Ride to the Barns

 

Today I rode in my second RIDE TO THE BARNS.  
It is a fund raiser for Tall Pines Land Conservancy here in our area.
It was a beautiful day, tho it got a little hot by the time we finished the 35 mile route.
There is also a 65 mile route.
Andy rode with me this year!  We have been riding bikes a lot in our training 
for the El Camino so he decided to give it a try.  

You ride about 8 miles and stop at a farm ~ the owners have  prepared wonderful snacks and drinks. 
There are three stops at the barns.
Each farm was unique and interesting.
The first one had a beautiful pond, wonderful gardens, and pretty white house on the hill.
At the second farm, the family has a collection of old tractors displayed in the large lawn by the farm house.
The third farm has fabulous gardens with lots of unusual garden art, a beautifully restored barn 
with stained glass windows and lots of farm animals scattered around the outbuildings.
It's great fun and a pretty ride.

It is quite hilly, however!
I am not sure I want to do it again next year...

A STRONG BODY KNOWS NO LIMITS

I have been biking past this sign in the window of a storefront all summer.

A 

STRONG

BODY

KNOWS 

NO

LIMITS

I beg to differ...I am strong from all the training we have been doing, 

but I know I have limits.

Walking 500 miles on the El Camino is going to be great, no doubt about that.

But, walking 500 miles on the El Camino is going to be hard!

Three unknowns loom out there...

What will the weather be like?  

Can I really do it with a 15 pound pack?

Will my feet hold up?

We are hoping the temperatures will drop a bit in the next couple of weeks so it is not too hot.

Rain is a good possibility, especially in October.

I am a Swede...I sweat, a lot!  Like my Grandmother, Tekla, and my Mother, Verna.

My head and my back are dripping most days when we hike with the backpacks.

It's not pretty.

But I think the feet thing is my biggest concern.

I just read a book a friend sent me...SIX MONTHS WALKING THE WILDS: The Long Way to Santiago

by Steve Cooper

One chapter is called:

It's All About the Feet

He claims there is more conversation along the trail about FEET than about GOD.

Three big questions are asked as you meet people along the way...

Where are you from?

Where did you start walking?

How are your feet?

Training Continues with Less Than a Week Until We Leave

In less than a week we leave for Spain to Walk The Way.
We continue to train nearly every day ~ hiking with full packs or biking.
This week we made a quick trip to Iowa to see Andy's sister Jan and to
get our last chiropractic tune ups.  One day we took a 10 mile hike on the
Pioneer Trail right outside Grundy Center.  It was the first time in
months that I have walked without a backpack ~ felt like I could walk all day!

On the way out we made a quick stop in Dubuque...to experience
the Fourth Street Elevator ~ a funicular railway. 
The original elevator was built in 1882 for the private use of a local banker and former state senator J.K. Graves ~ reportedly so he could get home for lunch without walking up the steep hill.
There was a great observation deck at the top ~ you can see Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin!
To be honest, it was kind of scary...the track and supports are very old and worn
and the cables were badly frayed.
I was glad to get back down safely.

Andy's First Hang Gliding Adventure

I found a deal on Groupon for a
Hang Gliding Adventure this spring ~ so I got it for Andy for his birthday. 
We went out to
Gutzmers Twin Oaks Airport in Whitewater, WI in August. 
It was a beautiful day and the conditions were great.
The ride was with an instructor but it was still very fun
and exciting!

Mail Boat Tour on Geneva Lake

Enjoyed a beautiful day in Lake Geneva with three great friends from high school/Free Church days in Rockford...Cheryl McKay, Ginny Brass, and Cindy Judge. 

The mail boat ride brought back lots of memories of time spent on Geneva Lake...at my Grandma and Grandpa Severin's cottage and at several of the different camps on the lake.  Andy and I spent part of our honeymoon there, too.

The bottom right hand picture is the Wacker's getaway ~ as in Wacker Drive in Chicago.  The one next to it is where Grandma and Grandpa's cottage was back in the day...now it is has been torn down and a huge home fills the property.

It's fun to watch the mail carrier jump off the front of the boat, hussle to put the mail in the box and jump back on the back of the boat...well, most of the time anyway.  He missed it once and ended up in the drink.  I noticed that he had his eye on the boat the entire time.

