Finally! A summer update! (Part I)

Technology can be a wonderful thing:  it has allowed me to map routes down to the tiniest detail without ever having set foot along the proposed path; it lets me communicate from one unknown place to another, via voice or text, almost no matter where I am; and it provides me with the tools to write stories about my adventures accompanied by photos taken with a phone!

However, my brain, apparently, is having a hard time keeping up. Kendall and I traveled to Michigan early last month and it was just yesterday that I was able to transfer the pictures I took with my antique flip phone during that trip onto my computer (via my tablet) - and the successful transfer was thanks to my son Paul's help and no thanks at all to the fiddling I had done over the past few weeks trying to figure it all out. So! Transfer of photos done and here's the long overdue blog post!

Our June trip had multiple goals:

• enjoy some travel and camping time in Hedwig
• get back to Petoskey and Lake Michigan
• have some fun on Kendall's yet-another-birthday-in-Petoskey
• get the rehab work underway for the house we own back there
• check off a sixth state in my quest to run a trail in every state
• ...did I mention Lake Michigan?

Goals met! And here's Part I of the photo record of how we did it:

Firstly - every road trip includes exploratory runs. On the way to Michigan, we found:

An Oregon Trail marker near York, Nebraska

Campground agility!

 

A Cow! Where else but Wisconsin

 












Then on to Michigan - where the lake was its wild and beautiful self and Petoskey reminded me of why I always feel like I'm going home when I return to the town where I grew up.

This trip, Hedwig and Magnus Park were our home base in Petoskey - which was just fine since Magnus is right on the shore of Little Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan close to many of the delights Petoskey has to offer. We got Hedwig settled in then headed straight for the beach.

Lots and LOTS of Petoskey stones 'round here

Speaking of beach, for a dog who is no fan of water, Taz thought the lake was the best entertainment ever!

Stick!!!!

I'm gonna get that wave!

We're having some fun now mom, eh?!

Just a few blocks from Magnus, we find our house (where, yes, we started the rehab effort: picked out paint, carpet, tile, bathroom fixtures, a handyman and an electrician)! And just another block or two away: a duck family at the waterfront! the river heading toward the lake!

Additional delights of the town:  kite flying at the waterfront, Petoskey stones galore,  fresh blueberry pie, giant canoes, and doggie water bowls thoughout the town! 

Even with all of these activities, we did not forget Kendall's birthday. We started with a lovely walk along the trail along/above the bay, had lunch at one of his favorite restaurants - Legs Inn with both views and Polish food that just can't be beat, and our eldest treated Kendall to a gift certificate to our favorite Petoskey bookstore. A good day!

Part II is up next! Until then, I'll leave you with a sunset picture, because, after all,  a photo essay of Petoskey is not complete, without a sunset picture (or two):

Boulder Spring

Springtime in Boulder generally means blooms, little critters - and - Bolder Boulder training. This year held true to form.

The blooms are glorious.

the critters are delightful,

Cows & calves on mother's day

My competition for slowest runner on the trail

 
and the Bolder Boulder training, well, let's just say that training for a 10k these days feels much like training for a marathon did a decade or two ago. As I told running buddy Connie after yesterday's run, I'm glad the training is pretty much over. I could use a break from all this silly speed stuff. Give me a long scenic run any day!  That said, all of the miles spent training for the BB with Connie and Anita have been among the major highlights of the spring. Our last pre-BB Saturday tempo run really drove this training partnership phenomenon home. We were running on the South Boulder Creek trail, shoulder to shoulder, in the midst of hard 8-minute repeats,and the feeling of combined strength was sensational. Here we are, in our 60s and 70s, running with the power, determination, and confidence to match anyone of any age. That is the miracle of running buddies.

Next up: Bolder Boulder 2016, day after tomorrow. Whatever race fitness I've crammed into this aging body of mine is thanks to my running buddies. Let's see what we've got!

Wednesday's Kilometer repeats done! Bring on the race!

Five States! Five Trails! Four Days!

Along the Erie-Lackawanna Trail

I saw this plaque along the first trail of my quest - and it made me laugh...exactly what each of my Big running adventures has done for me. Made me laugh - enjoy life - enjoy the world I find myself in. And so this new quest has begun!

First, a prelude to the quest: a visit to Lake Michigan on the way to the trailhead and just minutes from our campsite. It was a bit of a breezy, foggy, chilly day. Great for running! Wild for visiting the southern shore of the Great Lake whose northeast shore I called home while growing up!

