Where have all the bikers gone?

We have a couple of friends in Omaha who are bikers.  His and Hers.  Two or three years ago, he and one of his buddies rode to South America, intending to go all the way to Tierra del Fuego.  They got as far as Peru or Ecuador and the lead rider hit an oil slick as they went around a curve.  The trailing rider went down over the lead rider.  Both ended up flying home well banged up, one with a broken leg and the other a broken collar bone.

This summer, she went on a Komen Race for the Cure ride with her biker girlfriends to the Arctic Circle in Alaska.  Then she went down, had to be airlifted to Anchorage.  Fractured pelvis.  That was July and she is still on crutches.

Last week, as he was going home, a coyote ran out in front of him.  Broken collar bone - again, broken shoulder blade, 3 broken ribs.  Still hospitalized.

I was thinking about them today.  Husker likes the following, but is reluctant to send it to them.  What do you think? 

WHERE HAVE ALL THE BIKERS GONE 

Where have all the bikers gone?

Long time passing

Where have all the bikers gone?

Long time ago

Where have all the bikers gone?

Coyotes spook them every one

When will they ever learn?

When will they ever learn?

Where have all the bikers gone?

Long time passing

Where have all the bikers gone?

Long time ago

Where have all the bikers gone?

Taken a short road every one

When will they ever learn?

When will they ever learn?

Where have all the bikers gone?

Long time passing

Where have all the bikers gone?

Long time ago

Where have all the bikers gone?

Gone by ambulance every one

When will they ever learn?

When will they ever learn?

Where have all the bikers gone?

Long time passing

Where have all the bikers gone?

Long time ago

Where have all the bikers gone?

Gone to O. R. every one

When will they ever learn?

When will they ever learn?

Where have all the bikers gone?

Long time passing

Where have all the bikers gone?

Long time ago

Where have all the bikers gone?

Gone with their dreams every one

When will they ever learn?

When will they ever learn?

Albuquerque to Blanding, UT to Bryce Canyon

The hotel in Albuquerque had an indoor pool (yeah), but they did not bother to turn on the heat (booo).  I tried it for a few minutes, but could not work up enough body heat to counteract the frigid water, so I gave it up after 15 minutes of laps.  Short laps they were - I measured this pool to be 5-6 strokes across.  The lap pool at my local Y is a 26 stroke pool or about 1 stroke per meter.  I communicate the size of a pool by number of strokes because I am poor at visually estimating the length of a pool in feet, yards, or meters.  Husker is always considerate of my desire to get my exercise, so when he makes our reservations for any travel, he peruses the available information about the swimming pool.  It is amazing how different the pools can be when you actually get there. 

On Sunday, September 4th, we left Albuquerque behind and drove north to Colorado and west toward Blanding, Utah.  Along the way, we stopped at Mesa Verde NP near the Four Corners in southwestern Colorado.  The drive into the park is worth a trip all by itself.  The vistas are awesome.

Note the cinder cone in the center.  The vista is many miles into the distance.  I have been to Mesa Verde before, but this was Husker's first trip there. 







On Monday morning, we took a scenic byway out of Blanding toward Bryce Canyon.  It was a most fortuitous decision.  The drive was incredibly beautiful!  It looked like something out  of an old western movie.  

We even saw a little of Lake Powell, which surprised us because we were not expecting to see it.  This byway held lots of eye candy.  Note the tent of a camper.  Tents must be pitched on a rocky terrain.





We encountered something on this trip - at every national park - that was unexpected.  There were many German tourists.  We heard German speakers at hotels, in the parks, everywhere.  Welcome!

 Bryce Canyon awaited in all its glory!  And the Germans were there.  I hope they enjoyed it as much as we did. 

 It was an overcast day, and rained lightly for a while.  Rained and eroded the hoodoos some more. 

 This shot is through the light rain.  It appears hazy, but it is a light mist. 

Bryce was exceptional.  It is one thing to look at photos and anticipate what will be before your eyes, but to actually see it nevertheless left me speechless.  Such incredible erosion, the hoodoos, the slender roads along ridges to reach these impossible vistas . . .

