January 1
In my efforts to once more revamp my lifestyle, I took a New Year’s Day “hike” (though I use that term VERY loosely) on the Pickwick Riverwalk Path.
AllTrails has this hike listed as a moderate 6.5 mile out and back trail with a whopping 39 feet of elevation gain.
The trailhead is less than 2 miles away, just on the other side of highway 34. The trail follows the Des Moines River up to just past Bridge View Center, then branches off, following Madison Ave before cross the highway back toward the river then following it back up to the trailhead.
Ash and I left the house at about 10:30, getting to the trailhead in no time. I bundled up and we headed out in the 30 degree weather.
The trail is really just a sidewalk that follows the river- it’s paved as far as I’ve taken the trail so I’m reluctant to call it a “hike”, though if it’s listed on AllTrails, I say it counts.
The trail starts out by heading east behind a dentist office, a Pizza Hut, and a movie theater, then the space to the south opens up and we pass by Central Addition Park and Memorial, then Railroad Park where there is a large dog park and some baseball/softball fields. Beyond the park is the Wapello St. bridge that connects the south side of Ottumwa to the north side. I often take this bridge when heading downtown or to Des Moines. This time, Ash and I walked under it.
There were a ton of geese out this day. Most of them were hanging out in the soccer fields at Railroad Park, or on the banks of the river just past the bridge. I usually worry that they will cause Ash to go nuts but he doesn’t typically chase birds, usually just land creatures like squirrels, rabbits, cats and other dogs.
The next bridge that goes over the river is the Church St. Bridge, followed closely by the Jefferson St. Bridge. Between these two bridges sits Bridge View Center where we saw Hairball in April of 2022.
Before we reached the Church Street Bridge, we happened upon the hydroelectric dam that sits across the Des Moines River. The dam is large enough to walk over, and may indeed even be large enough to drive over, however the entrance onto the dam itself is blocked by a locked chain-link gate. Across the river from this gate sits an old building that I can’t even begin to guess its function.
I do like the architecture of the building so I snapped a picture of it from my vantage point:
Also from this vantage point, we got a good look at the aforementioned Bridge View Center:
And finally, across the river, standing atop a lofty hill with its imposing facade stands Ottumwa High School:
This building replaced the original OHS building, which was built in 1865 and was called Adams School. Adams School was physically lifted from its foundation and moved east of College Square (an area bound by College, Fourth, Second and Union Streets) to make room for a larger building to meet the needs of the increasing population. The new building was opened in 1923. This is the school Brandy attended and graduated from in 1992.
I really admire the old gothic architecture on display at this school, as well at the rest of the architecture around the same area in downtown Ottumwa. I really need to do a photo tour of the area and get some good pictures of the fantastic buildings we have.
But I digress.
From this point, Ash and I turned around and started heading back. We were already at a mile and a quarter at this point so the return walk would put us right at about 2 and a half miles. Plenty for a first hike of the year.
The return trip was uneventful. We passed the same landmarks, the same geese and the same fellow walker we had encountered on our way out, who was now on his own way back to his origin.
We got back to the car in short order and warmed up for a bit before heading back home.
All told, we went 2.53 miles, taking nearly an hour and 2 minutes to complete (54 minutes of which was actual moving time.)
Considering this was the first hike I’d taken since our trip to Albuquerque/Walsenburg in September, I’d consider this a smashing success.
I have devoted myself to getting healthy in 2024. After my accident in October, I’ve really taken stock and realized I need to be healthy, if for no other reason then to re-strengthen my arm to near full strength. I’ve quit smoking (for good this time! I mean it!), have stopped drinking for a while (I’d like to go at least a month, we will see what happens when we go to Crested Butte in February), I’m eating better and am keeping track of everything I’m eating in an effort to correctly balance my macros, and I’ve gone to the YMCA to work out three out of the four days they’ve been open this year (January 4, I woke up just after midnight and was in no condition to go). In fact, I may return for a second time this afternoon, or I might take Ash for a mile walk, we will see.
In addition, I’ve also committed to reading more. “They” say that the average person should be able to finish a book in five to seven hours. If I devote one hour a day to read, I should then, in theory, be able to finish a book in a week or less. If I average a book a week, I should then, in turn, be able to finish 52 books in a year.
I’m putting that to the test. I warmed myself up by reading Travels with Charley In Search of America by John Steinbeck. I started that book on Christmas day and finished it on New Year’s Day, one week later. It is a shorter book, clocking in at 277 pages, but I didn’t read on December 28 or 29, so really I finished it in about 5 hours.
The day I finished that book, I started The Catacombs by Jeremy Bates. I finished that last night, finishing in just under 6 hours of reading. Now comes the down side of this endeavor is the money I’m going to be spending on books. Granted, there are certainly worse things I could be spending money on, and with not smoking any more, and cutting back on drinking, there’s enough to make up for that additional expense, but as usual for me, I struggle with spending money on myself.
That, and trying to decide on what book I want to read next… you know what, I realize now that I’ve gone on long enough about reading on this post that was originally supposed to be a hike report. Maybe I will integrate my readings into the blog. I guess, in a way, reading is like going on an adventure?
And who cares if I do that, even if it doesn’t fit in with the theme of this blog? It’s my blog that no one reads anyway, so I can do what I want with it…
Anyway…
As I mentioned briefly, Brandy and I will be off the Crested Butte in February, our first travels of the new year. Before that though, she will be headed to Phoenix to scope out some new properties that got added to her portfolio at work. This is likely going to be a lengthy trip for her, she’s acquired three new properties, so there’s likely going to be a lot for her to do. I will struggle while she’s gone, as I always do, and knowing that she will be gone longer than usual won’t make things any easier for me, but once she comes home, I will love her that much more.
After that, we’re hoping to have the settlement from my accident by then and will hopefully be in the process of gathering equipment for our expected extended travels.
Until then, however, stay tuned, as I just might get out to downtown Ottumwa this weekend for that photo tour I mentioned earlier in this post.
-Phil