskrats while walking. We have gone at least twice a week since moving here. (In case anyone’s wondering, all of these pictures were taken during the second week of October, around the peak of fall colors.)

During the last week of the month, Curtis had to work a couple nights, but that was all over soon enough and definitely nothing to complain about compared to the last few years. It didn’t even get in the way of our weekend adventures!

I also turned 28 at the end of the month. It was a great day, simply because we spent it together — walking at Walnut Creek and making stir fry at home. 27 was such a weird year, obviously because of the crazy current events, but I’m thankful for the changes that happened, how I’ve grown, and how my perspectives have changed. I’d even say that I’m the happiest I’ve been here than I’ve been in a while — who would’ve thought I could say that, having moved from Hawaii to Nebraska?!