Elevation: 623' - 689'
Significance: walking through a black oak forest
I slept in until the night care nurse Linda left and the daytime nurse Bree took over. I'm normally up by 6am to let Zeke out to pee, but today was the first time I overslept. It was the front door slamming when Linda left that woke me.
And it was raining hard! Zeke refused to go out in that rain, and refused two hours later. He finally peed at noon, when clouds were slowly clearing. The rain loosened the soil in Carol's small flower bed, but pulling weeds was still hard for the thistle here. I will need a trovel to do a better job.
Humidity was down at first, but by the time I left the house to drive to the Liverpool Road/Lake Robison trailhead to walk the Hobart Woodland trail, the sweltering heat was back.
This trailhead is a large one that serves not only the Oak Savannah trail (OST), but Lake Robinson, a lake sponsored by the town of Griffith. There were quite a few cars here for the cyclists.
I walked east on the OST. There was very little shade for Zeke, so I stayed as far right on the trail as possible to give Zeke some shade from the low shrubs hugging the trail. The sun was high above and brutal as we walked this short straight-away.
The Woodland trail branches off the OST at the half-mile mark and travels south from there. The rains had not muddied up the trail too much and I was able to walk the entire trail. This trail isn't used much, judging by the tall grass growing over the trail. It looks more like a game trail. There are a few markers to guide you, but I followed the faint trail that started out as a wide-enough trail, as if a riding lawm mower had created this. The closer I got to Lake George, the fainter the trail became and the more standing water there was in small sections. This resembled a trail that is still in development. Having a boardwalk here would be ideal.
The trail ends near the lake shore but doesn't get to it. There are too many plants in the way. I looped back around and headed out. I didn't stay since the view of the lake is limited. The best part of the trail was the shade. We walked back to the car, making a grand total of a mere 2.16 miles. I really didn't like this trail very much because it's hard to follow and floods easily and the bugs were on me like flies on feces.
On a normal day I would have continued west to IN53 on the OST, turning around where I had turned around the first day I walked the OST, completing the middle section, but the humidity got to Zeke and me. When I saw a message from Ethan on my phone asking me if I was coming over, I opted to finish the OST another day and spend another day with the family. This was a wise decision. Ethan and I didn't hike anywhere; we simply were together.
I got six ticks on me by walking this trail. I felt the first one while resting in the shade off the OST. Subsequent ones were trying to attach themselves on my scalp. I felt two more on the drive to Valparaiso. I hate those things! I was afraid I'd get a few after walking through that forest after a rain, but six is quite a bit. I wish there were a topical preventative like Frontline I could take to keep those things off of me. I haven't yet found one on Zeke.
I got to meet many of Erin's neighbors as we once again chatted on her back deck. Her neighborhood is full of young families with kids her own kids' ages and everyone is community. I like that. Erin has an open-door policy with the kids next door. Tonight a neighbor hosted a pizza and pool party to which the kids went to while Erin and I stayed behind and chatted.
I stopped at a Greek fast-food diner off US30 on my way back to Carol's, Simon Sez. The owners are Greek, too. I ordered a gyro platter, ate half of it there, and took the rest home. The Greek food here in Northwest Indiana is some of the best in the country. The diner looked like it had been a staple for several decades, with a racing car theme on the wall. Bikers were out front who were from a Veteran's association. I ate inside to get away from their chatter and was the only one inside. The owners even asked me what I thought of the food and I praised them for the great food and great price. I can't believe I never ate here after exploring the area since 2002 when Carol moved to Crown Point after my dad died. There are so many interesting diners and roadside attractions on US30 from Oregon to New Jersey. I will be driving on US30 a bit more next week when I spend a day at Starved Rock State Park.
I'll post photos later
***
Global cases: 12,664,336
Global deaths:565,780
US cases: 3,292,208
US deaths: 136,682
AZ cases: 116,892
AZ deaths: 2,082
IN cases: 50,300
IN deaths: 2,748
TBC
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