We made one last stop before leaving Bryce, and were met by one of the locals who has become a little too accustomed to the human crowd.  

Two Weeks on the Road

Husker and I have 2 big road trips on our bucket list, one to the Pacific Northwest and another to New England during leaf peeping time.  We elected to do the Pacific Northwest this fall and save New England for another fall.  Good thing we made that decision the way we did because of the storms that fell on New England -- indeed, the entire eastern seaboard -- and washed out roads, flooded communities, etc.

So on September 3, 2011 (Saturday before Labor Day), we departed Texas early of a morning and headed first to Albuquerque.  It was a long hard day of traveling, but we also knew that day and our anticipated last day would be the least interesting of the entire 2 weeks that we intended to be gone.  (For those who have not been there, west Texas and southeastern New Mexico are the least interesting places in the country for a long drive.  There is nothing scenic about it unless you like it hot, dry, and ugly.)

Neither of us like stopping at fast food places or greasy spoons that typically line the highways in small towns or along the interstates, so we take a cooler and picnic along the way.  This photo is of a picnic stop just over the border into New Mexico.  The only trees were planted, not native.  Almost no vegetation.  Windy.  Hot.  Dry.  Flat.

Driving northwest from Roswell, New Mexico, the scenery began to pick up as the foothills appeared.  Lincoln County, NM is definitely a good spot to drive through with some unexpected jewels along the road.  One of my favorites from about 20 years ago is an old stagecoach stop -- now delightful restaurant -- the Silver Dollar in Tinnie, NM. Very tiny community, but the restaurant thrives due to its ambiance and good food.  Haute Victorian atmosphere.

The altitude, cool breezes, laid back pace -- all reasons that this part of NM is also known as Texas' playground.  World's richest horse race in Ruidoso, Smoky-the-bear museum (he was a real bear) in Capitan, home of the Lincoln County Wars (think Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett) in Lincoln, and a short drive to the Space Museum and the White Sands National Monument in Alamogordo.  For your kiddos, White Sands is where the first atomic bomb was tested.

New Mexico is also home to a lot of black basalt lava beds.  So much so that I am glad I was not around NM a few hundred million years ago.  We saw a lot of this during our drive north to Albuquerque.  Hawaii is not the only state with scenes like this.  New Mexico has plenty of places like this should you want to check out the lava beds without threat of a volcanic explosion!

Yes, I took my knitting, but more about that later.  Actually, what I was working on was not making me happy, so I frogged it and started again.   I mostly knitted my way across west Texas, but not so much when we reached eye candy country. 

An awful summer nears its end

This has been one of our worst summers, weather-wise.  Over 60 100+ days and it isn't over yet.  Today is expected to be 107 degrees.  I plan to spend my afternoon at our local Y's indoor lap pool.  It is pretty bad when you get up at 6 a.m. and it is too hot to walk in the neighborhood.

However, we have had some fun things to do.  We went to Husker's high school reunion in Omaha (of course!)  This is the 4th reunion of his class that I have attended, and I am starting to know a few people.  Part of the weekend included a tour of their high school.  This is one item that I did not attend because I went to an Omaha Y to attend a kettlebell class.  This was my first experience with it and I think I want to find a class locally.  I am still practicing what I learned.  

In addition, I have worked quite a bit this summer.  That has cut into my workouts and my yoga classes.  I have also had two jury summons -- different court systems -- but did not have to serve.  Whew!

Knitting?  Of course.  I picked up Vogue Knitting's fall issue and I am making a cropped pullover that I hope to include herein in about a month.  It took me a while to get the yarn -- had to order it -- then had to pick it up when I could get into Big D.  I will be working all of next week, then be off for at least two weeks.  After that time, I should have something to show for it.  Currently, I am not scheduled to work again until October 10th, and frankly, glad of it.  Need a little break. 

Busy spring

I looked at my posts and realized that I have been very negligent in writing and posting pix of the knitting projects.  Yes, I have been knitting right through spring, and now summer is upon us -- with a thud.  We began having 100 degree days while it was still spring!  Not a good sign.

