I was taking my usual walk on The Bizz Johnson Trail the other day and thought about how this trail I walk, sometimes everyday, has been my lifeline to sanity from the ups and downs of life for the past ten years. I was lucky enough to live within walking distance of this beautiful nature trail that meanders along the Susan River in Susanville, California and have taken advantage of its solitude and peace so often that I almost took it for granted.Now that we are about to move out of the city limits I realized how much I am going to miss my trail. Of course, I can still drive back, but I know it will never be the same. I raised my children on The Bizz Johnson trail. We rode bikes, hiked and swam in the river. We even cross country skied in the winter.
It was a quick jaunt down the trail for an early morning walk before my family woke up or a relaxing evening cool down between work and dinner. Few people take advantage of its beauty and more often than not, I am alone there. It has been my sanctuary. A place to collect my thoughts, contemplate life’s challenges and even cool down from family conflicts. It has been my daily exercise, my entertainment, my place of prayer.There is a bench about two miles up the trail that I refer to as the prayer bench. I like to walk to the bench and sit for a bit before turning back. I watch the river flow past and say a prayer to my Heavenly Father. By the time I get to the bench I am so in awe of the beauty that surrounds me I can only be thankful to him for this awesome world his majesty provides and how blessed I am to be here.
I have found answers to my prayers and my problems on the trail. I have made friends with some of the other locals that take advantage of this beautiful piece of Susanville. I have enjoyed the wild flowers in Spring and yes, at times, I’ve even picked a few for the dinner table. The myriad of colors and falling leaves in Autumn can bring me to tears. The trail in winter, turned white with snow and icicles hanging from branches is an Ansel Adams photograph come to life. Summers bring the trail alive with children and families fishing, swimming and riding bikes, reminding me of my own children and memories of not so long ago.
I grew up just a few miles from the ocean in Southern California. I would ride my bike to the ocean often when I was a teenager and sit on the sand and watch the waves. I never thought there could be any place like the ocean. I realize now that 'The Bizz' has provided me with that same peace and solitude that the ocean brought to me when I was young. I will always be grateful for the lifeline to sanity that I have found on the Bizz Johnson Trail.
