A Fun Bikey Day Trip

Some time ago I learned of a boardwalk near Madison, Wisconsin that billed itself as "the longest inland boardwalk bridge built solely for non-motorized transportation in North America."  Dane County, where the boardwalk is found, says the boardwalk is a mile long.  Well, of course I knew I would have to some day ride my bike across that boardwalk so it went on my list.   And then, the opportunity arose to take that ride.  Happy day!

This marvelous boardwalk is found on the Lower Yahara River Trail.  Before going I checked the map to see what else of interest was along the trail.  I found that the entire trail is only 2.5 miles long, much shorter than I like to go when I'm out riding.  But Dane County has a whole bunch of state, county, and city trails that interconnect so putting together a longer ride wasn't hard at all.  At the west end of the Lower Yahara River trial you can move onto the Capitol City Trail without missing a beat.  The Capitol City Trail is 17 miles long but I wasn't going to do the whole trail.

The eastern trail-head for the Lower Yahara River Trail is located in McDaniel Park in McFarland, WI.  So that's were I went to start.

At the beginning of the trail, which is only a dozen yards from where the boardwalk bridge begins, I stopped for a quick picture and then took off across the bridge.

Just a little jog at the beginning and then it went out around Lake Waubesa, actually, it curved around the northeast part of the lake, between the lake and some train tracks.  I was hoping a train would go by, the information I saw said it was an active track, but no train.

As soon as the bridge ended the trail went into some woods, part of the William G Lunney Lake Farm County Park.

One of the points of interest I had found was an observation tower.  It wasn't right on the trail, I had to go a half mile or so off on a side trail to get to it.

This tower was different from the usual towers found in state parks and recreations areas. This tower was patterned after a castle turret. Pretty slick, I thought.

Instead of being an open, wooden tower, this one was enclosed, a short hike up some stairs but no view as you go up and up to the top.

That was okay, though.  It was a cool climb, 40 steps to be exact.

I had the top all to myself for the first little while.  Eventually, though, others came.  It wasn't surprising considering what a nice day it was and what a popular trail this was on. There were plenty of others out enjoying the trail and wonderful weather.  At the top you could look around and see quite a ways.

The tower had a nice view out across the country-side.

This was looking back in the direction I had come to get to the tower.  Coming down and getting back onto the trial, I soon came into the Capitol Springs State Recreation Area.  About a mile after the tower I came to the end of the Lower Yahara River Trail and moved onto the Capitol City Trail.  The next point of interest I had planned on stopping at was an observation deck out in the middle of some wetlands.  This observation deck was in the Nine Springs area, a bird observation area.

Unfortunately, when I got to the spot in the trail where you turned to go out to the observation deck, there was a sign that said it was closed to bikes.

I suppose I could have walked my bike out, or left it and walked out without it.  But the boardwalk out to the deck was narrow and long, and there wasn't much space at the junction, and no bike rack, so I decided not to go out.

However, sitting there on the bench where the walk-way out to the deck  began was a little painted rock.  Painting rocks with positive, uplifting messages have become pretty popular recently.  I was hoping I might stumble across one while out on my ride.  And, sure enough, there it was!  Cool!  So I  left it there and continued on my way.

I had studied the route I planned to take ahead of time but I still had to stop a couple of times to figure out where I was and how to get to where I wanted to go next.  Not long after the observation deck was one of those places.  But pretty soon I was back on my way.  As I continued on, Capitol City Trail winds around the southwest part of Lake Monona. This lake is bigger than Lake Waubesa.

My next stop was Olin Park, at a place called Olin Park Vantage.  When I got there I found out right away why it was called that.  The vantage point was at the top of a hill in Olin Park where you could see out across the lake, including to the downtown part of Madison, which includes the state capitol building.

Continuing on I followed the Capitol City Trail until I came to North Broom Street.  At that point I left the trail and turned west, going along North Broom Street.  I kind of stair-stepped my way north and west until I came to West Washington Avenue.  Then I turned north and headed up the hill toward the capitol building.  Lots of cars, people, traffic lights, and a big hill.  The going was slow but before long I arrived at the south steps of the capitol building.  That had been the goal for the "turn-around" point before heading back.

There was a big farmers market there around the steps; I thought about looking around for a little while.  But all the stalls were cramped and crowded, and there were a lot of people.  And I had a bike I would need to keep out of the way if I were to browse.  So I skipped it and started back.

I had seen that there were several one-way streets as you approach the capitol building so I decided not to take exactly the same route back.  Besides, I wasn't entirely sure I could find it.  All these streets looked the same.  So I went straight out West Washington Avenue until it intersected with North Broom Street.  I was glad I did.  As I was waiting for a light, a "Pedal Pub" went rolling by.  They were laughing, drinking, and pedaling, making their way slowly up the street.

They looked like they were having a grand time. I was glad to see that behind the bar was one person serving, and another person driving, while all the guests pedaled, moving the rolling pub forward.  A very interesting contraption.  I thought it interesting, and probably a real good idea, that everyone was wearing seat belts.

The ride back always seems to go faster than the ride out.  Maybe that's because going out it was all new territory and coming back you've seen it all before.  Anyway, before long I was back at the beginning of the boardwalk at Lake Waubesa.

Right at the beginning of the boardwalk is a small observation deck, a turn out with a bench, so I stopped and enjoyed the view for a few minutes.  Yes, I was tired and this was taking a rest.  But it was also a very nice day and the lake looked nice.

Right to the side of the turn-out was a gap where boats would pass back and forth from Lake Monona and Lake Waubesa.  They were fun to watch.

But the day was wearing on and I needed to get back so pretty soon I was back on my bike for the last mile across the boardwalk and to the park.  It was a good ride.  It was 16.8 miles long and parts of it had been pretty strenuous, particularly getting up the hill to the capitol building. I even had a chain issue at one point that I had to stop and take care of before continuing.  But all in all, it had been a good ride and I was glad I had gone.  So I crossed another place off my list and had a fun time!

Commonplace Book

A Commonplace Book. “Commonplace”, from the Latin 'locus communis', meaning “a theme or argument of general application.”  For me, it is a collection of thoughts, ideas, anecdotes, poems, observations, and quotes that stood out and caught my attention, some with comment, some without. Essentially a scrapbook, a repository of thoughts too good to just pass over and let go.

"Even a bad experience becomes a good story. They are imperfect, but our memories and stories of them get sweet with time."

(James Hamblin, Buy Experiences, Not Things, The Atlantic, October 7, 2014)

“An act of kindness is never wasted.”

(Michelle D. Craig, Divine Discontent, October General Conference 2018)

“The Earth laughs in flowers.”
(E.E. Cummings 1894-1962, American poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright)

“So much is happening in nature right now—prime springtime—that it's hard to absorb it all. ... Get outside today if you can!”

(The Naturalists Notebook,  thenaturalistsnotebook.com.)

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.”
(John Lubbock 1834-1913, English banker, liberal politician, philanthropist, scientist, and polymath)

"Look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own. . . . If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. ... The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.”

(Barack Obama, Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event in Roanoke, Virginia, July 13, 2012)

"American society, understood as hundreds of millions of people making billions of decisions daily, is a marvel of spontaneous cooperation. Sensible government facilitates this cooperative order by providing roads, schools, police, etc., and by getting out of the way of spontaneous creativity. This is a dynamic, prosperous society’s “underlying social contract."

(George Will, Is the individual obsolete?, Washington Post, May 31, 2019)

“I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose hearts are firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles until their death.”

(Leonardo da Vinci)

“Transcendentals — truth, goodness and beauty, which correspond sequentially to the mind, the will and the heart.”

(Kathleen Parker, Can Easter bring an end to this ungodly episode in American history?, Washington Post, April 19, 2019)

“Pursuing happiness should remain, mostly, a personal responsibility. Making it a public responsibility would ensure failure.”

(Robert J Samuelson, David Brooks, let me respectfully suggest: Lighten up, Washington Post, 17 April 2019)

“Native distinction needs no official stamp.”

(William James, 1842-1910, American philosopher, psychologist, and educator)

“Opportunity Cost: A benefit, profit, or value of something that must be given up to acquire or achieve something else. Since every resource (land, money, time, etc.) can be put to alternative uses, every action, choice, or decision has an associated opportunity cost.”

(Business Dictionary, http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/opportunity-cost.html)

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love.”

(Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic)

“Get mixed up with ... garbage and it will lead you to the landfill—the dumping ground of temporal dreams and eternal destinies.”

(Dallin H Oaks, Where Will it Lead?, BYU Devotional, November 9, 2004)

Thoughts for a Sunday Afternoon

And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God. And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.

(Moses 5:10-11)

A Generous Soul

The other day the dog was sitting in the living room, minding his own business, when a sweet young lady crawled into the room and decided to share toys with the mutt.

The dog dutifully tolerated it for a while; she was right in his face with the toy.

Finally he deigned to check it out.  But then he'd had enough.

