June 1--Black Hills

Today was an awesome day.   I only climbed 10 floors at the hotel because we wanted to get going, though I also did bear crawl and broad jump in the hallway.  Then we got going.  First we walked around Mt. Rushmore, then headed to the Mickelson rails-to-trails bike path.  We walked 5 miles on that and then I biked 14.6.  I wore my vibram shoes for the walk--my feet have never felt better.  The bike ride involved a long uphill followed by a long downhill.  So a very slow 1.5 hours followed by a fast 30 minutes.  Here are some pictures from the walk and bike ride.

The facilities along the trail are very nice:  shelters, bathrooms, water.

May 31

This morning I climbed 50-60 floors in the hotels stairwell (I lost count at one point and decided to be conservative).  It was at least a 4-star stairwell, even though it looked stark at first, with grey floors and no carpeting.   But I decided that was a good thing because stairwells are usually poorly ventilated and carpeting can get musty.  This one smelled reasonably fresh and it had an extra floor which I prefer.  So it was a good stairwell.  I also bear crawled and broad jumped down the hallway.

Sadly that is all the exercise I did today as it was a long driving day and then I had grocery shopping and food prep at the hotel.  I'm hoping tomorrow will see more activities.

May 30

I did 50 flights of stairs in the hotel.  It was a 4-star stairwell because the decor was pleasant and the air was reasonably fresh.  We arrived at our destination early on purpose so we could enjoy the McCrory Gardens.  Much of the walking area was on grass, so I took off my shoes and enjoyed walking on the grass barefoot.  It was delightful. Then we walked around the arboretum next door.  After we got to our hotel we walked on a recreational path that conveniently runs in back.  I'm not sure how many miles we walked but I got over 16000 steps on the fitbit so after subtracting 3500 for the stairwell, that's over 12000, so probably about 4 miles today.  Pretty good for a travel day.

The 4-star stairwell:

The gardens:

The arboretum

The recreational trail:

These birds were having too much fun jumping onto and swaying on the reeds.

May 29

This morning I did a 3 mile walk, thinking it might be the only walk I do because we were traveling.  But M discovered that there is a state park near our destination so we packed up more quickly than planned and headed to Perrot State Park, along the Mississippi River.  What a wonderful treat that was.  We hiked along the river and then I climbed up onto Brady's bluff and got a wonderful view.  My GPS watch recorded 3 miles and 981' elevation variation, though the bluff itself is only a 500 ft climb.  I wore my vibram 5-toe shoes and boy did they feel great.  I think they make me feel more alive.  Then I rode my bike on the Great River Trail for 7 miles (wearing regular shoes).  What fun.  Then it was past time to get to our hotel.  This park is beautiful and deserves many repeat visits, with the kayak too!

I took a gazillion pictures but am sparing you most of them.

Here was my walk this morning:

Perrot State Park, down at the river:

Starting to climb the bluff:

May 28

(posted a day later):  Yesterday I didn't walk in the morning as I'd planned a rest day.  My muscles were sore so I thought it was a good idea, but I regretted to later.  I forgot how much my mood improves when I walk.  I could have just done a short one.  In the evening I did a short walk of about 1.25 miles (our "neighborhood walk", we call it).   I recall this newspaper article from a few months ago about a woman 70-80 years old (I forget exactly) who started walking 3 miles a day years ago (I forget exactly but something like 20-30) and she's never missed a day!  and she's from Minnesota!  How inspiring is that?  

may 27

What a beautiful day it was today.  My walk to the grocery store was very enjoyable.  I played along the way (bear crawl, swings), oh, and I walked barefoot.  After my shoes and socks got wet walking in the grass, it dawned on me that I should have taken them off!  So I did, even though I was already wet, but next time I'll do it right away.  That was very enjoyable.  You'd think I'd get tired of taking flower pictures by now but every day I spot something I hadn't seen before.   I don't know what most of them are.  I mowed this afternoon and went on a short walk after dinner.   My fitbit shows over 31000 steps so I exceeded my goal, yea!   Tomorrow, thunderstorms are forecast in the morning so I might take a day off.  We have a family visit, and I have lots of cooking and trip packing to do!  Sadly, I'll probably have several days off on our trip due to driving.  oh well.  

 I have to do repeat shots of the poppies.

May 26

I was pretty tired this morning doing my walk this morning.  My muscles are still adapting to barefoot-ish walking.   And my pack was full of groceries again.  Tomorrow's probably will be too, as I am loading up for my trip.   Today I wore sneakers with no support and no heel.  They felt good but they get very soggy walking in the grass and they don't dry fast at all.   So, no thanks.

This evening I did a 2 mile walk with M.  That was very nice and I had my energy back.  My fitbit logged 24000 steps, so almost to goal.

These were interesting flowers I didn't recognize

Yahara river

I love how new flowers come up every few days it seems!  Now the Irises are in bloom

I learned that this is an allium, or flowering onion.   This was particularly pretty in the evening light.