I have been trying to use up a lot of stash and have ended up with a pair of Spud and Chloe mitts to use with my Spud and Chloe camp hoodie.  There is a heart motif to jazz up the appearance a little.  The mitts are colorway Watermelon to use the leftover trim yarn from my camp hoodie.  Pix will come later of the two of them together.  I received the zipper for the hoodie, but unfortunately, the sewing machine decided to fall apart.  So I have not been able to put in the zipper, yet. 

I also made a pair of sister summer sweaters for two nieces, Lily and Joey.  Husker and I went to Omaha for the Memorial Day weekend and left them with family for Lily and Joey's mom to pick up when she came back in town.  She facebooked me later to advise that they looked great.  However, I failed to photograph them, but I can tell you that they were based on the pattern "Chloe" designed by Alana Dakos, www.nevernotknitting.com.  I made this from a large stash of Cotton Ease in a rosy pink (no stripes) with a touch of Cotton Ease's bright green for trim, and used pink/green unmatched novelty buttons.

Speaking of  Spud and Chloe, I think I am getting some more yarn because Susan B. Anderson just published a preview of a darling shrug.  Gotta have it! 

Another item made with leftover yarn, again Cotton Ease, is a sweater shawl.  This is an easy knit with a ruffled trim.  I admit that I used all the available yarn, and had to go back to the store for one more skein.  I had almost 2 skeins, so that makes 3 skeins to complete it.  This is for  chilly fall and winter days when I want to snuggle into my chair and put a throw over my feet.  Now I don't have to wear a sweatshirt, too! 

Camp Hoodie - almost done

The camp hoodie has been done for a couple of weeks, but could not locate a separating zipper in the length and color needed, so I had to custom order it from Custom Zips.  Obviously, the zipper has not arrived, but here is a peek at the otherwise completed hoodie.  I really love it!  I planned this as alternate outerwear for my walks.  I am now looking forward to having winter return to North Texas.   I promise more pix when it has a zipper.   By the way, I used Spud and Chloe's colorways Chipmunk and Watermelon. 

The kangaroo pocket came out great!  I used the Wonderful Wallaby pattern as my inspiration for the pocket -- splitting it down the middle, of course.  Husker is suitably impressed with this project. 

We Race for the Cure

Today was the Race for the Cure in west Fort Worth, a Komen race that serves 4 counties.  Husker and I showed up at 7 a.m. for our 8 a.m. family fun walk.  Since Husker is a polio survivor, we do the one-mile walk instead of the 5k.  It is unbelievable how big this Race for the Cure mentality has grown over the last 30 (?) years.  15,000 people showed up this morning! 

The crisp (low to mid 50s-60s) temperatures that start the event each year are just not warm enough for me.  This year was not too chilly (mid 60s), but many times I have needed a light jacket -- which I was ripping off by the end of the race.  Next year, Brenda is going to show up with her new pink arm warmers that she can strip off and store easily after the temperature starts to rise (which it does quickly!)  Why didn't I think of this before now?  I will model them on the arm warmers that I made for myself to wear during the crispy days of spring and fall on my neighborhood 4-mile walks.  The new pink arm warmers will come later, but here is a close-up of the spring-fall version that I already made.  These were knitted with double point needles, reversing to purl rows to create "bracelets" at the beginning, end, and on each side of the elbow bend.  I used Berroco Comfort yarn.


My thought for the pink arm warmers is to use a sock weight yarn in a silk blend so that they will not be too warm or too bulky.  I think these would be good for runners, too, on chilly days.  Suggestions from readers for yarn and style variations would be appreciated.  

Husker is about to leave for one of his volunteer gigs, and I am about to start a more rigorous and extensive walk through our very hilly neighborhood.  A one-mile stroll is okay for Husker, but it leaves me frustrated!  I gotta move like I mean it.  However, Husker has done something that I doubt I will ever do:   He has done the Race for the Cure in 8 states.