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 than keeping my eye on the trail.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
When I think of the forests burning in Canada, it makes me sick... The wind shifted two-days ago. South winds had continued to bring us day after day of record-breaking heat. Tuesday evening, the wind shifted & with the shift came blessedly cooler air from the north. In a matter of a couple hours the temperature dropped from the 90's to the 70's. It was a relief, but not for long... Heavy smoke from the fires up north moved in with it...
287th Newly paved, into Silver City
Wednesday morning dawned with heavy overcast skies & a thick layer of smoke. Our low for the night was 47 degrees, a sure sign of fall. Today, the smoke was a little less & the sun had returned. It had been over a week since I'd made it out for a ride.
Fields of Golden Corn~
I was ready for some time on the trail & the illusion anyway of fresher air. The corn is already drying & turning the golden brown of the season. The afternoon was warming into the high 70's but seemed cool in comparison to the 90's of last week!
Silver Creek, low~
At the river, the bottom is in view. Water levels have dropped since the rains we'd received in July. The smoke was obvious on the horizon. At the park, I took my usual break to call Butch. He ended up sitting the day. The delivery date on his dispatch was off by 24-hours. He took the opportunity to get in a reset. He only had 20-hours left on his 70-hour clock.
Break spot~
The grass in the park is turning brown, as are our lawns... Ours at home had been the so beautifully green. Even with increased watering - it too - is showing many spots of brown.
There had been no other cars in the parking area when I'd left Happy Trails & I'd only seen two other riders on the trail, I think the smoke was a deterrent.
Fields of Gold~
At least the Goldenrod & sunflowers are in full bloom. Providing blazing shades of yellow for quite a distance of the trail, at the northern edge of Malvern! I stopped again to get a photo of the corn against a smoke gray, hazy sky.
Drying corn & heavy smoke~
I made my best time of the year on my ride today. Looking back at my stats from previous years, it was last September Smokey & I set our record for speed. I'm within a fraction of it now - but haven't gotten in the ride days I had by this time last year. Of course, my record is nowhere near what most riders do, but I enjoy the personal challenge.
West toward Glenwood on Gaston Rd.~
I stopped to chat with Mari Jo before heading home. The shop has been busy & she's had some interesting repairs. Now that we're nearing fall, it seems like the summer months have flown by. Only another few weeks & Happy Trails will close for the season.
The smoke was even heavier, than it had been earlier in the day, by the time I turned for home. It was a beautiful evening, but would have been more so without the smoke. Our forecast is for a weekend back in the 80's, but a wonderful cool down to the 70's with rain chances next week. I'm looking forward to both!
A Sunny Saturday & Butch had an activity to drive. A perfect day to head south to one of our favorite places to ride, Pierce Creek. The last time I'd been here, was the end of April, when I'd first lost vision in my eye. We'd dropped off fuel for our BCHIA SW Chapter, for a second day of trail-clearing & turned back to the optometrist office in Glenwood.
SW corner trails~
That same group had spent a hard days work last November, with chain saws, cutting back the trees & shrubs for this new trail. All those Volunteer man hours & effort to open over a half-mile of trail through the timber. I'd spent another day last fall following the Ranger to get the general idea of where the trail was to go.
Lake at Pierce Creek
The April BHCIA work crew had finished off widening the trail enough that the Rangers could mow it. I was so excited - finally - after all this time - to ride it! There was a light breeze, it was a cooler day & the humidity was amazingly low. Especially as wet as the ground was. The most saturated I've ever seen it - though I'm not here as often as I'd have liked.
Crossing the dike~
Such a spectacular day! Such a spectacular place, so rare in this state that has been dominated since it's inception, by thousands of acres of crops.
View from the SE corner~
Blooming Goldenrod dominated the landscape. There were butterflies everywhere, Monarch's in abundance! The bugs were still very bad, much worse than this time last year. I was going to use Farah's mask, but instead just used spray & a roll on. It wasn't enough.
Into the Timber~
We both knew where we were heading! Farah trucked right in to the timber trails. Even the grass areas were overgrown & hadn't been mowed in a while. That should have been my first clue...
Trail???
At first, I rode right by the turn-in to the new trail, but within a few feet realized that we'd passed it. No wonder, it was impossible to see. Farah turned right in, she knew where it was & didn't hesitate. At least not until she started lifting her front end off the ground, followed by stomping her hind legs! I dismounted - to find her Covered in burrs! Her legs were a solid mass of burrs going right up onto her chest & belly. She had a light sheen of sweat, which helped as I started using my hands to scrape them down & off her legs. She was so good to just stand there while I worked to get the worst of them off. I remounted & looked around. If it had been up to just me, I would have never found my way out. With one eye & no depth perception - it was a jungle...
