Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park

682 miles into my walk…

Was I ever glad I stuck around Memphis for the International Blues Challenge. What an afternoon in the beautiful Orpheum Theater where Mighty Lester of the Triangle Blues Society placed third, the kids from Tupelo called the Homemade Jamz' Blues Band – ages 14, 12 and 9 - amazed the crowd and took second place. Here’s a rough video of them performing a classic BB King tune.

First Prize went to Sean Carney Band from the Columbus Blues Alliance. Sean also took the Albert King Award for best guitarist and was also the Best Dressed!!

I was saddened to leave Beale Street and the wonderful atmosphere and music and food, but I was anxious to hit the road once again. Temperatures were dropping and by the time I hit the outskirts of Memphis, the temperatures were in the 20’s. I bundled up and hit the Great River Road/North Watkins Road heading north. I turned left on Locke Cuba Road and then took a right on River Bluff Road. A short while later I was standing outside the Shelby Forest General Store.

This was a store with an interesting looking charm and I thought it would be a nice place for a rest and late breadfast. I walked inside and went straight to the wooden counter for a hot cup of coffee and ordered an omelet with biscuits and gravy and country ham. While waiting for my breakfast to arrive I looked around the shop and saw fish mounted on the walls, deer antlers, and old saw, a TV in the corner and racks of snacks and canned goods (a lot of locally made treats and preserves) and fridges stocked with drinks. The gentleman at the counter told me that I was at the gateway to the Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park, a bit or wilderness on the edge of Memphis. He said that there were cabins in the park or I could just pitch a tent at one of the many campgrounds. Feeling the cold draft squeezing through the cracks around the entrance door, I thought a cabin would be a better choice for the night.

This park was really beautiful. Bordering on the mighty Mississippi River, two-thirds of this 13,467-acre park are bottomland hardwood forests of large oak, cypress and tupelo. The park also contains two lakes and many miles of hiking trails. The Meeman Museum and Nature Center is named for Edward J. Meeman, courageous conservation editor of Scripps-Howard newspapers who helped establish this park and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park maintains a boat ramp on the Mississippi River. Deer, turkey, beaver and some 200 species of birds are abundant.



I spent about 5 hours walking some of the park trails and then headed to my cabin by the river. The skies were clear and there was a full moon and I could hear night birds softly chanting in the tree tops. Since the beginning of my journey, this was one of the most relaxing and refreshing days I experienced. Though the temperatures never crept above freezing, I felt a warmth in this park that cannot be explained. There was a quiet beauty to this forest and I was glad it was preserved. Thank you Mr Edward J. Meeman for having the foresight to save this place. You knew beauty when you saw it and knew the importance of preserving this slice of nature.



I would like to spend more time in this park, but my plans are to head further north tomorrow… well, maybe after walking just a few more forest trails.

Brian

I’m A Gadget Freak!

I like gadgets. I think this obsession started when I bought my first Apple computer, the LCIII. I always found computers intimidating, but my first Apple changed that. It was easy to set up, intuitive, and had a major ‘cool’ factor. I was initiated into the Mac community. And I never looked back.

Then I was introduced to PalmOne and got a PalmIII, then a PalmIIIx, followed by Palm V, Tungsten T, Tungsten T3, Tungsten C, Treo 180, Treo 600… and now my faithful Treo 650. iPhone? Not any time soon. I’ll be sticking with the Treo 650 for a while. It works.

With my 650 I can watch streaming video, listen to internet radio, carry around my plant database of over 500 plant photos, take pictures (incredibly bad quality), surf the web, check and send email, open Word docs, Excel, PDF’s, read books, play games, track my workouts... and it is a phone, so I of course use it to talk to people.

What do I use for walking? Here’s my list of favorite walking gadgets. When I hit the road, I’m wired.

1. Polar Heart Rate Monitor s625x: The Polar S625X provides accurate heart rate, running pace and distance information right on your wrist. It delivers continuous running speed without relying on where satellites are positioned. It comes with a shoe pod that does make my right shoe look a little funky, but not too bad. I have no idea how this shoe pod works, but it is accurate. Features are: tracking altitude and ascent for route profiles, speed (average, minimum and maximum), distance, time in training zones, temperature, and other stuff that just leaves me a little baffled.

