Perfect season to stride leaf-carpeted Coates Bluff Nature Trail, Shreveport

Coates Bluff Nature Trail, Magnet geography , a photo by trudeau on Flickr.

A friend from Salem, OR, came through on Tues and we effortlessly hiked the Coates Bluff Trail end to end. It was gorgeous.

Two improvements have been made this week. Thanks to a Jon Soul-led work crew on Sat, the auto tire gallery seating has been completed. At this mini-amphitheater, it's easy to imagine students giving brief lectures to each other on the topics of sycamores, native pecans and southern beavers.

Near the Valencia / Magnet HS end, a recent tree fall had presented a dual-trunk, stiff under-tree challenge. That has been cleared out and it is now an easy dual-trunk underpass.

At the Valencia Park end, a softball game was underway between Magnet and Airline girls' teams.

Near Montessori, ducks were playing on the water. Several sub-teen fishermen were learning the art of angling.

All in all, it is the perfect time to make the trek. No poison ivy, no snakes; just tall trees and beautifully calling birds.