Hiking and Walking Badge Activity A: Walking a Portion of the L.A. River Greenway

Today the L.A. Adventurers Club set out on our inaugural mission: to walk a portion of the L.A. River Greenway. We'd heard about this Greenway before described as a biking or walking path but had to research the entry points to know where to begin our journey.

Chris pointed us in the direction of Marsh Park located right off the 2 Freeway.

Marsh Park contains open play space filled with native plants and a ton of easy-to-use exercise equipment that we'd never seen before at a public park. Here's Corwin working a nautilus machine:

Taylor was working Clifford.

Here is the entrance to the park, flanked by a beautiful iron crane.

Club member Corwin documenting the fuller portion of the L.A. River.

It turns out a lot of industrial spaces abut the L.A. River Greenway. Included among them was this cool warehouse where they turn shipping containers into domestic structures.

You'll also find interesting public park spaces abutting the Greenway. Including this open space with some climbable reptiles. Here Corwin becomes one with the snake.

Eventually the L.A. River peters out from flush to wash.

Other highlights on the Greenway include an American ode to the locks on the Paris Bridges:

The Bicycle "Spoke Easy" which looks like it probably sees more action in the spring and summer months:

Dinosaur eggs! One of many art projects living behind the fences of the many industrial spaces:

The Frog Spot. The creative and communal space of the Friends of the LA River. When working at a library branch nearby to the River, I learned about FOLAR. They give out water to bikers and walkers/runners in the summer, host community and educational events and help to keep the Greenway clean and pretty.

I have a soft spot in my heart for lost and abandoned, lonely or otherwise abused toys. Along the Greenway you'll see found items that people have propped up in hopes that their owners will come back to find them. We came upon this baby toy waiting for its owner to return. Look how it's smiling, it has no idea what the future holds.

Club members Corwin, Chris and Taylor enjoying a satisfying jaunt along the Greenway.

After our visit to the L.A. River the adventure continued in nearby Highland Park, where we lunched at El Huarache Azteca, a longtime Los Angeles staple, where Club members Chris and Hillary partook of the house specialty huaraches.  Club member Chris was crowned Most Adventurous Of The Day, he partook of the tongue huarache.

Badge #1: Hiking and Walking

The L.A. Adventurers Club is pursuing our Hiking and Walking Badge.

This is what it looks like:

The three activities we agreed on to earn our badge are:

A. Walk a portion of the L.A. River

B. Adventure Walk in Our Neighborhood

C. Family Hike on a real, relatively flat Hiking Trail

And away we go!

Warning: You Have Reached the L.A. Adventurers Club

Greetings Strangers and Friends,

You have reached the blog for the L.A. Adventurers Club.

We are a new club with headquarters in Glendale, California. Our goal is to explore our beloved city of Los Angeles and, by doing so, earn cool badges. We have four founding members: Corwin, Taylor, Hillary and Chris St. George. But, like the city of Los Angeles itself, we're always open to new members (we're just socially awkward like our beloved city and don't know how to go about meeting new people).

We have set a few simple ground rules for our explorations.

1. Determine three activities that fit the theme of the badge

2. Do those three activities.

3. Maybe combine some of those activities with exploring an adventurous new food or restaurant.

4. Earn our badge.

That's the deal. And off we go.