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Is is the journey not the destination!
3 years agoKeith, I love your thoughts! It is going to be amazing and the longer you travel the closer you'll get to freeing your mind!
3 years agoThanks! We'll see how it works out, soon enough.
3 years agoLooks amazing! Wish you safe and fun travels!
3 years agoI'm not worried; I figure the bud will just close back up when the cold returns. (It has: where yesterday's high was probably 70, today we'll barely get to 36.)
And this was the only bud I saw that had opened that far; a few others were showing just a hint of green at their tips but I'm sure they too will draw their wrappers closer to them against the chill.
I saw the silk, which was partly what led me to deduce they were insect homes and not part of the plant. That, and not all of the trees had them. The first one I saw seemed to have been the only one on the tree but when I looked more carefully at neighboring trees they had many- dozens, in some cases- which was another indicator that they were not part of the trees themselves.
3 years agoThanks Bill, that's interesting.
3 years agoLong gone. Good observation.
Notice the branch is slightly swollen where it is attached because the silk does not stretch, and eventually may kill the end of the branch if the silk does not deteriorate first.
Close! Bagworm caterpillars make protective/camouflaged bags that continue to be expanded as they grow and wander around the branches of their bush. Males do eventually pupate inside the bag and become moths that fly out in search of females. Females never leave, pupating and attracting a male to mate. They produce eggs, die and the hatchlings eat their way out to start all over. They can kill bushes. Our church lost a few a couple years back. I occasionally use them for bluegill bait, but they are a pain to get out of the bag.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evergreen_bagworm
Roses are tough. It will be fine.
3 years agoThanks!
Reading journals about the Cowboy Trail brings me to realize it's considerably north and east of where I'm currently planning to transit the Sand Hills. But that could change so it's good to have some backup knowledge in my hip pocket, "just in case".
Here are a couple of videos from a cross country tour. They were made in the sand hills and on the Cowboy Trail in Nebraska.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG_SPckwSzU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq0VCy3OCd4
Hi John
Thanks. I know I'll be close to Devil's Tower. Whether I visit will be a function of how I feel at the moment. I was there in 1983 and so would not be devastated if I missed it this time through.
My Black Hills route included the Mickelson Trail but that got set aside when I replanned to avoid Sturgis by the widest possible margin.
I've seen mention of the Cowboy Trail in the Sand Hills journals I've read but am not recalling seeing anyone writing it up. I'll search for that explicitly and see what I find.
I hope not to be in the market for a touring bike for quite a while to come. Maybe never again, in fact?
I'd enjoy reconnecting if you're open to it, regardless of whether bikes change hands.
You probably don't need this info but just in case, you'll be going somewhat close to Devil's Tower in eastern MT. (Think Close Encounters of the Third Kind.) You could hook up with the Michelson Trail in SD (it's supposed to be awesome. Then in Nebraska, the Cowboy Trail runs west to east.
I see you've already reserved your places in Yellowstone. We haven't and I fear we're going to get stuck. (I have an alternate route through Tetons if we get stuck.)
I'll keep my eye out for you on your BF. Mine is very similar (even the color). If yours breaks, you can buy mine for a very nice price. (I rarely ride it.)
I'm glad you're enjoying it! Hoping that continues...
3 years ago