Raccoon River Float

MINBURN, IOWA - So far, the Memorial Day Weekend has been crummy in the weather department in Central Iowa, with rain and chilly temperatures persisting across the area.  Looks like it may not get much better for the rest of the long weekend.  So, I look back to last Saturday when you couldn't have asked for more perfect weather for a quick float down the North Raccoon River Water Trail.
     Two friends and I launched our kayaks from the river access west of Minburn, and floated down to the Highway 44 access at Dallas Center.  The morning was sunny and crisp, the wildlife was abundant, and the river was flowing at a decent clip.  Not too many strainers or shallow ripples were encountered along this stretch of river, which made it for a very enjoyable trip.  In fact, our trip was a short one - only taking about an hour and a half - making me wish we would have launched further upstream.
     In lieu of more verbiage, I believe the photos below do a better of describing just how pleasant of a trip this was.  What a super way to start off last weekend....

Launching from the access west of Minburn

A nice current made for a very relaxing trip down the Raccoon

Warm sun poking through the trees

Is this really in Dallas County?  Yes.

Approaching the Highway 44 access west of Dallas Center

A nice stretch of the Raccoon to kayak

Bike To Work Day!

Commuting along Meredith in Urbandale

DES MOINES, IOWA - May is Bicycle Month, and in the Des Moines area there have been a lot of activities centered around this event including several companies encouraging employees to bike to work.  Friday was designated as "bike to work day" and I thought it would be a great opportunity to give it a try.  Rather than do it all in one day, I decided to split it up and ride home from work on Thursday, and then bike back into work Friday morning. 
     My commute via bicycle ended up being just under 21 miles one-way, and for almost the entire trip I was able to stay on designated bicycle trails with the exception of a couple short stretches where I either rode on sidewalks or (Friday morning) on the road.  Traffic in town was horrendous on Thursday afternoon, and it was quite a different experience from the serenity that I am used to on the local rail-trails in the area that I frequent.  I had to stay

Friday morning was much more tranquil

alert to what was going on behind me, beside me and certainly ahead of me.  There were many times I had vehicles coming up behind me wanting to make a right hand turn and had I not checked behind me and stopped at each intersection I may have collided with a vehicle.  Friday morning was much better since I left quite early in the morning before rush hour began.
     All in all, it was a lot of fun and an enjoyable experience that I hope to replay a few more times this coming summer.  It also made me further appreciate the great trail system we have in and around the greater Des Moines area!

Colorful Corridor

MINBURN, IOWA - Even though it's been relatively cool the past couple of weeks, the vegetation is really starting to leaf out along the corridor of the Raccoon River Valley Trail.  A number of the various flowering trees and shrubs are starting to adorn the trail with a variety of colors and smells and it adds a lot of character to the path this time of year.  I look forward each year to when some of the wildflowers begin to bloom along the corridor.  One of the neat things about a trail that contains a diverse mix of prairie, wetlands and wooded areas such as the RRVT is that there seems to be something in bloom nearly all season long, which means there is always something interesting to observe and enjoy along the trail. 
     Today many people were out enjoying the segment of trail from Dallas Center to Minburn, even with a cool and brisk wind from the northwest.  It looks like the spring of extremes continues; last night we were in a frost advisory; and now tomorrow's high is expected to peak at 90 degrees!  Looks like we may have a bit of a decent window for planting crops early this week before thunderstorms appear in the forecast late in the week.  Hoping that the local farmers are able to get a good share of their crops in this coming week; before much longer we'll be slipping past the optimal planting window for corn in Iowa. 

Really?

DALLAS CENTER, IOWA - The perpetual winter of 2012/2013 continued right into the first week of May with several inches of snow dumped on a good share of Iowa.  Our friends in northern Iowa seemed to take the brunt of it, but here in Central Iowa we also had a good dose of snow that continued off and on for at least two days.  A couple of mornings, the it turned the roads slushy and there were a number of accidents but for the most part it has melted fairly rapidly.
     The crummy weather has put the crimp on some of the Bike Month activities going on around the area.  I have not been on my bicycle for the last several days with the cold and moisture.  However, this has been a good time to get some maintenance done on the bicycle including cleaning up the frame, lubricating the chain, and making some other adjustments.

     On the bright side, it seems this weather is drawing in more birds to the backyard feeders, which we have continued to keep filled.  Yesterday we had an Eastern Towhee in the backyard which is not a very rare sight.  Lots of other migratory birds have been observed here lately which makes it a little easier to enjoy the wintry scene.  The contrast of the dark, green grass against the freshly fallen snow is also kind of pretty in its own way, I have to admit.