Sunday at the Lake~

 I wouldn't be able to ride tomorrow - scheduled to be our last day before upcoming rain!  Today was sunny & mid-60's, but with wind.  I decided to visit Lake Manawa & ride the hard surface trail.

On my way west~

You can tell from the tall grass there was a good wind blowing.  Enough to keep me working & a few gusts that blew Smokey sideways.  I stopped when I reached the turn into the park to take off my jacket & turned off the Garmin to get it through my sleeve.

Old campground to the left, new & used camper sales on the right.

It wasn't until I reached the entrance to the old campground I realized that I hadn't turned the Garmin back on!  I'd failed to record the two-miles to reach this spot.  But, it's not like I don't know this route well enough to edit my final mileage.

North end of the lake, looking south~

This view won't last, once the development starts here, at least not for me.  

Blooming Locust trees~

The Locust are a bane to most homeowners...  We have one in the Marsh & I'm constantly pulling the non-stop shoots these trees send up.  More than once I've considered cutting it down, but I love shape as they mature.  Butch & I have called the ones we see from the back deck, the "African trees".  For some reason they remind us both of trees shown growing on the African savana's.  The blooms are huge & really beautiful.

Across the lake toward Omaha~

I took the trail to the south side picnic area to take a break, but a wedding party had reserved the area.  What a beautiful place for a wedding!  I stopped far enough away to not intrude.

Trail on the south side~

The trail to the lake is one of the prettiest in the park.  Curving through woods on both sides, you would almost think you were in the country.

The "Heavey Metal" Underpass~

You don't have that feeling on the way back to the Wabash northern trail head!  The photo above is of the underpass under the train tracks.  These trains are ladden with coal, heading for the Mid-American plant nearby.  Built for strength, for sure!

Smokey in the underpass~

It always gives me a strange feeling riding through. Once past, it's just over a mile back to the Explorer.  The ball fields were full of teams playing & surrounding mowed fields were full of cars.  I thought about stopping at Tastee Treat, until I saw the line of people waiting!  

We're all looking forward to the promised rains!  I should have been home mowing the marsh, but couldn't resist one more ride.  Hopefully, I'll have time to get that mowing done tomorrow!