2. MySportTraining Software for Palm OS: MySportTraining is a health & fitness application designed to track your workouts and to motivate you to exercise to achieve a healthy lifestyle. Coupled with the add-on MySportTraining Polar, I can download all of the data, via infrared, from my Polar S625X and look at neat graphs and bars. This software tracks duration, personal ratings, heart rate data, notes, routes, distance, pace, ascent and intervals, warm-up, cool-down, exercises, calorie/kJ intake, weight, body fat, mood, sleep, blood pressure, resting heart rate. This software works on mobile devices running Windows and for certain Nokia phones. And there’s a Windows desktop application that will sync with your mobile device. No Mac support. Bummer! Still, a great piece of software on my Treo.



3. The Omron HJ113 Pedometer: This pedometer tracks your workouts with steps, distance, time, calories and fat volume you burned during walking. It has a dual display function that can show both the time and the number of steps simultaneously. It’s memory function can store and show the data of seven days. I use it only for tracking my daily steps. I try to set a goal of 12,000 steps a day. On a day without dedicated walking, just sitting at my desk working, I manage around 4500 steps. So you can see, if you want to really be active and reach the recommended 10,000 steps per day, you have to go that extra mile or two. Why is 10,000 steps per day considered to be the ideal number? Health experts believe that the Surgeon General’s endorsement of 30 minutes of physical activity daily is the equivalent of walking 10,000 steps - which is about 5 miles and burns close to 400 calories. Studies have found that 10,000 steps is also the amount of exertion your body requires to burn enough calories to reduce the risk of chronic disease.

4. iPod Shuffle (the old one): I don’t go anywhere without my iPod. I own a iPod Photo 60gb and a Griffin iTrip and use it mainly for listening to podcasts and music while driving (I don’t walk everywhere). The shuffle, on the other hand, is my walking companion and is loaded with walking music of all genres. I use a program called beaTunes that couples with iTunes to determine the beats-per-minute (bpm) of each song in my library. I then load up songs with bpm’s ranging from 125 to 135, perfect for a fast walk. Later I’ll post my favorite walking tunes. By the way, I don't think they sell the 1st generation shuffle anymore. The new shuffle is smaller and has a better 'wow' factor.

5. Nike Free Trail 5.0: Though not really a gadget, a great pair of shoes! This is a more rugged version of the Nike Free and Nike Free Trainer. The Nike Free Trail 5.0 has a thicker sole and a sleeve insert for easy slip on access. This shoe is light, flexible and rugged. And it is the only shoe I've found that won't send me skating down a wet sidewalk. The only problem I have with this shoe is when small rocks wedge in the slotted soles. This creates an annoying 'click-clack' sound when walking. After a long walk, I take a screwdriver and pry loose all of the tiny pebbles. This shoe is a rock collector! You don't feel the stones, but you can hear them.






Well, time to plug myself in and hit the road…

I'm Staying at the Peabody!

634 miles into my walk

Well I’m in Memphis, Tennessee. Louisiana and Mississippi are now behind me. Traffic this morning in Memphis is heavy and the temperature is a frigid 33 degrees.

I’m walking my way up Union Ave to the Peabody Hotel. I stayed here years ago while working on a planning project for the Navy. It was only for one night and their chocolate brownie cake with raspberry sauce made the trip worthwhile.

It’s now 11:00am and as I enter the hotel lobby the Peabody Ducks are making their way across the Red Carpet (Read below for more info about this tradition).



Tonight I’ll be heading to Beale Street for The International Blues Challenge (IBC) - The largest gathering of blues bands in the world takes place on Beale Street after months of regional "battle of the bands" presented by the Foundation's affiliated organizations. 130 acts in 15 venues, in both band and solo/duo competitions, with Saturday finals at the Orpheum Theatre and New Daisy Theatre. Looks like I’ll be hanging around here until Sunday. Even though John Mayer is playing at the FedExForum tonight, the IBC sounds like a treat not to be missed.

One place I will miss is Graceland. I drove by on a previous visit to Memphis and what I learned was Elvis not only left the building, he left this world. I’m not really interested in viewing his gaudy house and shrine. Sorry Elvis fans. I’m giving this one a wide berth.

