A few weeks ago, Sarah was gone most of the weekend, so Monday I took a day off at the last minute and Sarah and I spent the day together, driving around southern Indiana, taking photos and exploring/hiking. I fell behind in my blogging, so I’m just now writing about it.

The great thing about taking a day off at the last minute is that it feels like playing hooky, without any guilt (well, maybe a little guilt for not giving my boss more notice, but hey, it wasn’t a problem). We started our day off by going to our favorite breakfast establishment, Wee Willie’s (we like the Ellettsville location). Anyway, after that we started heading south with no real destination in mind. Unfortunately I left my Indiana Atlas and Gazetteer at home, so we had to make do with the road atlas. We ultimately decided to drive down to Paoli, a town I had driven through but Sarah had never seen. We stopped in downtown Paoli to take a few photos. There is a pretty quaint square with some big hills in the background.

Courthouse, downtown Paoli, IN

Some shops

I did a couple of infrared shots, but quickly decided I didn’t want to haul the tripod around or deal with the cumbersome nature of IR photography.

Courthouse in infrared

Infrared shops and hills

So, I put the tripod away and broke out my kit lens, and threw a circular polarizer filter on it. We had fun just walking around the square, seeing what shops were there (actually surprisingly few of interest), and just being together. I was fascinated by many of the buildings’ textures, and several very interesting windows. Many buildings were vacant or businesses closed. A couple of businesses had moved across the square to different stores.

Siding

Sherrod (not sure what that was …)

Windows

The Music Store

Railing

Walters Ye Olde Barber Shoppe

Peeling paint

Stairs

Public Library

Hills

After going around the square and taking some photos, we went into a “pub” that based on the outside looked like it was going to be pretty nice. It wasn’t dirty or anything, but it wasn’t what we expected. When I asked what they had on tap I got a funny look. Nothing on tap, just bottles. OK! One guy drank Stoli drinks out of a paper cup and a number of people gathered at the bar to watch Maury Povich. We each had a Rolling Rock and left.

Bar

After our … uh … “urban” expedition, we decided we should do something outdoors and found we weren’t far from Patoka Lake. We drove there and got a map at the front gate, but didn’t realize until it was too late that it didn’t include a map of the hiking trails. Oh well, we figured, we read that one trail was short and decided to give it a shot, even though we were not wearing proper shoes and didn’t have a map. As we prepared to go hiking, we saw an animal from a distance that we think was a fox. Then as we walked along, we saw a couple of lizards sunning themselves. They stuck around long enough for me to put the long lens on my camera.

Lizard

We took photos of the lizards and some nearby plants before heading down the trail

Ferns — nice and fractally (yes, I’m sure that is a word)

Flower

I’m not sure what this is, but it’s really cool-looking and fuzzy

We debated which way to go once we reached the trail. It was a loop, so we figured we should be able to go either way.

Sarah hiking

Hiking

To make a long story short, we must’ve gone the wrong way, I believe at the very beginning, because this trail was not short, and we ended up going “backwards” based on the signs. We hiked for a good hour or an hour and a half in sandals/poor shoes and really got pretty tired. Eventually we found a “short cut” back but it was probably another two miles from there. Sometimes being spontaneous has a price, but it was well worth it even though it was a bit frustrating, and we were not well-prepared this time around.

Trail

Light

Pines

Eventually we got back to the car. It took what seemed like forever to get back. We enjoyed our hike immensely, though, and we’d like to go back again and do more hiking at Patoka Lake. There are also some bike paths there that looked like a lot of fun, a couple of campgrounds, and I am sure some boat rental. It looks like it’d be a fun place to spend a weekend.

We drove back to Bloomington tired, but happy, and glad we were able to spend this time together. I can’t think of a better way to spend a day than wandering through the countryside with my soon-to-be wife.

The weather was gorgeous here all weekend, with mostly sunny skies and highs in the mid-40s. Yesterday, Sarah and I headed down to Jackson-Washington State Forest to do some hiking. We have gone camping there before and wanted to go hiking, but didn’t have time. With some help from my friend Dave, we decided to hike up Mount Baldy, which apparently has been renamed to the more-redundant “Pinnacle Peak.”

This was a difficult hike, but very beautiful.  It started with a long climb up to where an old observation tower used to be. The trails were quite muddy, so traction was poor and we were slipping and sliding much of the time. I felt like we were doing some damage to the trails but it was too late by the time we figured out how muddy everything was. The climbs were pretty steep and difficult, mostly going straight up the side of the hills rather than winding up gradually like many trails do.

Steep climb

Sarah

Sarah and Rob standing where the old observation tower once was

Support from the old observation tower

Another observation tower support

Sarah photographing Rob

There was a pretty good view from the observation tower, as it was on top of a big hill. The view was obscured by trees somewhat but you could still see quite a distance.

