Making a Difference in the World

"Anything you do from the soulful self will help lighten the burdens of the world. Anything. You have no idea what the smallest word, the tiniest generosity, can cause to be set in motion....Mend the part of the world that is within your reach." Clarissa Pinkola Estes
I want to take these words to heart. I need to quit looking for the bigger thing to do. I know in my own life that the things that have made the biggest impacts on my life have been the small things; a word said in passing that shook my world, a kind smile that eased my aching heart, a quick touch on the hand that said, "I care about you"....such small things can have a big effect on the heart for good.
Today I want to do small things for my loved ones and strangers alike. I want to live mindfully and deliberately, and by lightening someone else's load, I'll bring more joy into my own life.

Coq au Vin - Finished

Coq au Vin, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Here's the completed coq au vin, with pearl onions, mushrooms, and little pieces of bacon. The chicken became unbelievably tender, and so did the pearl onions. Coq au vin is fairly easy to make, and a great dish for a cold winter night.

You know you're addicted to cycling when...

This afternoon I spent an inordinate amount of time getting an old bike, otherwise known as The Black Magic to regular readers of this page (both of you) back on the road. The details of the repair are unimportant and really unspectacular (and probably would have been concluded much quicker but for an unexpected hitch). The point is, this bike is being "pensioned off" tomorrow when my new MTB arrives, but I'm so desperate for a ride tomorrow, and The Blue Flame is still having rear tyre problems (that will be fixed tomorrow as well), so once again, I am dragging out The Black Magic for one final hurrah. It just seemed like a lot of work to go to for one ride, and at just 100km, it's not even a long one.
Picture above from Mt Nimmel this morning.

Valley of Fire

Packed up the car. Breakfast, and hit the road for Las Vegas. Don't remember the deep canyon when I drove the corner of Arizona some 20 years ago. First stop was the Information Center once I entered Nevada.

Off the interstate to see Vally of Fire State Park. Lots of red rock! Similar to Kodachrome Basin, but much larger area. Today's photo was taken at Valley Of Fire State Park.

Instead of dropping over to I-15, I took the scenic route through Lake Meade Recreation Area. The only problem was finding my way into Las Vegas from the recreation area.

Very windy today. Warm (80) and windy. Front coming through this evening. Coolerr for the week, but still highs in the lot/mid 70s.

I got my bearings and made it over to Las Vegas Blvd and the Riviera. Some of the other of our group were checking in as the same time. Once i had the camera, laptop and bicycles in the room, i took it east. Alternated trips from the car and stopping at the Hospitality Room.

Some of the folks were eating at the steak/seafood restaurant in the hotel. Just too much food for me. I found the food court and had a good cheese-steak sandwich and onion rings.

After an visit in the hospitality room I went to the room. Watch debate coverage on CNN (the hotel TV carries Fox News but not MSNBC. Gonna have to complain about that! Processed my photos from today. Now bed time

This Could Happen To You

This is what happens when you spend a Friday night alone with an eleven-year-old girl with too much time on her hands. I have one hand painted with ladybugs and the other painted neon yellow with black tic-tac-toe designs. I think I'll shake things up a bit and go to church tomorrow morning like this.
Sorry for the blurry pics. It was hard to hold the camera with one hand and get close enough to see the details.

Eagle Mountain Hike

Above: The trail starts off in a rather enchanting evergreen forest.
Last week we hiked up Eagle Mountain, the highest point in Minnesota. Despite having lived in Cook County my entire life, I had never done the hike before. It was something I really wanted to do, considering other recent "firsts" for me in the local area (hiking Devil Track River, visiting Thompson Falls on the Cascade River). The trail to Eagle Mountain is 7 miles round-trip and for the most part is a very rugged, rocky trail. We did the round-trip hike in just over 5 hours, including several stops along the way to take photos, and about a half-hour snack break at the summit.

Before too long, you cross the line and from this point on the hike is within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.


Even though this is not known as a fall color hike, we did see a lot of nice color in the underbrush along the trail.


A few boardwalks that cross some bogs and marshes along the way give the trail some nice variety in the scenery.


Lots of color along this portion of the trail! Photo by Jessica Barr


Clouds over Whale Lake - Photo by Jessica Barr


Photographing the clouds over Whale Lake - Photo by Jessica Barr


Photographing the view from the summit - Photo by Jessica Barr


Although not the highest point on Eagle Mountain, this location offered the best "overlook" view.


Jess checking out the survey marker designating the highest point on the mountain at 2,298.1 feet.

Black Hills of South Dakota

Tuesday was a "extra" day when I planned the trip. Have been to the Black Hills several times (mostly for the BH Fat Tire Festival). This time was a stop to maybe see some stuff I missed. It also let me to reconnect with more familiar surroundings.

