Rumble In The Jungle 2010

It was a beautiful, sunshiny day. One would never have guessed it was -4F at 9:00 am!!! Thankfully, it warmed up a tad bit more before the races began at 10:45.

The Swiss Miss Rumble in the Jungle was held at Lowes Creek County Park in Eau Claire, WI. This was the fourth annual race, which is now held in memory of Tim Dusick, the race's founder. Paula (Tim's widow), along with Mark and Emily Blaskey, have been keeping Tim's dream alive. Rumble in the Jungle is now a qualifying event for the 2010 Snowshoe Nationals.

First up were the children's race. Trax of the Eau Claire Express, Fazoli's Tomato, as well as a kind-hearted Turtle joined in on the fun. The 5K race began! The 10K started shortly thereafter. Racers began filtering through down the Ridgeline Trail, headed toward Skull.

Racers--and walkers--along Fence. The finish line was near at hand!!!Three lads clad in kilts

Kelly Mortenson of St. Paul, MN with fellow recipient Andrea Mueller of Edgar, WI each won as the overall male and female of the 10K Swiss Miss Rumble in the Jungle snowshoe race.

In the dead of winter, this is a very welcomed event! --LKR

A Three Hour Walk...

Okay, so you know, the title is meant to be sung to the theme of "Gilligan's Island"!

Poochie and I walked, photographed, and sniffed our way through some trails in Lowes Creek County Park I haven't been on in a long while. (I'll let you figure out who did what!) It was a beautiful day, and we both were really enjoying ourselves. It was in the low 70's, and absolutely perfect weather to be out in the woods and prairie. 

Poochie and I alternated on the sunny Fitness Trail and Bike Trails dappled in shade.  Another poochie was taking his owner for a walk through the park, and we all exchanged friendly chit chat before heading on.  It was a very relaxing walk!

 

We rushed back home when I realized the kids were already home from school. You could hear the school buses rumble down the road from the particular trails we were on. Sure, they're old enough to be left alone, and sometimes they really like it that way. "Humm--Mom's not home, so we can play on the computer, watch tv, and eat those special treats she was saving and say we didn't know we weren't supposed to!" (I hear this from them even when I am home!) Oy!

Since we started off with a song, we shall end with one! "Kids! ...What's the matter with kids today?" ("Kids" from the musical "Bye Bye Birdie") --LKR

Dragonfly

To my delight, dragonflies are plentiful in our yard in Eau Claire, WI, just as they were back in Villa Park, IL. We have Lowes Creek very close by, here, and plenty of insects for them to feast on. This is great, as long as they don't go after any of our butterflies!

If you click on the picture, you can see this dragonfly enjoying his newly caught meal. He is perched on top of one of our dead trees that we lost over the winter (due to a dry fall where the ground didn't freeze...). --LKR