Two Sweet Things

Here are two of my favorite sweet things; my little cottage all decorated for Christmas, and my sweet daughter decorating the tree. Life is good.

Farm in the village

Just off the main street and square in my home village, and right behind the church, is a farm steading. The large building with the boarded-up doors is where the cattle were kept on winter nights and in bad weather. I remember as a child going past in the snow and hearing them lowing and shifting around in the straw. In summer house martins build in the eaves and swoop down into the courtyard.
It's been several years now since cattle have been kept here, and now I hear that the steading is to be pulled down. Nothing can remain the same, and the concept of farm buildings right in the centre of the village is an outdated one, but it always seemed special to me to have cows next door to the church on one side and the post office on another.

Black Hill Fat Tire Festival

Ladder on the trail at Badlands

Mt. Rushmore from Iron Mountain Highway

Rocky trail - Buzzards Roost
It has been a busy week. Wednesday I headed out from home for South Dakota and the Black Hills Fat Tire Festival. Stopped in the Badlands on the way. Lots of photos in the Badlands. Spent the night in Wall (home of Wall Drug).
Thursday, more photos. Was up for sunrise but overcast day. Not an impressive sunrise. Took lots of photos in flat light. Hikes some of the Castle Trail.

Off to Mt. Rushmore (scenic route). Hiked the trail there. Lots of more photos.
Yesterday the festival got underway. Rode my bike to registration. First ride was in the afternoon. Rode Buzzards Roost. VERY rocky ride. Had to stop to rest, walk some of the trail. Did just 3.3 miles.
Ended the day with the Welcome social at the Chop House (rode my bike from the motel to the social). Mickelson Trail today.

5 by 55

In October, I'll be 55 years old. The bucket list I made earlier hasn't had anything marked off in a long time. So I picked five of the easiest things to accomplish and am hoping to get them done by my birthday.
Here's my list:1. Make a Victoria Sponge Cake2. Begin reading Samuel Pepys Diary3. Revamp my wardrobe (The original entry on my bucket list said "To wear the cutest clothes ever" This will help me get started on that goal.4. Buy a fabulous pair of brown boots5. Get completely organized; paperwork under control
I have exactly sixty days to accomplish my list. I'd say it's doable. I'll give it my best shot.

Warmer Weather

After a couple cold weeks, the weather turned warmer. When I headed out for my ride it was 45 deg and filtered sunshine. Parked at the Wabash Trace Trailhead and headed toward the Western Historic Trails Center.
The bicycle trail is mostly clear and dry. Some spots are wet with melting snow. Caution! Underpasses and the railroad tunnel are icy. The tunnel is particularly treacherous. The tunnel has a lot of standing water with ice underneath. My bike slid under me and had problems just walking in the tunnel.
There is a big drift crossing Indian Creek Trail just South of Hwy 92. A couple other short sections have slushy snow.
With day-time highs in the 50s this week, the trails should be clear withing a couple days.
It was great to be back on a bike for a good ride.

White River Opening

So the latest news from White River is that the road to the campground and the ranger station will be opening this Friday around 7:30, barring some unforeseen event. The road to White River Campground is currently clear but still gated at Hwy 410. Climbers can gain access behind the gate by bike or foot to get an early start on the weekend.

Fuhrer Finger Sunrise

For the remainder of the season the White River ranger station will be open from 7:30 - 4:30 Sunday through Thursday, 7:00 - 7:00 on Fridays and 7:00 to 4:30 on Saturdays.

So it seems the weather is taking a break from summer and freshening up the skiing conditions for a bit! Remember to always be careful in stormy weather and bring your map/compass/GPS with you for when the visibility gets low.

Check out a great report on the Fuhrer Finger sent to us by some Utah climbers. Also, many thanks to those who have sent feedback on the Google translate feature. It appears to be a pretty rough translation, which doesn't surprise us, but could maybe be of use in certain situations. We will keep evaluating it.

Hope everyone has some great adventures planned for the upcoming holiday weekend!

Paddling in fog: a quieter experience on Lake Michigan

Paddling out through the fog.

Warm air, cool water and still winds conspired to create fog along the shoreline on Thursday morning. The four-mile crib was invisible from Burnham Harbor. The only way to get there was to paddle a 67-degree course and wait for it to come into view.

The fog-shrouded skyline behind us.

Few sailboats bothered to venture out in such still conditions; motorboats and cruisers stayed in the harbor, too. We saw a couple of tour boats and heard communication on our VHF radios between them and the lock tender. Aside from that, we were alone on a very quiet lake.

The four-mile crib came into view about half a mile from shore.

We heard the fog horn long before we reached the crib. As we approached, we also heard the squawking and screeching of cormorants and gulls, who weren't pleased to share their prime fishing ground with us.

We weren't interested in fishing, though. We came to swim.

Alec pulls his boat through the water, demonstrating that we are all between swims.

The fog gradually burned off, providing an interlude of blue skies before the cumulus clouds built above the city once again. By late afternoon, another in a series of summer storms came through, with strong winds and a deluge that contributed to the rising lake level (the optimistic way to view yet another storm that kept us off the water). In coming days, we'll post photos of some of the rougher water that followed.