SPELUNKER

It might be a bit of a reach for me to call myself a spelunker, as the cave that I explored yesterday during a hike at Perry Farm Park after my appointment in Bourbonnais, Illinois was only about 20 feet deep, but is's the only cave that I know of within many miles of Chicago, so for me, this is spelunking.

I hiked Perry Farm Park once before and saw this same cave. For yesterday's visit I was prepared with my flashlight and walking stick.  With the illumination from my flashlight I was able to take a proper selfie by balancing the phone on a ledge and using the automatic timer. 

from Merriam-Webster.com

SPELUNKER: one who makes a hobby of exploring, studying caves. 

Spelunker sounds like the noise a pebble makes when you drop it down a deep hole and into dark, hidden water far below. But there's nothing dark or obscure about the etymology of the term. We borrowed "spelunker" from Latin spelunca, which in turn derives from Greek spelynx. When you get to the bottom of things, you find that both the Latin and Greek words mean "cave." Although "spelunker" might sound neat, be careful: some cave-exploring enthusiasts prefer the term "caver."

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Your Food Diary For:

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Eggs - Poached, 4	300	2	20	26	599	2
C2o - Coconut Water With Pulp	200	52	0	0	300	48
	500	54	20	26	899	50
L U N C H
Baby Spinach	50	8	0	5	0	0
Trader Joe's Water Crackers, 12	180	36	3	6	120	0
	230	44	3	11	930	0
D I N N E R
Weight Watcher's  Cabbage Soup	300	31	1	7	235	17
Pork Italian Style Meatball,  3	320	4	25	19	840	1
	620	35	26	26	1,075	18
S N A C K S
Colby & Monterey Jack cheese	160	0	14	10	260	0
Trader Joe's - Mango O's	250	50	3	6	198	15
	410	50	17	16	458	15
Totals	1,760	183	66	79	3,362	83
Your Daily Goal	3,150	394	105	158	2,300	118
Remaining	1,390	211	39	79	-1,062	35
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,220 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 218.8 lbs in 5 weeks     

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December 20, 2016 was my first visit to this same  cave.  It was a bit colder that day!

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PING

I often leave my home when I am about to embark on an urban hike with no idea where I am heading. There are times that I walk out the door and have not yet decided whether I will walk North, South or West.  (East is not really an option as within just four blocks or so is Lake Michigan)  Yesterday, I had a very specific goal to walk to PING TOM MEMORIAL PARK in Chinatown. Chinatown is only about 5 miles south of my home. I took a rather circuitous route to get there.  I did not arrive at Chinatown before I had walked approximately 14 miles. Although I had only visited Humboldt Park for the very first time on Friday, I decided to revisit it on Sunday morning. From Humboldt Park I walked south to Douglas Park. Douglas Park, like Humboldt Park has been available to Chicagoans since the 1800's. After cruising through Douglas Park I was finally headed to Chinatown to find and see for the very first time, Ping Tom Memorial Park.  I 'discovered' it online early on Sunday morning while trying to figure out where I should go.

The sign announcing Ping Tom Memorial Park was not particularly grand.

I made sure to take at least one photo that would show that I was in Chinatown while I visited Ping Tom Park.

Inside Ping Tom Memorial Park one is greeted by these four tall decorative concrete pillars.  The assumption is that they have some significance, but whatever that is was completely hidden from me until I learned a bit more from wikipedia...

The park's entrance is marked by four 20 feet (6.1 m)-tall columns, each etched with Chinese dragons and is modeled after a traditional Chinese courtyard. The park contains Chinese-influenced gardens that include ginkgo trees and bamboo. 

On Saturday my urban hike was only 7 miles, apparently I had stored up a lot of energy by the time I set out on Sunday morning. I don't think that I planned on walking 20 miles. One does not often plan on walking 20 miles - it sometimes just happens. At least it does to me.

Sunday's 20 mile urban hike covered a lot of ground.

Ping Tom Park was not so easy to find. Unlike most parks which can be accessed from anywhere around its perimeter, this park had a narrow entrance/exit. There was only one way in and the same way out. 

