Winter camping with the boys

The Queen's Birthday is the last long weekend for ages so being winter it was time to try out all my cold weather camping gear and my new hiking pack. As usual it was a debacle getting everyone to decide if they were free and where to go. We finally settled on doing a reverse loop of the Beeripmo Hike at the Mt Cole National Park, which is located about 2 hrs drive west of Melbourne, between Ballarat and Ararat.

The boys.....

 and me

Is it getting foggy?

 Yep, um the "view" from Snowgum Lookout

 and the next day, picture perfect!

 Beautiful views of the Western Plains with the Grampians in the background 

 Ferntree Waterfall

 Side trip to the Cave Hill cave, also known as Bukkertillible, which means cave in the local aboriginal dialect. The cave is a massive granite arch around 100 m wide and 15 m high. You can just see Paul in red at the bottom LH corner of the photo.

The Campground

Perfect winter campground

 Happy faces, we love cooking in the rain 

 Pancakes for dessert

 Topped with melting Lindt choc, YUM!

On Top of the World

Over the last few months we've had a few camping and hiking trips, making the most of summer and discovering some great walks. We've scaled a few peaks along the way, enjoying the isolation and views below.

Cathedral Ranges - Razorback Track

Paul and Bonnie taking a breather and admiring the viewMe, Terrie and Bonnie negotiating the rocky heights of the Razorback

Mt Buller

Baby Liam's first mountain top climb (thanks Mum and Dad!)

Fire observatory at the top of Mt Buller

Cathedral Ranges (II)

Bonnie, Ryan, Terrie and Paul waiting for the sunset from the top of South Jawbone Peak

and the sunset

Paul's time lapse shots of Bonnie's tent at the Farmyard campground

717 kms in 7 days

RAGBRAI - Registers Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa

Every year 10,000+ people ride their bikes across the state of Iowa in RAGBRAI. Along the way passing through farmland and country towns, sampling the local sights, smells and tastes. It was a great experience, tough both physically and mentally but thoroughly worth the trip over.

RAGBRAI 2011 route - Starting in Glenwood near the Missouri River in the west of the state and finishing at Davenport by the Mississippi. Traditionally riders dip their back tire in the Missouri at the start and then the front tire in the Mississippi at the end. This year the ride passed through my family home town of Carroll, even more reason to attempt it this year. Also the route ran close to where many of my Uncles, Aunts and cousins live, which was great for catching up and also meant we had a place to stay for most nights instead of having to camp. There is nothing better after a long day of riding in the heat than to take a shower, relax in air conditioned comfort and sleep in a real bed - it was very much appreciated by us all.


Elevation - I'm told this years course was pretty hilly with more than 20,000 feet of climb (>6 kms). There were some tough days in there. Biggest hill was Twister Hill on Day 3 (spike in graph just before Boone) which was a very steep 2.1 kms of climb at the end of a long day of riding (115 kms). Managed to ride up every hill even if it meant going into Granny Gear.

Team Lead Dog - Jill had blue jerseys made up for our extended family team with the name and logo on the back. Many questions/comments from other riders on whether we were lead as in at the front or lead the heavy metal.

Day 1 - Lynda, Matt, Jill and I ready to get started at Glenwood

Day 4 - Randy, Jim, me, Andy, Jan, Jill, Karen, Lynda and Dee

Our most important team member was my Aunt Lois, who was our driver and team sag wagon. Couldn't have done it without her.

Melbourne, Iowa

Images of RAGBRAI

Typical Iowa countryside - fields of corn and soybean planted in long neat rowsFarmhouses dotted along the road selling water and Gatorade to tired and thirsty riders. Some had waterslides and kiddy pools allowing riders to strip down to their speedos and show off their bike tan (not a good look).

Roadside vendors selling sweet corn (above) and pork chop's (below)

Lunch stop - hungry riders as far as the eye can see. What's on offer? I tried the grilled chicken burger, turkey burger, cheesburger, beef brisket burger - putting meat in a bun was the typical lunchtime fare. Items not sampled: deep fryed zucchini, chocolate dipped cheescake, armadillo eggs (hard boiled eggs crumbed and deep fried).


Aerial view of the maze cut into a corn field in Manning

Dutch windmill in Elk Horn, imported from Holland

The End, finally

Jim's Jeep

Jim and Mary Lou taking thier restored Jeep out for a spin

RAGBRAI pre ride

While me and my lucky suitcase (not lost once yet!) arrived on schedule in Iowa my bike did not, which created a little nervousness given the week long RAGBRAI ride was coming up. But it arrived ok the next day and I was able to reassemble it with only a slightly buckled front wheel.

Out first ride was a 40 km round trip along the High Trestle Trail from Woodward to Slater. It was only about 37oC with 90% humidity so easy peasy. The highlight was the 13 storey High Trestle Bridge that crosses the Des Moines River.

High Trestle Trail bridge

Aunt Joan and Uncle Vern enjoying the view

The steel beam artwork along the bridge represents a coal mine, which was common in this area

Electric blue lighting along the bridge at night

Footy

First time to the football this year and we were out in the stands with the plebs. The last few times I've been was for work and we had box seats but those good old corporate days are over.

Poor Hawthorne supporters, Sam and Hamish and my fellow Collingwood fan, Janine, waiting for the big game to start

The banners go up, players run through and the 85,000 strong crowd cheers them on

Our seats aren't that bad Sam!

Who won? Collingwood, of course!