Weird Winter

This has been the strangest winter I can remember.  The weather has been relatively warm, and we haven't gotten much snow.  There have only been a few days that I have needed to get up early (ok, who am I kidding I never get up early) to clear the snow/ice from my car.  Most of the time I am lucky enough to check my phone for the temp, and run out in my jammies and get it started up so it has time to defrost before I get in. I think the worst of the weather was a few weeks ago, it was a bit slick on a Friday night when Mikey and I were driving home, and then that following Saturday morning I needed to fight some snow and ice on my car and on the streets.

And today was no exception.  When I got out of work today, the sun was out, it as about 39°, and the dog was extra wound up! Mikey has been taking him for walks during the day since he's been off work these past few weeks. Unfortunately though, Mikey took a little spill down the stairs the other day and rolled his ankle.  Seems someone was expecting an afternoon walk. And who could say no to that smiling puppy face? 

It was a nice enough day but it was still a little cool, and getting cooler as the afternoon progressed.  I wanted to make it a quick walk, but still get enough distance in to make Dieseldog happy.  Leash strapped on, DieselCam rolling, GPS in pocket tracking our distance and time, we were off. 

Yea, I took a picture of the rest stop.

Headed down our street towards the trail, down the trail and past the Mastodon Site.  There weren't a lot of people on the trail today, and it was a bit muddy in some places, but peaceful still. It was the first time I had been on that section of the trail since they built the new stand-alone restroom at Leach & Adams.  It was a nice improvement over the Porta-John that had been their previously.  
We headed down Leach and it was just a little ways up the street that we came across my friend Andrea as she was driving home. We stopped to chat for a moment, but didn't want to hold up traffic.  

We kept on going, without much else exciting happening. Just as we got close to home we came across a lady with her rottweiler. She introduced herself and her dog, I believe his name was Zeus.  We made small talk about the boys and agreed that we will probably see more of each other as the weather warmed. 
It wasn't a very eventful walk, but it was just the right thing for a sunny February day. We don't always get a chance to take the time out for ourselves or to appreciate the weather when its not quite perfect, but definitely better than the alternative.  I'm hoping Diesel and I can start getting a few more of these walks in.

Oh, and yes, we did try the DieselCam again but I still need to work on stabilizing it.   I get more shots of his neck fur then I do anything else. That and it clips to his collar fine, but his leash pulls his collar around and then you end up with the camera on its side, and that really makes for a dizzy replay.  I'll keep working on it and hopefully I will have a neat video for you this summer.

June 14th, 2011

Last night after returning from our walk, I was much too exhausted to do anything but sink into the couch and watch my summer guilty pleasure, America's Got Talent.  I think I may have over did it with our walk.

I started out my afternoon hitting the gym for some strength training and a little cardio as I do each Tuesday.  After getting home and showering I just couldn't resist going for a walk.  The weather was perfect, a sunny 70 degrees with a slight breeze.  I wasn't feeling up to walking the usual route so I decided that we would just hit the Clinton River Trail for a bit and turn around and come back.

Sitting Area documenting the finding of Mastadon Remains

Armed with my headphones, and my phone queued up to play my Pandora App while we walked, Diesel and I headed down the street and picked up the trail in our usual spot.  We walked west, passing by the Mammoth Crossing sitting area.  As much as I love the little shaded area and Flintstone-ish bench indicating where Mastadon remains had been found while excavating for the new Adams Road, its painfully too near the busy street to really call it serene.

Rest Stop Near Adams & M-59

If there is one thing that I do truly love about living along the Rochester Hills stretch of the CRT its that the city, or the Friends of the Clinton River Trail keep the section beautifully maintained.  Grooming, providing maps and rest stops equipped with water and restrooms along the trail keep the trail traffic happy and bountiful.  There were all kinds of people out on the trail.  Bikers, joggers, runners, whole families, and those just taking their dogs for a walk. When we reached the first of the rest stops, Diesel was able to get a drink of water from the fountain as someone has been pleasant enough to leave behind a dog dish just for the occasion.

Wetlands along Mile Marker 6

We continued on down the trial until we reached the road block at the M-59 overpass.  Construction on the expressway has the trail closed under the overpass, but a detour is available for those wanting to continue further.  Diesel and I took this as our opportunity to turn back and head home.  Along the trial at that particular location, right around mile marker 6, are wetlands on either side of the trial.  They can be great spots to see local wildlife.  We stopped and took in the sights for a while, but saw nothing more than a family of ducks.  It was at that moment that I started to ponder.  Just on the other side of the little pond is the neighborhood that is home to my mother-in-law.  Would it be possible for me to get to it from here?  She had been wondering the same thing after buying a new bike recently.  Sure enough I found a little trial leading to the industrial area, and after a brief little jog through an open field, Diesel and I were on her very street.

Diesel and I stopped and visited for a while.  He got another drink of water and we headed on back out towards home.  I wanted to see just how long of a walk it would be taking the main roads so I headed on out of the neighborhood and onto Auburn Rd.  Standing at the top of the hill I could see I had another large hill in front of us that would need to be tackled before we'd see the edge of our own neighborhood.  There was no turning back now.

Today I would look up our walking route on Google's Pedometer page and discover we walked nearly 4 miles.  Our usual walk is just under 3.  That, along with the lunges, and ball squats would explain why my thighs were sore today.  But it was still a nice walk and good knowing I can get to Mom's house from the trail.   

For more information on the Friends of the Clinton River Trail, view their Facebook Group.  
For a great tool to determine the distance of a walk/run/bike you've already made or to make future plans, check out Googles Pedometer using GMaps.