Fireworks, Subie and Muscatine.

After a very long 4th of July,  I skipped yesterday's post about fireworks.   So I will post them today....  just because I took the darn photos!


Boom!


Boom! Boom! Boom!

Drain and fill plugs. 

Time to drain,   It came off easy. 

Ok,  with that out of the way,  now for what I did yesterday.  ( This is what happens when you live an ultimately, awesome life and skip a day's blog post....)   Yesterday, I worked on the Subaru.   I did the Rear differential.   Having never done it before.... and having never done it before 170,000 miles ago!   I decided to take things slow, be methodical, and basically did my best not to screw up. 

Find the proper torque requirements. 

New crush washers. 

First:  Jack up the car and secure it.... Done!   The drain bolt and the fill bolt are both 17 mm. and they came loose easily.

Love my Torque wrench! 

Just to be safe,  I had the book available at all time.   I even had several crush bolts available, just in case there was one... ( There was!)  So I replaced it with a new one.

Find the right Gear Oil. 

Special Tip from Eric the Car Guy.

Time to fill the thing.   Eric the Car Guy showed me a cool way to fill the awkward fill hole with a small section of tubing.   It  would have worked great...had the cap on the bottle actually remained attached while squeezing.   I ended up spilling more than I had liked, but the job only called for .8 quarts.   And I checked the level with my finger to make sure it was there.   ( I would have liked it to overflow, but I could not tell if it was that, or the mess I was making trying to fill it. )

Top it off till it runs out of the fill
plug. 

Small note,   Gear oil STINKS!   It is the worst smelling liquid I have ever put in a car.   And even after the job was finished and  after I showered and changed my clothes...   I continued to smell it for the rest of the day.

Front Diff..    What is this!?!

With that success under my belt, I attempted the front differential.  This should have been easier,  since the fill opening was on the top, inside the engine bay.   All I had to do was get that drain plug open...

T70 Torx socket.  "Torx." Because
Mechanics speak a different language.

But the drain plug was NOT a 17 mm.  It was a star nut.  Or Torx bit...for people in the know.   I am not one of those people apparently.     I still do not know what size the darn thing is.   Most likely, it is a T 70...because the set I just purchased from Harbor freight only goes up to a T 60 sized bit.   I'm prepared to be disappointed.   Cheryl has ordered the T70 already, just in case.  And I figure I will tackle the job when it arrives.  Hopefully, with all this waiting and dilly dally-ing ...The job will probably be dead simple.  Meaning,  what should have taken 15 minutes..took me 4 days to complete!   Typical "Ethan's Do-It-Yourself Job."

Barges in Muscatine. 

Riding on the dike

And finally,   Muscatine.   Cheryl and I rode 25 miles today, up and down the Mississippi.   Yesterday, we rode 22 in Coralville and the Kewash Trail.   You would think we are preparing for RAGBRAI or something... but we are not.   Just two middle aged people trying to act as if we are young.   OR at least not as old as we actually are.  My hope is that somehow the suntan, sweat, and aches and pains in the groin areas will pay off when we are retirement age.  ( Not that we are ever going to be able to retire!   That is what smart people who keep a job for 30 years can do...)

The "Prarie Dawn" pushing 15 barges. 

Well,  We will try not to do anything exciting tomorrow, so  if I skip a blog day, I won't have to pile them all up later.    Thanks for stopping in.  Oh,  and Stay cool! 

Cheryl's Red, White, And Boom! Success! (No Cheryls Were Hurt During This Race...)

Any race you can finish and walk away from without throwing up is a success in my book.  And that is what this year's Red, White, And BOOM! Race was....    A successful tale of Survival!    (Dramatic Music Plays.... Duh Dummmmmm....)

Actually, it was not that bad...  for me.   I simply had to catch her at the start and watch her finish.   Fairly easy and boring.  I hardly even noticed the heat!    (Was it actually Hot?) I stayed in the shaded area mostly.    Sometimes a gentle breeze would blow by...  (so refreshing.)

High humidity keeps the sun away. 

The Sun was kept in check most of the race as well.  The high humidity had formed a low lying cloud bank that hovered just over the tall buildings.  It would appear that the race was going to be a piece of cake for those who actually chose to show up today.  ( about 1000 less than last year...)