The observation tower’s remains look almost like a cemetery from below

After reaching the old observation tower, the trail goes steeply downhill and follows a valley for a little bit before beginning and even bigger climb up to Mount Baldy. It was quite challenging, and the mud got worse. We ran into two other groups hikers during this portion of the hike, the only other people we would see all afternoon. It was great to have the whole place basically to ourselves.

Eventually, we reached the top of Mount Baldy. True to its name, it had a rocky surface with few plants growing on it — as well as a fantastic view.

View from Mount Baldy

Another shot of the view

Before Sarah could catch her breath, I hugged and kissed her for a few minutes, then on bended knee, pulled a ring from my pocket and asked “Sarah … will you marry me?” She had no idea this was coming whatsoever — I could see from the look on her face it took a moment for her to process what was going on and realize what I was asking. She was smiling but crying and hugging me and muttered some things, prompting me to ask, “Is that a yes?” She responded with an emphatic “YES!” My heart very nearly jumped from my chest. I knew this would be a great moment, but it was even better than I had envisioned.

The ring I chose has three round-cut stones, the middle one bigger than the other two. It looks even better on Sarah’s finger than it did by itself. The light was perfect for the occasion, the winter sun low in the sky and casting long, beautiful shadows despite being mid-afternoon, and wrapping everything in a warm glow.

The ring

Us

Does she look happy or what?

The trees below us

We spent a long time on Mount Baldy talking about everything and enjoying the scenery and each other’s company. It was amazing to have this beautiful land all to ourselves. The dog got to feeling a big neglected, but he got over it. Eventually we headed back. It was a long trip down the side of this huge hill, but it didn’t take as long as it did on the way up. In part our exuberance made it go by faster.

Sarah and Rob

Looking into the valley below

Another great smile

The trail

Beautiful light

Back at the observation tower

We thought about hiking some more on a trail that connects to this one at the observation tower, but it was getting a bit late in the day and we were tired enough already. We’ll just have to go back soon to hike more of these trails.

Muddy trail

The road back

Our trip back was excellent. We sure have a lot of new things to discuss now. By the end of the day, my face hurt from smiling so much, my ankles hurt from the hiking, and more importantly, Sarah and I felt closer than ever. A great way to feel after a perfect day.

We woke up Monday morning to find ourselves in a log cabin in the mountains. What a way to wake up! We took a few minutes to get up, and explored our surroundings.

The front of the cabin (and my bicycle)

The view from the gazebo in the back yard

Inside the cabin

One thing Sarah and I wanted to do on our vacation was hike part of the Appalachian Trail. One of the hikes in the Franklin, NC area we had found took the Appalachian Trail up to Siler Bald (not to be confused with Siler’s Bald in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park), so we decided to do this hike. First, we stopped for breakfast at the Sunset Restaurant. We were probably the only ones under 50, and the place had a blue and yellow color scheme that was rather interesting and had Bible verses in the menu.

We enjoyed driving back into Franklin and seeing all the scenery we had missed in the darkness of night on our way to the cabin. We were surrounded by mountains and farms nestled into the mountains. This was an interesting area, because it was away from tourism; for the people who lived here, the mountains were just an everyday part of their lives. It was a very different way to experience the mountains.

We were also impressed with Franklin, it’s a very small town, but still has a fair number of restaurants and businesses, and the downtown area has an very quaint feel, with some shops with art by local artists and numerous other small, local businesses.  There were many signed bicycle routes through and around town. We didn’t take time to explore Franklin at this time, though, as we were anxious to hike up to Siler Bald.

Our map of Macon County proved useful once again, as the directions to the trailhead were a little unclear. Thanks to the map, we found it without too much difficulty.

The trailhead was at this picnic area / White blaze indicating the Appalachian Trail

The hike was about two miles uphill, but it was very gradual climbing, for the most part. The trail surface wasn’t as rugged as the one at South Mountains State Park, but still had a lot of character.

Creek crossing on the AT

It was warm, but not hot, especially compared to Charlotte. As we climbed, we noticed more and more of a breeze, and you could get a sense of the elevation through the trees, although you couldn’t see much at this point. Eventually, we reached a clearing and saw Siler Bald looming over us. This was the steep part of the climb, but the higher you went, the better the views. It was exhilarating, and very cool to be able to see further, since it was, you know, bald.
Siler Bald looms before us

I went a little bit ahead of Sarah and got some shots of her hiking toward me. I think they turned out pretty cool, having her in the shots gives them more of a sense of scale.

Sarah climbs Siler Bald

We thought we were going to get rained on, as some dark clouds were overhead, and we even felt a few drops — but we were lucky. The clouds blew over without raining on us.