At that point he got up and left the room, leaving the young lady to herself.

She was perplexed as to why the dog wasn't as interested in the toy as she was.  One of life's mysteries.

Thumb Buddies

The other day this young man came to visit.  With him he brought an owie on his thumb that he had gotten while getting into mischief at this other grandma's house.  Poor little feller.

I had on my own thumb an owie that I had gotten while doing some rearranging and cleaning out in the garage.  That meant we both had owies on our thumbs.  Thumb buddies!

So we spent some time comparing owies and commiserating together about our misfortune.  Sweet connections!

Commonplace Book

A Commonplace Book. “Commonplace”, from the Latin 'locus communis', meaning “a theme or argument of general application.”  For me, it is a collection of thoughts, ideas, anecdotes, poems, observations, and quotes that stood out and caught my attention, some with comment, some without. Essentially a scrapbook, a repository of thoughts too good to just pass over and let go.

“This life’s hard, man, but it’s harder if you’re stupid”

(From the 1973 movie The Friends of Eddie Coyle, which was based on the 1970 novel by the same name, written by George V. Higgins. The line was spoken in the movie by character Jackie Brown, which was played by actor Steven Keats) 

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

C. S. Lewis

“The only way to take sorrow out of death is to take love out of life.”

(Russell M Nelson, Doors of Death, April Conference 1992) 

“Problems beg us to remember God's promises.”

(Lysa TerKeurst, President of Proverbs 31 Ministries and the New York Times best-selling author) 

“I believe we are supposed to make the world as good as we can make it. We should not be like Jonah and sit on the mountain top waiting for Nineveh to go up in flames.”

(Neal A Maxwell, as quoted by Bruce C Hafen in A Disciple's Life, the Autobiography of Neal A Maxwell, Deseret Book 2002, 335) 

“There seems to be no end to the Savior’s desire to lead us to safety. And there is constancy in the way He shows us the path. He calls by more than one means so that it will reach those willing to accept it.”

(Henry B Eyring, Finding Safety in Council, April Conference 1997) 

“Sweet are the uses of adversity,

Which like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head.”

(Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act 2, scene 1, 12–17) 

“Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end.”

(Author unknown) 

“Count your garden by the flowers,

never by the leaves that fall;
Count your days by golden hours
don’t remember clouds at all!
Count the night by stars, not shadows;
Count your life with smiles, not tears, and with joy
Count your age by friends, not years.”

(Dixie Willson, 1927)

To Provide You Better Service ...

The other day I brought in the mail and there was a note from the post office, a nasty-gram.  Apparently the postal inspector had been out and about and taken offense at our mailbox.

I guess they figured a poor looking mailbox just won't do to hold all that federally protected mail that gets delivered almost every day.  Yeah, my mailbox wasn't the most pristine of mail boxes.  But I've seen worse.  Its still functional.  Its true that winters are hard on mailboxes, particularly this last winter.  The plow goes by and a wall of snow and ice smack into the mailbox, giving it a good, solid jolt.  I came out one time and the mailbox was tilted up on a 45' angle, only hanging on to the post by the nails along one side, with a good, solid wedge of icy snow under it. So I cleared out the snow, bent the box back down, and it was good as new.  Anyway, I guess the box was showing some wear.

So we went to the store and got a new one, as well as some new numbers to put on the side of it.  Schwarzbeere, who was also there, was nice enough to install it for us.  That was really nice.

 So now we have a new mailbox, very nice looking.  While we were out there putting the new box on our neighbor came over to say they had left him a note, too.  They thought his mailbox was too low.  I got the easier complaint to fix.  Only a few screws and a few minutes to fix!  I like that!

And Still It Lingers ...

So, we thought we were all done with our Christmas decorations.  We were slow taking them down, but they finally came down, for the most part, in late January, except for a stake in our front yard that was frozen in the ground. That had to wait until it warmed up enough to be able to get it out of the ground. But finally, in March we were able to get the pipe out of the ground.  Then we thought we were done.  But then, as May arrived and it was time to start thinking about summer, we called to have the sprinkler system turned back on.  As part of that they always test the system and make any repairs that are needed.  We had two sprinkler heads that were serviced but there was another repair that had to be done, a little out of the ordinary.  Out in the front yard they had to replace a small piece of pipe, buried in the ground.  The repair ticket said, "Fixed leak in front yard that looks to have had a stake pounded through it."  Guess we didn't pick the best place to put the light up back in December when we were doing the decorating.  But now we have a better idea of where the line runs so with a little luck we can miss it from now on.  Such is life; live and learn.