Very Early Start... 

Last minute check of Conditions. 

And did I mention the race was Early?    Ridiculously early for us.   We had to get up around 4 A.M. so we could shower, shave, dress, and find a parking spot.   The parking was NOT easy since the race took place in a "Stack And Pack" residential area.   All of the streets were lined with the parked cars of the locals, leaving very few open slots for the runners.   I managed to find a spot Subie barely fit into.   (I'm rather proud at my paralell parking skills that allowed me to squeeze him into a "Just Fit" parking spot.)  Cheryl helped keep me from thunking the two cars that flanked me.   We still had about 20 minutes to spare!

Walking towards the start line. 

The race started at 6:30, and with the city noise ordinance,  they did not shoot a gun or blow a horn.   Just a ....."Go!"   was all.    And off they went.

Cheryl runs past from the Start line...    

I captured several shots of Cheryl at the beginning.    And then she was gone.    With the heat being around the high 70's,   Cheryl predicted she might show up at the finish around 2 hours!   Having a rather crappy week of training runs, that seemed reasonable.  I sat back near the finish line and endured the 5K-ers, Babies, Children, Dogs, strollers, and other oblivious spectators while Cheryl ran her race.

I guess the heat did effect a few of the runners.   One guy needed help crossing the finish line ( about 50 yards from the finish!)  They had to wheel a chair over to him to help him out.   I guess the heat effects runners a little different.    Well,   He should have chose the spectator option on this one, because it was quite pleasant for us. ( weather wise...)

Cheryl crosses the bridge. 

As 1:45 came around,   Cheryl rounded the corner of the bridge and ran towards the finish.   She clocked in the worst time of the three times she has run this race.  (1:48 51) with an 8:19 minutes per mile pace.  However,   she finished 2nd for her age group. ( better than previous years!)   So this proves that the heat effected everyone equally, and she actually improved overall from previous years.   Compared to her previous competition, that is.

Cheryl runs towards the Finish line.

It should also be noted that there were 1000 less people.   Many people probably figured it was simply too hot to run this morning.   According to Cheryl, they were probably right!   (I guess runners and heat do not mix very well?)  Either way,   she finished on her own power, without complaining, and without hurling.    I call that a success.

Afterwords,   Cheryl cooled off with a Popsicle and I ate her complementary hot dog.  We both enjoyed he free Summit Beer.  Though, both of us agreed that we were not feeling very "Hoppy"  that early in the morning.  Especially after I sat on her Banana!   Mashing it all over my shorts.   And all the while I thought I had just sat in some wet grass.  Good thing I had another pair to change into.

From our back yard. 

The ride home was long but uneventful.    I was pleasantly surprised to find the Chanterelles are back!  Growing in the yard.   I picked the two largest ones and brought them inside.  I'll have to keep an eye out for the Boletes coming out soon. 

Chanterelle. 

And that is all.    Fireworks tonight from our front window...  I'll have to take pics as I always do.   And before I sign off,   I should post these stats Cheryl worked so hard to write down for me.  It would seem a shame if I did not use them after all that effort.








2015:   Finish time 1:45:53   Pace:  8:05,   Place 64%   Overall place 391 out of 2482 people.  91 out of 1326 females, 11 out of 167 age group females. 

2016:  Finish time 1:42:55  Pace 7:52 , Place 66%  Overall place 257 out of 2267 people.  50 out of 1176 females,  5 out of 146 age group females. 

2018:  Finish time 1:48:51  Pace 8:19 place 64%  Overall Place 208 out of 1478 people.  54 out of 704 females,  2 out of 68 age group females.  

  Hope everyone is having a fun and happy 4th of July.    Thanks for stopping in.

Red, White, And Boom! Half Marathon.

Greetings from The Twin Cities in Minnesota!    Happy 4th when it gets here, and to celebrate,   Cheryl is running 13.1 miles in the Heat and Sun!  Hooray!

Hopefully,   the sun will be behind clouds and the heat will happen later in the day... after the race ends.   Since it is beginning at 6:30 A.M.,  This is a chance she may finish it without melting down.  Fingers crossed. 


Well,  what is there to say about Minnesota in the summer?   IF you are living in the mid to southern half of the state,  chances are you are experiencing the same hot and  humid weather we have had in Iowa.   But today it is supposed to cool down slightly.   And the ride here was quite nice, with the sun mostly behind clouds and the AC on the Subie blasting full on.  

The packet pickup was at the Summit Brewing place.   (Same as the Hot Dash a few months ago.)  There was not an Expo to talk about, so we pretty much grabbed Cheryl's packet, bib, and T-shirt and headed out. 

And went straight to IKEA.   We were in need of new frying pans and figured we would stop there for some lunch and a bit of a walk around.   IKEA is always fun to visit. Even when there is really nothing you need at that moment. 



I stuffed my face with Swedish Meatballs while Cheryl had fries.   It looks deceptive, because I had nothing to eat all day and Cheryl had been munching in the car the entire way up here! 

So... the drive was long and the weather remains hot, though not as hot as it has been over the last few days.  Our plans are to catch as much rest and recovery before the 4A.M. wake up to arrive at the start line on time.   Cheryl has been worried about this race ever since the heat has set in.   Seems setting up a race when the temps are a cool 50 degrees is slightly more optimistic than planning a race a week out when the temps climb to the high 90's.  But who am I to judge?   I'm just the Photographer, driver, cheer squad, and biographer to this madness.

Wish us luck!   Happy 4th of July! (BOOM! BOOM! )

22 Miles Of Biking In Muscatine.

The heat has slightly relented to a "cool" 85 degrees.   But the Death Sun is still out there charring our skin and baking our brain.  Still,  we managed to bike 22 miles today at Muscatine!   (It was NOT easy...)   The remainder of the day will be staying inside, in our 600 sq ft. apartment with the air conditioning blasting.   I think after biking 22 miles in the Iowa Death sun deserves it.

But what to say about the trip....  Well,   this time I made it a goal to capture my very own picture of the Dogbane Beetle. ( Obsession?   Uh,  no.   I just like pretty things...  especially bugs.)  If he last post did not make you wonder: "How can a gem like this exist in the natural world?"  Then there simply is no hope for you.   Go back to being dull and boring and never finding happiness again.

Dogbane Beetle.

So difficult to get a close-up. 

Ok,  That is a little harsh. ( It is meant for a joke.  Haha!... Uh....  Moving on.)  But seriously,   the 4th dimension is all around us if you take a little time to find it.   And with that discovery comes joy.   So check out the things you take for granted.

Monarch Butterfly

Milkweed Beetle. 

 There was a full spectrum of colors today in the Dogbane and Milkweed plants along the trail.   I mainly focused on the Dogbane Beetle, but there were Lots of Butterflies,  Bees and other colorful  beetles that are often overlooked.

First,  the Soldier Beetle was there, but was impossible to capture.   Being not my primary focus,  I did not invest too much time on him.

Milkweed Beetle, another angle. 

Then there was the Milkweed beetle.   Of the many I saw,  the only one who stood still long enough for a pic was rather dull in color.   Normally they are a BRIGHT red color.  And check out those antennae!



And finally,  the Dogbane Beetle.   My last post I had to "borrow" a professional pic from the Internet.   (Possibly someone with better camera equipment than myself.)    The Dogbane Beetle is small,  shiny and very fast!    They never sit still for a portrait.

I ended up drafting Cheryl for Beetle Herding Duty while I struggled with the focus and background.  Out of  the MANY pictures I took,  only a few were actually in focus.   Note to future self:  Taking a Dogbane Beetle's Picture in full sunlight is virtually impossible with your current camera.  The shell of the beetle is just too reflective.





But I ended up getting a few of them.   They are so colorful and such and achievement that I want to show ALL of them.  But that would take up too much of the space.  I figured a few of the ones as they crawled around on Cheryl was enough.


After our ride in the sun,  We headed to Tee's for some burgers and sundaes.   This time I had the fore-thought to make them a cool tip out of a dollar bill.   I hope they enjoy it.


Looks like more of the same coming up this week.   Hot, Humid,  Sun....  maybe a few storms.    We shall see.   In the mean time,  I have been enjoying our bike rides... even though they are in the heat.   It sure beats working.   Thanks for stopping in.