Saturday was a cooler day than we'd had in a while. There was a high haze in the air, filtering the direct sunlight. I hadn't ridden since the 6th of June & that was my only ride the entire month. I looked back at last year & I'd only ridden twice, so didn't feel as bad about it.
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Ready to ride~ |
Lake Manawa was calling my name, the hard surface & more open riding is much more appealing to me than the bugs, dust & higher humidity of the Wabash. I was surprised to be the only car in the parking area. For a weekend, the park was surprisingly quiet.
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North toward the I-29 underpass in the distance~ |
I took the far eastern trail that connects to the Wabash just over halfway, before turning back into the park. The wide-open views are so pretty out here.
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Looking toward I-29~ |
I rode along E Manawa drive & turned west to ride parallel with Veterans Memorial Hwy. before turning left for a couple blocks to ride west on Wright Rd. From there I cut around the gate into the old campground. No wildlife today, no mulberries either, but a really nice view from the north end of the lake.
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Sailboats on the choppy water~ |
I love seeing the sailboats on the water. The wind had picked up & it looked like a perfect summer afternoon to be out.
Along Indian Creek, I spotted feathers at the edge of the trail. I hadn't found any feathers at all last year. I stopped to check them out. There were the two bigger ones I took & two smaller ones. All dark in color & I was pretty sure they had to be from a
Turkey Vulture considering their size. Not my favorite raptor, but a nice addition to my collection.
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Turkey Vulture feathers~ |
There are a couple trees in town, where the Vultures congregate. They are noisy & dirty when gathered in numbers. I'm thankful I seldom see them fly over at home. The first time I ever saw one, Butch & I were riding the horses in Eastern, WA. We came around a corner & saw several roosting in a pine. I thought they were the ugliest birds I'd ever seen & my opinion hasn't changed!
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Indian Creek looking south toward the Missouri~ |
The Missouri is just a short distance from the south end of lake. I didn't take the access road today & haven't for a while. It was nice to see so much water in the creek. The
level of the Missouri has been up & we're expecting more rain this week.
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Sailboats from my bench~ |
By the time I reached my rest spot, the haze had thickened & I was glad of it! The breeze made the day one of the most pleasant in a while.
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Beautiful purple blooms~ |
I still haven't identified the above flowers, but I will. They're blooming in the open field I pass on my way to the lake shore. I didn't see the turkey's this visit either, it's been a
couple years now. I stayed for a while, enjoying the breeze off the water before heading back.
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The Park & the Missouri~ |
As you can see in the Google Earth photo above, the river is almost the southern boundary of the park.
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South trail, west~ |
I was glad to be back on my bike, but it's hard to stay motivated during the heat of summer. I work outside in the morning, before the day heats up. I'll hope for another cooler day or two so I can revisit the Wabash. At least I don't have the limestone dust to clean off my chain when I ride here!
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