Silver City to the Lookout~

It was one of those perfect hazy days of November.  I knew the trail would be dried out enough to ride & decided to ride the section north from Silver City.  There was only one other car with Nebraska plates, in the parking area by Happy Trails.

Northward Bound~

I was surprised to see the first mile of concrete still covered with leaves after all the winds we've had.  The air was so fresh & the smell of the leaves the strongest of the season.

Stuck Van on a Grade B Road~

The picture above is a perfect example of why not to try to drive on Grade B roads after a rainstorm, or two!  I could hear the groan of the engine before I reached a clear spot on the trail to see where the noise originated. (This was one of the roads Farah & galloped when it was dry.)

Farm pond~

I'd taken a photo of this pond early in early October.  It was beautiful then & even more beautiful now.  The surface of the pond looked like a mirror, reflecting the trees.  There was absolutely no wind today & that's very rare, especially this late in the season.

Shadow~

When I made the climb back up to the trail, from admiring the pond, Shadow was waiting for me.  If not for this bike, I doubt I'd be doing the miles I've been used to.

Leaving Mineola~

The four miles to the Mineola trail head went by in no time.  The trees are still sporting some color & I enjoy them all.

Unidentified tree~

This is the second tree I've seen on the trail with the beautiful orange leaves.  My best guess so far is a Black Cherry.  

Harvesting Corn~

Further along the trail & more noise.  I soon saw why. It's still amazing to see how cleanly modern machinery can harvest corn from a field.  Very few ears are left & they're soon picked off by the deer, squirrels, turkey's etc.

At Margaritaville, I stopped to take a short break before finishing the last couple miles to the Lookout.  I assumed I was alone.  Wrong!  The slam of the outhouse door startled me!  A man came out who evidentially was walking the trail.  He didn't speak, I got back on Shadow & continued on.  A lesson to remember - even with no bikes around, someone may be.

Shadow & the view~

The Lookout bench rest spot wasn't occupied. I put in a call to Butch & took a short break before starting back south. 

Territorial View~

Though limited, I love what there is of a view from this hill.  It'll be a shame when the trees grow enough to close it off.

The "Lookout"

This rest spot is one of the nicest on the trail.  Most of the improvements occur on the mile's closest to Council Bluffs. There are so many areas further south that could use some work, but at least the two trestles each side of Malvern were repaired.

Lewis & Clark Trail~

Just past the underpass is the signage for the Lewis & Clark trail.  It follows the Wabash Trace for several miles & even continues through Glenwood.  When I passed the Grade B Road again, the van was gone.  

View of Mineola in the distance~

The view from the Old Goat rest area is another I always stop to admire.  With so much downhill on this stretch of trail, I wasn't too worried about getting back before sunset.  From here I had just over four miles left to reach Silver City.  I arrived at the Explorer by 4 p.m. & returned to pick up Finn from Doris by 5.  Once home, by the time I'd put the bike away, it was dusk.  Shorter days, but I'm enjoying them while they're still here.  Before long, the cold will come~

Mineola to Dumfries~

 I've been working to increase my distance again this season, on the limestone.  Today I decided to do the more difficult section north from Mineola & see how I would do on the uphill grade.  

At the trailhead~

The day was moderate, in the 50's without too much wind.  I hadn't ridden this portion of the trail since March 16th of last year.

Keg Creek

The creek still has a decent amount of flow, but remains much lower than normal.  I wasn't in any hurry & had hoped to keep on peddling the entire four-miles.  That goal wasn't met!  I ended up stopping three times! 

Badly rutted trail~

I can't get over the damage this year, to the trail surface.  It looked like cars have been driven on it!  I doubt a car, but certainly a large, heavier 4-wheel of somekind.  Some new gravel had been put down in spots - filling in some of the ruts.  If I tried riding there I'd find the gravel as my tires sunk in.

Trail Damage

It's just sickening the lack of regard people have for trail rules.  There were even footprints sunk deep for quite a distance.  Once the surface dries out - they stay - until we get at least one or two good rains.  (Rain has been non-existent for the last several months...)  The footprints meandered from one side of the trail to the other - so there was no avoiding them...  It was tiring to constantly watch where I was riding, to miss those I could.  (So much for horses damaging the trail!)

Underpass at Dumfries~

I passed Margeritaville on my way north & went on to the Dumfries underpass.  That gives me a full four-miles each way.  By the time I arrived, the worst of the grade was behind me & I felt like I could have gone on to Council Bluffs.  I really didn't have the time though - that will wait for another day.  I turned back, happy the difficult part was over.