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Your Food Diary For:

Sunday, September 25, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Roundy's - Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal	360	72	6	12	780	12
	360	72	6	12	780	12
L U N C H
Philadelphia Roll w/Brown Rice, 8 piece	320	40	12	8	520	8
WHOLE CASHEWS (RAW), 35 g (approx 1/4 cup)	180	8	14	5	0	2
Whole Foods - Pulp-free Coconut Water, 32 ounces	200	56	0	0	240	44
Homemade - Breakfast Burrito	300	26	20	12	790	2
Roundy's - Center Cut Bacon, 3 Slices	70	0	4	7	220	0
	1,070	130	50	32	1,770	56
D I N N E R
Codfish - Codfish fillet	250	0	3	54	186	0
Fried Okra, 1.0 Cup	175	14	6	2	123	2
Brussel Sprouts - Roasted	50	12	0	4	29	3
Cream corn - Cream Corn	60	14	0	0	0	0
Bread - Cornbread	150	28	3	3	0	0
85% Dark Chocolate Bar	400	32	36	8	0	13
	1,085	100	48	71	338	18
S N A C K S
Trader Joes - 73% Extra Dark Chocolate	80	7	5	1	10	4
	80	7	5	1	10	4
Totals	2,595	309	109	116	2,898	90
Your Daily Goal	7,192	899	239	360	2,300	269
Remaining	4,597	590	130	244	-598	179
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 5,262 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...
You'd weigh 163.3 lbs in 5 weeks     

I think congratulations are in order... All I need to do for the next five weeks is keep my daily consumption of food to 2600 calories and walk 27 miles each day.  If I can do that for the next 35 consecutive days, I will soon weigh 163.5 pounds.  This may be a bit difficult to attain - but it is fun to contemplate. If nothing else, somewhat like Steve Martin, I am a wild and contemplative guy.

Your Exercise Diary for:

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
20 MILE URBAN HIKE	264	3,907
7 MILE URBAN HIKE	125	1,043
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	312
Daily Total / Goal	390 / 30	5,262 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	1345 / 210	19,537 / 4,130

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For most people a long 20 mile hike in the early morning would be quite enough for one day. I am not most people. I managed a seven mile hike which included meeting my family at a nearby store in the early evening.

some history from the Chicago Park District website.

The Chicago Park District acquired the site for Ping Tom Memorial Park in 1991. For years, its surrounding Chinatown community had suffered a total lack of open space and recreational facilities. The only nearby parks, Hardin Square and Stanford Park, had been demolished 30 years earlier to make way for the Dan Ryan Expressway. Two full generations of children in Chinatown grew up without access to a neighborhood park or any recreational area. Ping Tom Memorial Park's 12-acre site was originally a Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad yard located along the edge of the South Branch of the Chicago River. In 1998, the Chicago Park District began transforming the old rail-yard into a beautiful rolling green space, taking full advantage of impressive river views. The park has a children's playground, community gathering areas, and Chinese landscape design elements. The park was named in honor of the leading force behind its creation, Chinatown's most noted civic leader, Ping Tom (1935-1995). A lifelong resident of Chinatown, Ping Tom formed the Chinese American Development Corporation in 1984. The private real estate firm transformed a 32-acre rail yard site into Chinatown Square, a $100 million dollar residential and commercial expansion of Chinatown. Active in numerous prominent civic and cultural institutions, Ping Tom was also an advisor to U.S. senators, Illinois governors, and Chicago mayors. In 2002, the Chicago Park District acquired 5 additional acres on the northeast side of the park. Landscape improvements to the expanded area of Ping Tom Memorial Park will soon follow.

ECKHART PARK

My daughter trains a few times per week at a local pool near our home at Eckhart Park.   In order to drive there, the trip is 2.5 miles and should take 13 minutes by car in city traffic.   I decided to meet my family at the park at the conclusion of my daughter's practice today.  I left more than two hours early.  I didn't exactly take the shortest route, as I was determined to walk 10 miles.

This map above shows the most direct route to get from Point A to Point B.  That was not the route that I took!

My route also did get me from Point A to Point B.  My route was exactly 10 miles.  My route took me 2 hours and 3 minutes walking.  My route burned 2121 calories.  Once I arrived at the park, I made use of their elliptical machine for a very mellow, relaxed 30 minutes session, at the highest resistance level of 20 but only for one half hour.  The machine reported that this thirty minute workout burned an additional 503 calories.   Ever since my Half Dome climb, I have been a calorie burning machine!

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 Monday MENU

breakfast   cheese omelette, center cut bacon, 3 small apples                   707 calories
lunch         spinach salad, multigrain rice cakes, homemade chili             663 calories
dinner       manhattan clam chowder chunky, pickled herring                   974 calories
SNACK    8 L'CHAIMS                                                                            560 calories
        

total calories consumed 2904 calories                                                              

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CALORIES BURNED

2 hour, 3 minute walk 10 MILES                                                                  2120  CALORIES
Eckhart Park Elliptical Machine 30 minutes, level 20, relaxing pace             503  CALORIES

TOTAL CALORIES BURNED 2623 CALORIES

Monday net calories 281 calories

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fitbit day 33

27363 steps

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Part of my 10 mile walk yesterday took place at Washington Square Park.  I have found a new way to create 'art' with my MapMyWalk Application.