Mt. Tom lookout tower at Sibley State Park in Minnesota
I have returned from my Minnesota vacation. It was a vacation in that I did not work in my office, but it definitely wasn’t restorative. The drive aggravated my back, my diet suffered, and my exercise routine was put on hold. I arrived home a couple days ago and my back is still pretty sore.
I did do some hiking on my trip. I hiked about 5 grueling miles in the North Carolina mountains, a few miles in Sibley State Park in Minnesota, and several other, shorter walks.
Since I’ve been home, I’ve been looking at the tide charts, in hopes of finding a good day to visit my swamp. My spirits are low. I’m feeling isolated and hopeless. I need an adventure; preferably an adventure that doesn’t cause further injury to my spine.
The low tide, tomorrow morning, is pretty early, so I’ll have to get everything ready tonight and make sure I get up early so I don’t miss it. The weather forecast is good, although we got 2 inches (5 cm) of rain on Thursday, which would have raised the level of the creek. It may or may not have had time to go down by Sunday morning.
Anyway, I’m back. I’m stiff and sore, and I’m feeling melancholy. Otherwise, I’m good. It’s time to get this show on the road … metaphorically speaking.
Hello Doug…
Glad to hear you’re back…and in the right frame of mind to “get things moving”. Even the drive out to see Ed in Palm Springs (a mere 2 hour drive), does make my knees get stiff and uncomfortable. Normally, no problems in daily activities…but the car seats are another matter. Hope you have fun in the swamp…and, just maybe, can share a clip or two with us…your loyal mud wallowing followers. Just waiting for the first good rain storm here…sometime in mid to late November, if this is a normal year.
Cheerio
My round trip mileage was about 3300 miles. I’ve done the drive before, but it seems to get longer, every time. 🙂
I’m going to explore, tomorrow morning, if the weather doesn’t turn on me. I probably won’t be shooting anything, but I’m exploring a new spot, just to get out and do something different.
Thanks for the reply. I hope you get some rain in November.
Hi Doug; How you been doing since your Minnesota trip. Hope your doing fine, weather will be changing soon. Guess the end of another mudding season. Was able to get out in the mud past couple days, but its beginning to cool off. Even the ocean waters are cooling down.
The drive set me back in my spinal recovery, so I had to back off and stick to my physical therapy routine for a while. I’m feeling much better, now, but I’m way behind in my professional commitments. I went kayaking on Saturday at low tide, just to scout and get some fresh air. The tide didn’t get anywhere near low enough for mudding.
I might try going out this week, sometime. I am not really optimistic about the tides, but maybe I can catch some late season mud. I’ve gone out in December, but past experience tells me that November is the beginning of the end of the season.
Thanks for checking in.
Hello Doug…
Glad to hear that you’re on the mend after the drive. Seeing no messages I figured you were focused on the physical therapies….I recalled my recoveries from the knee surgeries and the importance of physical therapy. Keep at it…and don’t rush things…but you already know that. Cheerio. Dolphin
Thanks. The weather just turned cold! I guess I won’t be playing in the mud until this cold front passes over.
I hope the rainy season brings you some mud.