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Hiked Waldo Canyon today.  A 6-1/4 mile loop hike and a gain in elevation of about 2250 feet.  Topped out at 8,150 feet.  Can you say suck wind?!?  I managed a decent pace up and back, but Joe spent a lot of time waiting for me to take in enough oxygen.  I’ve got to say though, the recovery times were relatively short again.

Just a quick comment about my cousin.  The military has kept him in excellent shape.  No heavy breathing, no resting needed, no need for a break except to wait for me.  This guy is in amazing shape.

My assignment is to lose weight, get stronger, get faster and improve my cardio condition and come back in a year so we can hike Pike’s Peak together.  Yea, we’ll see.

Pike’s Peak from Waldo Canyon and Spring Wildflowers.

Today went to Seven Falls with Joe, Amanda and the kids.  Seven Falls is a privately-owned park and has as its focal point, a beautiful cascade of ‘seven falls’.  There are two sets of platforms for viewing, one involving a climb of 185 steps and the other 225.  I had the legs to make the climb but my flat-lander lungs got a nice little workout.  Just had to stop periodically to suck in some oxygen.  Quick recover times though, which is a positive.  We also hiked near the Cog Railway and snagged a couple of bottles of fresh spring water on our way through Manitou Springs.

Seven Falls, count them!

Spent the day with my friend Amy.  She drove us up into the mountains and found several very scenic areas.  I also managed to find the trailhead for the Colorado Trail, and we walked a very short distance.

Very scenic river running right along side the road.  Got out and walked a bit.

The Colorado Trail crosses the Platte River about halfway between Denver and Durango.  Amy!

Today’s post will be mostly photos.  I am currently in Fountain, CO, just outside of Fort Carson, visiting cousin Joe and his family.  Enjoy!

Pike’s Peak (I love this picture!!!) & Insignificant Me!

Mule Deer & Papa MikeMike and The Chipmunks!

30 years, 2 months and 9 days.  Starting with National Bank of Detroit, who then changed their name to NBD Bank.  After lots of mergers with smaller banks, we merged with First Chicago and became First Chicago NBD.  Then merged with and became Bank One after I moved to Florida in 1998.  Then finally merged with JP Morgan Chase.

I suppose I should wax poetic about my time at the bank.  ‘Holy Crap!’ is about all I can come up with.  I have seen this coming for a very long time and really expected that it would have happened already.  When I moved here, I was responsible for everything technology.  Over the last few years, they have whittled that away until today, where I am literally down to unemployed.  The last couple of years, I pretty much felt like Geech here.

So today starts a new phase for me.  A lot has happened over the last 30+ years.  Think about it.  I started when I was 18 as a custodian in a branch office.  Barely 7 months out of high school.  Worked my way to an assistant manager’s postition in administration.  Ultimately became a project manager requiring a vast amount of skills and disciplines that I won’t go into here so as not to sound lik a resume.  Finally moved to Florida in 1998 to become Technology Director and an AVP.  Then, a Dipstick. 

In that time I married, had four children, lost two of those children and my wife.  Got three kids through high school, and am dangerously close to getting two of these to earn college degrees.  From that I get a great deal of satisfaction.  I also volunteered far more than anyone should, owned three homes and a multitude of automobiles.

So I am going to take just a little time for myself.  

Lots of folks ask the question, ‘What are you going to do?  Where are you going to go?!? Are you still going to sell the house?’.  To those and any other questions I say, ‘Heck, I don’t know.’

So as we used to say in Jazz Band, ‘Jump in and hang on!’

Left the Bike Trip and went directly to Perry Florida to stay at the trailer for a few days.  Discovered to my surprise when I checked in that there was a Bluegrass Festival in town scheduled to start Thursday.

Spent the day re-organizing the trailer and getting it ready for a long trip.  Went to the festival that evening, and among other things saw a 10-year old boy play the fiddle and sing a heckuva rendition of ‘Ruby’.  He was the younger half of the Gandy Brothers of Jacksonville.  Simply amazing.  Also saw some tremendous Banjo picking by a young musician.

