WALKING FOR WHEELS

Thursday, cursed Thursday, the day, that’s packed with meetings, then the Rotary Zoom meeting, and then again, more conference calls and meetings. Though I don’t want to complain, these meetings are quite effective, and I believe COVID has taught us we don’t always have to be there in person. At least for Julia and me, it is a lesson that we won’t be traveling as excessively as we have in the past, and we look forward to that. 

No outside hikes today, but some interesting guests dropped by. A blue heron is visiting us often, I won’t tell the story, because it would reveal that even birds can be quite foolish when it comes to ladies. Just a little hint, our heron has fallen in love with one of our sculptures (a crane with a fish in its mouth), and can be frequently seen to try to attract the attention of the immovable object.

We love the little titmouse with its tiny crown, the happily pick the remaining tomatoes, and we have yellow finches galore, which are beginning to molt. 

It is always fun to have our ‘visitors’ dropping by in a socially responsible way, even if it is just for the goodies we set out. 

Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay in touch, 

Cheers, Thomas PHOTOS

 

 

Show of hands; how many of you are familiar with, and how many of you have hiked Duck Egg Lake, Vernon County Forest?!?!  If you have not heard of it, or have not hiked there, please put it on your high priority bucket list. I guarantee you, it’s worth it.
It is a hidden gem, and today, well today, was the culmination of every hiker’s dream. Duck Egg Lake presented itself in its utmost beauty. The weather, fantastic, hiking conditions, excellent (sometimes, the trails can get a bit muddy and slippery), and nature’s fall colors, absolutely stunning. The photos don’t do justice to nature’s display she had in store for us, it was just mesmerizing. We took, guess what, the duck egg trail, which runs down the bluff along and partially around the lake, and then slopes back up to the upper parking point. Even the turtles were out to admire the display of colors, and despite this phenomenal spectacle, we had the trail essentially all to ourselves. Wow, what a treat.
Couple of things for those who are interested in exploring them: please bring good walking boots, and I would recommend walking sticks for those who do not hike regularly. There are some parts that are a bit steep, and can get slippery after rains. In any case, I highly recommend taking the 40 minutes it takes to drive from La Crosse to this oasis, you can top it off by going to near-by Viroqua and eating at the Driftless Cafe (I have mentioned it before), or visit the Co-Op, which is one of the best I have seen, especially after its recent renovation and expansion. Clearly something, Julia and I will remember, and it will sustain us through some of the winter days, which we don’t like that much (I hear there are some of us, who look forward to -20 degrees, count us out, though).
Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay in touch, Cheers, Thomas PHOTOS

 

Today is a day in contrast, from the sublime beauty to the.......well, you could call it hiking for garbage. Julia and I followed Jamie O’Neill’s call to preserve the environment, particularly the danger of microplastics to the wildlife around us, and so we felt compelled to contribute our share, since we do want to continue enjoying nature hikes, and not encounter the sight of refuse. Kind of interesting; if you ask people if they throw their empty beer bottles, and pop cans into their living room, they’d look at you as you had lost your marbles, and yet, as soon as we are in nature, we treat her like an infinite garbage dump.
Enough of the more philosophizing, back to the pragmatic. Jamie had things well in hand, she was superbly organized, and Rotarians came prepared: we had boats, canoes, boots, buckets, and all the accoutrements one needs to give nature a helping hand. Scott, Julia and I were assigned Pettibone Park, which is just in our backyard, and off we went, armed with buckets and bags to collect refuse, and indeed we were quite successful. From plastic sandals, to a burnt out carburetor, to a bicycle tube, to lots of bags of chips, and the favorite, empty bottles of Mike’s Hard Lemonade (though I hear at other places Mountain Dew was the favorite). For us, the most garbage was found around 20 feet around the strategically placed garbage cans. It has to be that our basketball skills are quickly diminished after the consumption of Mike’s Hard Lemonade, how else could you otherwise explain such a phenomenon. Another favorite, plastic bags with dog dodo, if there is someone who can explain this logic to me, I’d love to hear that.
Anyhow, after a very successful stint, and a trunk full of ‘goodies’ we headed back to Clinton’s landing, where we could deposit everything in the provided container. Jamie dutifully documented our ‘trashures’ (yes, there is an App for that), and everybody headed for their respective shower.
It was worthwhile, though it was definitely a day of contrast.
Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay in touch,
Cheers, Thomas  PHOTOS
 

 