Return to Margeritaville~

There were quite a few people out enjoying the trail & one family having lunch.  Only one rider with his music blaring as he passed me going the other direction.  Ear buds anyone?

View from Margeritaville ~

Several new picnic tables have been added.  I sat on one of those - off to the side with a nice view - for my snack.

New structure ~

Just past the main area, was this cute structure.  Recently unloaded from a trailer I'm sure.  There's probably some work yet to do, to level it up.  This area seems to benefit from lots of improvements every season. 

Almost back to Mineola~

The return south - was as usual - much faster than going north!  I didn't go as fast as I have in the past, the trail was just too rutted & rough.  It did feel good to have accomplished the ride though.  I'll come back again to see if I can improve my time back to what it was last year.  

Mineola to the Trestle ~

 A week so far of outstanding weather!  What we all hope for & are more than ready to enjoy.  With the temperature in the mid-60's I decided to do a section of trail I hadn't ridden in forever.  At least since the injury to my leg.  A nice two-mile climb to the crest of the hill & downhill into Silver City from the north.

At the Mineola trail head~

I don't usually start out with a climb.  It took me a while to get warmed up.  The first section goes along parallel to a road, but it's paved so no dust.

The curving bridge~

This is the bridge that has always looked like it tilts to the inside.  Noisy too, as the loose boards bounce when Smokey's tires roll over them.  Once I reached the crest, it was a quick downhill into Silver City.  I stopped to say Hi to Mari Jo before continuing on to the trestle.

Soy now brown & drying~

At the trestle, I'd ridden just over eight-miles, so turned back.  I'd have the same climb on the way back & it wasn't one of my stronger days.  That probably had something to do with all the mowing I'd done yesterday & my ride on Monday!

Under the broken limb~

It was so totally beauitufl out!  Harvesting is in full swing & the air has the smell of fall.

Nettles, done for the season~

Just past the trestle, the field of nettles are showing the effects of our cooler night time temperatures.  We've had a couple mornings down to 40 degrees.  Of course the day's are getting shorter too.

Leaving Silver City - north~

Again, I stopped to see Mari Jo, but didn't stay long.  It was fun to see another section of trail I don't visit often.  Last year I'd found my first turkey feather on this stretch.

Views 

I reached the crest & Smokey went into high gear as we flew toward Mineola!  I finished the ride at just over 16-miles.  Heading home, I always enjoy seeing the fields as they're harvested & the views open up :-)   Last year our first hard frost wasn't until November 2nd - so I hope we enjoy the upcoming autum colors for at least that long!

Fall in the Air~

 At around 8 p.m. tonight - fall officially arrives.  The weather the last two-days has been exceptional,  especially after our Tuesday of record breaking heat.  Yesterday, our Garden Club group took a trip to Kimmel Orchards in Nebraska City.  A hay ride, tour of the facility & shopping made for a day of fun. 

Kimmel Orchards

Today, was a nice as fall weather can be!  Cool, mid-60's, overcast & no wind made it the perfect day to try my luck.  I planned to ride from Mineola north to Council Bluffs on the trail.

Bridge over Keg Creek~

I hadn't ridden this section of trail all the way to Council Bluffs since April of 2020.  I do ride it from Mineola to Margeritaville & back.  It's one of my favorite rides in the fall & colder months.  The 8-mile round-trip isn't bad when you climb the grade on the way there, then get to enjoy the downhill on the way back.

Keg Creek~

It's such a pretty area with some really nice, more territorial views than the section south from Silver City I usually ride.

"Cowboy Pass"~

Always bitter-sweet too, since the six-miles south of Council Bluffs is the only section where horses are allowed.  It was one of the places Farah & I rode often.  We'd even gone all the way from Mineola north, before we realized the rest of the section of horse trail had been abandoned & was totally overgrown.

Margeritaville~ 

Margeritaville had new refuse containers, new flags & was looking very picked up for nearing the end of the biking ride season.  I didn't stay long, as I had no idea how long it would take me to get to Council Bluffs. 

Underpass - Council Bluffs~

I was moving right along!  Doing a really nice speed & even coasting in spots.  I'd forgotten this section is one that reverses the usual 3% uphill grade going north & downhill grade going south.  Here, Margeritaville is pretty much at the summitt of the hills & from there, you're droping down into Council Bluffs.

Trail-head, Council Bluffs~

Arriving at the northern most trail-head, I'd covered the ten-miles in under an hour.  As usual, the smell of cooking food coming from Tastee Treet was so tempting!  I'l learned my lesson the first time I'd done this though!  Having a root beer freeze, then riding the uphill grade back was not fun!  

