Column: the Levee Trail System rocks

By Elijah Resano / Staff Writer

When I’m not drowning myself in homework, frantically trying to get it all done in one day so I can have the rest of the week free or going on an eight-hour long video game marathon, I find myself taking the time to go outside.

I’m not a nature guy or outdoorsman by any means. I don’t know all the names of the birds. I don’t fish nor do I hunt. Sure, I’ve lived in a jungle, but I won’t be cast in a National Geographic show anytime soon.

When I first got to Salina, going outdoors for a walk was something I didn’t think too much of. People don’t just go outside for a walk where I’m from because there would be all sorts of bad things that could ruin your day. But I went on a little adventure past my apartment complex, and I discovered the Levee Trail System.

Photo by Elijah Resano / A stretch of the Levee Trail System.

It spans 4.8 miles connecting East Schilling Road to Bill Burke Sports Complex north of East Crawford Street with a stretch from East Iron Avenue and East North Street. Basically, it surrounds the entirety of Salina allowing you to jog, bike, hike and such your way around town if you’re the athletic type.

I am not the athletic type, so I only cover the south-east portion of the trail. But every time I go, I am always astounded by the beauty of what I discover.

From my portion of the trail, I would find myself often ambushed by huge gusts of wind. Horses would graze on the fields that lay on the opposite side of town. Occasionally, I would be greeted by a family on their bikes, or the lone man going for a jog. But yet I find myself at peace when I walk down the path of crushed stones and rock.

It is there where the trail really shrines, in its exclusivity. You don’t find many of the distractions that a small town might have. There’s no bustling traffic noise once you get far enough because it gets replaced by the sound of singing trees and chirping birds, and the leaves that would play a simultaneous dance through the wind. It is cathartic to walk down the trail with such a lively yet calm environment.

Sometimes it bewilders me how America forgets that beauty is in the little things of nature. But whether that be a small field or a large patch of grassy land teeming with life, city planners will look at it and superimpose a Taco Bell branch.

I don’t find any of that here, however. The Levee Trail System might be something that is known throughout the locals in Salina, but for many new people like me, I was unbeknownst that I had access to such a beautiful way to connect with nature. It’s one of those things that I would add to the list of reasons why choosing to live here was a good choice. It truly is a gem.

Elijah Resano is an Iloilo City, Philippines,  freshman who majors in Physics with an engineering concentration.