Bikepacking

I've always wanted to try bikepacking, so when the bike shop in Ottawa, KS offered a bikepacking trip on the Flint Hills Trail, I decided to sign up. I was a little bit nervous about riding 20 miles to the overnight stop, since the Flint Hills themselves can have quite a lot of elevation change, but the trail was completely flat. It was a beautiful day - sunny and 70°. I was pleasantly surprised given that early September can be quite hot, especially in the Midwest. 

We rode from Ottawa to Pomona State Park. I'd originally planned to camp in the park overnight like the rest of the participants, but when I discovered an available cabin rental, I grabbed it. I felt kind of bad sneaking off to the cabin (not in true bikepacking spirit), but the cabin had a huge deck with a gorgeous view of the lake, plus a real bathroom. The other bike riders had to shower in the communal bath house or jump in the lake. 

Part of the bikepacking adventure included a chuckwagon dinner. It was absolutely scrumptious with a huge slice of prime rib, baked beans, macaroni & cheese, and a roll. There were 5 different kinds of cheesecake you could choose from for dessert. I picked the chocolate, but the other flavors looked equally tempting.

While we ate, there were 3 different bands playing bluegrass music. I'm not really a fan of fiddle-picking, but the bands reminded me of the Grand Ole Opry show we used to watch at the Lake of the Ozarks. (I didn't really care for that show either, but it was the only TV channel we could get at the lake.)

The bikepacking trip was actually called the Moonrise Bike Ride. They must have scheduled it perfectly, because the moon was completely full and bright. I didn't stay up to ride with the others at midnight, but when I rode back to the cabin, the moon was bright enough to light the way. Counts for me.

All in all, I ended up riding parts of 3 different trails over the week - the Flint Hills, the Prairie Spirit, and the Trolley Track. It rained off and on the Friday before the ride, but I managed to get in the latter 2 rides. Luckily the sun came out on Saturday. I would have been really bummed if I'd driven all that way and not been able to ride.

Before I went to Ottawa, I spent a couple days in KC. Janet, Teresa, and I went to Andy's for jackhammers. That's where they drill through the center of the ice cream and fill it with the topping of your choice (I picked hot fudge, of course). 

I got to see Melisa's kids for a quickie visit when they got home from school. Violet is almost as tall as I am. She's very happy in this photo, because she just made the A volleyball team at her middle school.

Hazel, Lincoln, and Goldie were playing on their new trampoline that Jamie just installed. It's level with the ground rather than being raised up on a frame, which makes it extremely sturdy. Plus, you don't have to worry about jumping too close to the edge and falling off.

Pearl is also really growing. She's an incredibly happy baby - always smiling at everyone. She tried to steal a couple of the kid's cookies they'd left behind her chair, but Melissa caught her before she could eat any.

Pearl made me laugh, because like most babies, even though she was surrounded by colorful toys, she always kept crawling toward Melissa's drink bottle. It was one of those crinkly plastic ones that make a lot of noise when you squeeze them.

Before I went to KC, I stopped in Manhattan. We must have picked a good color scheme back when we painted our old house, because it's almost exactly the same color 47 years later.

Brian's elementary school looks totally different. It used to be an old stone building. I think parts of the original school may still be in there, but it's all been swallowed up by rock and glass.

There's a new coffee shop on the corner of our old neighborhood. Of course, I had to stop and do a quick sketch while drinking an Oil Can Latte. They used caramel and chocolate syrups to represent the "oil." 

The downtown was sporting K-State's wildcat colors. I'm not sure who would buy that purple polka-dot shorts outfit, but you would certainly be noticed.

Speaking of team colors, Janet, Teresa, and I went to breakfast in Lee's Summit on Friday. It was the Chiefs first football game of the season. Everyone was wearing Chiefs gear, except me (even the waitress and all the other customers in the restaurant and half the people in Ottawa). The Chiefs ended up losing that game, probably because Taylor Swift opted to skip traveling to Brazil where they were playing. She's their lucky charm.

Still Hot

Since the temperatures have still been reaching into the 90's every day, the bike club decided to have an evening social hour. We all laughed about not being able to recognize each other when we weren't wearing helmets - especially the men who tend to be gray-haired or bald. The people who hosted the party had a nicely landscaped back yard complete with patio, pergola, firepit, barbeque, and even a mini putting green.

