Took my first hike in Cedar Ridge Preserve with Julie on a glorious Sunday afternoon under the blue skies of Texas. All of my senses were awakened during the 1.2 mile hike. The brown and white branches of the trees are highlighted against the cloudless azure sky. Patterns of shadows from the trees, the changing colors of the dirt, pebbles and fallen debris covered the trail. The thick padding of the brown oak leaves crackled as we walked up and down the trail. The wind gently blew through the trees and there were no sounds of cars or planes, just the gentle breezes and movement of the trees. Unlike most of Dallas, Cedar Ridge Preserve has an elevation of 755 feet and is just 20 minutes from downtown Dallas. It is a 600 acre natural habitat with 9 miles of trails with native trees, grasses, and wildflowers. Recovering from the infection in December has been hard and this was my first big outdoor excursion since Thanksgiving.