Friday night I went into Tallahassee and Liz and I went to a baseball game.  I got to see her in action doing her ‘Spirit Hunters’ thing painting the faces of young people attending the game.

Saturday, we went to the Circus.  For those of you who don’t know, Florida State University has it’s own circus made up of students attending the university.  It is essentially an extra-curricular activity and most of the acts involve aerial work.  The acts were not perfect, but very well planned and very entertaining.  Not only are the participants part of the acts, they also do most of the groundwork (rigging, spotting, setting up equipment).  Very impressive.

As submitted to the Alligator Amblers website.

Amblers Chuck, Betty, Morrie, Ann, Jean, Karen, Mickey and Michael biked a total of 85 miles over four days, on the Cross Florida Greenway Trail, the Withlacoochee Bay Trail and the Withlacoochee State Trail.

Sunday was spent traveling to the trail in the morning, then biking between the Land Bridge and the Santos Campground on the Cross Florida Greenway trail.  Part of the team went east to west, and part traveled in the opposite direction to facilitate transportation to the trailhead.  This part of the trail is trail (wilderness) biking, but a fairly simple route.  More difficult options are available.  The Florida Trail and an equestrian trail parallel the bike trail.  Dinner was Italian carryout and was quite delicious.  Total mileage for the day was 10 miles.

Monday, we continued westward from the Land Bridge Trailhead as a group.  Chuck and Michael staged transportation at the Pruitt Trailhead to the west and met the rest of the group at the jumping off point.  Again, more trail work was involved, but most of the riding was on wagon road, so several stretches found us riding side by side.    The Cross Florida Greenway is very scenic in this area and it is a bit bumpy, so hybrid or mountain bikes are needed.  The view is worth the bumpy ride though.  We saw deer, an abandoned cistern and a beautiful memorial deep in the woods.  Michael experienced some equipment issues at the beginning of the ride, and this would plague him the rest of the trip.  At one point, Morrie determined that a gravity test was required to ensure a soft landing in the event of an accident, so he happily obliged by falling from his mount and landing in some soft sand.

After completing this 27-mile leg of the trail, the group returned to the trailhead and retrieved their vehicles.  The caravan was quite a sight to behold with a large motor-coach w/toad, SUV with travel trailer, an SUV with two bicycles, a minivan with a bicycle and a kayak and a 4-door sedan with a bicycle and two kayaks.

After setting up camp, the crew headed west in three vehicles to the Withlacoochee Bay trailhead at US19 just south of Inglis.  This leg of the trip was an out and back ride from the trailhead to the Gulf of Mexico, about 5 miles each way.  Mother Nature offered just a light drizzle of rain to keep things cooler and the no-see-ums felt it was their responsibility to keep us from dallying and enjoying the scenery.  On the way back to camp, the team stopped for a fabulous Mexican dining experience in beautiful downtown Dunnellon.

Tuesday, we proceeded to the Withlacoochee State Trail and again split the team in two to facilitate transportation.  Part of the team started near Dunnellon for a north to south transit, and the remaining party proceeded to Istachatta for a south to north ride.  The southbound team enjoyed a bratwurst stand for lunch, while the northbound team stopped for a sack lunch along the way.  The two teams met in a shady spot along the way and exchange car keys for the return trip to camp.  Lots of Gopher Tortoise were spotted along the trail.  Both teams enjoyed the services provided at the Istachatta General Store. Total mileage for the day was 30 miles.

Our final day on trail was Thursday where most of the team met in Istachatta to stage the vehicles while Chuck proceeded with his motor-coach to the Southern Terminus.  The bikers and two vehicles were soon to follow, and the team once again proceeded in opposite directions.  The remaining mileage was slightly over 16 miles for the day.  Lunch was enjoyed on the trail and the two teams met to exchange keys and good-byes.  The trail was shared this day with something over 600 bikers from the Bike Florida event as they proceeded from the south. 