Mail delivery by boat is done on other lakes around the country, but here at Geneva Lake is the only tour boat that delivers the mail.  It was recently featured on national television and there are clips on YouTube as well.

We had lunch at a great little place on the water, enjoyed an arts fair on the library lawn, and of course some homemade ice cream to top it off.  It was a great day filled with remembering, laughter, sharing, and planning for another get together!

Training for The Way

 

Over the past few weeks we have switched to only walking dirt paths.  It has been easier on our feet and legs and has also provided new challenges and scenery.

Some of the time we have been on the Glacial Drumlin State Trail which runs from Milwaukee to Madison ~ about 52 miles.  It was developed on an old railroad line and is fairly flat.  The parts we have walked have been crushed rock and dirt.  They are well maintained but the bugs have been a problem and we have had to get some potent bug spray.

Some of the way has been through low ground with lots of sitting water, many filled with cattails.  Other parts there are miles and miles of huge fields of soy beans and corn which are quite pretty and quite healthy right now.  There are open spaces on the trail but much of it is under a canopy of trees.  

Today we walked twenty miles...a first for us.  There are 3-4 days when we will walk 18-19 miles on our trek across Spain, so we wanted to know by experience how that would feel.  We went from Sullivan to Jefferson on the Glacial Drumlin Trail ~ it took us a little over 7 hours to complete.  Even with ideal weather and conditions, it was challenging.  We took two nice stops for lunch ~ yes we ate two times! 

The other area we have enjoyed is Lapham Peak State Park which is just a few blocks (as the crow flies) from our home.  These trails give us a more realistic feel for what the Camino will be like ~ dirt, rock, and grass trails, up and down hills, sun and shade.  The Ice Age Trail is a National Scenic Trail and cuts through the park ~ when it is finished it will be 1,000 miles long, following the edge of the last continental glacier in  Wisconsin.

So far we have seen a variety of different butterflies, frogs, snakes, and turtles, lots of rabbits and a few deer.  Today a a couple of Sandhill Cranes were playing on the path, but they flew off as we got closer to them.


PS
The little brick building is the nicest, cleanest most modern outhouse I have ever used.
It is in a little park just outside the little town of Helenville, WI!

Walking Through Life

Aimee was born January 28, 1975 at Fort Hood, Texas. Six weeks later Andy left for 189 days in Germany on Brigade 75 with the US Army. It was hard to be alone with an infant first child. However, there were some advantages. 

 Like being able to put her in a stroller and take her for a long walk when she got fussy...which was almost every night around suppertime. I didn't have to fix dinner at any special time, so off we would go. She loved it, plus walking gave me some exercise and an excuse to get outside. 

 I have been walking an hour a day every day since then...over 37 years. Okay, not every day, but most days. Year round. In recent years, my standard has been: not walking in below zero temperatures. Other than that, I walk. In rain, sleet, or snow. 

 I have been in hiking clubs through the years, in Germany and in Colorado. We went all over the countryside, finding new trails and challenges. When we moved back to Colorado in 1999, I was in my fifties...we started hiking Fourteeners in the Rockies. I have climbed 12 of the 14,000 foot mountains in Colorado.

 I also got a new bike and started riding regularly. A few years ago I rode nearly 1200 miles preparing for a 100K ride to raise money for the American Diabetes Association. On a trip to Hawaii, we kayaked the NaPali Coast of Kauai.

 So, I have been active and exercising most of my adult life.

 Now, in less than a month, we are leaving for 7+ weeks in Spain to walk The Way of St. James ~ El Camino de Santiago. The distance from St Jean Pied de Port, France, to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, is about 800KM or 500 miles. The trail we are following is called The French Way. 

 It will be the biggest physical challenge I have face.

 Why am I doing it at age 65??? 

 I am not really sure... 

 We heard about the Camino 18-24 months ago. We thought it was pretty cool but it wasn't until months later that we decided to actually do it. Andy said one day, "I've been thinking about the Camino." I responded, "So have I." In January we got serious and started planning and purchasing equipment.

 Now, here it is. We look at this as a transitional Sabbatical of sorts...leaving full time ministry after over 40 yeas, and entering the world of volunteer ministry. 

 Join us! 

 Keep up with our adventure on my blog and through Facebook.

 Andy plans to start a blog, too. I'll keep you posted on that.

 I plan to post as often as I find WiFi.

 Spain is a first world country after all.