Don Q

Each spring and fall, Adventure Rock, our local climbing gym, partners with UW-Milwaukee to provide a nature/rock climbing course at Devil's Lake State Park.  Brian and our friend Chris typically work the course with Don Q, the UWM naturalist who puts the class together.  They've been trying to get the ladies to come along for some time now, but the weather never seems to cooperate, so Chris’ wife, Dawn, and I usually stay home.  This year, we were determined to join in the fun this year. 

Both Dawn and I decided that we weren't going to spend our weekend freezing or wet, so we did have to set a minimum temperature requirement.  I wasn't feeling so well on Saturday morning (a cold, I think), so I was especially hoping that the weather would be pleasant.  We were told to expect temperatures in the 60's, and those magic words made us eager to go to Devil's Lake.  Since we knew it wouldn't be very nice on Sunday, Dawn and I initially planned to head home early Sunday and leave the boys to work in the rain. 

It was a chilly morning, nowhere near the 60 degrees+ we were promised, and the sun tried to break through the clouds for the better part of the day.  I found the best way to stay warm was to climb, so I did plenty of that.  We spent the day at a climbing area where Dawn, Chris and Brian had climbed last November; at that time I couldn't climb because of my surgery.  It was nice to do all the climbs I had watched everyone do five months ago.  It was also really nice to be outside and active.  It took most of the day, but the sun came out, and that was really nice too. 

Saturday night, we all went to the Little Village Cafe.  Dinner was nice and it was fun to have the time to talk to everyone.  Don has some really great perspectives, and I felt so comfortable talking to him.  I think we have a similarly-minded hippie hearts.  Dawn, Chris, Brian and I spent the night in Baraboo.  We watched a little Star Wars on TV and called it a night pretty early, which was a good thing since Sunday was gorgeous.  The weather was so nice, we decided to spend the morning with the group of nine students we climbed with the day before.  We hiked up the Balanced Rock Trail and saw some really great rock features along the way.  Again, Don had so much information to share, and I was secretly proud of myself for knowing a lot of the answers to Don's questions.

I learned so much about nature that weekend- birds, trees, shrews, etc. I am so impressed with Don Q's knowledge, and how he is able to share it with others.  It was a really great learning experience.  And, if you're into trying new things, the next time you feel a cold coming on, try taking an essential oil called thieves...Don says it works wonders. 


Taking in the view

Brian and me by  Balanced Rock - Devil's Lake State Park


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

AJ Runs Several Ks...and Writes About It

Image
On Saturday, May 6, I returned to half marathon racing. It had been quite a hiatus, and my previous half marathon, was completed with a blown out IT band, so I did have to balance high hopes and realistic expectations. After all, a lot has changed since that last race. They say that age is just a number, and by that logic, a half marathon is just miles. 13.1 long and hilly miles in this case, and now officially in the next decade of my life. Yeah, yeah, just a number. Last year, still in my 30s, I toyed with the idea of returning to racing and with running the Door County Half Marathon. We were in Peninsula State Park for our annual Mother’s Day weekend, and the race was taking place. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to get back to some really good training. Our plan - always - is to be in Door County for our Mother’s Day celebration, so why not sign up?! Well, back to numbers. Two children, one partner, too many hours at work each week, one bike ride/race to each weekend, an
Read more

My Dad, OUR Hero

Image
This past weekend, we celebrated my dad’s 30 years of service to and retirement from the Mukwonago Fire Department. As both a volunteer fire fighter and EMT, he has spent several decades in service of others. During what surely was one of their most trying times, it was my dad who was with people he’d never met and likely wouldn’t see again. To do that on top investing in full-time work, his family, and his other interests is simply remarkable. And that’s my dad: a driven, generous, passionate man. The Mukwonago Fire Department was a part of my youth. The men and women he served with became my dad’s second family, and thus they were there for many of my milestones. My weekends were were filled with various events hosted by MFD, including community events and that one family picnics that ended with Dad getting stitches. Sometimes my weekends - and weeknights - were also filled with quick goodbyes as another call pulled Dad away from our family plans. The sound of his pager and the
Read more

Milestone

Image
I mentioned, not too long ago, interest in a birthday trip to ATL. Michelle Obama would be there for her book tour, the weather is fall-like this time of year and perfect for a long run, and it’s a city I haven’t explored much of. My partner heard me. He showed up, like really showed up!   Just about a week ago, Harper brought me a birthday card and gift she and B had been working on. It was my own copy of  The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times , and a Happy Birthday picture of a plane, a peach, and a pink and purple suitcase (my favorite colors).     I had otherwise been planning a jaunt from home along the Glacial Drumlin Trail and snack day at H’s school. That would have been great. But Brian has been helping me work on prioritizing myself to maintain balance; time away was earned, needed, permissable. To say I was excited for the weekend was an understatement. B attended to all the details (also needed AND appreciated): flights, hotel accommodations, transportation,
Read more