Frustrating Computer Problem

It has been a while since I rode the "Trace". Don't think that I had ridden to Malvern this season! Beautiful day for a bike ride. Sunny, 80, some wind.
I needed the ride. Had been getting frustrated with my computer network. It was just not working right, specially since installing the router and satellite modem. I finally found a solution. The network here is a peer-peer network (as opposed to Server-client network). The configuration file on my XP Pro computer showed the mode to be peer-peer. BUT, the mode needs to be "mixed", "unknown" or other - specifically NOT peer-peer. Once I changed the registry - problem solved. Go figure. You gotta "love" Microsoft.
BTW - Today topped over 1400 miles for the year.

A Busy Week Ahead

Miss Thing will be gone all week to a church camp in the North Carolina mountains. I'm going to work like a fiend to get her room painted, her school books ordered, and her school year planned.
So....looks like my week off will be all about her anyway. So what else is new?
And do I need to say that she did NOT want to have her picture taken?

Kadunce River Gorge

Did you know that there are canyons in Minnesota that could qualify as slot canyons, similar to those found in the southwestern United States? Well, here is one! Sure, it's not a super-skinny slot that you have to squeeze sideways to get through it, but I think it's narrow enough and deep enough to qualify. This is on the Kadunce River just north of Grand Marais, MN not far upstream from Highway 61. There are many wonders to explore on this beautiful little river. I think I could spend the whole day photographing just the first mile of river upstream from Lake Superior. It is a magical canyon wonderland, in an area where you would least expect it! When you start out on the trailhead from Highway 61 you would never guess that this deep gorge is just a short walk away.

Tunnel Slot Canyon

As we hiked across the plateau towards the back entrance of Tunnel canyon, there really weren't any landmarks to guide us so it took a little while to find the entrance to the canyon. As we nagivated across the sea of slickrock we eventually saw what had to be the canyon up ahead. As we got closer we realized that indeed it was the descent down into the canyon. Next, we had to find a way down. It was very steep and there was no obvious trail, but eventually we did find a route down. Once we were in the canyon we had a welcome respite from the sun. The canyon was fully shaded and it was nice and cool as we walked down-canyon. We would soon be wishing for the sun again, however.





As we rounded a corner in Tunnel canyon, we could see up ahead the section that gave the canyon it's name. The "slot" section of Tunnel is indeed just that: a tunnel through the rock. Unlike most slot canyons, Tunnel does not have much of an opening, if any, at the top. This means that very little sunlight gets inside the canyon and it gets pretty cold because of that. Also, on this day, the canyon was full of water! We knew there was a chance that it would be full of water, but we were hoping that because of the relatively dry spring it would (hopefully) be dry. Well, it wasn't. It was full of water, and it was COLD water. And, in the deepest part, it was almost chest-deep on me (I'm just over 6 feet tall). So, we had a decision to make... wade through the deep, freezing water or backtrack up over the plateau the way we came. If we went through the water, we would have about a 2 to 3 mile walk back to the car. If we backtracked, it would be more like 5 to 6 miles. None of us felt like backtracking, so we decided to go through the water.





I went in first, and used the extended legs of my tripod to "feel" the water depth ahead of me as I advanced through the canyon. At first it wasn't too bad, barely above my knees. And, after the initial shock of the ice-cold water, my legs went a little numb and it didn't feel as cold so I spent a few minutes in the middle of the canyon to make some images of our friend Roger coming through the canyon. Eventually, though, my legs couldn't take the cold any more and it was time to go through and out into the warm sun. As we soon discovered, the deepest part was the last several feet before exiting the canyon. It made for an interesting shot as Jessica took pictures of me wading through this last, deepest section of water. Once we were out of the slot canyon and back into the warm sun, we found a nice flat section of rock to try and dry out in the sun. We removed our shoes and socks and laid them out on the rocks to dry. After about 15 to 20 minutes we were already about half-dry so we decided to continue the hike back to the car. By the time we hiked the couple of miles back to the car across the open desert and hot sun, we were pretty much completely dry. It definitely was an exciting adventure, one that none of us will ever forget!