Yup, today was clearly a reminder that  a more inclement season is on its way, let’s just hope we will have a couple more days to enjoy the outside. Like the weather with its ups and downs, there was no time to put in a decent hike in one piece, so when somebody hands you lemons, you know what to do, add them to Mike’s Hard Lemonade (this is only for adults of course, and add lemons responsibly).
Julia was off to helping again at the food shelf, and I know she likes it when I pick her up, so off I went; got about 10 feet out of the house, and it promptly rained. Back into the house, and the rain poncho, so no problem. Half a mile down the road, it got mighty warm, since the sun decided to make a comeback. Halfway on the Waggon Wheel trail.....you get the drift...... I felt I was a in a dressing room changing in and out of stuff. Nevertheless, the walk was fun, as always, and I actually made it in record time (for me that is).
In the evening, another smaller walk with the entire family, for digestive purposes; we had ordered out, and as always, the eyes were hungrier than the stomach, yet one cannot waste good food. Still a good day with good mileage. Two more days to go, the finishing line is in sight (though I think I am getting addicted to all the great trails around here).
Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay in touch, Thomas PHOTOS

 

 

The end of the walking challenge is in sight, and it’s been fun. Today I would call family day. My daughter Laura and her husband Gavin visited us for an extended weekend and we thought it would be a great idea to include Julia’s mom, Grandma Carlene, in the walking effort. To keep things civil (Grandma Carlene is 89 years old and despite being in excellent physical shape, five miles are a bit much for her), we decided to set out in downtown La Crosse, pick her up, take her for a walk and then mosey back downtown before the kids had to head back home.  The downtown promenade is very nice as all of you know, love the new docks, now we can actually visit La Crosse by boat for an outing. Unfortunately, one cannot continue along the shore due to the water treatment plant, so we had to cut across behind the old brewery. This gave the kids a chance to see the Rotary Lights headquarters, where we entered Houska Park on our way to Eagle Crest South. Past the baseball fields, and a very nice dog park, you cross one of the side arms, and go by an interesting three level tree house. Just before reaching Eagle Crest, you pass the Green Island Ice Arena, which is now under new ownership. They have done a great job of adding a bunch of new tennis courts on the outside. Really a nice area for a stroll.  Grandma Carlene was waiting for us, and we took her on what she lovingly calls her turtle walk, down to the pier built by Eagle Crest with benches, and I understand, in the future a dock to pick up our senior citizens for a boat ride. After an initial cloudy and slightly rainy day, the Gods blessed us with a beautiful fall day, and we enjoyed a respite on the pier, before walking back downtown after safely taking Carlene back to her apartment. You see, you don’t have to go far to have a great relaxing walk.
Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay in touch, Thomas PHOTOS

 

It’s been a fun month, hard to believe it’s over. We have achieved our goal to provide Razia with a bus and a van to continue her awesome work to educate young girls in Afghanistan, and hopefully, the walking challenge contributed a small part to it. Aside from walking during the Rotary meetings, Julia and (we did most of the walks together) individually covered a little more than 159 (!) miles in September exploring the various trails and hiking opportunities around us (and we have just scratched the surface).
So what does one do for the grand finale? Julia and I had come up with so many fantastic possibilities to impress you all:
 
1) Scaling the Montblanc in Switzerland
2) Hiking up Kilimanjaro
3) Hiking the Pitzer Tal in Austria
4) What about the effigy mounds in Iowa?
5) What about a pub crawl (despite a great suggestion from Dean, not a good idea in the current pandemic and the increasing case number)
 
We came up with the perfect solution: What better way to finish than with the two people who have introduced us to so many wonderful trails, and other good things in La Crosse, and who made us feel so welcome on Shore Acres Road?! You got it, we walked with Barb (who set the program), and Bud Hammes. Barb determined we needed sustenance first before striking out on our walk, and she had craving for Mexican food. So first stop was Fiesta Mexicana (first time for me, good food, even better company); despite a rather blustery day, we were able to eat al fresco. Then off to Hess trails, one of the first ones, we explored together as a quartet. As you can see, the ladies had to take shelter during the brief rain gusts, but otherwise, the weather was playing along. We even got a biology lesson from professor Barb about barberry bushes, a beautiful, but non-native species that is being sold at local nurseries and Home Depot because of their change from green to dark red colors, yet they are invasive and threaten the native fauna. (Every day I realize how little I know, and how much there is still to learn). The walk was lovely and enjoyed by everybody. Barb and Bud are in good spirits and facing their challenge with equanimity, dignity, and a great sense of humor.
Well, that’s it, thank you to all who supported the project, I know these are challenging times so I am doubly grateful for everybody’s support. Hope you have enjoyed the reports a little bit; over and out!
Stay safe, stay healthy and stay in touch, Cheers, Thomas PHOTOS

 

 

Thank you Thomas for your "Waking for Wheels Challenge!"

His challenge helped us get to our goal of $45,000 for the Wheels of Hope Project.
It was great to see other Rotarians join Thomas!