The Spa 10K - Hot Springs, AR

On Saturday morning, 22-NOV-08, Bob MacKendrick and Bob Callicott ran the Spa 10K in Hot Springs, AR. For those who don't know the conversion, 10K is a bit more than 6 miles. The run wouldn't be hard except for the fact that about 0.8 miles of the run is uphill. Starting at about mile 2.5, we faced a 0.5 mile uphill, 0.5 miles of relatively flat and then another 0.3 mile uphill. NOT FUN! However, the best part about running up a hill is knowing that you'll get to run DOWN. From mile 4 to the end, most of the run was either down hill or relatively flat.

The day was much colder than normal for this time of the year in Hot Springs. The normal low is about 38-40F. The temperature at race time was probably 25-30F - BURRRR! So we had to bundle up. Here we are before the race.

The start of the race!We're heading to the finish line (note: I always get excited when I see the end in sight).

Congratulating each other on finishing:Both Bobs did OK. Bob M. finished 2nd in his bracket- great job! RHC averaged 8:35 minutes/mile for the course. Pretty good for a couple of OLD GUYS.

Here's a picture of Ana MacKendrick, Bob M., Bob C. and Shirley before the race. Shirley, a friend from the HSV gym, did the 5 K race which starts at the top of the hill and comes down.

Well, I can say "I've been there and got the t-shirt" - an orange one in fact. So, I'm ready for next year, but hope the weather is a bit nicer. Any takers for 2009?

Tree Planting and Prunning

This week we decided to plant several trees under the pines behind the house. We initially planted a white dogwood and a pink dogwood. They're supposedly difficult to grow. However, they're guaranteed for 6 months and should bloom in the spring before the 6 months are up.

We also planted a red bud tree and sweet gum tree that we got at Home Depot. The trees were at a reduced price and guaranteed for 1 year.

Same picture as above but from another angle.

Ideally these trees - especially the dogwoods and the red bud - will give us beautiful spring color. All four should be colorful in the fall. We hope this will create some contrast to the green pines.

We have a weeping cherry in the front that was getting out of hand. We did some major trimming and tying the branches in place (more of a weeping drape). We also used a rope to pull the tree a bit more upright. This spring we'll see how our handiwork on the weeping cherry turns out.

Australia - Birds We Saw

We saw a lot of different birds during our trip to Australia. Many of them would be considered "exotic" here in the US. We don't know all the names but just wanted to let you have a look at some of the Australian birds.

Road Trip to Mt. Magazine

On Monday morning, Rosie, Bob and Sam (our faithful dog) left Hot Springs Village on a road trip to Mt. Magazine state park. Mt. Magazine is the highest point in Arkansas; woo hoo - bring out the oxygen - NOT. It's only 2200 ft above the surrounding area.

The drive up highway 7 (a scenic drive) was beautiful. There were lots of colorful trees against the green background of the pines - a great contrast. Here's a picture Rosie took from the car on our way to Mt. Magazine.

The drive took us a little over 2 hours. After we got to the state park, we stopped for a bio-break and picnic lunch. After lunch we headed to the Lodge. The view from the Lodge and the overlooks around the Lodge were really pretty.
Here's a picture of Rosie, Bob and Sam on the walkway behind the Lodge. Bob is wearing his Akubra hat he bought in Australia.
Here's a close-up of Sam taken behind the lodge.
Several people had to stop and pet him. He's always a big attraction.

After leaving the Lodge we drove around the circle at the top of the mountain (or close to the top). We stopped at several of the overlooks to take pictures. Here's a good shot of trees and rocks.
We call this next picture "carpet trees". The trees resemble a carpet pattern.
Next we have a picture of Bob blocking out the trees in the background. Oh well - so much for transparency.Here's a brightly colored tree Rosie captured on the drive in the park.

Finally, here's a scene Rosie really liked of the light coming through the trees. It may not come through too well on the blog picture, but it was beautiful in real life!It may not be New England or the Rocky Mountains, but we had a great day and enjoyed the beauty of God's creation. Hope all of you are having a beauty filled fall.