Very Tired

WOW, I am tired after the ride today. Tired in a very good way - body is tired (specially legs) but mind is energized.
I rode 11 miles in the snow at Manawa on the Fuel EX7. That was an hour and 49 minute ride (about 2 hours with stopped time), a long singletrack ride for me. The average 6 mph pace was pretty good for me, too.
When I got home from breakfast, I saw on Facebook that others will be riding at Manawa today. I hightailed it back to town to ride. Several others out riding today. The trail was in good condition, though starting to get soft.
Stopped by Xtreme Wheels to welcome them back from their holiday vacation. I learned that trainers were in and looks like spinning classes start Tuesday (watch the Xtreme Wheels Blog).
Hoping to ride at Manawa tomorrow morning (after breakfast). Rumor has it that a group is planning to ride Monday morning 8:30 am at Manawa.

Hamilton Pool Preserve

The drive to Hamilton Pool Preserve from Austin takes 40-45 minutes and is really outside of Bee Cave, not Dripping Springs. We hoped we would be one of the 75 cars allowed into the preserve. After the 75 cars are in, for each car that leaves, one car can enter. That is how they manage the property so it isn't overrun with people.

When we arrived at the entry gate, there were five cars ahead of us and they were moving. Good sign. The entrance fee is $10 per car.

We made it in and found parking under a tree. (In case you haven't heard me say it before, shade is a plus - as is a swimmin' hole - when the temperature is forecast to be 99° F.)

We parked, slathered on sunscreen, and headed down the quarter-mile trail to Hamilton Pool. When we got there it was quite crowded on shore, but the swimming hole is big enough to hold lots of people.

Being that we were mighty hot, especially after hiking in, we immediately got in the water. Brr! This pool is a lot cooler than the swimmin' hole at McKinney Falls. After we got in, though, it was quite pleasant and refreshing to hang out in. We liked that we could swim either in the shade or, if we got too cool, we could move over a few feet and be in the sun.

Hamilton Pool Preserve swimming hole.

After we cooled down and soaked our weary bones, we hiked the trail through the natural grotto behind the swimming hole. There is a trickle of a waterfall coming over the top, but not much. People thought it was fun to sit where the water comes off the rock above.

Loving this place...reminds me of Oregon.

Natural grotto.

Where the "falls" come over.

Must be under the falls!

Another view of the beach and pool.

Ladder on trail around back of grotto.

Hamilton Pool trail.

The family we had met at McKinney Falls yesterday was here today. Their boys were dying to show us the big catfish close to shore. The boys threw little dried leaves in the water and the catfish, thinking the leaves were food, would come to the surface. A couple of those fish were over a foot long. No fishing allowed in the Preserve.

A park ranger was on duty at the swimming hole to make sure no one breaks the rules. There are a couple of life rings on ropes that can be used to rescue people from the deep parts of the pool. We stayed about an hour, and then headed back to our lovely campsite at McKinney Falls.

Both of us were exhausted from getting up early three days in a row, so we napped away the afternoon. dinner, we made another campfire, ate roasted hot dogs, coleslaw, left-over chicken breasts and cooked another veggie skewer in a foil packet on the hot coals. For dessert, we wanted S'mores but had run out of chocolate. Oh well, we're mellow, we made S'mores without the chocolate and they were good anyway.

We had a wonderful time on our five-day getaway to McKinney Falls State Park in Austin. It's hard to believe all the things we crammed in, but that's why we chose this state park - it is very close to downtown Austin so we could easily drive into town. The park is well maintained and well patrolled by the park police and rangers.

Our only wildlife sighting was this morning; a skunk waddled through the dump station at the park.

Tomorrow, we head back to San Antonio.

Travel Bug out.

Our Soldier's Home!!!

