The Trail to Lucky "13"

Another three (3) park day. The first was Bob White State Park in Allerton.  It is managed by Wayne County, instead of the State, thus the sign distinction.  The familiar brown and gold sign, of the DNR, has been replaced.  There was a question raised about whether these were actual "State Parks" when tallying the total number, but I didn't want to leave any out.  This "questionable executive decision" increased the parks from 73 to 95.  I'm not sure this was the "intelligent" decision, but it was probably the "right" decision.  It was a "good" mile ride and the weather was great.

The second park was Red Haw State Park in Chariton. It was quite hilly and presented some challenges.  I did however, pass Patty and her trike, while ascending a hill.  The riding is becoming more comfortable.  After the ride, we ate lunch and visited with a couple of families that stopped for a picnic. Surprisingly, one of the families had a friend suffering from Meniere's Disease.  They seemed pleased to hear about what we were doing, and took information to pass on to there friend.  With the warming weather, more people are showing up in the parks.  It will make for a good opportunity to "tell our story."

The third park, Lake Ahquabi in Indianola, was full of hills.  This "hilly" challenge forced me to think of the hills as an "inconvenience" instead of an "avoid at all cost" item. We had our first "personal fans" on this ride, as a co-worker and his family came to see the ride first hand.  He wasn't convinced that his 64 year old boss, could really ride a unicycle.  We had another "odometer calibration" as the "pre-planned course" was only .97 of a mile.  The remainder of the ride was on a "nearly flat" circular drive.  This completed our "13th" park, only 82 left.

 

First non-DNR sanctioned State Park

 

 

Nice easy ride!!!

 

 

Beginning of long downhill!