Baker Park and the Doggie Swimming Hole

I've been feeling really fortunate lately, because Calgary is definitely a beautiful city, and a great city to run in. Last night that feeling was so profound as I went out for my 5 miles starting at Baker Park along the Bow River. I waited until 8:30 to run since the temperature was still holding strong at 30 deg C (86 deg F). It was pretty quiet out on the pathway for the first 3/4 of a mile or so. Baker Park then transitioned into Bowmont Park and all of a sudden there were a ton of people out on the pathways with their dogs. I rounded a corner and found the local doggie swimming hole and tons of happy barks and yips punctuated the air. Past the swimming hole the terrain started to change as the trees disappeared and the pathway started to climb up hills. It broke out on to a ridge that overlooked the Bow River and offered amazing views of the river valley. The pathway continued up along the ridge and offered some great hills in places. Before I knew it, it was time to turn around, just in time to catch the setting sun. I definitely need to come out here more often, and is one to remember for when my runs start getting really long. If you keep going along the pathway it continues to Shouldice Park (where I was running regularly in June) and it takes you all the way downtown.
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In the continuing spirit of trying new things (routes, running gear, etc.) I dug my Skirt Sports Marathon Girl out of the closet. I got it months ago through their Convert to Skirt program, but had never used it, partially because it feels so much shorter than my other skirts. Well, it still feels short, but it definitely felt breezy out there last night and I surely appreciated that. The Marathon Girl shall now enter the rotation.