Mile 5 though 8, State Line & Fairbanks

Yesterday was good day.  I was pleased with my walk, with my goals and with my decision to start this blog.  I think the blog on top of everything else will help to keep me going and motivated.  In the afternoon yesterday, I even went down and tried out this Curves Gym location for the first time.  They were very welcoming there...especially since my Mom is one of their regular members.

Today I played chicken with Mother Nature, and I won.  It looks like I'll be playing chicken with the weather all week according to the weather forecast.

Our original plan was that my Dad would take me out 4 miles and drop me off again (but in a different direction); that was to happen at about 10:30 when the family was on the way out for some shopping and appointments.  At about 9 a.m. however, after I had had my coffee on the porch, I felt rain in the air, saw rain on the radar from the app on my phone and thought I had better get the ball moving sooner.  I was proud of that decision because I could easily have decided to just skip it altogether.

So I went and asked my Dad if he would take me out right then, and he did.  We got in his truck, and he looked at his odometer so he could clock the 4 miles.  He took me down towards the high school, turned right on Fairbanks, drove all the way to State Line Rd., turned right again and then yet again onto Townline Rd.  I said "That's a longer 4 miles than yesterday."  But once again, he dropped me off.  I had my phone, an umbrella and a water.  He dropped me off alongside a cornfield.  "Knee high by the Fourth of July" is what they say about the corn, and I think they'll make it.

And so the walk began.  I felt I was racing the weather the whole time, but I knew if the weather turned sour that I could call my Dad to have him come back for me.  The scenery out there was beautiful.

As soon as I got onto State Line, I was greeted by a really sweet Border Collie.  The way the dog crept up to me at first, I was a little nervous, but he/she walked right up to me on the road and then rolled over for a tummy rub.  Sweet thing.  I kept on walking, and fortunately the dog didn't follow me.  That was right across from one of my favorite farms, Pine-Ton farms...where I had spent many happy visits with friends, visiting their girls, their horses and their swimming pool! 

It didn't take me long to get through the short stretch on State Line, and I noticed a cemetery you might be interested in.  I popped up there to take a look, pleased to see that it's well taken care of and pleased to see flags standing in a few.  I was in awe of how old the headstones are.  My Dad said it's one of the oldest cemeteries around.

Leaving the cemetery, I found myself at the corner of Fairbanks and State Line.  All of the roads I'm on now are dirt roads.  Many of the roads around here are dirt roads; it's a very rural area.  This makes for a lot of dust in the air when cars go by, and the foliage alongside the road is very dusty.  Houses are saved somewhat from being dusty through the practice of road maintenance coming by every so often and laying down thick oil on the road in front of each house.  The oil stays for a while and helps keep the dust down.

I was excited to keep walking on Fairbanks because I knew I was about to walk past the home of my bff's house!  She doesn't live there anymore, but it was nice to walk by.

These are hay wagons.

After leaving the area of my friend's house, I was next approaching my high school.  One of the greatest features of my high school is, I think, the Eco Lab.  The Eco Lab is an area of the forest where trails are maintained, trees and foliage are labeled for study, and there is a pond, too; it's such a great resource for studying science in school.  I remember spending a lot of time there as a senior!  Once I swam in the pond back there...but only once!  Because I was greeted by a snake swimming towards me and got out of there just as fast as I could.

 

Finally I was walking by my high school (Go Knights!).  They are under major renovations right now.  Apparently they are turning this 7-12 building into a K-12 location.  It'll be interesting to see how that turns out.

After the high school, the rest of the walk was the same as yesterday, ending up at my parents' house.  I arrived back at the house in about an hour despite my few stops to take pictures and visit dogs that had come up to greet me.  When I checked my pedometer, though, I was perplexed.  It had registered less than 9,000 steps and only 2.2 miles.  I wondered if was malfunctioning, but I'm thinking it's not.  I believe the mileage is off but that the steps aren't.  This is good and bad.  What this really means is that if this is my only walk, 4 miles is not enough!  I might have to increase it to 5 miles, but we'll see.  I'm thinking that between my walk in the morning and the activity I may do the rest of the day, I will probably see my 12,000.  If not, I'll be increasing that distance that I asked to be dumped off by my Dad!

Oh, and by the way, it still hasn't rained.