It was a long way up …

But it was also well worth the effort

Weird split tree on top of Siler Bald

View from the top

Sarah on Siler Bald

The trip down was significantly easier, even though I like to claim that the trip down is harder than the trip up. Usually, that’s not the case — unless it’s extremely steep. It was great to hike on the AT and see Siler Bald. We didn’t see or hear any other people there. I was amazed that we had such an incredible mountain all to ourselves.

We contemplated going to nearby Wayah Bald, but decided against it. Someday, we’ll go back and check that out. Supposedly, there’s a lookout tower there, with unique views of its own.

Sarah and I leave tonight for our vacation to the Smokies and North Carolina. We’ve been planning this for some time, and it’s hard to believe it’s finally happening. This will be my first paid vacation ever, and you can bet that I’ll take an occasional moment while standing on top of a mountain to remind myself, “I’m getting paid for this!”

We really need this. Neither of us has had a real vacation in … well, really, since we were kids. It’s about time. I can’t wait to scale up the rock face of a mountain, or plunge into whitewater rapids, or sit in a gazebo overlooking the mountains and stare into Sarah’s eyes until I forget the mountains are even there. To go mountain biking in some real mountains. To get lost on some shitty gravel road that my car wasn’t built to drive on in the first place. To find out how long it takes to boil water at 6,000 feet.

We’ll take thousands of photos, and while we won’t be able to blog while we’re gone, but instead, we’ll try our hand at putting pen to paper and actually writing. My handwriting is awful, and I can type faster than I can write, but I’m hoping that that tactile connection will have its own charms, and the fact that we can write anywhere we go is appealing. I normally don’t even try to write unless I’m sitting at a computer, and let me tell you, I won’t miss sitting at a computer. It’ll be difficult to transcribe our thoughts when we return, but a worthwhile endeavor.

I was going to go into detail about our plans, but it doesn’t really matter what our plans are. The point is, we’ll be getting away from our jobs, school, family, friends … everyone we know, for a time. It will be just us, and it’ll be our world.

Well, we were pretty lucky last month and it wasn’t too hot. Unfortunately, we’re paying now, as it’s been in the 90s and humid. I think I’m getting acclimated fairly well, really, but I’ve always had a lot more trouble dealing with heat than with cold. I overheat easily, and heat tends to leave me feeling crummy.

However, the riding I’ve been doing helps me deal with heat better. The more I am out in the heat anyway, the better I’m able to handle it. That doesn’t mean I’m comfortable, but it does get a little easier. Still, it is harder to be motivated to ride when it’s hot outside.

I had some fun yesterday running some errands after work for Sarah’s birthday. I had tried to get her a gift the day before, but failed, so I had to do it at the absolute last minute. First, I went to J.L. Waters and got Sarah some trekking poles. I wanted to get her something that’d be useful for our upcoming vacation.

Some guy was checking out my bike when I came out of J.L. Waters. I started getting ready to go, figuring he’d either say something or go away, but he did neither. He just stared at my bike. I think he was intrigued by the Brooks saddle and the rack/pannier setup.

I put the poles in my Banjo Brothers waterproof pannier, with the ends sticking up, and strapped them down the best I could with the built-in strap. This is the first time I’ve had a problem with these panniers — I was unable to pull the strap as tight as I wanted. The buckle came undone if I pulled it too tight. I got it to hold, but I was a little worried about it. Still, a $40 waterproof pannier is bound to have some weakness, and this is one that’ll be easy to deal with if I just get some extra straps for those times when I want to carry more stuff.

After that, I attempted to go to a florist, but found instead a Sprint store. I should have known this, as I’ve actually been to that Sprint store before, but I was hoping they were simply near each other. Apparently, the florist either moved or went out of business a few years ago. Instead, I went to Marsh (a grocery store) and locked my bike there. I took the trekking poles in with me so nobody could steal them, and got some flowers. The florist put a plastic bag over the tops of the flowers so I wouldn’t damage them on my ride home. She was very helpful and accommodating. I had more trouble with the strap on my pannier as I put first the trekking poles, and then the flowers in there and tried to strap them down.

It was a pretty neat feeling riding home with a gift and some flowers for Sarah. I got some smiles as I passed pedestrians who saw the flowers sticking out of my pannier. It felt old-fashioned, in a charming way, to be carrying these things I had chosen home to my honey on my bicycle. I actually thought about carrying the flowers in one hand, and maybe I should have. I would’ve been able to literally smell the flowers on my way home. Still, I grinned proudly that I had these flowers and someone wonderful to whom to give them.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to wrap things, and my pannier became a grab bag when I got home. Sarah was very cool about my lack of preparedness. I think she could see that I really was trying, and I felt bad that I hadn’t been more prepared. Still, I vowed to do better next year.

The whole outing also has me wanting to run more errands on my bicycle!