Shumps outdoors thread: summer-fall.

[Rob]

Did a short 2000 mile 8 day tour of France by motorcycle (also nipped into Belgium for a night)

Cool, I've been hooked on bicycle touring videos on Youtube recently. Going to pick up a Surly Disc Trucker for next year (maybe even bike up to Denali).

[Rob]

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[Rob]

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[Obiwanshinobi]

This year's first mosquito feasting on my blood.



It harks back to the last year's autumn, so there's plenty. Posting in approximately chronological order (not strictly so, but there's a pattern to it).

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Another piece of the ever-lovely Upper Lusatia.

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There's no place like home, though.

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Back in Lusatia.

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Beavers' doing on one of the above and you can also spot their teethjob on this following one, taken when back home (in left hand bottom corner).



Blooming at last.

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I took this one when reading Chernobyl Prayer: A Chronicle of the Future by Svetlana Alexievich, about the time of year when eponymous future become now (thirtieth anniversary), and it looked like something out of that book.

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I'm not done yet, old chaps; just need to take a breather.

[Rob]

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[EmperorIng]

Aw, I'm jealous. I didn't nearly get to explore the "wild" this summer, what with pesky things like jobs and responsibilities getting in the way (to say nothing of that perennial buzzkill, laziness). I'll have to upload the photographs I did take out-n-about later, to wash out the stain of dismal reality.

[Rob]

Where would you have liked to have traveled?

My dream is to save up a good chunk of cash and go on an irresponsibility tour of the United States. Bike through Canada to the lower 48, see some sights and hike a few mountains. Until then I'm pleased exploring the surrounding area. Maybe in 3-4 years, before the knees are entirely destroyed.

[EmperorIng]

I've never been west of the Mississippi, so that would be a start. There is a lot of ground to cover there. My travel experiences are mostly localized in the Midwest (Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota), with the odd trip to exotic locales (Louisiana, Kentucky/Tennessee, Washington D.C.) to spice things up. Granted, the the wilderness of the North Woods is about as pleasant as pleasant comes, so it's not all bad.

Gotta see the mountains one of these days. The real mountains. The Appalachians are great and it's great country, but it just doesn't look the same.

"Irresponsibility Tour" sounds about right! Should really try that before I get tied down in things like houses, cars, and women.

EDIT:

I'll to post some more of my fall travels, but digging through the photo archive pulled up some highlights of the season.

Speaking of north woods, some travels up and down a river in remote northern Wisconsin, from its source to deeper into its interior:




Closer to home in northern Illinois, riding a bike along the prairies, creeks, and marshland. There's something irresistible about the prairie. It's in the look (wide open, vast), the smell (fresh like no other), the sound (constant buzz of unseen insects and moving grass):



The highlight of this ride forcing me to stop on my bike suddenly, jump off, just in time to take a lousy photo of three sand cranes lining up and preparing for flight:

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Other notable summer moment: extensive bike ride through the Botanic Gardens, the city's outdoor arboretum and plant cornucopia. Stormy clouds added drama, but luckily no rain:

[Rob]

Very nice. I bet you have a lot better biking options (rail trails?) than we have here. We have some good stuff in the city, but outside is mainly (borderline suicidal) highway travel.

Favorite bike touring Youtuber that you might appreciate for at least this one video: Bicycle Tour #111: Chicago.

I love the hills for walking, but could definitely go for endless flat green lands to bike.

[LordHypnos]

Been a while since I added anything to this thread

Here's some actual fall pics from this year:

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Late spring of this year:

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Pics from last fall, I think:

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[EmperorIng]

Since things are starting to get bearably warm* (at least in this part of the contiguous USA), you and I should all be going outside.

Some photos of nature walks in northern Illinois:





Result of nature walk: first cadres of robins returning to the area, a few wax wings, sand cranes heard in the distance, a few solitary eagles, and an enormous flock of pelicans (too far off to take a decent picture: only barely visible through binoculars), and some deer timidly trying to cross the road before some jerk in a minivan forced them to scamper off. Were you that much in a hurry bud?

*I jest because it has been unseasonably warm this winter. A few fluke days of 60-70 degrees (15-20C) in February? Yikes. Mostly it has been a 40-degree winter, which is about 15 degrees too warm for this part of the world at this month of the year. Gets me worried.

[Rob]

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[Rob]

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[Sumez]

Where is this?

[Rob]

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[Rob]

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[EmperorIng]

I was just thinking to myself the other day when I saw an earlier post in this topic "Rob's summer must be almost over, if not over already." Time to hunker down. My pastor just got back from climbing Mt. Denali (formerly Mt. McKinley) - made it to 17,000 ft of the 20,000, when his body would not carry him any higher up. Makes me jealous to see people try that stuff out, but my body is in no way conditioned for that type of physical exertion.

I just returned from a trip in the North Woods, so I'll have to share some photography soon. Makes me sad to see that photobucket's gay attempt at forcing people to pay for its services has rendered several of my posts moot. Oh well. It's not the photo, it's the being there, right?