State #1, Indiana and the Erie-Lackawanna Trail (Hammond to Crown Point, Indiana)
Chosen for location (not too far from where we dropped Paul off to visit a college buddy, and heading in the direction of our second trail), distance (14 miles), and because everything I had read about it seemed to indicate that it is a well-loved trail by those who maintain it and ride/run/walk it. All true! Besides that, I just love saying "ErieLackawanna."

The start at the Hammond Indiana Welcome Center

One of TWO! doggy drinking fountains along the trail

 

A trail-side Little Free Library

Indeed, the Erie-Lackawanna Trail

The Erie-Lackawanna neighborhood elephant

Indiana & the Erie-Lackawanna: Done!

State #2, Illinois and the Rock Island Trail (Alta to Princeville, Illinois)
Chosen because it is my long-time running buddy Connie's favorite trail. She discovered it when her son moved to Peoria and has been singing its praises ever since. Of course I was going to run Rock Island as my Illinois trail! Traversing farmland and prairie, it is as peaceful as peaceful can be.

Running buddy's son, Stephen, and family joined me for the early miles

Interesting sights near Dunlap village mid-way

Prairie farm beauty all along the way

Illinois & the Rock Island Trail: Done!

State #3, Wisconsin and the Pecatonica Trail (Calamine to Belmont, Wisconsin)
Chosen because it is pretty much the closest trail to the Illinois border just north of where we picked Paul up - and it is described as running along the twists and turns of the Pecatonica River. Sounded like fun! With the exception of 10 polite ATVs (5 individual and 5 in a group), it was just me and the birds out there. And in the absence of the ATVs, I thought my feet were making too much noise...certainly enough noise to startle many a large bird - one that seemed to be a mutant, white-faced giant goose, and several others that looked and sounded like turkeys...for what would a run in Wisconsin be without wild turkeys!
Unlike the prior two trails where Taz could accompany me for the early miles of the run, there was no place for a mid-run rendezvous to drop him off with Kendall, so I was doing this one solo. It also turned out there was no cell service along the way, so I was really solo. This made for a very quiet morning! Bonus features: very soft surface - thus very easy on the legs. And! 22 bridge crossings, presumably over the twisty turny Pecatonica (each of the bridges is numbered - so easy to keep track).

Ready to start the Pecatonica trail, Wisconsin!

First snake siting of the quest. A teeny thing.

The Pecatonica.

There is a critter climbing this tree.
I was hoping badger; son Devon researched & concluded groundhog. Other ideas?

Wisconsin & the Pecatonica Trail: Done!

And what is a trip to Wisconsin without a snapshot of a cow statue?!

State #4, Iowa and the Pioneer trail (Reinbeck to Grundy Center, Iowa)
Another trail chosen for location (near highway 20, which we prefer over I80 and west of Dubuque where we would be entering Iowa). Also for its description: through farmland and wildlife preserves. It sounded like a good combo to me! There are two points along the way where the trail stops and one has to travel along the highway. Given my fatigued legs, and that this would be my second run of the day (Wisconsin in the morning, Iowa in the afternoon), I decided that I would forego the 10-mile trail with highway segments and just run the 6 miles between the highway sections. Good choice - and one that offered a startling contrast of scenery. The first two-thirds or so of the distance paralleled the highway with farmland as far as one could see, then one road crossing later and I was in the midst of the wildlife preserve beneath a canopy of trees with birds, deer, and a raucous chorus of frogs to accompany me. Delightful!

Pioneer Trail! Iowa!

Pioneer Trail Farmland

Pioneer Trail Woodland

Iowa & the Pioneer Trail: Done!

State #5, Nebraska and the Dark Island trail (Central City to Marquette, Nebraska)
Dark Island got my vote primarily because of The Bridge. Quoting the Rails-to-Trails description of the trail: "The centerpiece of the trail is undoubtedly its 1,072 ft. long bridge, which was originally built in the 1880s by the Republican Valley Railroad. The bridge, which spans the Platte River south of Central City, is now one of the longest railroad trestles converted to a hiking/biking trail in the state of Nebraska." I simply had to check this out. It turns out, when running the trail from Central City to Marquette, the bridge comes very early in the run and the remainder of the trail is barely marked - but easy enough to discern because it is the quintessential rail-to-trail: slightly raised bed covered with cinder, chopped up rock, some grass, some more finely crushed rock and dirt. A rather challenging run in the more rocky bits and it is fairly remote, right through the midst of farmland with nary a human to be seen or heard. Again, a trail of contrasts given the exhilarating 1,072-foot run over the Platte to start things off!

The Bridge!

The Platte! From above!

Definitely a trail that used to be a rail

Uh Oh! (but easy enough to get around)

Taz sees Paula!

Nebraska & the Dark Island Trail: Done!

And that makes five!

Home again - and ready to plan the next outing!