Revisiting Dyer Park

We decided to spend the Presidents' Day holiday back at Dyer Park, doing the next hike on the list. This time it was a series of 3 trails (because the 4th one* didn't exist) on what we called the bike hill. First up was the winding dirt bike trail. According to the county park website this 2.4-mile, single-track trail, built upon the face of a previous landfill, which has been converted into a natural setting and then transformed into a winding, climbing/descending single-track trail, is the only location in South Florida with appreciable climbs and descents. 

If you look closely, you'll see the little dirt trail zig-zagging back and forth.

Because of the floating clouds, there was always something new to see.

Here's my favorite picture of the day:

The dirt bike trail wound around the sloping sides of the hill, and once we were done with that, we joined the bikes on the paved path around the perimeter of the top.

That gave us a pretty decent view of the surrounding area, which included the "new" landfill across the freeway, some baseball and soccer fields, and some utility buildings, along with the parking lots.

The first trail could be considered a hike; the second one was definitely a walk around the park!

So was the third one, which was a paved loop around the base of the hill. 

This picture reminds me of the view from our kitchen window when I was a teenager, of the rolling California hills. All it needs are a few cows and some additional height.

Afterwards, it was time for a barbecue. Although we used the same barbecue spit and had the same view of the lake, this time instead of hamburgers, we had chicken and vegetable kabobs. They were just as delicious, and probably a bit more healthy.

We even actually saw an alligator out in the middle of the lake. I guess the posted signs are necessary!

Someday we'll go back and try the next hike, which is the yellow "rectangle" marked in the center of the map below.

* The bike hill is the trapezoid in the upper left corner. The red squiggly lines marked in the center (on the top of the hill) didn't exist in real life. That would have been trail #4.