Thursday, May 17, 2012

I Should've Had a Cup of Coffee

In an effort to live a long and meaningful life I engage in various activities:  meditation to feed the soul, intellectual and creative pursuits for the mind, exercise to keep the body nimble.  Time spent hiking in nature is an especially fruitful activity, feeding my soul with wonder & delight while at the same time keeping my body fit.  A new health study, the results of which were released yesterday, (http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/05/magic_beans_coffee_drinkers_mo.html) shows that drinking coffee also has a correlation with long life.
hotel coffee cup

I'll return to this point, but first let me tell you about the lovely trip Jennifer and I had to the Texas Hill Country.  We stopped at Burnet and Johnson City on our way to Fredericksburg, visiting flea market shops, small antique malls, and an architectural salvage place where I found some colorful glass for the yard.
metal bluebonnets

The plan was to have a leisurely drive down, stopping along the way for anything of interest, arriving in Fredericksburg in time to see the Japanese Garden of Peace at the National Museum of the Pacific War before the museum closed. 
Admiral Nimitz was from Fredericksburg, in case you're wondering why such a museum is here.

A hike at Enchanted Rock with friends was our plan for the next day.  Waking up to the unusual sound of rain made us reconsider.  Our friends cancelled their drive down, but Jennifer and I decided at least to stop by the park on our drive home. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/enchanted-rock


The rain stopped and the park ranger said that while the Summit Trail would be too slick to walk the other trails were gravel and quite manageable.  We decided to do a short walk along the Loop Trail.  Since the weather was cool and overcast and since we didn't plan to do anything difficult we left our water bottles and hiking poles in the trunk.  I could have used both later.
Walnut Springs

Jennifer, my travel companion

We were having a great time.  Then I suggested cutting through the park via the Echo Canyon Trail rather than staying on the Loop Trail another two miles to get back to where our car was parked. 
This is what the trail was like.  It was more "bouldering" (climbing over rocks) than hiking but it was great fun and the cool, overcast weather was perfect for it.










me at the end of the canyon trail

We made it to the other side of the park just fine, ending up on the lower portion of the Summit Trail, which we would follow down to the car.
This is the trail to the top of Enchanted Rock, which we wisely chose not to hike since it was wet and slippery.  However, within minutes of getting back to the car, I unwisely stepped on a rock to cross a small creek area without first checking it's stability.  It shifted, I fell, and a classic impact fracture of my left wrist was the result.
I couldn't get to the doctor until the next afternoon but left over hydrocodone (generic Vicodin) from previous hand surgery got me through.  Note to self:  always travel with pain meds.

Back to the Coffee Study and longevity.  Perhaps, I should've just had a good cup of coffee at the park and just looked at the hiking trails.  
Naw, we had way too much fun, even with the wrist fracture.

1 comment:

Karen Crisp said...

Pretty pics ... love how you make anything an adventure! Even drinking a cup of coffee with you is pure treat! Give us an update on your wrist ....