I gave Farah her head, she started back, only changing direction slightly once. Once we were back on the main trail, I decided to go to the far end by the campground & try to go in there. After all, I couldn't imagine that it wasn't open at some point? Wrong! Again, we got in a short way before we were again covered in burrs. There had been absolutely No attempt by the park Rangers to keep the trail open. We fought our way back & to the campground.
On my leg...
I spent at least 30-min. removing burrs from Farah, the cinch, my legs, boots etc. How discouraging. I almost thought about taking the roads back to the horse park, but instead remembered that the main trail was at least rideable.
Our attempts to ride the "new trail"~
It's not just the amount of volunteer hours that went into getting this trail in. It's also discouraging that the people who come here often to ride, can't manage the few hours it would take to go through & keep it open. Not hard work, at least it wasn't earlier in the season when BCH had it all cleared.
East side of the lake~
I was glad we'd taken the trails. It gave me time to wear off my bad feelings towards the people who manage this park & those that are lucky enough to ride here - yet do nothing visible to maintain it. The firepits were full of cigarette buts & trash etc.
I just had to take this little video of Farah :-) She knew that I was paying no attention to the reins & was filming - so eventually she had to take advantage :-)
Looking back across from the west side~
Back over the dike & onto the much better trails near the gun club. Better - as long as it's not a day that the shooting is going on. We crossed the other access road & went up onto the hillside where Farah likes to move out. Move-out we did! We galloped our running hill twice, the second time, Farah kicked it into high gear & we had our Yippee run!
Bronco & Trailer - Between the Ears~
I'd been going to give her a bath before heading home, but the fly's were So bad! I put her out on the ground tie, put her face mask on & let her graze.
Starting a roll~
She laid down & had a wonderful roll, back & forth! Enjoying every minute, since she's not had a good one on grass in a while now. I sat & spent the time taking more burrs off myself & our tack, before loading her up.
Our route~
It was a great ride! All rides are Great rides! But my disappointment in the management practices here know no bounds. I just hope that BCHIA hasn't given any funding to this park. At least not until they are sure that the money is used to actually maintain the trails!
I had so looked forward to daughter Courtney & the Grand-kids visit! The days went by Way too fast! It seemed like they had only arrived - then they were gone... Oh lonely me...
When we visited Farah - Courtney had headed in to the stable & before I knew it - led Farah out. Mason & Cassidy were petting her - giving her cookies & it did my heart good to see she not only remembered them - but had missed them too.
Farah listening~
Today - the two of us were back at Waubonsie - doing what we've been doing for many years now - riding trails. I thank the Lord for this mare - I've yet to add up the miles we've gone - but it has to close to five-thousand, even with the dismal distances we do here.
I think this is a variety of Goldenrod, it was stunning to ride past. It had been three weeks since we'd last been here & there were a few changes. All of our work from the BCH work party had held up well! I didn't have as much trash as usual to pick up, just juice containers from the fire pits & never ending cigarette butts.
Now - water back in the creek~
Temperatures have been in the mid-80's, but humidity has been a little higher. There was a light breeze & fluffy clouds that cooled things down when they passed under the sun.
I had Farah's shoes pulled & took her for x-rays mid-month. The results were great - no mechanical or physical issues with her pasterns or hoof capsules, no coffin bone rotation, no sign of arthritis. I've left her barefoot for now - no need for shoes on the trails we usually ride.
New picnic table at the three rest stops~
The new picnic tables are Great & won't need the maintenance of the old wood ones. Many thanks to our new Park Ranger Ryland. Someone had used blue survey tape to mark a tree that needs to be chain sawed out. This was Rayland's idea too - we carry the tape - mark the issues - then park personnel can clear it.
Grazing at nose level :-)
Farah is determined that this is our break spot - whether I think we need a break or not. We'd gotten out of the habit of the lunch breaks that we always had in WA. For one thing - we're not riding as far & when the bugs are so bad - stopping is a bad idea! Instead - we kick back for a while when we return to the trailer.
Leaf dancing in mid-air~
When you see the leaves defying gravity & dancing in the air - you know that Fall is just around the corner. I even managed to capture the spider responsible for the beauty. Spiders? We must have gone through 50 webs in ten-miles! The second time around - a few of them stayed down!
The rear view~
Farah enjoyed her bath & grazing while I had my snack. No one was there when we arrived & only two ladies returning to their trailer when we left. It was so very quiet - it's the quiet here I do really love. Listening to the sounds of nature is so cathartic to my soul~
