A Ride & A Stopover! ~

 Nights have been getting cooler, down to the mid-20's again.  Friday's daytime temp cooled to the 50's but today we were back to enjoying the 60's.  

Very dry~

There was no wind.  It was the second day of perfectly still conditions.  Unusual for this time of year, as is the warm days.  Butch had spent the night in Kansas City & was heading north to Cherokee, IA with a load of water for Hy Vee. He had time in the schedule to come home! 

Smokey in the sun~

I knew I'd have just enough time to get in a ride before he got to town.  I started out in my jacket & vest, it felt chilly once I was on the trail.  It wasn't long though before I'd removed the jacket!  The trail surface is as hard as rock now.  In places you can hardly distinguish the gray compacted surface from concrete.  The going was so smooth, It was some of the easiest riding of the year.

Blissfully Quiet~

There had been no cars parked at the trailhead by Happy Trails & I had only seen one bike rider the entire way to the park.  I was really surprised, since the weather was so perfect & it was the weekend.  Just before I reached the park, a lady was walking a beautiful dog.  A Blue Heeler I'm sure, she moved to the side of the trail.  The dog was So well behaved, made eye contact with me & stayed perfectly calm.  I had to compliment her beautiful & well-mannered companion! 

Milkweed~

Right at the entrance to the park, the sun was lighting up the milkweed going to seed.  Nature shows off its beauty in so many ways. I called Butch & he was just passing Rockport.  He would arrive in Glenwood ahead of me!  I hustled on the ride back north.  By the time I pulled in at home, he had just completed a walk up the hill from the school, where he'd parked Maverick.  Nationwide requires the semis to stay attached to the trailers at all times & I can understand why.  We have room for a trailer, but the ground would Not support the weight!

We drove to Council Bluffs for dinner - it was so nice to have time together!  It had been spring - since Butch has been close enough to overnight at home.  He'll be returning shortly for the Thanksgiving holiday!