2025 - In Review ~

 Our ninth year in Iowa~  It was a bright & sunny start to the New Year! 

New Years Day~

By the middle of the month, Butch was driving a new semi!  Maverick II was almost identical to his old semi, but with a slightly longer cab & a more comfortable interior. 

1-18-25 Maverick II - Butch's new truck~

After only just over a month - Butch found a pool of oil under the truck while he was backed to the dock at a warehouse.  Under warranty, it was towed to the nearest Volvo Dealership.  Butch caught a ride back to Omaha with another driver & went right out again in his original Nationwide Volvo - Maverick.

2-5-25 Butch's new Semi breaks down~

Besides the snow mid-month, the weather was nice enough I managed three rides at Lake Manawa.  I also finished a latch hook project I'd started in September of 2020.  Finn & I were taking our winter walks on the Wabash & most afternoons at home.

2-13-25 Snow in the woods~

March, I started burning the brush pile.  I also caught a day when the Wabash was dry enough & rode from Malvern to Silver City & back.  This was just two days before the biggest snowstorm of the season.  The wind drifted the snow & I dug through 2' drifts just to get to the Bronco.

3-5-25 Snow anyone?

Butch made it home three times in March.  The 11th he flew to Columbus to pick up his semi from the dealer who'd replaced the engine.  Twice he pulled in at home for overnight stays & the last of the month for a few days home time.  On the 19th, we received our last snow of the season.  

3-27-25 Butch & Finnigan~

April, I mowed for the first time.  It was the earliest in the season I'd ever seen a Swallowtail butterfly!  The Daffodils, Grape Hyacinth, Tulips & Trout Lily's were all in bloom.  On the 17th we had a wonderful heavy rain!  Mother Nature's perfect timing.  

Butch was home for Easter & reached 400,000 OTR miles!  I managed to get in five rides, most on the trail.  

4-8-25 A Swallowtail comes to visit!

May, my red Clematis finally produced its first bloom.   The wild Iris was in bloom & the woods were positively lush.  We made our usual Memorial Weekend trip to Greenfield & Creston.  We rode our bikes at Green Valley St. Park.  We also found a small microbrew - Hot Air Brewing - only to discover they were closing due to a lack of business.

5-24-25 Butch at Green Valley~

June, the Daylilies were spectacular & Garden Phlox were almost 4 ft. tall.  My Hydrangea bushes were blooming as were all the Zinnia's.  I was mowing the front yard twice a week to keep up & alternated between mowing the woods & marsh.

I ended up in the hospital later in the month, a surprise to me.  Butch was rerouted to get home.  The day after he arrived my condition improved enough, I was discharged.  On the 24th we had another good rain & the next day Butch was back on the road.

6-27-25 Full on Lush~

July, I was back to riding my bike.  The plantings in the woods looked the best they ever have.  All the Hosta's are maturing, growing larger each season & really filling in.  Butch came home the 5th & again on the 19th.  Summer was as usual, very hot & very humid.

7-21-2025 Mulberry limbs cut~

We hired Fermincho Tree Services & Landscaping of Omaha; to cut down the large limbs two big windstorms had broken from the Mulberry tree.  They started early in the morning to avoid the worst of the heat - but couldn't escape the humidity.  

Fermin was interested in purchasing both the horse trailer & the utility trailer.  We hadn't used either one in years.  We'd bought the horse trailer new in 1995 & it was hard to see it finally go.  Instead of hauling horses, it will be hauling a rock crushing machine!  

8-10-2025 The horse trailer is sold~

August, Butch & I went shopping for another storage building & found a Tuff Shed at Home Depot the size we needed.  Fermin & his crew leveled the area where the trailers had been parked & hauled in several loads of rock.  By the 21st, the two-man crew from Tuff Shed arrived & had the small building built in half a day. 

9-16-2025 Shop painted~

When Butch came home in Sept., he painted the Shop building to match the Cabin.  I mulched & planted Hosta's around the side & back.

9-27-2025 Skyla in Greenfield~

The highlight of the year was when Granddaughter Skyla flew out from WA to visit!  We spent almost a week having a wonderful time.  When we moved from WA, Skyla was only five years old.  We'd visited the family just last summer & she & her family had visited us in 2023, but it seems like the years in-between went by in a flash.  Now, she's a young lady & getting a chance to know her was a gift!  It was so much fun to have a teenager in the house & So quiet when she left...