The long-awaited day finally came, and we picked up our son. It's been the longest year of my life and the most prayed over one. But that won't stop. He now has to get his old life back, and that may take a little while. Who knows what issues are going to pop up as he goes about his daily life?
I'm constantly being amazed at how much our four adult children are being prayed over. I remember when they were very small and we were visiting my Grandma Collins. I had grown weary from the dailiness of my life and made this comment, "I'll be glad when it's just the two of us again and the children are married and settled." She started laughing and I started thinking, "This can't be good. Why is she laughing?"
Then Grandma, in her wisdom and experience, said, "It'll never be like that again, because you'll always keep adding more people to worry over and pray about. First there'll be spouses and then grandchildren."
My shoulders slumped as I realized she was right. I knew that I'd just have to put on my big girl panties and deal with it. Further slumping of shoulders.
Sometimes I think that I can't add one more person or thing to think and pray about, but God knows better. He's bigger than that.
So...to add to my oldest daughter who is struggling (and doing very well...much better than I did) with four little boys, my favorite son-in-law (so far) who likes to trade cars and build Legos for sale on E-bay, my next son who just returned from Iraq, the middle son who is looking desperately for a job and direction in life, the youngest son who is finishing up his last semester in college and trying to decide where to go for more schooling, the daughter-in-law who wears many hats while her husband finishes school, and the twelve-year-old daughter who delights in horses and cute boys...add to that a first-time meeting with soldier boy's new girlfriend he met while in Iraq. Lord, help us all!

Return to the valley

For some reason it's been quite a while since I rode out through Currumbin Valley. Today I decided to do something about it. It was a reasonably pleasant morning, and once I escaped suburbia the rolling hills surrounding were about as green as one could possibly expect at this time of year. I was, however, slightly surprised at just how little water was coming over Cougal's Cascades at the western end of the valley. I'm hoping more rain falls before I visit Minyon Falls in the near future.



I also paid particular attention to slaughtering the climb up the ridge on Piggabeen Road. I could pay for it tomorrow, but sometimes one just has to make a statement. It was at the top of this ridge that I got an idea just how big the so-called "eco-village" being built at the eastern entrance to the valley is going to be. According to the "for sale" signs, it's going to stretch right up the northern side of the ridge. I suppose it promises to be a lesser evil than the stupidly ugly subdivisions they keep building in the Nerang and Robina areas if one actually believes the advertising. On the other hand, I'd prefer it wasn't built in an area where it might obscure the sweeping views from Piggabeen.



There also seemed to be a lot of idiots on the road this morning. One particular moron on the way home sped out of a bottleshop way too fast when I was passing, I think he actually accelerated when he saw me in a deliberate attempt to cause a crash (it wouldn't be the first time). I saw this particular moron late, but found enough of a sprint to get away from it. I can only hope this idiot wipes himself out of the human gene pool without taking anyone else with him.

Dirt (Gravel) Ride

Started packing up the roon this morning. No fishing tournaments because hassles to get permits on Lake Meade (about the only place to fish in the area). Figured to ride some dirt today. Had a late breakfast at the poolside cafe.

Checked with a couple locals about where the bike shop had suggested where I should ride. Headed out for Cottonwood Valley. Almost for lost because i did not think it would take that far out of Las Vegas. Eventually found the trailhead.

When ready to ride, I asked another guy loading up his bike - looking for where the trails started and a suggested ride. He took my photo for me and I headed up the hill.

Did not ride too far - just too tired. Got far enough to take a few photos - for next year's calendar. Had lots of fun ride back down! The trail here was combination of rocks, gravel, and some fine, loose gravel.

While Walking in Owl Wood Over the Weekend

I took a different path from normal, and looked around for more tree 'eyes'. Of course there were lots to choose from. So here is another batch.





I took plenty of photographs, but these are probably the ones least likely to spook some of my more sensitive friends - though why tree eyes would spook anyone is beyond me.





Mind you, I don't like walking in there when it is dark - my imagination goes into overdrive then! Benign eyes could easily become something entirely different.





I like my day time version.

I think they are beautiful and I like to think that the trees are casting a benevolent eye over the hens, the cats, Toby and I as we meander around!

Owl Wood is the healthiest it has been for a long time, why wouldn't the trees be keeping watch over us?





It is a lovely place to walk and to think.





The wood provides us with all the firewood we need, and in return we tend it and tidy it and try to make sure that it remains healthy and viable.