Finally caught a shiny Magikarp in Pokemon Go while walking to Meadowlark Prairie

This morning I wanted to take a long walk. Instead of going down to the parks by the river as I generally do, I decided to go on the other route I sometimes use along the Fern Ridge Path through the west Eugene wetlands to Meadowlark Prairie. When I walk I usually play Pokemon Go, to help keep me motivated. This route doesn't feature nearly as many pokestops or gyms as the one I take to the parks, but it has a much higher ratio of nature to human habitation so I find it to be a more relaxing walk.

As I was approaching one of the few pokestops on the route I noticed there was a Magikarp nearby. To my surprise it turned out to be a shiny, something I've been angling for since the water event back in March. I switched on the AR camera to get a picture to memorialize it, and then I caught it. As you can see the IVs aren't fantastic but I'm glad I've finally got a shiny Magikarp. Normally I use Pokemon Go to just reinforce the virtuous habit of getting out and walking every day, but it's still really cool when I get the thrill of discovery of encountering something for the first time in the game.

When I was on my way back past the pokestop it had gotten light enough that I could capture some photos with my phone, so you can get a sense of what the area looks like. I woke up in a pretty bad mood this morning but this walk certainly brightened my day a bit.