This untitled mural faces Jackrabbit Trail. / Photos by Mariah Talso
BY MARIAH TALSO
FOR THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz
The day before Thanksgiving, my children and I participated in the virtual Run to Feed the Hungry 5K through Natomas. I love this race – it benefits such a great cause and to give back at Thanksgiving time means so much for our whole community.
I tried to make this virtual race child-friendly in an effort to keep my kiddos involved and excited about running. We started at the North Natomas Community Park playground, where we played and visited the Free Little Library before starting our run.
We went south down Gateway Park Boulevard, which was gorgeous. The path was covered vibrant colored trees and leaves! The perfect brisk air, slight breeze on my face, and bright autumn colors, combined with the laughter from my kids, just made for the perfect morning.
We turned west onto Del Paso Boulevard and then overlapped my last run on Jackrabbit Trail a little as we hopped on the levee and continued south to North Market Boulevard. We had fun taking our time and observing as much nature as we could. My daughter was delighted to find the local geese had already laid “eggs” for Easter. She was only slightly disappointed to discover the “eggs” were actually mushrooms. They were the shiniest mushrooms I have ever seen, and we lost count of how many we found!
At North Market Boulevard we headed east over the little bridge and found the newest mural in Natomas. The untitled mural was painted by Shane Grammer who was assisted by Kone Lathipanya. It is located off North Market Boulevard and halfway between Gateway Park Boulevard and Truxel Road and celebrates imagination and different modes of transportation.
We had been driving by this mural for a few weeks, so my kids were extra excited to see it up close. The mural is delightful, and you can’t help but smile looking at it. The three children in the mural look so excited to be alive and seeing them just fills you with joy. We took a break at the mural and just observed it, then we walked around and searched for more mushrooms. We saw quite a few wild birds, but no bunnies on this trip.
This marked the halfway point of our 5K, so we turned around and headed to my kids’ favorite part of the run – Raley’s. We stopped at our favorite store for an early morning treat – donuts (and a latte for me!). We rested and fueled up on sugar and then headed back to the playground. This portion was a bit quicker as the sugar gave everyone a little boost!
We had fun at the playground and each picked one book from the Free Little Library (and made plans of which books to bring to the little library next time!) and then headed home.
Whichever way you go, (I recommend running!) I definitely suggest visiting the new Natomas mural. The detail in the painting just brings it to life and – at least for me – I can’t pass this painting without smiling and being grateful. This mural reminds me to embrace joy – just like that which radiates from the artists’ work.
Mariah Talso
Mariah Talso moved to North Natomas in 2012. She has two young children who enjoy the trails, parks, and playgrounds in the area. In 2018, Mariah decided to run a marathon, took up running and hasn’t stopped. She loves running outdoors, traversing the trails and levees throughout Natomas. Click here to read her other columns.
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