FALL (-ing on the job)

September came and went.  We enjoyed our home and rested some.

Between visiting the spam  museum with our grandchildren 

and building a porch in Missouri, we were kept busy with preparing for our upcoming cruise to the eastern Mediterranean sea.
 

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here are a few thousand words!

 












Labor day weekend we again volunteered packaging meals for hunger relief.  Over 5 Million meals were packaged by many volunteers.  

 
 I plan to post another update soon, with pictures of the pyramids...

As usual, we did an extended motorbike ride recently. (See last September’s blog and previous year’s August (2010) also.  This year we decided to go South-East.  

 One a warm August day, the 22nd to be exact, we left our home to ride to Bloomfield, Iowa.  We had booked a B&B there.  Although we took a scenic route, it did not take us as long as we had anticipated.  So, we went on to visit a couple tourist spots (traps?) just east of Bloomfield.  We bought some squeaky cheese curds at the Milton Creamery.  Unfortunately there were no wineries close by, so we had to resort to buying a bottle at a local grocery store.  The Bed & Breakfast was in “The Weaver House,” a rustic heritage home in Bloomfield.  Our host was very responsive to our need for regular coffee in the evening. My bride and  I shared a pot of coffee, while our host entertained us with stories of his life, his wife, who was coming home in two days; and other interesting trivia.

The next day we toured to Fort Madison, on the Mississippi river.  It was a hot humid day, and we stopped at the welcome center and museum for a spell.  
We were entertained by the volunteers who work there and gave us tips about the area.  Because of the heat, we did not visit many of the tourist spots there, but decided to cross the Mississippi and take the scenic river road in Illinois.  After a few stops in shady places (literally!); we also stopped in Nouvoo.  This is a place known for it’s Mormon connections.  We saw local temple as well as a bigger than life memorial to Joseph Smith. 

Onward to re-cross the big river at Keokuk we proceeded to Keosauqua, where we had booked a room in the Manning Hotel.  This is an old river-boat stop and it operates a B&B, so we would enjoy another scrumptious breakfast in the morning.  On the way we stopped in a small town called Franklin, where we spend an hour or so in a small local winery.  This was totally off the beaten track and utterly delightful

Both our overnight stops had no TV or other entertainment so we were forced to talk and enjoy the scenery, not a bad way to go.  On Friday we made the trek back to our home in Johnston, without undue hardship. 

A new memorial in our home town of Johnston, Iowa

Summer has been very hot, so we have not done many motorcycle trips. It is just to warm to wear all the protective gear and it would be foolish to not wear it. 

I would like to share just a few pictures of our summer time activities.   We visited the largest rocking chair in Missouri 

on the way to Onondaga Caverns and I tried my hand at a very small bike. 

I like the bigger one better.

This is IOWA in summer

 

This is Iowa.  Who said that Iowa is flat?  Many areas right around Des Moines have rolling hills, woods, landscaped fields,- for contour plowing and growing crops to prevent erosion.  We have the bridges of Madison County, a gold domed capitol, which can be seen from far away because it is on “elevated” terrain.   

We have beautiful riparian sites and we have rocky gorges.  Not like the Royal Gorge, or the Grand Canyon but impressive anyhow.  Great for a day-getaway.    

Ride your motor cycle through the shallow fords and go slow, otherwise your rider will complain about wet feet.  Stop and go for small hikes.  Not like the hikes of Colorado Springs, but beautiful rewarding sights anyway.  

This hilly and rocky areas are great for getaways on the motor cycle, but tends to cramp your style when you want to go on a pedal pusher bicycle.  Then it is nice that there are many relatively flat spaces as well. 

 Many old railroad tracks have been converted to bicycle trails around Iowa. As a whole this is a very bike friendly state, pedal powered or otherwise.  Motorized bikes are never allowed on any of the “bike” trails, so that families can ride without worries about their kids getting over-run by mopeds.   But many of the secondary roads and farm roads are paved and well maintained, so the motorized two wheelers can go exiting places as well, without having to worry about heavy traffic. Enjoying the summer. 

WALDO Canyon fire (2)

Just to share a few awesome pictures. As you can see the Eagle Lake Campsite has been spared from destruction; by faithful and resilient firefighters and the hand of God.  That does not imply that the devastation seen in the other views is out side of the hand of God.  

We cannot fathom these seeming contradictions.  Just read the book of Job.  Yet, God provides for His people, always.  

Just not always in means we can understand.  35.000 people displaced 340 home destroyed  and only 2 (so far) fatalities, found in the same home...

Waldo Canyon Fire

Just three weeks ago we hiked the Waldo Trail, overlooking this area which is now burning.  The pictures of the fire are from our kids in Colorado springs, taken on June 26, 2012.  

The map is from the morning of June 27 and shows the previous day in the yellow demarcations. 

So far Glen Eyrie has been spared, as like it seems, is Eagle Lake.  


The Flying W Ranch is gone however.


I had some personal struggles with natural law and the power of the Creator, but upon reflection I am again reassured that God remains on the throne and in control of all that happens in this world, including political wrangling.   We may not always like the result, but who are we to question the Almighty?  

Isa 45:9  But doom to you who fight your Maker—you’re a pot at odds with the potter! Does clay talk back to the potter: ‘What are you doing? What clumsy fingers!’  (the Message)
 

Our time at the Glen is coming to a close.  We celebrated Memorial Day here on the grounds and took a hike to the top of the "Lady Bug" overlook, where we had lunch. We watched the traffic going around in the Garden of the gods. The view from this overlook is spectacular in any direction, just look at the pictures.  

A previous week we had hiked to the Big Horn memorial, beyond the Echo Rock overlook on The Scar. 

It never tires us to go on hikes in this beautiful part of Colorado.  Tomorrow we will be replaced as hosts at the Pink House and we plan to travel back to Des Moines on Monday.