Monday, September 27, 2010

Another Gorgeous Fall Day

WB2010

Yesterday was another superb, gorgeous, fantastic Fall day. So, I went biking along the Root River Trail again. This time I started at Isinours Forest to do the one section of the trail I have never done. It's uphill from there all the way to the western Trailhead at Fountain. It is great to know I could do it while keeping a decent pace. Quite a change over the season.

And speaking of seasons-- I saw my first woolly bear caterpillar on that first segment. For those who don't know, woolly bears are supposed to prognosticate the kind of winter it will be. Well, it looks like it will be a split winter around here. Heavier at the beginning and end, milder in the middle. I saw quite a few other woolly bears on the ride and they all were similar.


Of course we have just had a lot of rain over the past week. Record breaking rains with a lot of flooding in some places. The Root River was running heavy. Here's the dam in Lanesboro. Well, actually the splash area at the other side. Quite a lot of water.
HeavyWater


Here at the golf course you can see the results of the flooding as trees and brush are stuck under the bridge. You can't see it from here but the river also cut into the bank, making the river bed wider.
HeavyWater2






MushTree








There were other neat things, though. Like the mushrooms growing out of the sides of trees. I liked this one since I could get under it without any problem. It is actually about 8' up the side of the tree.

The day was cool to start. It was in the low 50s when I got on the trail at about 11:00. The sun was warm, though. I ended up sweating. Not unexpected. It was probably around 57 or so when I finished around 1:30, 22 miles, lots of pictures, and a dish of ice cream in Lanesboro later.



On the way home I couldn't resist stopping by the Fountain Lutheran Church for this great example of what Minnesota in September can be like at its absolute very best.

I am sure more days are coming!
FtnLuth

No comments: