Bumbling About – Page 9 – The Bumblings of a Bottelberghe

July 10, 2015July 10, 2015Learning Slowly

From phone to the internet

Technology, gotta love it. As I prepare to hike the Colorado Trail, I have started to test equipment. I do not have everything I need just yet, but I can happily say that if this post updates onto the website, I can managent my blog from my phone and potentially from the trail itself.

As if right now, I am preparing to drive down to Dubuque to deliver a piano. Loading was easy as a couple friends of the family helped push it up the ramp. As for the unload, well, we’ll get it later today.

July 6, 2015Uncategorized

Up-to-date

After hiking the Superior Trail we spend a little time in Duluth before getting to Minneapolis. My motorcycle doesn’t seem to like hot and humid and caused me to pull over for quite awhile to cool down. I got to Jason’s house and took it easy.

The 4th of July was nice. Jason is hosting a couchsurfer from Johannesburg, South Africa and we were joined by a Pakistani traveler for dinner. It made for a nice mix of stories and laughs. Yesterday and today turned into website development and equipment information gathering. I spent a good chunk of change buying some new equipment and the rest of my time on this website. I am currently sitting in Jason’s house watching the rain come down. I’d like to ride my motorcycle to Jordan, MN again and visit Bree, but the rain is supposed to be solid until 4pm. I’ll check in with her about it and figure things out from there.

July 2, 2015July 6, 2015Backpacking, Learning Slowly, New Adventures

Superior Trail – Day 2

I slept in a bivy tent like this one and it did alright, but I have a few complaints. I borrowed Jason’s rain fly, so the sudden rain overnight was not an issue, the outside of my bivy and sleeping bag stayed very dry. The inside did not. The bivy has a screen mesh over my face so I can breath, but the rest of the tent material does not breath and I was too warm overnight. My sweat and/or breath left the bottom of my sleeping bag quite wet. I’ll need to figure out a better option for the Colorado Trail. I still plan on hiking the big, long, and scary trail, but I can’t seem to nail down a solid start date.

I also learned that the backpack I planned on using for the CT is not quite what I want. What I noticed is that there are a lot of pockets that I just do not use. The sizing of the pockets didn’t leave many options and I couldn’t find things too easily without opening almost every pocket. I know I need to do a field test with a different style of backpack. Jason is letting me borrow a backpack that has just 2 exterior pockets and one very large interior pocket. This will reduce my searching, but now I need to think about how things will be separated. Definitely will need to think more on that one.

The second day of hiking was great despite all the bug bites. Oh, I mentioned the mesh of the bivy… so that mesh sits directly on my face. Which is the perfect distance for a mosquito to reach through and bite my arms and face as many times as she wants. Thanks, I now have around a hundred itchy bites all over me… awesome.

After a good, solid, shared breakfast, we hit the trail and got to some amazing sights.

We got to the Baptism River where an interesting, single cable, suspension bridge allowed us to cross. We spent a lot of time checking this place out. There was even a nice waterfall!

July 1, 2015July 6, 2015Backpacking, New Adventures

Hiking the Superior Trail

Finally I have the opportunity to test out some outdoor recreation gear. When I left Colorado Northwestern Community College, I left a lot of gear with the Outdoor Recreations program, well, and a lot of it was purchased with school funds, so I felt obligated to leave it behind. Anyways, I loaded what seemed to be the appropriate stuff and hit the trail with Ang, Jason, and Sam.

I’ve never hiked with Ang before, but I know Sam and Jason well. A few years back Sam was the wonderful participant in my first winter mountain rescue on a failed winter camping/snowshoeing attempt at climbing to the summit of Mount Massive. I not have 3 failed attempts at summiting Mount Massive with Jason. Well get there, eventually, or not. I’m a little indifferent about that peak now.

We had a nice pace and we made it quite quickly to our campsite just past Bean and Bear lakes.

I didn’t get many photos of our campsite at the bottom of Round Mountain, but it was just as mosquito filled as the land we just left. I am so bitten it might drive me insane.

All in all, a great first day of hiking.

