Nature Walk

I miss Bob this weekend.  He's at his parents' house helping his dad work on the old car.  The past few weekends we have spent time exercising together on Saturday and Sunday. This weekend it has been pretty cold outside so I did a little mall walking instead.  Below, was last weekend at Audubon Park.  We had fair weather and spent 2 1/2 hours walking trails in the park. Per our step counter, we walk around 6 miles that day. 

I had never really spent much time in this park and didn't realize how nice it is!  I imagine a few weeks ago it was really pretty with all the fall colors. 

This is where we came out from the first trail; right in front of the museum. 

This was built by Boy Scouts a long time ago and was a good place to stop for a few minutes to catch our breath.  There are a ton of steep hills in the woods and I think I stopped and took about 10 one minute long breaks.  Despite the difficulty of some portions of the trails it was a good walk and I hope to try it again in the near future and try to better my time and take less breaks.

Look closely and you can see the only deer we saw that day.  I thought we'd see a lot more deer or wildlife in general but this was it.  We could hear birds but never saw any.

Part of the trail around this lake was closed but we were able to walk a short distance down one side of it.  So pretty and like mentioned before, I bet it was gorgeous down there a few weeks ago before all the leaves fell. 

We have a couple other parks in our area that we'd like to explore when the weather is fair.  I walk a paved path near our home when I just need to get in a quick walk but it's fun to get off the beaten path every once in a while. 

As soon as I finish this post I'm going to watch The Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Special dvd.  I'm counting down the days until my favorite holiday. Some of my favorite things about Thanksgiving are:

Sweet Potato Casserole (no Thanksgiving dinner is complete without it)...

 Leftover homemade dumplings for the lunch the next day as I put up Christmas decorations...

 Spending time with the little people in the family (who are not so little anymore)...

Watching the men gather around a deep fried bird (the only way we eat Thanksgiving turkey)...

And then there's browsing through the newspaper sale ads and watching NFL and the first of many holiday movies for the next several weeks. 

8 more days.....

Weekend Adventures

This photo has nothing to do with my adventures but it's one Jennifer took in the Smoky Mountains and I just love it!  The colors are so beautiful.  Just wanted to share with you....

Last weekend one of our friends came in from Wyoming with her new husband to visit.  A group of us drove about an hour away to the middle of nowhere where some of them had been ghost and Bigfoot hunting several times.  Bob has gone with them before but this was my first time.  There is a very old cemetery in the middle of the woods there.  This grave was of someone buried in 1865.  I'm sure we walked over several graves without even knowing it as everything is grown up in the area.  We did try to be careful and respectful when we were there.  We used or walking sticks and flashlights to help navigate through the thicket, weeds and downed tree branches in the middle of the night.  There really weren't any clear paths so we mostly had to climb over logs, sticks, etc.

It was pitch black dark in the woods and so much fun!  We got a late start so didn't arrive until around 11:00.   The sky was full of stars but didn't lend us much in the way of light.  It was quiet until we heard some branches fall and then thought a light in the distance was a person walking towards us with a light.  We finally left the area around 1:00 a.m. after a couple hours walking around looking for stuff. 

Bob is using a meter which picks up on heat in the distance.  Our friends also had other kinds of equipment to detect movement and also a few pairs of night vision goggles we took turns using.  They are hardcore with ghost hunting.

Below is another grave and headstone. 

So, we had a busy weekend.  The other thing Bob and I did was watch the Broadway musical "Elf" on Saturday afternoon.  I've never been to a musical besides "The Nutcracker" so it was pretty exciting. The musical kicked off their national tour right here in our little town so it was a big deal.  I really liked it and hope to attend more musicals and plays at our local theatre in the coming years.   We have tickets to see "The Nutcracker" next month. Can't wait! 

Halloween Party

Our friend Darrell had his 10th Annual Costume Party last weekend.  This was our fifth year to attend.  It gets better every year!  Below are Darrell and Jonathan; one of Darrell's friends who I was introduced to several months ago and is now my hair stylist extraordinaire! Love them both!

Me and Jennifer. Love my beer mug purse as a prop!

Darrell, me and friends Sandy and Steve.

Friends Angel and Timmy...some of the group I went to Florida with last month.

Bob and I with Jennifer and Kevin. Bob was a f*ck you hand and Kevin was a prisoner from the Dept of Erections.  LOL!!

Karaoke is always going on at Darrell's parties.  Someone asked me to sing something from The Sound of Music so I did.  ha ha!

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Bob breakin' it down on the dance floor. 

A pilot, wedding cake/bride/burlesque??, and a nerd.  ha ha!  Everyone loved the guy in the wedding cake dress.  These guys were a lot of fun!

I'm not sure how many people attended altogether but I can guess at least 60 people were there at one time when the party was at its busiest. The cops came at one point but then left. That was a first. 

Darrell always puts out a spread of several kinds of chili in crockpots, hot dogs, sandwiches and other munchies then asks for help with drinks and desserts.  He also makes a few hundred Jello shots. I was having some tummy issues last weekend so I didn't have any spirits but heard some of the Jello shots were made with peach schnapps and I bet those were quite yummy. He also sets up a couple firepits in his backyard so people can enjoy time outside if they want to.  It was chilly that night but warm by the fires.

Can't wait until next year!! I'm thinking of reviving my Queen of Hearts costume from a couple years ago.  I just love that red wig.  We're starting to accumulate quite a collection of Halloween costumes here at this old house.

Autumn Walk

 

We took a long walk this morning at one of the parks in the county.  There weren't but a few people walking through the woods when we first arrived so it was quiet and peaceful except for the sound of leaves as we shuffled along the path.  We walked about two miles taking photos of the trees along the way. 

Not all the leaves have changed in our area but the ones that have are beautiful! The park mostly had trees with yellow leaves but I've seen maples this year with shades of yellow, orange and red; looks like flames covering the limbs.  Those are my favorite ones. 

We're hoping to take another long walk next weekend and perhaps try another park.  Bob and I have changed our nutrition recently and are starting to get into the exercise portion of our plan.  We also want to get stronger and increase our endurance which will be helpful when we return to Yellowstone next year so we can do some ranger-led hikes. 

Tonight we head to our friend's annual Halloween Party so I will update again in a few days.