Sunday, October 15, 2017

WILDLIFE

Among the reasons that walking about town, or taking a real hike in a park is far more interesting than mindlessly walking on a treadmill as I used to do, is that outdoors one can see real wildlife. During my hikes I have seen frogs, snakes, deer, herons, chipmunks, turtles and wild turkeys. Yesterday as I hiked through Goose Island I spotted something that appeared to be moving. At first I thought it might be a leaf, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be something that I would have never expected to see on a Chicago street. I think it was a scorpion. It was about 3 inches long, and when I got near it to take its photo, it curled up in a defensive position. I sent this picture to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to see if they would be kind enough to confirm my sighting. If I hear back from them, I will let you know... If it wasn't a scorpion, then perhaps it was a three inch lobster, and that seems highly unlikely. But seriously, a scorpion? In Chicago? Walking across the street?

It took a lot of effort to squeeze in this 6 mile urban hike yesterday.... It rained practically the entire day. In fact, there were thunderstorms in the morning, afternoon and evening. When I set out on this hike, with my daughter, the rain had stopped briefly. This break in the precipitation was short-lived, so we got a bit wet.

Your Food Diary For:

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Grits	300	66	5	6	930	3
Trader Joes - Pumpkin O's	220	50	2	4	280	18
	520	116	7	10	1,210	21
L U N C H
Read - 3 Bean Salad	300	65	0	5	1,500	40
Mariano's - Spicy Salmon Maki	350	39	16	14	278	0
	650	104	16	19	1,778	40
D I N N E R
Rana - Roaster Tomato & Mozzarella Tortellini	600	89	16	22	1,244	2
	600	89	16	22	1,244	2
S N A C K S
Select Choice - Chewy Oat & Honey Granola	200	38	4	4	110	14
Snack Cheese	100	0	9	6	163	0
	300	38	13	10	273	14

Totals	2,070	347	52	61	4,505	77
Your Daily Goal	2,934	367	97	147	2,300	110
Remaining	864	20	45	86	-2,205	33
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,004 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today... You'd weigh 218.9 lbs in 5 weeks.

Saturday, September 3, 2016

RETURN TO TURKEY RUN STATE PARK

Early last month I discovered Turkey Run State Park. It is a beautiful Indiana State Park. The trails are spectacular as they are challenging but not overwhelming. Navigating the trails is not an endurance contest, but it does take a certain amount of concentration as one walks on wet rocks, narrow cliffs, over boulders and up and down steep staircases and ladders. Yesterday was the day that I returned with my family. We had great fun. When I visited the park alone last month, I 'raced' through various trails and hardly took anytime to enjoy what I was seeing. The visit yesterday was not about trying to hike on every trail, but to enjoy the trails that we did hike. Still, when the visit to the park was over, we managed to hike 10 miles.

Park Entrance

'The Punch Bowl'

One of the three ladders that we had to navigate

You cannot imagine how difficult it was to climb up this steep, slippery rock.

My daughter decided to experience Sugar Creek up close.

Daddy/Daughter selfie

Your Food Diary For:

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Mccain - Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal	300	54	5	8	0	2
Read - Three Bean Salad	300	65	0	5	1,500	55
Cliff Builders - Protein Bar - Chocolate	280	29	10	20	270	21
	880	148	15	33	1,770	78
L U N C H
Subway - Footlong Turkey Breast on Wheat	560	92	17	36	1,890	11
	560	92	17	36	1,890	11
D I N N E R
Denny's - Avocado Chicken Caesar Salad	500	11	37	35	1,249	2
	500	11	37	35	1,249	2
S N A C K S
Sun Chips - Harvest Cheddar	210	27	9	4	320	3
Jack Link's - Matador Teriyaki Jerky	240	21	5	30	1,590	18
Fiber One - 90 Calorie Chewy Bars	450	85	10	5	400	25
	900	133	24	39	2,310	46

Totals	2,840	384	93	143	7,219	137
Your Daily Goal	3,423	428	114	172	2,300	128
Remaining	583	44	21	29	-4,919	-9
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,493 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today... You'd weigh 194.4 lbs in 5 weeks

Your Exercise Diary for:

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Walking	319	1,773


Daily Total / Goal	319 / 30	1,773 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	915 / 210	10,409 / 4,130

.

SATURDAY IS WEIGHDAY
.
This week I checked in at 212.9 lbs.
This is 2.7 pounds up from last week.
It always disappoints me when the scale points to the wrong number.
Here is my explanation.
I find it hard to believe that I really gained three pounds this week.
More likely, last week when I weighed myself, I might have been slightly dehydrated.
Perhaps this morning, I am more properly hydrated.
Anyway... What am I going to do?
I can answer that.
I am going to remember that on December 24, 2014, I weighed 309 lbs.
This means that I am 96.1 lbs less than I was on that day.
I think I will jump up and down a few times to celebrate that achievement.
And after that, I might take a hike.

.
This section on the geology of the park was lifted from turkeyrunstatepark.com

GEOLOGY

In terms of history, the geology of Turkey Run State Park offers a unique view into the past. A walk into one of the ravines takes the visitor on a trip through time when the sandstone gorges represent 600 to 300 million years of nature's handiwork.

The exposed bedrock is Mansfield sandstone, after Mansfield, Indiana. This deposit was formed during the Carboniferous Period when the buildup of sand at the mouth of the ancient Michigan River was slowly compacted and cemented into solid rock. The swampy environment of this period gave birth to vast coal deposits. Coal was mined here in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Seams of coal are still visible along many of the trails.

More recently, during the Pleistocene Epoch, the sandstone bedrock was carved into today's familiar canyons and formations by the eroding action of glacial meltwaters. The Punchbowl on Trail 3 is an example of a pothole that was scoured out by glacial erratics caught in swirling backwash. Erratics are pieces of bedrock from Canada that were carried here by the glaciers. Some of the larger erratics, or boulders, can still be seen in Boulder Canyon on Trail 9, and smaller ones, pebbles, in Sugar Creek.

In the last few hundred years, the wind and water erosion of the sandstone has continued at a slower pace. The gorges are very similar to what was seen by Native Americans and pioneers.