Life in the Bristolwood

On Friday morning,  I hopped onto my bicycle and rode around the park.   We have talked about taking bicycles camping with us for a long time, but this is the first time we actually took them.  My bicycle is a Schwinn touring bike I bought in 1985.  The poor bicycle has hung in the basement from hangers since 1992, when we built this house!

My bike was removed from the hangers a few days before we left.  Mark pumped the tires to the recommended pressure and asked if I wanted to hop onto the bike…..was he kidding?  That bike has had the same tires and inner tubes for twenty-four years!  So, I hopped on and rode the bike around the house.  I was in total awe.  #1. The tires were okay.  #2.  I could still ride the bike!!!   It seemed like I was defying some act of balance or something,  riding around on those ridiculously skinny tires.  They certainly aren’t anything like those big beefy treads on the kids’ mountain bikes!

I rode all around the park on paved roads, as well as gravel-covered roads.  I road up little hills and absolutely astonished myself!  The great thing about those skinny wheels is that I can literally glide for long periods of time without pedalling.  Suddenly, I felt just like a kid again….man,  I really missed riding my bike!

Mark drove off in the morning over to the parking lot by the lake.  That was where I met him and convinced him he could do a little exploration of the park in a wheelchair.  We strolled and rolled out to the island where I spotted the duck with her brood….

Perhaps the reason this picnic table was precariously balancing at the water’s edge was just so the little ducklings could rest under it in the event they got too warm?

Mark and I crossed back over the pretty bridge.  Of course, Mark being a mechanical engineer,  stopped for quite some time to marvel at the lovely bridge.  *I* just thought it was pretty.  *He* examined the structure, pointing out various elements and oogling over the Minnesota company who made it.  Then a brief discussion about how much it must have cost to truck such a structure all that distance followed.

We then went over to marvel at the pretty pavilion that had a fabulously flowering Butterfly Bush planted near the entrance.

We talked all about glue-laminated beams and even felt how smoothly the beams were sanded.  Even in the most severe weather, the exposed beams were still smooth as could be.  Mark also informed me the pavilion held twenty-six tables.  We finally left and went over to look over the barbeque pit, then the other more rustic pavilion.

As we looked around the other, less “picture perfect” pavilion, a nest built in the corner of the building caught my eye.  We all know that curiosity arose and I sprung up onto a table to take a closer look. (with the camera, of course!)

In looking at the nest, I am pretty sure it was built by a robin.  The orange object in the center of the nest is a little funnel-shaped mouth, wide open awaiting nourishment!  I immediately hopped back down again and told Mark we had better leave right away so the mother bird could feed her youngsters.  (I saw one more beak pop up as well.)

The two extra days we spent at the park were nice and it was the first time we explored even though we have camped here many times! Having the bikes along really made a difference.

And now, I shall leave you with a little something to warm the cockles of your heart….(and anything else that might be chilled!)