Serene Scenery Sunday

Greetings to all.  It's me, Maggie.  For this week's Serene Scenery Sunday, we have something a little different for you.  As some of you know, our mom went gallivanting across the Konza Prairie on Monday and not only was late helping us get our blog post up, but she had quite the amazing adventure.  Rather than turn the blog over to her, Cam and I thought we'd interview her and toss in some of her photos.  Ready to begin?

Cam:  Hi, Mom.  Thanks for being with--

Mags:  Let's cut to the chase.  Or just play chase.  No, wait.  Where were you all day Monday?!!?  You were supposed to be home by lunch time!  We could have starved!

Mom:  Hi, girls.  Thanks for having me, Cam.  Maggie, your daddy was home with you and he gave you lunch.  I went to hike the Konza Prairie Nature Trail with Beth.

Echinacea along the trail

Cam:  A hike?  Did those handsome Border Collies get to go with you?

Mom:  No, they don't allow dogs.

Mags:  What about us?  You could have taken us!

Mom:  No Siberians, either.  Besides, the heat index was up over 100.

Cam:  Oh my ...

Mags:  But you left at 0730.  That still doesn't explain why you were gone so long!  It only should have taken you a few hours for the hike, plus an hour total travel time.  You got lost - didn't you?!!?

Mom:  Not lost so much as we took the wrong trail at one point...

Cam:  We can get back to that in a bit.  It must have been gorgeous out there!

Mom:  It was!!!  We saw at least 10 different species of birds, lots of butterflies and other cool bugs, a deer, lots of different wildflowers, and incredible vistas like this:

Prairie Coneflowers

And this:

Compass Plant

Mags:  Wow!  I could run and run and run and run out there!  Was it all wide open prairie like that?

Mom:  No, we went through some scattered woodsy areas by the creek. We crossed back and forth a couple times, over two different bridges.

Not Mom's favorite bridge

Cam:  That bridge looks a bit ... wobbly, Mom.

Mom:  It was, Cam.  Going out was OK-ish, but we had to cross back over it coming back.  That was a bit trickier, as I was swimmy-headed from the heat and dehydration.

Cam: Mom!  Didn't you take water with you!?!

Mom:  Umm... yes, Cam.  But I left it in Beth's Jeep.  We thought we were going to only hike 2.6 miles.

Mags:  That's part of that "lost" thing we're coming back to, isn't it?

Mom:  Mmmm...  Hey, Maggie.  Look!  A birdie!

American Goldfinch

Mags: BIRDIE!

Cam: Are we changing the subject away from Mom getting ... sidetracked?

Mom: Yes.

Mags: What was the best thing you saw out there?!!?

Mom: Your daddy hiking toward us with a bag full of bottles of water and ice.

Mags: I thought that stuff was going to be our big finish. I meant nature-wise!

Mom: Ah. Right. Sorry, Peep. We saw so many amazing things!  The views!  The birds!  The wildflowers!  I think the best was seeing THREE different species of lizards!

Six-Lined Racerunner

Horned Lizard

Collared Lizard

Mags: Wow. That Collared guy posed like that without a treat!?! That's amazing!

Cam: So Mom ... what happened to make you late!?

Mom: We were hiking along, doing great.

Wooly Verbena

Even though it had been thunder-storming when we left home, it stopped by the time we got to the Konza Prairie. As the sun rose, so did the heat. I was thankful for sunscreen, bug repellent, and a hat, though I will say, after enough hours at temps near 100 degrees, Neutrogena Sport for Faces SPF 70 will melt right off. We took a tiny - and I do mean tiny - detour to see the Hokanson Homestead, built by Swedish settlers from the 1870s.

Mags:  That sounds fun!

Mom:  It was.  It was only about 100 meters below the trail we had been on.  I was starting to get a little tired and more than a little hot, but we thought the homesteaders' area was pretty close to being back near the start-point of the trail.  We had a map, but it was not detailed.  Our iPhones were down to about 20% power or less.  We looked around and saw a sign for the trail.

Trail Marker.  Apparently for the King's Creek Trail, not the Nature Trail.

Cam: Yea! A trail marker! That's good, right? I like marking trails myself...

Mom: It would have been even better if it has said WHICH trail it was. We followed the sign and walked and walked and ... that's when I started texting your dad. We were running a lot later than expected. And we walked and walked.

Mags: Yeah, Dad filled us in when he gave us lunch. You weren't home, so he had to.  Do you know he doesn't sing the "It's Supper-Dupper-Dupper" song to us?  Really.  Anyway, there were texts and texts that didn't go through and dropped calls and stuff!

Mom: Yes, there were.  That was a bit frustrating!  We finally realized at some point that we were on the wrong trail.

Thank God for this sign

When we got to the "trail closed" sign, we knew exactly where we were and what we needed to do. TURN AROUND.

Mags: Why?!? What's behind me?

Cam: Not you, Maggie. So you could just retrace and hike back, right?

Mom: We could have, if it wasn't so hot. Or if we had water.  After our probably 2-mile detour, we made it to the Hokanson Homestead, then back up to our original trail. I really needed to sit down - and there, finally, was a spliced-log bench! And it was in the shade! We tried to regroup, but knew that if we tried to go further, we were going to get sick. Very sick.

Mags: Like when I do too many zoomies right after I eat and then I horka?!?

Mom: Sort of like that, Maggie. I didn't know if I was going to pass out or horka. And my head was swimming.

Cam: Was Beth OK?

Mom: You can ask Beth for details next time you see her, but I'll just say she knew it was time to call in the Cavalry!

Mags: I thought Dad was Quartermaster. Ha roo roo roo!

Mom: Good one, Peep! But yes, we admitted defeat and called your dad for help. He couldn't bring the vehicle to where we were, but ...

Cam:  THAT'S why you said the best thing you saw all day was Dad hiking toward you with a bag full of bottles of water and ice!

Mom: Yes! It took him a while to get out there, the trailhead is about a half-hour drive from the house, but once there, he got a call through, we mustered up our strength, and hiked out to meet him on the trail.

Cam: Ooooh, what about that Trippy-Trap Bridge? You said you were dizzy!

Mom: I walked behind your dad and had a hand on his shoulder.

Cam:  Go, Dad!

Mags:  What an adventure!!!

Cam:  Did you learn anything from this, Mom?

Mom:  Tons of things, Cammie:  don't leave the water in the vehicle, know where you're going, black shorts and a black sleeveless top isn't always a good fashion choice, sunscreen sunscreen sunscreen, wear a hat ...

Mags:  Anything else?

Mom:  If you're going to get lo-- sidetracked, do it with someone who has a great sense of humor and an upbeat disposition!

Mags:  Yeah, Beth is great!

Mom:  Yes, she is!

Cam:  I agree!  Will you go back again?

Mom:  Absolutely!  ... when it cools down.  Way down.  But it was GREAT!

Cam:  Thanks for the interview, Mom.

Mom:  Thank you, Cam.  And Maggie.  If anyone would like to see more photos from our great adventure, they can click this link.

Mags:  That's a wrap!

"I'm hot just thinking about that!"
"Me, too, Mags!"

It's like so many of you have said - this whole thing could have been avoided if we had kept Mom (and Beth) on a leash. Please learn from our mistake - and have a serene Sunday!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher