“And he’s bu-u-ilding a sta-a-a-irway to the river” (with thanks to Led Zeppelin)
Matt and I have had a good summer, in spite of not being able to spend significant time with family and friends in person due to the pandemic. One of the projects that Matt took on was building steps down to the river in our backyard. The Little Arkansas flows through our neighborhood, and it’s actually considered private property (each house that backs up to it owns its half of the river), and our bank is pretty steep and rocky. A couple years ago we bought kayaks (the leisure kind, not the serious kind), and we’ve had fun carting them up and down the steep bank. But this year, Matt decided to make our trek so much easier.
He cut steps into the bank and then “harvested” sand from upriver to level each step before pouring concrete and laying decorative rocks in each step. Now we have wide steps and a makeshift landing spot for our kayaks in the river. The steps are also nice for just sitting and enjoying the peace of the flowing water along with the wildlife.
“I want to ride my bicycle; I want to ride my bike. I want to ride my bicycle; I want to ride it where I like” (with thanks to Queen)
Another fun adventure this summer has been discovering new routes for our bike rides. Early in the summer, Matt discovered some quiet two-lane roads within a mile of our house that allowed us to “get out in the country” immediately, rather than biking along four-lane busier roads to get out of town. We actually pass bison (or buffalo) grazing in someone’s yard on that route.
Earlier this summer, we decided to celebrate Matt’s first year of teaching as a para and my promotion to full professor by ordering gravel bikes. We’d been planning to make this kind of purchase for a couple of years, but now we had something to celebrate. Of course, we weren’t expecting that bike inventory would be so incredibly low.
After two months, Matt’s bike came in (we’re still waiting on mine), and we’ve been able to take his gravel bike and my old hybrid out on some dirt/gravel/sand roads that begin right across from our neighborhood. We’re able to head west and north and get away from traffic immediately. The past two weekends we’ve headed out on Saturday and Sunday (after online church) mornings, and it’s just been glorious. So peaceful. So pleasant. Aside from the Trump flags, of course. One of them actually says “Trump/Pence 2020. No more bullshit.” Can you figure that one out? Makes no sense to me. The statement “no more bullshit” implies that there HAS been bullshit. While Trump has been POTUS. I’m pretty sure the flag is actually an argument AGAINST Trump.
Anyway, We’ve had a lovely time exploring the dirt roads outside of Wichita/Valley Center, and we’re hoping to continue doing that well into fall. Hopefully, my gravel bike will come in soon too, so I can have a bit better traction as I pedal.
That’s the fun news from Wichita. I look forward to reading more from whoever wants to contribute. Write on, my family. Write on!
