Coming this fall…

Hopefully we will be back in nature this fall and then can seriously take up this blog project.  The condition with my foot should be resolved by then.  Meanwhile, I am trying to enjoy being out in the yard as much as possible.  We bought new lawn tools and I have been working to clear our and trim hedges and such from around the back fence.  It’s very satisfying work.

Assuming I am correct and we are able to hit the trails again in September, I hope we can review and photograph at least one new nature spot a month to be featured here on the blog.

Bike Ride

I went on a ride this morning.  I don’t know how far I rode but I  enjoyed being out there with nothing but what I could carry by myself.  I left my house and hit the bike trail.  I rode it from Sycamore up to where it comes out by the Malco.  Then under 71 and up the hill on Vantage Dr.  This was my first time to ride in a “bike lane” .  I liked it.  I felt pretty secure even though there was no curb between me and the traffic.  Then across Zion to the park.  I rode down into the park and across the damn to lake fayetteville.  Down at the trail head is where I took the picture.  I was pretty proud of my self by this time.  It took around a hour and a half.  On my way home my partner called and asked if I wanted to get some lunch.  Through some miscommunication I agreed to meet at Qudoba on Dickson.  So I rode there only having to get off and walk up one hill.  After lunch I rode home.  The only problem is that my lunch box kept wanting to fall off and I had a little bit of leftovers in it that didn’t spill but took a pretty good thumping.

An ongoing foot injury has derailed the hiking… for now.  I wanted this blog to really take off and be an endeavor for us, but right now I simply can’t do any walking.  Hopefully by Summer I will be up for at least some short trails.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder?

… not in this case.

We haven’t been back out hiking in awhile.  I’ve suffered repeated injuries (not related to exploring the outdoors) and need to take it easy for awhile.  I am hoping if I take proper care of myself we can get back out there by the end of the month.  My goal is to hike once monthly in a new location and blog about it.  I also want to select a short nearby trail to hike in each season.  At this point, that may be the loop out in Lincoln because Spring is nearly upon us.

If you are having fun outdoor adventures, let us know!  We’d love to hear about (and see photos of) your dates with the natural world.

Winter in Arkansas

For the past several years we’ve barely had any sign of a real honest-to-goodness winter.  Last year we were surprised by an ice storm that left the trees, and everything else, coated in 2-3 inches of ice.  A lot of trees in the area were pulled up by their trunk from the weight of the ice bending their branches.  The damage was severe.  There were power outages that lasted weeks in some areas.  Our home is in the middle of town and we lost power for 8 days.  It was traumatic to go through a natural disaster.  To watch the trees lose giant branches, hearing the snaps and falls of the limbs, the thud on the roof, was terrifying.  I was really worried a tree was going to fall on the house with us inside.

This year we thought we were going to have another ice storm, almost a year to the date from last year’s storm.  It began with freezing rain which quickly turned to sleet and, finally, to snow.  This is the kind of storm I like having.  We were snowed in for a couple of days and then we all went sledding!   There are photos of both storms on our flickr page.

Lincoln Lake, Piney Loop Trail

The Piney loop is a 4 mile trail with a loop at the end.  It’s supposed to be a mountain bike trail but it also makes for good walking.    The bridge is washed out, so from the parking lot you have to walk to the road, cross the road bridge and then turn right to cross a creek.  The trail runs over the top of some of the most pretty bluffs I’ve seen in a while.  Then into the woods and pops out on top of the Lincoln Lake dam.  The dam portion is a smooth stroll with good overlooks.  Once back to the bluffs we decided to walk under them instead of on the top.  This was where I had the most fun.  Scrambling over rocks and seeing where the rock climbers had there anchors in the rock bluffs.  There were some steep slopes and good bouldering that I could make with my heavy boots, and a few small hollows in the rock that you need a flash light to see the back of.  All in all It was a good hike with the rain starting just as we made it to the car.  Google Maps

First Hike of the Year: Piney Loop

Lincoln Lake was a beautiful hike.  It has a 4 mile loop that takes you through some woods then over the dam.  The dam is more of a stroll than a hike and you are exposed to high winds, or at least we were!  It was too cold and rainy for me and after I stepped into some water in terrible shoes, we turned around rather than press on.  We hiked most of the trail, but who knows what beauty and splendor may exist in that last little part of the path?

Some of the mysteries we encountered included evidence of driads.  Something obviously lured this poor horse into the tree and trapped it!  Of course, the trail did say no horses….

Posted by:  Starr