Solitude in the city

Jasper and Ramsey were all wet after a stroll on the parkway. The walk replaced traffic noise with the tempting whisper of the river, and the two couldn't help but dampen their fur.

"Whoever thought of this idea years ago, my hat is off to them," Noel Tuft said as he held onto Jasper's leash. Tuft was at the parkway with his former wife, Karen. The two come to the trail every Friday to walk the small dogs.

"I don't know of any other place to walk," Noel said. He hikes all parts of the parkway, which will eventually extend to the Great Salt Lake if the Jordan River Natural Areas Forum has its way.

JRNAF united from several separate groups in 2001 because of one common goal: to complete the trail from Utah Lake and to the Great Salt Lake. The trail is a quarter of a century old; some places have been around longer. At first it was planned section by section at random. Sort of like a dot-to-dot picture. Now, organizers are trying to connect those dots, so as JRNAF chairman Bruce Talbot said, "people can get on their bikes and go for a long ride."

Jeff Williams is a coordinator for JRNAF. He sees the benefits of the trail for the community because of the reflection in his family. He has been bringing his children, now ages 7 and 10, to the river since they were small enough to ride in the bike trailer. Now, they ride their own bikes.

"This is a nice trail because it's so flat. It's good for a wide variety of levels and perfect for families," Williams said. The trail is used often, but not crowded.

Walkers, runners, bikers and dog-walkers dot the path.

Equestrian trails run parallel to the paved trail in Murray, Bluffdale and Draper. Those who enjoy canoeing can find drop-in points along the trail. Bikers in teams, mothers with children, couples taking a stroll like the Tufts, or a solitary person using the trail for exercise and solitude are typical uses.

Pause too long on the trail and one might encounter another common sight on the trail, the river's wildlife. Acquainted with humans, mallard ducks, quail, Canadian geese and mourning doves don't mind sharing the river with humans, ecologist Dan Potts said. Don't be too surprised to see a squirrel, snake or bullfrog, either.

"None of these things do anything to people. We call it watchable wildlife," Potts said. At the Demonstration Garden in Murray, Potts works to preserve other native wildlife, red fox, Mexican freetail bats and pheasants. The river used to be more populated with animals, but now it's more populated with humans because of development.