A stop at Tastee Treat!

I bought some smoked brisket for my dinner & ended up tieing it to my pack on the back of the bike.  I just had a tiny cup of the Dole Watermellon soft serve!  

Going back was a bit of work, but not difficult.  Especially since I've been riding all summer.  There were more riders on the trail than I usually see, but I'm sure the wonderful weather contributed.

On the way back to Mineola~

The cloud cover rolled in again & the temperature felt like it had dropped.  Two groups of H.S. cross country kids were running on the trail & the tractor was out cutting the bush back along the sides.  The fumes from the tractor were no fun, I felt for the kids running.  I had an opportunity to pass & took it. 

Mineola, under it's canopy of trees~

Besides dodging all the walnuts, the last four-miles of downhill was as fun as I remembered!   I love the view of town, even when the townsite is obscured by trees.  A totally different view, dependent on the time of year.  

Mineola to Dumfries~

 Time to try out the Wabash Trace Trail again.  It would be my second ride here this month!  Mari Jo had been reporting it as having many soft spots on the sections near Silver City.  Leaving north from Mineola, I knew there were only a couple areas that might still be soft or slippery.

Mineola Trail head~

As you can tell from the photo above, the trail surface was bone dry.  So dry it was dusty in places.  The limestone almost felt like effort, after my rides on the hard surface trails of Lake Manawa!  It would be so easy to get spoiled if there were more hard surface trails to ride in our area.

Keg Creek Bridge~

There were some good wind gusts too, so between the wind & the uphill grade, I felt like I was gaining almost no ground at all.  I was determined though & took my time, thinking of the calories I was burning!  I passed Margeritaville on my way north, going on past Dumfries to the underpass before turning around.

Dumfried Underpass~

I dismounted & walked Smokey around the usual spot spot at Cowboy Pass.  I couldn't beleive how deeply it was trenched from the bike's that had just ridden on through...  After all, how hard is it to just go around on the grass?

Margeritaville~

I had Margeritaville to myself for a few minutes, before the couple I'd seen on electric bikes last time I was here, came by.  They kept going, but soon another rider stopped & sat at one of the picnic tables on the far side.  About that time, a big gust of wind came up & blew Smokey over!  The bike was fine, but I decided to head back.

View toward Mineola.  Luthern Church at the top of the hill~

The fields look so gray now, soon they'll be planted & we'll be seeing the pale green of new growth.  I'd looked forward to those four-miles of downhill grade, but the wind decided to blow right at me!  I actually had to pedal to make forward progress...  Not the usual easy/fast four miles back I'd hoped for!  

Almost back to the parking~

The wind is usually blowing pretty strong across the trail here, today was no exception.  I was still a bit stiff from my 15+ mile ride on Monday, so this 8-miles at least worked the kinks out!  It was nice to be on the trail again, but I'm looking forward to when I can ride out from Silver City.  

First Ride of March ~

 The first day of March, we're getting so close to spring!  A perfect day, March coming in like a lamb!  It's been dry enough the trail is rideable!  It was a warm & beautiful, without the winds that will come with the month.

Smokey on the Keg Creek Bridge~

I consider this a tough portion of the trail with a nice uphill grade the four miles into Margaritaville.  The grade continues all the way to Council Bluffs.  It's a challenge early in the season before I've done many miles.

Uncaring riders leaving huge ruts~

Its discusting to see the ruts left by riders who disregard the conditon of the trail surface & ride when it's too soft...  It takes so much work to smooth out.  

Blown over tree :-(

A nice sized tree blown over in some of the heavy winds we've been getting.  I appreciate the shade of the trees so much in the summer months.  Once I arrived at Margaritaville, I continued on to Dumfries to make it a full four-miles one-way.

Turn-around south of Dumfries~

The new Lewis & Clark Trail signs are such a nice addition.  It was very quiet today & nice to return to the peace of the countryside after riding at the lake.

Margaritaville ~

I stop & take a break on the swing, when the area isn't busy.  This time of year it's usually not.  The sky was so pretty today - I stayed a little longer than usual.

Mineola overlook~

This part of the countryside is one of my favorites.  The rolling farmland & open spaces are beautiful any time of year.

Mineola Countryside~

On the way back, Smokey flew!  The only thing slowing us down, was avoiding the ruts.  I only saw one other rider the entire way.  It was so refreshing to be back on the trail.  My last visit to this particular section of was my first ride of the new year in January.  It's unusual for the trail to be rideable so early in the season - I'll take it!