A leisurely day was spent pedaling and everyone went on their way to new destinations.  Some headed south towards home, others stayed nearby for more adventures paddling, some went north to see friends and one went further north still to visit family and take in a bluegrass festival, the circus and a couple of ballgames.  Total mileage for the week was about 85 miles. 

Many thanks to Chuck and Betty for organizing a great trip.  Beautiful scenery, fun times, great food and camaraderie made for a most enjoyable four days.  Also, thanks to Captain Morgan, several sugar/sweetener packets, and a couple of tea bags for resolving some logistics puzzles.

p.s. For future reference, the Cross Florida Greenway Trail was quite stunning, but I really had little time to enjoy it as I was dealing with some equipment issues.  I would love to go back and hike the Florida National Scenic Trail in this section.  The Withlacoochee State Trail was nicely paved.  The middle segment from Nobleton to Hernando was the most interesting.  Would make a great 2 to 3 day weekend bike trip.  Lots of opportunities to shop and dine within easy striking distance of the trail.  I would definitely go back with friends for a leisurely ride.

As submitted to the Alligator Amblers website.

Several members attended the annual conference at Stephen Foster Folk Culture State Park in White Springs, FL. In attendance were Alligator Amblers Carlos, Chuck, Betty, Jean, Jack, Gerry, Mickey, Tracey, Elaine C, Elaine S and Michael. The Amblers were responsible for running the Family Activities for kids in attendance and the activities provided by the Amblers were both fun and educational.  Otherwise we were all left to our own design. 

Some went on organized hikes, others participated in impromptu activities.  There were lots of informational displays, opportunities for bidding on auction items, raffle tickets and the Orange Blaze Mercantile was open for business. 

Congratulations to Chapter Chair Carlos Schomaker on his election to the FTA Board of Directors.  Also, congratulations to Charissa Weber for winning third place in two different categories of the 2008 Florida Trail Photo contest.

• Third Place Good Nature:  ‘Mimicker’
• Third Place Spend It Here: ‘Our Trail, The Everglades’

Campfires, great food and refreshments were enjoyed by all.  Lots of new friends were made, old acquaintances were renewed,  and existing friendships solidified.

PS – Did not enjoy the ‘Conference’ as much as I have in the past, but definitely enjoyed the company, camping and the little bit of hiking we did do.  Shared the camp with friends Mickey, Elaine C and Tracey in addition to Elaine S and member from another chapter.  Tracey and Elaine handled the cooking duties after Tracey discovered my meal plan for the weekend (cold cereal in a baggie, peanut butter/crackers and instant coffee).  The meals were delicious and healthy (ack!).  I was glad to have the opportunity to dine with them.  Thank you, ladies!

Poor Elaine did get rather ill Saturday night, and that did put a minor wrinkle in things.  She was a real trooper though and Tracey was able to get her home Sunday.  I managed to get my thumb stuck in the driver’s side door of the Durango.  Hurt like heck, and turned some funny colors, but two weeks later the nail is still hanging in there.  White Springs is definitely worth a return visit.

Just starting the planning process.  I recently received notification that my position is being eliminated and I will severance on Apr 15.  So I intend on hanging about here at home until it’s time for Liz to head back to school for summer session, then follow her north.  Stop for a night or two at the trailer in Perry, then hook up and head north.

At least that’s the plan dujour.

The only definite in my plan is to fly to Colorado and see cousin Joe.  Otherwise, I am wide open to any suggestions.  In a previous life, I liked to use ‘Top 5’ where folks had to tell you their top things to do, or eat, or go.  So here is the challenge, Top 5 things you want to see, or have already seen within the continental US.  Any and all suggestions are welcome, just remember that I will be traveling with an RV AND trying to stick to a shoestring budget.