10-17-2025 - Our 9th Anniversary on the Home Place~

Butch made it home a day early this year, for our 43rd anniversary.  We spent three wonderful days at Lake Okoboji.  We rode our bikes on the new trail, had dinner at our favorite restaurant & didn't come home empty handed after I found a must have antique shopping.  

10-31-25 In the Caves~

The end of the month was Butch's 2nd anniversary driving for Nationwide.  He was enjoying his new semi & made a trip to the caves in MO.  This Volvo is just a bit longer than his other truck, but he managed to fit!

11-29-2025 First Snow~

November was a beautiful month.  We had one cold snap, but otherwise it was dry.  Perfect weather for being outside.  No bugs & cooler temperatures.  Butch was home for Thanksgiving & we received our first light snowfall.  Finn & I hiked at the Glenwood Preserve.  

12-23-25 Butch & Finn at Glen Cunningham Lake~

December, Butch was called for jury duty.  He asked to be excused & after two attempts, his term of service was reduced from a month to Christmas week. The weather cooperated & we had our first ride in forever at Glen Cunningham with Finn.

The new furnace we purchased the first of the month required more venting, so Butch tore out the old doors on the utility closet & installed new louvered bifold's.  He ended up having to reframe most of the closet & redo the sheetrock.  

Garden Club formed a committee to work on next year's program schedule.  Officers from last year, plan to continue in their positions.  We have some great excursions planned.  The mat making group continues to meet & crochet Wednesday mornings at Trinity Lutheran.  I hope to get my bike out a little more often, I was just under 150-miles behind this year.  

Butch too, has plans for this coming year.  He'll be starting his fifth year of OTR driving.  He wants to find time to organize his Shop & work on projects he's had in mind for several years.  He's coming very close to the OTR half-million-mile mark!

Wishing our family & friends a healthy, safe & prosperous 2026~  Happy New Year!

Past year 2024 ~

Gorgous Day at Lake Cunningham~

 Another outstanding day of fall!  I decided to make the drive up to Lake Cunningham & enjoy riding on the ultra smooth concrete trail surface.  I remembered how to get there the easy way!  Up the Lincoln Highway & west over the Mormon Bridge.

Going over the bridge~

Traffic was light & it didn't take long at all to arrive at the park.  This trip, I drove in the first entrance & parked in the large parking area at the top of the hill on the southeast corner of the lake. 

Looking back at the bridge - across from the Marina~

It didn't seem to take long at all to ride up the west side of the lake!  At times though, there were some stiff wind gusts.  It had been about 68 degrees & partly overcast when I left home, but at the lake the sun was out & the afternoon warmed to 80.  I needn't have worried about bringing a jacket!

Smokey on the northernmost bridge~

There were a few other people out on bikes, many families walking & a few people with dogs.  Everyone was very friendly with the exception of the bicyclists...  I have no idea why it's so hard to respond to a friendly "Hi".

Starting north on the east side of the lake~

I'd already decided I'd make two circuits of the lake before I reached the short, steep hills on the east side.  I was shifting all the way down to second to get up them!  Then wondering why I'd committed myself to two loops :-)

My break spot~

The childrens covered area was totally vacant & it was a perfect spot to take a short break on my second trip around.  I called Butch, who was eastbound in Oregon at the time.

Beautiful trails~

Along with those steep little uphill grades, are of course, a couple great downhills!  There's also signage asking that you slow down.  Well, by the time I'd crested the hill I was ready for the cool breeze of some speed.  At least in the places I could see far enough ahead.

On the dam at the south end, looking the length of the lake, north~

It took me the first loop to warm up & the second I enjoyed even more.  It was the kind of day you wish there were trails going much further - but I settled for 12.5 miles.

On the way home, I decided I'd burned enough calories to stop at Cristy Cream!  I was so glad I did when the sherbert flavor of the day was Huckleberry!  It was incredibly yummy!  I will be very sad when my two favorite ice cream places close for the season :-(  

Home Time/ Fun Time!

  Friday afternoon, Butch was driving in from the south, as I was coming back from the east.  We met at the school to drop the trailer before he followed me home.  I had to hurry to get the Bronco moved over for Blue!  :-)

We were lucky with Butch's scheduled Home Time this month!  The time always fly's by - Saturday we were busy running errands. 

Both bikes loaded for the first time~

 Sunday though, was literally a top ten day for any time of year & we planned to ride!  Sunshine, low humidity, mid-70's & a light breeze.  It was Butch's very first ride on the new bike that's been waiting for him.  It was wonderful having him home over a weekend & we sat out for quite a while enjoying the morning.

