Monday, September 12, 2011

Fall Colors

Yesterday, being 9/11, was a good day to reflect and for me walking is still the best way to let my mind wander. The day started out cold and wet but by noon, the clouds were starting to thin out and you could see a bit of sunshine. When leaving church, I turned right instead of left which ensured a minimum of 5½ mile walk to get back home. I have really slacked off with exercise over the last year or so. Back in the Spring of 2010, I was walking between 5 and 10 miles per day pretty consistently. In the last year, it had gone down to maybe 10 miles per week. I did the Equinox Marathon back in 2008 and one of my goals was to do it again in less time. Last year, I was originally thinking that maybe this would be the year but not a chance. Earlier in the Summer, a couple of us thought about doing it as a team but none of us really pushed for it so it never happened. As a team, you each do a third of the marathon or about 9 miles.

Here in the interior, we are right in the middle of Fall with most of the leaves having changed but are still clinging to the branches. You may notice that we don't get many colors mostly different shades of yellow. Nowhere near as colorful as other parts of the country. This is along Eton Drive and is one of my favorite places to walk as the traffic is light and the views are pretty good. And plenty of hills for those of us crazy enough to have a need for them. Walking without hills would get pretty boring.

This is the view looking towards the south. The clouds are still obscuring the Alaska Range and most of the city of Fairbanks is off to the left out of frame. I ended up doing this walk twice yesterday, once in each direction, to at least get in a single ten mile day this week. I must admit that the evening walk was done instead of a motorcycle ride. Too many activities and too little time. I couldn't be gone too long as during this same time, I had a couple of pots on the stove but they were in their "simmer for a long time" phase. Some of my favorites, collard greens (from the farmers market) and jambalaya...

I'm afraid that winter is just around the corner. No way to escape it. Another sure sign of approaching winter, this morning, I met my brother at Wright's Air Service as he and his friends were on their annual moose hunt. They usually go south of the Tanana River and are generally pretty successful. I used to go hunting 20 years ago or so but it became a real challenge due to time and dollars needed. For now, I'll satisfy my moose meat "fix" with an ice chest full of moose. Thank you Steve!

For me, walking is still a great way to think and reflect. Maybe I should do more of it. At least my knees aren't hurting anymore. Maybe there is some good that came out of all that slack time...

11 comments:

  1. walk less. ride more. quick before its too late.

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  2. The fall colors are just beginning to appear here in Colorado, I figure another week and we'll be well into the "fall colors" season.

    I'm actually looking forward to the first snow in October.

    dom


    Redleg's Rides

    Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner

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  3. Conchscooter:
    I guess that is what I've been telling myself for the last couple of summers. Time for me to change and adjust my priorities...

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  4. As much as I like the fall season, I don't like that the cold, white, wet stuff is following after. For me it could be spring to summer to fall and back to spring again.
    Well, at least in BC we still get the occasional riding weather.
    As for walking... I wish I wasn't such a lazy bum, and had a walking buddy. Walking alone is so boring.

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  5. Dom:
    You just say that you are looking forward to the snow so you can try out your new toy! I hear that screw in studs from Aerostitch is the hot ticket...

    SonjaM:
    Before I started riding, I used to really look forward to the snow. Now, less so but still looking forward to x-country skiing again.

    I started to walk years ago since it was one of the few exercises that I could actually do. The university created some competition and some social networking and for me it was successful. Now, I'm just trying to get back into it. For me, audiobooks and podcasts are the key to enjoying walking by myself.

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  6. Too many activities and too little time, man do I understand that!

    It is still pretty green here, but it is obvious the seasons are changing. I, too, used to look forward to winter. Now, not so much. Too many old aches and pains like to visit. Still up for some snowshoeing though.

    Thanks for the share.

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  7. Beautiful pictures Richard.

    Walking is always good for the soul. I too enjoy a walk in the evenings or on weekends, although we haven't been doing much of it lately.

    My mom hunted in BC when I was a kid and our favorite was always moose. Ground up moose meat in lasagna was the best.

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  8. Circle Blue:
    I didn't realize that Fall came this early down there. On the ride in this morning, it was definitely starting to feel a little cold. I don't know what the temperature was but there was fog hanging over the surface of a small lake.

    Trobairitz:
    Yesterday, I managed to get in 10.4 miles of walking. The chancellor did his welcome to the university thing right after lunch so that meant a long, meandering walk down to lower campus and back. I actually still enjoy walking if I can get away from traffic. There are a lot of runners out and about getting ready for the marathon this coming Saturday and the x-country skiers are out on their roller skis getting ready for winter.

    Thank you both for stopping by and commenting.

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  9. Dear Richard M.:

    How I wish there was some distance I could walk that would make my knees hurt less.

    I generally like the fall, but this year it will mean a lot more in the way of transitions. The leaves are still deep green here, and with all the rain, they have yet to get that worn out, tired look.

    The equinox will be here in eight days, and summer will be drawing to a close. Normally, it seems as if the seasons tend to overlap a bit, but it will be 65º here tomorrow, a 20º drop that is more likely to be the norm.

    In many respects, I welcome it.

    Fondest regards,
    Jack/reep
    Twiaed Roads

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  10. Lovely pictures! We went from summer directly to fall. Sigh, summer was so short. Today reality struck as I was hunting around for my rain gear. I am praying for a mild winter with no snow, otherwise it's the bus for me. I used to do a lot of walking, but somehow lost my motivation. Time to start again because I always felt better.

    10 miles! Wow!

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  11. Jack:
    When I first started walking, I managed only about 3/4 of a mile per day. Very discouraging. It took several years but I lost over fifty pounds, my joints didn't ache anymore, and met a goal of finishing the Equinox marathon.

    Unfortunately, since then I gained back some of the weight but I think I'm back on track again.

    Dar:
    Thank you for stopping by and commenting. It has been a short summer but there is probably another month to our riding season. There is very little chance of no snow for us. ;-)

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