I had to take my car in for its annual oil change. No, this is not my car hanging on the wall of the dealership, but it is a real car on display up there. I guess that's one way to get a buyer's attention. At least it's not one of those giant SUVs.

In the process of doing the oil change, the mechanic said I also needed new brake pads. So, I went back to the shop on Thursday, and rather than wait around again, Bruce, Charlie, and I went on a hike to Panorama Point Park in Morrison.

I hiked up to the top of the point, but when the trail started to go back down again, I let Bruce and Charlie carry on while I stopped to do a sketch. I rarely get a chance to sketch something besides a coffee shop these days, so this was a welcome opportunity.

I went to one of my ladies lunches this week (this is the original group). It's been quite a while since we've been able to get together since everyone's been so busy. The lady in back is getting ready to move to Dallas, mostly to be closer to her kids. If it were me, I think I'd try to get my kids to move to Colorado. Dallas weather and traffic are horrendous.

We had our last concert for the summer on the family side. As a member of the social committee, I volunteered to help with setup. My job was to move the orange cones blocking the entrance to the parking lot when the food trucks showed up. After they all arrived, I decided to "reward" myself with a hot fudge sundae from the Sweet Cow ice cream truck. 

Along with the concert, they always have a lot of activities for kids. This time they had glitter tattoos, face painting, tie-dye t-shirts, a selfie studio, a foaming bubble machine, and this climbing wall. I couldn't believe that there were no mats at the bottom - just the bare asphalt. Luckily I didn't have a kid who wanted to climb that wall, even if there were ropes hanging from the top.

We're supposed to get a lot of rain this week, so we decided to separate and transplant some of the perennials. Bruce is a lot braver than I am, because he didn't mind working next to the catmint which was loaded with bees.

But I did manage to put in a Mugo pine by myself (grass and rocks don't attract bees).

While we're doing all this, Charlie likes to supervise from the garage. This is just a temporary little fence Bruce got off Amazon, but Charlie hasn't figured out that he could probably knock it over if he leaned against it.

Seattle

 

I just got back from my annual visit to see Brian. I always go in August to celebrate his birthday. He just turned 47 last week. Hard to believe I have a son that old... or one with gray hair!

We finally got to have dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant - Fogon's. For the past 2 years, they've been closed for their summer employee party. This year, it was a good thing I called in advance, because they were having their party on Monday (the day we'd planned to go), so we had to shift it to Tuesday. 

Normally, I just meet Brian and Amber downtown at the restaurant, but on Tuesday I'd gone out to Redmond to play board games with Brian. So, instead of taking the bus back downtown, we all hopped into an Uber. I take mass transit all the time, but this was my first Uber ride. Thank goodness our Uber car had air conditioning, because it was 93° outside and many homes in Seattle (including Brian's) don't have A/C.

I always try to do something new when I go to Seattle. This time I took a walk north along the waterfront to several different places. This was Olympic Sculpture Park - an offshoot of the Seattle Art Museum. I don't know if they were undergoing renovation, but there were a lot more sculptures pictured on their website than there were on the grounds. But this one was nice with killer views of Bainbridge Island to the west and the Space Needle to the east.

I walked all the way to Belltown (only about 1.5 miles) and had dinner at Moto's Pizza. It was a quirky little shop in a renovated warehouse with just about the best pizza I've ever had. It was deep-dish with tons of toppings, but the sauce wasn't soupy like Chicago's deep-dish pizza tends to be (sorry Chicago). The pizza doesn't come in slices, but big rectangular chunks. Totally delicious.

The next morning, I went to Ghost Alley Espresso (I found this on Google Maps hidden next to Pike Place Market). Their specialty is a "Mystery Mocha" (right up my alley). They ask if you have any allergies and then mix up their own concoction. Mine tasted a bit like coconut and, of course, dark chocolate. 

To get to the coffee shop, I had to walk up Post Alley and the famous gum wall. It's supposedly considered a "work of art," but it's really a bit disgusting. Those are all wads of used gum that people have stuck onto the walls, windows, and posts along the alley. Ick.

Since I took the Uber back downtown from Brian's, I had an extra bus ticket, so I went up to Capitol Hill to VooDoo Donut. This place is known for its bizarre combinations of donut toppings. I got the Old Dirty Bastard. I thought the brown squiggles were going to be caramel, but they turned out to be peanut butter... still tasty.

