Our Greenway Walk to Coffee

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Most mornings we take our newspaper and books, and walk somewhere for coffee. Come along through the North Carolina morning with us on one of our favorite walks.
First you have to cross the stream to get out of the apartment complex.
Then it is up and onto the greenway.

Past the middle school with a very unique nickname.
A typical greenway scene.
The journey takes us through a city park.
The trail to the left goes to downtown Cary. We are going right.Often see snails and snakes cross here.
The greenways pass under the roads.
Our destination.

North Carolina

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This is the first in a short series of posts on our "Second Life" in Cary, North Carolina. Cary is pretty much in the center of the triangle created by Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. This post's focus is on our apartment complex. A thank you to Leslie for taking the photos.

The entrance to our apartment in the Colonial Village complex.
Our balcony
Notice the box that is our foot stool.The view from our balconyThe bridge on the way from our apartment to Ann and Dave's.
The front of Ann and David's townhouse. You cannot see the beautiful woods behind it that makes it special.
Ann in front of her townhouse on the way to grill dinner.
Another viewThe Hallgren's grilling dinner. Ryan proudly announced he was responsible for bringing the charcoal, using his strength and a wheelbarrow.Some other pictures from around the apartment complex.

Need Meets Opportunity

We felt the need to

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get away for a bit, and reflect on everything that is going on. when a week appeared that gave us the opportunity.

We took advantage of the brand new Lansing to Cancun direct flight, and booked a room at the Iberostar Paraiso Maya along the Riveria Maya south of Cancun.

The resort was great, part of complex of five resorts that we had access to. We did an incredible amount of walking, through out the resorts, and along the one mile of undeveloped beach. We were able to relax and have some serious talks, regarding our current situation, and how to prepare for the future.

We did manage one all day venture out of the resort to the bio preserve, Sian Ka'an. This place is getting its own blog post in the near future. We kayaked the lagoon, walked through the jungle to the one of the most beautiful stretches of ocean beach that I have ever seen, and snorkeled in some underground caverns called cenotes. We had a great guide in Eduardo, who found and identified the flora and fauna for us.

Most of our week was spent at the resort. We did venture off on a snorkelling trip, which like everything else this week went really well. We saw eels, manta rays, and were surrounded by so many fish that at times it felt uncomfortable.

It may not make the greatest adventure story, but it was a warm, relaxing, fun, and much needed week in Mexico.

Monarchs Vs. Beetles

I think my fascination with Monarch butterflies began at Pt. Pelee Provincial Park in Canada when along with my high school buddy, and future best man, John Harrison, I saw the trees along Lake Erie completely covered by thousands of Monarchs resting up for the migration across the lake on their way to Mexico.

Millions of the orange and black insects make this 2,800 mile trip, which is considered one of the globe's most extraordinary. But, this year, because of the worst drought in nearly 70 years, an infestation of bark beetles has struck the forest where they spend the winter.

Mexican authorities have identified many of the beetle-infested fir trees, and have raced to cut them down. The bark beetle has always been present in the forest, but because of drought, the volume of resin that acts as a natural defense is much lower than usual. Without the trees to house them, the butterflies are threatened by cold winter air and rains.

Bark beetle damage in forests isn't confined to Mexico. Forests across North America have been devastated, mostly because of drought. The authorities caught the beetle infestation early in Mexico (July) and hopes are that the butterflies will be largely unaffected this year. But scientists say this is only the beginning of a problem that could take several years to tackle.

The information in this blog is based on an article in the Christian Science Monitor by Sara Miller Llana.

Take a Hike

One of favorite Lake Superior hikes is the mile long trail from Miners Castle overlook to Miners Beach. Put on your hiking boots and come along with us.

We are on our way

Skye has been ignoring this sign all her life

First view from the top

That is our destination

The trail leads into the woods

The light coming off the lake

Are you able to keep up with us?

The trail is a little rocky at times

Through the poplar forest

This is why you wore your hiking boots

A bridge that makes things easier

Going down to the river

Come on, you are not even keeping up with the dog

Miners River, sometimes called the Brandywine

Now the trail levels out along the river

Following the river

The last bridge

Miners River

Almost to the beach

One more dune to climb

Where the river meets the lake

Miners Beach

Now you have a decision to make. We are going a half mile further down the beach to the waterfall

Glad you decided to come along

Here we go

Our final destination

Thanks for hiking with us. Back at the cabin. Time to put our feet up and take a break