The first thing we had to do after PALM, (besides sleep,) was to get things dried out. Thank goodness we had some nice sunny weather, so things dried rather quickly. Couldn't help but think"Oh sunny weather, where were you last week?" By the end of the day, all was dry and put away.
On Sunday we put on our PALM shirts and rode to church. The 8 miles there seemed like a short ride,and our time was faster than it usually is. The same thing was true of our ride home. Had an opportunity to share our PALM experience with those who had been praying for us. Pastor's message that day was on heeding the voice of God, when he prompts you to do something. Tony and I were certainly on the receiving end of that when we were on our PALM ride. The worship team sang "How Great is our God," it was cool to see how the Lord took it all and fit it together.
Monday, we rode 32 miles, which included a stop for ice cream. We can tell our legs are stronger. Our times are better and the hills don't seem quite as steep as they did. Before PALM, 32 mile ride seemed really far, on Monday, it didn't seem bad at all. It wasn't raining, that made the ride even more pleasant.
We have been doing a lot of riding in the evening. It is light long enough that we can get in a 2 or 3 hour ride before dark.
Didn't do any riding over the 4th of July. Our daughter, her husband, and family came up for the weekend. We had fun fishing and kayaking. Went to the fireworks on the 4th. Of course the kids went frog hunting.
Tony and the kids slept, one night in the shade tent we bought to use when we go camping with our little trailer. It was the first time we have used it. It is a module tent system. Ideal for large families. we bought only the main module.
There are zip on sleeping modules that can be purchased and used in conjunction with the main area. Plenty of room for a picnic table in the middle and all 4 sides zip off, so it can be open. It has the option of having a floor in it, or just putting it on the grass. It isn't something that would fare well for rainy weather camping, but it will serve our purpose well. It may take some practice for tony and I to get it up by ourselves, mostly because it's so tall.
On Tuesday we rode 24 miles taking on a course that we were unable to complete last year because of the hills.
I won't say it was an effortless ride, but it was easier than it had been the last time we tried it. We completed it, and rode on, to Sunrise Lake. Sunrise Lake is quite a deep lake, noted for good trout fishing. It is owned by the DNR, and id operated under a special permit, by Osceola County. There is a small primitive campground there. No charge for admittance, camping is $15.00 per night.
The campground is bordered by the Pere Marquette forest, that has extensive ORV trails through it. The forest is located across the road from the lake. It was a nice pleasant place to take a little break.
Our ride started off quite warm, but as it progressed clouds began to move in, and it began to cool off.
Came around a curve, and there stood a doe and her fawn. The fawn quickly ran into the tall grass, but the doe stood there for awhile, finally snorted at us, and ran off. Guess she was telling us, "don't mess with my baby." It all happened to quickly to take a picture. I made a word picture for Tony, who of course heard the doe snort.
We rode past a stone house. We have quite a few in our area. They are made from field stones. Each time I see one, I think of all the work that went into gathering the stones, and wonder how long it took. Perhaps it was a family effort, that took years. I wonder if they were in piles by size, one big pile, or many. Seeing these unique houses, makes me want to go up to the door, knock on it, and ask the family that lives there, if they know the history of the house, and if so, would they mind sharing it with us. I never see anyone outside when we ride by them, so I never get a chance to see if I would be brave enough to actually, go ask them.
We also rode past some wild flowers. I love the sights and smells of summer on our rides. The smell of pine trees is much stronger in the heat of the day, but the flowers smell best in the mornings, or evenings.
Saw a farmer and his helper baling hay, the sweet smell of hay drifted in the wind, as I stopped to take the picture.
We thought we might get wet, (big deal...) It didn't actually rain until late in the night.
Once again, it was such a joy to get out and ride, seeing the beauty of where we live, up close and personal.
and is operated under special permit by the Osceola County Parks Commission. The campground offers 17 spacious primitive campsites, and 2 walk in primitive sites in the beautiful pine forest overlooking Sunrise Lake. A separate boat launch and day use facility offer access to Sunrise Lake and unlimited water sports; and picnicking on the grass and lakeside trail. The park borders the Pere Marquestte State Forest which offers an extensive ORV trail system. Sunrise Lake has hand-pumped water, picnic tables and primitive restroom facilities.and is operated under special permit by the Osceola County Parks Commission. The campground offers 17 spacious primitive campsites, and 2 walk in primitive sites in the beautiful pine forest overlooking Sunrise Lake. A separate boat launch and day use facility offer access to Sunrise Lake and unlimited water sports; and picnicking on the grass and lakeside trail. The park borders the Pere Marquestte State Forest which offers an extensive ORV trail system. Sunrise Lake has hand-pumped water, picnic tables and primitive restroom facRV trail system. Sunrise Lake has hand-pumped water, picnic tables and primitive rest.
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