A block away from the donut shop was an REI store. This store is on a huge piece of property that includes patios, firepits, and a bike trail for testing out bike repairs or purchases. All this greenery looks a bit deceiving that the store is out in the country, but actually it's right in the heart of the city. I-5 is just behind all those trees. 

They finally completed the renovation of the waterfront and it is gorgeous. There are planting boxes and benches everywhere (my hotel is just a block away). 

Some of the seating areas are swings where you can just rock back and forth and enjoy the view of the water. The overhead walkway in the background connects the ferry terminal to 1st Street. You used to have to climb about 200 steps to get up to street level, so this new walkway is really convenient, especially for commuters.

A couple years ago, I posted an architect's rendering of what this waterfront renovation would look like. I never thought it would really come to pass, but it has. This is a giant seating area (also climbs up to street level) where people can sit and look out at the water. Sometimes they hold concerts here, but there wasn't one going on while I was visiting. 

You can tell I took these pictures early in the morning. There aren't nearly enough tourists. There was a Norwegian cruise ship in port the day before and the place was packed.

August Already

Every Monday I usually go out riding by myself, because I like to find new trails. There are a ton of "gulch" trails around here, but this one really caught my eye because of its name. I thought it was appropriate, since I had just dodged a guy walking his dog without a leash (my pet peeve).

Of course, Bruce stayed home having his usual fun working on the house. This time, he was trying to plug up a gap in the stone so the birds would stop trying to make a nest above our porch. There really isn't enough room for a nest, but they keep trying and every time they do they drop poop on the porch. Gross.

But the next day, we all went hiking in Castlewood Canyon State Park. It was supposed to get up in the 90's, so we went really early. I did my usual climb up to the top of the cliffs and then sat down to do a sketch while Bruce and Charlie hiked on to the dam. Turns out there were a ton of ants, so I had to balance myself on the tip of a rock.

The bike club went out on our usual mid-week ride. Nothing fancy, just our loop down to Panera's. I had to cut it short to go to my painting class at the Senior Center, which unfortunately was cancelled, because the teacher had been exposed to COVID. 

While I was out riding, Charlie went to Doggie Day Care. He always looks so cute at the end of the day patiently waiting for Bruce.

But then he gets home and turns into a maniac tearing through the house with his toys and turning over all the area rugs. Doggie Day Care used to wear him out, but these days it just seems to rev him up.

Courtney and I have started painting again on Saturdays via GoogleMeet. This was a tutorial on painting landscapes with just a few colors. They always make it look so easy in those videos.

Cooler Temps

We finally got a tiny break in the heat, so 16 people showed up for our weekly bike ride. We headed up to the Fika Coffee Shop - nothing new, but always a nice outdoor patio stop with a beautiful view of the mountains (though they were a little obscured today from some recent forest fires).

Like usual, Bruce stayed home to work on a house project. This week, he's been covering the base of the front porch with stone to match the house. It's always bugged me that the builder just threw on some gray paint over the bare concrete. It looked so tacky and unfinished. It's not as noticeable on some of the other houses in the neighborhood, because the builder planted some bushes around the foundation. I tried growing some plants there when we first moved in, but the sprinkler system doesn't run in that space. Plus, it's just too shady to get anything to grow. It took us almost 3 months to get the stone, because the original place the builder got it from quit carrying this style. BTW, all those little blue spots on the stones are numbered tags. Bruce laid out the design in the basement before gluing it down and he wanted to make sure he didn't mess it up. You wouldn't think it would be that hard to lay out a pattern, but every single stone was a different size and shape.

I think the finished project came out looking really nice, though most people will think the stone has always been there.

I finally met up with my Ladies Out to Lunch group this week. We went to Mad Greens - kind of a fast-food salad place. It was nice catching up with everyone, though it will probably be several more months until we get back together with everyone going off on vacations. I need to remember not to hold the phone down low when taking a selfie; it makes women look really old!

The Parker Senior Center sponsored an Aerobathon this week. The purpose was to demo all the different fitness classes that they offer. Each session was about 20 minutes each. I stayed for the whole thing, so I was pretty beat (some of those seniors can really move!). They had a raffle at the end. I had to laugh, because the prizes with food or treats were overwhelmed with raffle tickets, while the gift certificate to the Anytime Fitness Center had only 3 tickets in its jar. Guess we seniors have our priorities.