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Sunday, September 9, 2012

Nimble as two mountain goats

Well... kinda sorta!

Steve and I went out hiking on Saturday.  This park has a bunch of trails, some in the woods, some in the meadows, and some along the craggy edges of the limestone cliffs.   The Niagara Escarpment runs through this park, so the shifting terrain has exposed layers of limestone.  Many years ago, there were limestone kilns situated along the shoreline, and the rock was baked into limestone powder.  This was used for making cement, plaster and other items.  Some of the old historic kilns are still located within the park boundaries.

The path we chose was called The Lime Kiln Trail.  It is a big loop that starts and ends right at the western edge of the campground.   The loop we chose was just about 2 miles long.  Steveio's knee is doing quite well, and he wanted to get out and explore each inch of the park as soon as possible.


THE CRAGGY LIMESTONE CLIFFS


SOME OF THE ROUGH PARTS OF THE PATHS HAVE STAIRS OR TIMBERS




 THE WESTERN EDGE OF THE TRAIL LOOP WANDERS 
ALONG THE SHORE OF LAKE WINNEBAGO


 STEVE AND I SCUTTERED AND SCURRIED ALONG THE TRAILS
IN BETWEEN TALL WALLS OF ROCKS AND SHADY TREES



THE FRESH GREEN OF THE WOODS AFTER A RAINFALL
THE NIGHT BEFORE WAS VIVID AND VIBRANT



 WE FOOLED AROUND TAKING A FEW PHOTOS. 
THE DAY WAS LOVELY AND COOL WITH TEMPS IN THE 60'S
SO SWEATSHIRTS AND LONG PANTS WERE IN ORDER.



 WE COULD FEEL A HINT OF AUTUMN IN THE AIR
AS WE WOUND ALONG THE PATHS IN THE WOODS.

5 OR 6 YEARS AGO, I COULD BARELY WALK 100 FEET,
AND NOW WE DID ABOUT 2 MILES! 


As we neared the campground up by the cliffs again, we saw a young girl, about 8-10 years old, dangerously close to the edge of a dropoff!   She was less than a foot from the edge on a narrow tall ledge of loose limestone, looking OVER the edge!  I told her to "get back away from the edge"   and "do your parents know you are out here?"  Behind her over on the other side of the tall spire of rock were her sister and her mother!   Her mother remarked something to the effect of "Oh that is fine, we are all right here"   I think they were trying to JUMP from the cliff on the left to the the spire on the right. DUH!    You CAN'T FIX STUPID!

   (of course, those are the types of parents who sue the state after their child dies, 
citing the lack of warning signs, guard rails, or fenced off areas) 


We walked back to the motorhome, enjoying the aroma of beef stew that I had simmering in the crock pot all day.  Ohhhh it smelled so good!   This is after we scooped out two bowls.

We finished up with a lazy evening in front of the TV, while I cranked socks and Steve played "Hearts" on the computer.  It was raining outside and the drizzle of drops on the roof top of the motorhome was soothing.  I felt bad for the tenters who got all set up for the weekend and just had their campfires going and enjoying their camping experience before the rains started.   Sigh.

Sunday morning is now all sunny and bright----  I baked up some Betty Crocker Streusel Muffin Mix (previously, our friend Paula made them for us, so I had to buy a box)   and sipping coffee here as I write the blog.  Today is a Packer Game Day---  FIRST game of the season!  So I guess we are not going to stray too far from the tv today.   GO PACK GO!


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15 comments:

  1. That was a lovely hike! and the stew made me wish for some cooler days so I could get into the crock pot soup mode again! Nice.

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  2. Nice time of the year to be in the woods. October in the north woods is my favorite. It was amazing down here in Cut & Shoot, TX this morning. It was 58 degrees when I got up and it is usually in the 70's. Maybe the high heat pattern has broken. . . Nah not yet.

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  3. So glad to hear that Steve felt up to making the trek with you. Love that limestone but that picture of the lake is so neat.

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  4. That looks like a lovely place to walk. I just bought a package of the Wild Berry muffin mix that you introduced me to when I visited you in June.

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  5. Karen, your stew looks so good. Would you care to share your recipe?
    Anne

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    1. Oh gee... I am just a "dumper" kinda cook. I pre-cooked the meat in the pressure cooker... Because we had bought six sirloin stakes a few weeks ago that were not so good on the grill when we cooked up four of them. I tossed the other 2 steaks in the freezer to use up later for stew. I add onions, carrots, peeled and chunked taters and a dollop of Andria's steak sauce from Missouri. Add salt and pepper and a bit of Lowreys seasoning. Then I mix some Kitchen Bouquet into some drippings from the pressure cooker meat and flour to make the gravy. Dump over the top and put on the cover. Set on low and leave it sit for the day.

      (today I am making chili in the crockpot for during the Packer Game)

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  6. I never knew there was a lake named after my motorhome brand! Learn something new every day. ;c)

    Crock pots are an RVers best friend.

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  7. Andreas sauce, I get 6 jars every time we see the kids. That's a gorgeous area!

    I'm so glad servio is doing so well. That's a nice hike.

    Jim is already talking to the TV. The dolphins are on. I'm now a football widow.

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  8. Andreas sauce, I get 6 jars every time we see the kids. That's a gorgeous area!

    I'm so glad servio is doing so well. That's a nice hike.

    Jim is already talking to the TV. The dolphins are on. I'm now a football widow.

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  9. Great pictures. Glad to hear you are enjoying the weather. I like that kind of weather in January, lol. I'm still enjoying summer here. Stew is good anytime and the crockpot doesn't heat up the RV. You can always plug it in outside too unless you are where there are wild animals roaming around. Don't feed the bears! I'm glad you said something to the kid anyway. It's too bad when "adventures" are dangerous instead of just fun.

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  10. Photos look very much like the Niagara Escarpment area that is just East of the Horicon marsh, stone towers and walk ways between them. Couple county parks, one with camping outside of Horicon and another just for hiking S of Oakfield, WI. Donna T.

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  11. That Niagara Escarpment area runs from Niagara Falls up into the Bruce Peninsula north of us as well. The terrain in the Bruce Penninsula area is the very same as you were hiking in. Now I'm not a big foody guy but that photo of your beef stew had my stomach growling & I swear I could smell that crock pot simmering all the way over here in Ontario:))

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  12. Beautiful area for a hike! I am glad you are both doing so well! You both appear to be very happy, so it looks like all of the changes you've made agree with you.

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  13. A nice hike and then to come home to beef stew....what can be better. Good blog post.

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