We decided on Henry's diner in Crescent for a late breakfast.  It was as yummy as we remembered.   Glen Cunningham Lake was our destination & when I looked at the GPS, we were only 12-minutes away!  

The bikes at the Lighthouse~

We drove over the old Morman Bridge & decided to circumnavigate the lake.  On the east side, we found the three entrances & stopped at the second by the dam to park.  We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day & were surprised the park wasn't busy.  Labor Day Weekend had been so hot & humid.  Here were were enjoying such great weather just a week later.

Butch stops to check his tires~

Butch has outfitting to do on his bike.  Fenders, a bag etc.  He borrowed my tire pump to get his tires up where they needed to be - after sitting for months.

Looking across, close to the north end of the lake~

It was so fun zooming along on the concrete.  As Butch commented, its way more fun to ride when you don't have to work at it.  He was happy with how easy the Cannondale is to ride.

Butch on the bridge~

Such an enjoyable afternoon!  Only a few people besides us with bikes.  The Lake is 390 acres & operated by the City of Omaha.  The old horse trails have been greatly reduced to maybe five-miles at the most.  The trails that were the closest to the lake were taken for the new walking/bike path.  Sad, but here I am enjoying them again.

Looking South~

The ride around the lake, seemed shorter than we remembered from our first visit here.  Maybe because we were going faster with less effort.

Our Route~

Driving out the Old Lincoln Hwy from Council Bluffs seemed much easier than taking the freeways.  I feel comfortable making the juant now, on my own & plan to now & then.  Butch has spent the night with the semi at the Sherman Summit rest area in WY, that commenorates the Old Lincoln Highway!

We couldn't help but stop at Cristy Cream in Council Bluffs on our way home!  The homemade sherbert is the very best in the whole world!  I had orange & Butch had strawberry!   We sat outside at the picnic table.  A  great way to end a really fun day~

Biking @ Glen Cunningham Lake, NE

 Spoiled!  Friday evening's storm passed us by.  We woke to the coolest morning in ages!  A nice breeze & perfect day to take the bikes out.  I'd heard on the news Glen Cunningham lake had reopened early this month.  They mentioned a new trail, all the way around the lake.  This was my first visit since March of 2018 with Farah.  (The lake was drained later that same year to remove invasive species.)   

The Lighthouse~

I remembered there were several entrances to the lake.  Luckily - we ran into a ranger near the campground - who directed us to the Marina.  A big nice parking area, with camera's.  This park had been famous for car break-in's. 

Butch asked me which way I wanted to go?  We took the way over the first of the big new bridges, up the east side of the lake.  

Wonderful surface!

The signage was amazing.  Notifications when a curve was ahead, asking for slower speeds when passing, requesting riders go single file & announce their presence etc.  All trail rules standard on most multi-use trails.  (Of course, ignored by a younger man on an electric bike, who whizzed past everyone without a word.)  

Lake views~

New trees were planted everywhere!  Ginkgo's, pines & oaks, all will add so much to the landscape in future years.  Beautiful new benches about every half-mile too.  The only draw back, most didn't have a view, due to the tall weeds along some sections the lake shore.  I expect that will be remedied, as park personnel continue to work on the area.

Bridge at the north end of the lake~

Further away from the Marina, we were the only ones on the trail.  So nice & quiet, no traffic crossings, just beautiful scenery.  There were only a couple places where the last heavy rain had washed soil over the trail surface, but these were being mitigated.

Riding south down the west side of the lake~

There was one spot, where I knew the horse trail used to intersect the lake shore.  The soft surface trail was gone.  Only four-miles of the original horse trails are left...  Lost to the new development...   Not enough to be worth hauling a horse there...  Only nine-miles +/- or so originally, but you could, with some difficulty, ride around the lake. 

The dam~

No longer riding a horse, I'm now in a position to enjoy having such a nice place for bike riding.  

Breezy on the dam at the south end~

Such a perfect day & easy riding!  There were only a few hills, I experimented with all my gears.  They worked great on the shorter/steeper hills here.  It's the go-on-forever 2-3% grades of the Wabash, where my lower gears, are too low.

Our route~

We returned to the Explorer, with a distance of 6.5 miles total.  This park has become a place the city of Omaha can be proud of.  Covered picnic areas, a fishing dock, of course boating, something for everyone.  It was tempting to go around again, but we had shopping to do.  It's been a while since Butch has worn slacks & a sport jacket :-)

Saddle Time @ Glen Cunningham Lake ~

Today, Margie was determined we were riding at Glen Cunningham.  She didn't have much convincing to do & even talked me into traveling with her. :-)  I always just prefer to have my own vehicle & all our stuff with us, the only thing I forgot was my saddle pad.  I had tossed in a blanket & it worked just fine.

Stellar Day~

The mares traveled well together, with plenty of room in Margie's four-horse.  Not as warm as yesterday & with a decent wind, change is in the air, no doubt about it.  Some of the trails were still pretty muddy in the shady spots, but over all the footing was the best we've had so far.

View of the Lake~

The lake was almost steel blue against a steel blue sky when we started out about noon.  We both commented on how the sky seems more blue as the day progresses.  

In the "Deep Dark Woods"

A Nebraska woods - so different - yet so much the same in this area - as some of the plantings on the WA tree farms.  We enjoyed hearing the wind through the trees.

From the hill~

The urban view from this hill seems so striking after the nice trails.  The noise of the traffic is easily heard.  The mares took turns in the lead, Coco still trots when she'd behind Farah, but then gaits when she takes over the lead.

Margie & Coco~

Coco is such a big solid mare & looks so gorgeous when she gets to move out.

Margie & Coco check out a lake trail~

I'm not keen on the far side of the lake.  It's noisy, lots of road & congestion.  Then, there's the highway crossing to get back to the trailers.  We stayed on the east side of the lake & that was really fun.  You get more of the feel of being out-there.  We rode to the south park entrance, just over half-way the width of the dam, before turning back.  

Through the Big Cottonwoods~

After an uncalled for sideways spook at a little pink flag,  we came upon a nice hill.  Not too long, but enough room for a little speed.  I decided that Farah could use a good run.  We breezed up to 20 mph., not bad for the short distance.  She felt better & I did too :-)  Now, we'll be watching as the rains & wind return.  At least today's saddle time should last a while!

Glen Cunningham Lake - Revisited!

I'd been wanting someone to show me the way around this lake since my attempt in early July.  That time I'd turned back when I'd seen signage saying no horses were allowed in the campgrounds.  The trail we were on had dropped us there & I didn't continue on.

Farah getting some greens!

Today, a friend was nice enough to act as our trail guide & I was really looking forward to the day.  The weather was cool & overcast when we started out, but perfect for riding.  The forecast called for a high of 70!

The lake from the hillside~

 We left on the same trail that Farah & I had used.  I was interested in seeing where we'd gone astray.

Amazing home~

This home looks like it could be in the mountains of Colorado.  With the view of the lake, I'm sure it's stunning inside.

Margie & Coco; "We go this way!"

At the campground where I'd turned back, Margie showed me where the trail continues along the edge.  The day I was here, a tent was set up near the fence & the trail hadn't been mowed.

In the "Magic Woods"~

I was told to get my camera ready & Wow!  As I told her, it was like riding in what I used to call the "Deep Dark Woods" at Victoria in WA.  A beautiful area, almost making me homesick for our old trails.

With most of the leaves down ~

 Here we are nearing the end of November & as the day went on - the temperatures climbed.  Coco set a nice moving pace of 3.6.  Both mares were sweating with their winter coats.

A tentative new friendship :-)

Our mares were friendly toward each other, which made it nice for us.  Farah brought up the rear & though it's never her favorite thing - she handled it better with a faster pace.

Stunning views~

We stopped at this high point.  Just an amazing view of a large open space surrounded by urban development.  Maybe similar to Marymoor Park in Redmond, WA.  At least in the days before it became more commercial.

At the dike~

By now, I recognized we were on the far side of the lake.  We'd parked on the far side.  All the trails were pleasant.  Margie asked if I was ok with bridges?  I replied in the affirmative.  Well...  Let that be a lesson to me - Farah refused this one.  The transition concrete block going on was different than any she's seen.  When she did decide to go, the sound was much different from the wood plank or lightweight concrete she's used to.  I didn't want to end up in the creek below, there's no photo :-)

Our rigs on the far side~

A huge lake, it was fun to look across & see our trucks.  Not so fun to cross a busy highway not once, but twice to get back to the trailers.  There are four additional miles of trail on the far side.  Somewhere else to check out.

Back at the parking area, we brushed the mares, then sat out for a while.  Nice to enjoy the warm sunshine, before the drive home.