Garden Paths & Secret Ways of Steinbach

I’ve learned that I’m not the only one interested in alternative routes within Steinbach. I have some adventurous friends who have also been captivated by taking the route less traveled, here within the community we call home.

Author, designer, and careful-payer-of-attention Brent Manke has given us a gift in the form of a map outlining where these paths can be found here in Steinbach. Brent asked me a couple of questions about my love of these paths, and you’ll find my answers alongside Brent’s map within his blog post, here.

I liked his questions so much, that I asked them right back at him:

What’s drawn your curiosity to these little paths?
I love the feeling of surprise when you encounter a familiar place in a new way. There’s a moment of disorientation and re-orientation that shifts your perspective. “Wait, where am I?” You can know a neighbourhood for your whole life, but when you approach it something like a secret path, it becomes new again. I enjoy taking my wife and kids on walks through “secret paths” and see the wonder on their faces too.

Can you tell me about a favourite “secret path” in Steinbach?
My daily commute includes the path between Ellice and Autumnwood. On Ellice you’re near the highway, it’s busy and noisy at the end of the day. But as you walk the path, you exit that world and re-emerge in a quiet neighbourhood street with big trees and birds singing. I think the experience subtly helps facilitate my shift from work to home life.

Thanks Brent!

Here are a few pictures I’ve taken recently, of my favourite paths.

These paths can lead you somewhere very bright.

Sometimes I edit the heck out of a picture, in an effort to evoke a certain feeling.

Other times I leave the pictures completely alone and let them speak for themselves.

In spring, the back lanes become fairly water-logged, but I don’t mind.

I love how the puddles reflect the trees and sky!

When walking my favourite alternative routes, I endeavour to be respectful of everyone’s space, taking in the curious ways folks get around on foot, and how nature will flourish in beautifully overlooked spaces.

There’s wonder to be found right here where we live… and these paths can take us there.