Indiana Racing, Cool Corals, And A Really Cool Beetle.

Cheryl ran a Half Marathon in Ft. Ben, Indianapolis.  We thought this would be a good trial run for the upcoming Indianapolis Marathon,  since we currently have to travel from separate places.   And although we both drove separate routes... We both came up with similar conclusions. 

For me..... Driving through Chicago is BAD!  BAD ALWAYS BAD!  Alexa/ Garmin is of no help here.   She is constantly rerouting you through toll roads after you specifically told her NOT to take the toll roads.   And then she tells you of a traffic jam... and reroutes you UNLESS you tell her not to.....   Which I can barely hang on to the wheel while reading the message and fumbling for the "no Thanks" button.   Which I miss!   And end up paying over $10 to take the sky way...  Which is STILL a parking lot.   But I digress.....

My experience was rather unpleasant.   And Cheryl had similar "challenges"  with time changes, and road constructions, and sale signs along the road....There might have been a bathroom break in there somewhere as well...  

So yes!  Indiana is a long way away for a solo trip.  Some "re-evaluations" may be called for in the future. 

But we did arrive for the Race!  I missed the expo. ( you can probably gather why... 2 LOST HOURS!)  and had just enough time to get clean, undress and sleep before having to get up at 5 AM ( 4 AM our time) 

The parking was easy and the race was well run.  ( run.. get it?) Unfortunately,  My phone, along with the camera that was attached,  decided to die on me after only a few pictures.  ( I seriously need a new phone... Or camera for actual pictures!)  Probably a good thing, as most of my pictures are tossed out anyway.    But I at least managed to get her at the start.

The after party was as we remembered it.  No beer, just hard seltzer something.  Some warming fires and hay bales to sit on.  Overall, a good race.  Cheryl did win her age group and took a full two minutes off of her last time here.  Still,  she was not as happy as you would think she should have been.  Possibly because of the road construction?  

We hung out at IKEA for meatballs and some fantasy shopping.  It is always fun to sit in someone else's Living room without having to visit with them.  And then our weekend ended.... and we were forced to drive back through the Gauntlet of Chicago and Indiana Constructions once again.

New Crowned Coral Mushrooms!

What a sad story!    I better brighten things up with my adventure in the Parkside Rec Area. 

Wolfsblood fungus.

I found Mushrooms!   A new Species of Coral Mushroom that we have been enjoying over the last several days.  Similar taste to the earlier coral mushrooms, but with a meatier texture.   Dave is still alive, so we know they are not poisonous. I will note that the Flavor is a little off comparing them with the corals found on logs.  Not bad... just not the same.   Perhaps cook them longer? 

Entaloma with Aborted ones.

The Shrimp of the Woods seems to be having a great year this year.   I met another couple of mushroom Hunters in the woods.  That experience should be a blog post on it's own, but I will say they were as evasive as I was on what they were hunting and where.  (like fishing or favorite hunting spots...) I found the Aborted Entoloma right next to the ACTUAL Entaloma mushroom growing right next to it. 

There were LOTS of beautiful Destroying Angels all around the woods that day.  I always pick them up and take their picture.   It's like playing with fire... Only the mushroom is only deadly if you eat it. 

And finally,   The Cicada Parasite Beetle!   I personally am a Butterfly guy ( A Lepidopterist)  , but  I have been known to dabble in Coleopterology from time to time.  I found this really cool beetle with Moose Antlers for Antennae.  He was easy enough to ID just from the pictures.  As you might guess,  the name says what it does and how it fits in the ecosystem.  

Whew!  Long post.  I did not want to let another day pass by without posting something.  Otherwise, either I forget stuff or I just cut it out to save time.   But... I managed to get everything in there.   Yeah! 

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far.   Tomorrow is Wednesday already!  Time certainly flies when you are trying to blog about stuff.   Thanks for stopping in and have a great rest of your Week.