July 1, 2015July 6, 2015New Adventures, Road Trip

To the Land of Finland… Minnesota

Once my family all disbursed on Sunday, I got word that some hiking plans had changed in my favor! I loaded up my motorcycle for another long-ish haul to the north shore of Minnesota to a friend’s property located near McDougal Lake off Highway 1. I’ve been there before, but after riding in the rain and storms we’ve been enjoying this summer, I might have mistaken a driveway for a road and rode down to someones cabin on a very not-so-safe double-track road. I’ve never gone through a puddle that deep…

I finally made it to the land and set up a borrowed tent in a very fern filled section of the property.

The food was AMAZING as Ang, Honor, Sam, and Jason all had dinner already cooked. Pork ribs, corn on the cob, and potatoes cooked from a fire. Mmm

We did have some casualties at the land. Two bears wandered past my tent, visited Ang in her tent, then meandered to the kitchen and stole 3 loafs of bread, a package of peta bread, and a whole bottle of newly purchased, glass encased, maple syrup. I guess no french toast for us. What is interesting though is that the bears opened two coolers, passed up the smoked salmon, the half eaten cherry pie, and all the random snacks minus one claw or bite into a banana.

The only permanent damage was a hole in a cooler from a bear claw and a torn tent fly on Angie’s tent. She has some GREAT pictures of just how close the two bears were… sadly I don’t have access to copies of those pictures yet.

June 26, 2015July 6, 2015Uncategorized

Grandparent’s stop for a visit

I am a family guy, I know I’ll support them as much as I can, but I am starting to get worn out! After a somewhat long scooter trip with my dad and Dan Dorn, we ride back after dark to see that my dad’s parents, Don and Marie Bottelberghe are at home with my mom, My Sister Becky, her husband Dan, and their daughter Chloe. Chloe is an extremely smart 3, almost 4 year old girl. She can already read and is learning a lot of new words very very fast. It was great to have everyone visit, and I even got a chance to see Jurassic World in 3D with Becky and Dan. What a great weekend.

June 26, 2015July 6, 2015New Adventures, Road Trip

Sunday Funday(s)

It seems like my dad really likes his scooter. On the few days that I have been home, my dad has wanted to ride around with me and I can’t seem to say no too often. So, why not! One Sunday we went to Leon, WI for Shitty Beer Sunday and watched the locals play an intense game of Sand Volleyball. Then on the 26th, Dad and I went to the middle of the woods somewhere near Arcadia to visit one of his friends with Dan Dorn, another family friend. Good trips, both of them.

June 22, 2015July 6, 2015New Adventures, Road Trip

Brewers!

Every year, my dad seems to win tickets to a Brewers home game in Milwaukee, WI. Cindy has recently moved to Milwaukee and conveniently lives quite close to the stadium. What options do we have but to go watch the game and visit! The seats were amazing, row 3 right next to the speed gun and press box behind home plate! I was on TV a few times!!!

Even through the Brewers are doing quite poorly this season, they pulled off a big WIN! Go Brew Crew!!!

June 15, 2015July 6, 2015New Adventures, Road Trip

A week in Minnesota

After Cindy’s fight in Saint Louis, I stayed home for at least a little bit before heading to Jordan, Minnesota to visit Bree. I took a week for this visit so I could be away from my parents for a bit and spend some quality time with Bree and help her at her place. I got to know her family, see some sights around the Jordan and Shakopee area before riding my motorcycle back home. Oddly enough, I found a Cambodian Buddist Temple out in the cornfields on my way back… So odd…

June 6, 2015July 6, 2015New Adventures, Road Trip

Off to Saint Louis for a Fight!

One of the best things about a road trip is having family to see at the end of it. I made it to Saint Louis to see my sister Cindy’s next UFC fight. This venue was quite spectacular and I wish my pictures turned out better. Below is probably the best picture I have of the ‘octagon’.

Cindy’s pre-fight was different from what I expected, but time flew as we waited for her to enter the ring. I was allowed to sit as a coach for her fight, so I was right up at the fence’s edge. There were no better seats short of the cameramen sitting above the ring’s edge. Cindy seemed to be fighting down to the other gal’s level of boxing and, sadly, in the second round, Cindy was knocked out. I believe this was her first loss by K.O..

You can watch her fight here…

She didn’t look beaten up once she left the ring and she was more mad at herself for her loss than the punches she took, but I am very confident she’ll be back and better than ever. She’ll be ready for her next fight in August.

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