When I told Butch I was a little nervous about riding again, he reminded me after the wreck, I'd ridden back to the Bronco. I decided on Lake Manawa's smooth surface trails. A little less demanding that keeping my eye on the trail.
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| Ready to ride~ |
The experience is familiar to me. After numerous accidents, related to equestrian pursuits over 25-years, it should be. With a bike though, it's all me, I can't blame the bike! I tried though! I explained to Shadow that I'm done hitting the ground in the literal sense!
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| Along the south side of the park~ |
After the first few pedals, the nerves melted away & the enjoyment of the ride replaced them. It was a simply stunning afternoon & I was happy I'd decided on the park. I did make a couple stops. One to adjust the front fender, which was rubbing on the tire. I hadn't noticed that after the fall. My rear brakes made a tiny squeak when I stopped, too. Since the bike is coming up on 1,000 miles, Butch is going to replace the pads when he gets home.
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| Returning south on the spur trail to the Wabash Trail head~ |
I did what I call my usual loop, which includes going out the spur trail that connects to the Wabash Trace trail head about halfway. At the high point, I turn back to the park. The train overpass is in the distance, I-29 is behind me.
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| The corn is drying out~ |
The fields of corn are drying & turning yellow. The sweating is over for this season! Farmers are hoping for a
bumper crop, but that depends on how the weather treats the fields going into fall.
I envy a friend in Florida, who does a lot of hiking in a mostly native area. The flowers she finds are so diverse & beautiful. Here in IA, ours are much more limited, except possibly in the native prairie areas.
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| The Old Campground~ |
The old campground had been mowed. I love the wide-open look so close to civilization. Too bad it couldn't be incorporated into the park. I know the park has lost acres to development over the years since it's inception.
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| On the Indian Creek Bridge~ |
There wasn't much wind today & the temperature was perfect in the low 70's. As I returned to the south end of the park, I still had it mostly to myself. A surprise on such a nice weekend.
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| Across the lake at Council Bluffs~ |
I called Butch from the bench at the lake shore as I watched the sail boats work to catch what wind there was. For a day so close to the end of summer, it could not have been nicer. Next week we're supposed to get another stretch of heat/humidity before the real
fall cool down begins.
This coming Thursday, our Garden Club is traveling south to tour
Kimmel Orchards! The weather is expected to be unseasonably warm. We've enjoyed this trip a few times over several years & always come back with bags filled with apples, canned goodies, wonderful wine etc. A little heat won't deter us!
