Lapchik's '25 GT

[Lapchik]

What I thought would be a nice ride after work resulted in the one cloud in the sky dampening me twice. I started out by running up the interstate to grab the Twin Cities photo tag in Breckenridge. There was a single grey cloud in the sky, and it got me just damp enough to sap every bit of warmth out of my body. Not enough rain to put gear on, but enough to make it suck for a few minutes.

After the photo tag, I grabbed a GT. I went in and talked to a couple locals while the bartender was "out back havin' a smoke". After about 5 minutes, I walked around the building to ask about a drink and maybe some sort of fried appetizer, but they must have gone home for their smoke break. Either that or the two local yokels inside were messing with me and one was on the wrong side of the bar. Either way, I headed back towards home.

I had to stop and talk my daughter out of a panic attack over the phone, and in the time I was stopped that damned cloud had drifted along with the breeze to moisturize me a second time. I also found the prince from the "Swan Princess" movie in the field drive i was pacing on.

It wasn't really cold enough to warrant extra breaks, but I came across a state WMA that didn't have a well defined driveway or parking area. I dropped in and wandered around a bit. It seemed to have been a former farm site, with (probably literally) tons of old metal cans, glass jars, fencing, and other antique pollution laying around on the banks of a small creek. I'm guessing that it was probably a former farm forfeited to the state in lieu of tax payments or something. It was definitely not a random occurrence trash dump, apparent from the age of the pollution and trees growing around cement footings and an old wood cooking stove. I grabbed a green bottle that was in decent shape, and partial insulator off an old powerline. I also picked up a few cans and some ammo cardboard boxes. I try to leave any WMA or park better than I found it. I wish I could have found an old oil spout or a decent old oil can of some sort, but most of the stuff was rusted to bits. Someone with a metal detector and patience could probably find something interesting out there. For sure a community cleanup opportunity, if anyone wanted to actually occupy that space. Seems like the state could have scraped that bank clear when they took over the area in just a few minutes with large equipment. Keep the waterway clear of trash instead of letting it slowly sink in over the years.