Once I got up and going, I was off for a driving and photography down the Needles Highway. I guess all of the budgets are tight, but I was shocked when the entrance fee at Custer State Park was $15! Just a couple years ago it was $10.

Took lots of photos in the Needles. From there, on down to the Wildlife Loop. That was a mistake! Two sections of the road were under "repairs". A long section was "one-lane" with "follow me" vehicls was for seal-coating. It was a long stretch they had blocked off. Big delay. And there was nothing that I saw when I entered the section of the park - no warning.

Never did see what the construction was for in the second section. Really frustrated with the first private vehicle through. Lollygagging through the area - not keeping up with the "follow me" truck. Between those section, a traffic jam with folks feeding the donkeys/burro's.

The last section of the drive was better, again. Took the Iron Mountain Highway back to Keystone. Been on the road many times, was able to perfect my photo shoots in the tunnels. Skipped the visit ot Mt Rushmore - been there several times.

Final goad for the day was to stop in Rapid City to see one of my old BHFTF friends at the bike shop (Black Hills Bicycles). Was a bonus as another friend came in while I was there. Back to Keystone, wanted to pick up more postcard stamps - but the post office closes at 2:30! Picked up a couple souvenirs.

Dinner again at the BaRLee in Keystone. Wanted to have a Blizzard as Dessert - but the DQ was closed at 6pm! Whats with this - Keystone is a tourist trap and should have places open later! Back at the motel, I was exhausted. Wanted to process more photos from the drive that day. Just could not keep my eyes open. Crashed into bed at 7pm.

Hydrangeas Turning Green

With a slight pink tint.

Recovery Ride

Yesterday, it was about all I could do was get out of bed in the morning. Just exhausted from the ride on the Trace Sunday. But, weather was sooo nice, had to stretch my legs with a pavement ride.
It was about 11:30 when I parked the car at the Wabash Trace Trailhead. Noticed Dennis' truck parked there. Unloaded the road bike from the car and geared up for my ride.
Light breeze, think it from the West or NW. Temperature was in the mid 70s with bright sunshine. Great riding weather.
Stopped down by the riverside boat ramp area (mountain bike trails). As I expected, the Missouri River is higher - more flooding between the levee and the river. Today's photo was taken at the entrance to the West mountain bike trail.
On over the the Western Historic Trails Center. Visited a little with Dewey. Rode on over to I-80 for a little more mileage. Then over to Xtreme Wheels. Rested a little there. Zack was busy selling bikes so did not much time to visit with him.
On down to the car. Chewed a Shot Block to get ready for the climb over the tracks. Turned out to be a good recovery ride - just short of 20 miles at about 10.5 mph.

Playing "Tagged" and Sugar's Contest Picture

Oh my non-dogness! Before I go into the story, Sedona (http://tollertales.blogspot.com/) tagged me a while ago, and I haven't gotten to "play" before today, so here are my instructions for the game:
1. Open your "My Photos" folder and select the 6th folder.
2. Select the 6th photo in that folder.
3. Post the photo along with the story behind it.
4. Tag five of your friends to do the same thing.
Sounds like fun, huh? You never know what might show up on someone's blog!!!
This is what came up when Ma followed all the above rules and she's a bit red in the face. For the last seven or eight years, she's been writing (mostly editing) a book that was published last December. This is a picture of her answering questions at a reading she did in New York last February. (Mom's photo files are alphabetized rather than arranged by date.) It was apparently a successful trip, but I missed her a lot cause I didn't get to go, but I'm very proud of her! I know that a ton of you doggies have been tagged to do this, and it is interesting to find out what pops up. So any of you pups out there who have not been tagged to play this fun game, please consider yourselves... Tagged!!!

And this photo is for Sugar's (http://I-need-a-sugar-fix.blogspot.com) contest - I may be a little late, but finally found the picture I remembered I had - I am "not where I am supposed to be" hehe!

Tranquility Tire Tantrum

Saturday was (twice rescheduled) Tranquility Tire Tantrum mountain bike race. The race is a part of the Psycowpath Mountain Bike Series and was held in Tranquility Park in Omaha, Nebraska. Was a beautiful day for a bike race, though the wind could have dialed down a bit.

The photo shows some of the participants checking out the all-important race results.

Photos taken during Tranquility Tire Tantrum are posted. Think I only missed 2 riders in the first race. Did not stay for the end of the second race as it was about all my body could handle.
As usual, these are proofs for viewing and ordering purposes. If you wish to order a file, I will reprocess the file from the camera raw and e-mail the file to you.
Photos are located at: http://win-photo.photoreflect.com/