Well, time to check in, munch on some chocolate brownies, and take a nap so that I can enjoy the music tonight.

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The Legend of the Ducks

The tradition of the famous Peabody Marching Ducks began in 1932. Peabody General Manager Frank Schutt, an avid sportsman, and a friend Chip Barwick, returned empty-handed from weekend hunting trip in Arkansas. The two friends had a bit too much Tennessee sippin' whiskey, and decided to play a prank and put their live duck decoys (which were legal at the time) in the fountain in the hotel's Grand Lobby.

Three English call ducks were placed in the fountain, and the reaction from hotel guests was nothing short of enthusiastic. Soon, five North American Mallard ducks would replace the original ducks.

In 1940, Bellman Edward Pembroke, a former circus animal trainer, offered to help with delivering the ducks to the fountain each day and taught them the famous Peabody Duck March. Mr. Pembroke became the Peabody Duckmaster, serving in that capacity until his retirement in 1991. The late Mr. Pembroke's portrait hangs in the entrance to The Peabody, a luxury suite is named for him and a building in Peabody Place development is named Pembroke Square .

In 2003, The Peabody Memphis conducted an extensive search for a new Duckmaster, garnering the attention of national media outlets such as CNN, the CBS Early Morning Show, and The Wall Street Journal. The Duckmaster is solely responsible for the care and wellbeing of the Peabody Ducks, including feeding, exercise, and training the teams for their daily march.
Today, the ducks are housed in the "Duck Palace" on the hotel roof. Every day at 11 a.m., they are led by the Duckmaster down the elevator to the Italian travertine marble fountain in the Peabody Grand Lobby. A red carpet is unrolled and the ducks march through crowds of admiring spectators to the tune of John Philip Sousa's King Cotton March. The ceremony is reversed at 5 p.m., when the ducks retire for the evening to their palace on the roof of the hotel.

The Peabody's famed ambassadors are five Mallard ducks – one drake with his white collar and green head, and four hens with less colorful plumage. The ducks are raised by a local farmer and a friend of the hotel. Each team lives in the hotel for only three months before being retired from their Peabody duties and returned to the farm to live out the remainder of their days as wild ducks.

Jungle Walking in Mont'Kiara

Today I spent nearly 3 hours walking through the jungle and I climbed nearly 1200 feet. I walked fast today, fast for jungle trekking that is. But usually I stop at places discovered along the trails to marvel at the beauty of the jungle; the slow moving streams, bamboo groves jutting out of the ground like thick green pipes, rock outcroppings offering comfortable places to sit, wildflowers of every imaginable color, and wildlife (some best seen from a distance). I smelled the new emerging vegetation and the old dead leaves and tree trunks forming carpets along the jungle floor. The pungent odor of latex oozing out of the rubber trees also filled the air in the pockets of old, abandoned rubber estates that I passed through. I saw birds that were bright yellow, birds with long string-like tails, and hornbills. Soaring high above the treetops was an eagle. There were, as usual, scores of monkeys and a couple of cobras. Beehives buzzed in some of the trees and I was careful to gingerly step around them. And the wind whispered and moaned on the hilltops. For nearly 3 hours I walked alone. I didn't see another soul… and I’m glad I didn’t.

I sometimes find things on my walk that I shove in my pocket or pouch to bring home and share with my daughter; unusual seed pods, bugs, interesting flowers. On one walk, I stepped on a small black and white snake. It had a bright red head. I thought it was dead so was getting ready to put it in my pouch to bring home. That snake all of a sudden shot out and slithered in the undergrowth. Curious about it, I came home and did some research. It was called a Malaysian Krait and is more deadly than a cobra. A bite from this snake usually means death. Now I just focus on flowers, leaves and rocks and leave the snakes alone.

We live on a beautiful planet.

Everyone should take a moment to smell the fresh air and look around at the marvels of nature. Take a moment to enjoy living. Stress is self-imposed. Walk away from it for a while and be thankful for the many blessings we sometimes take for granted.

Put on some comfortable shoes and really see the world. It is a beautiful place. And let's all do our part to ensure that we keep it that way for future generations. I know my daughter would appreciate it if we did.

Have a great day and spend a short time being thankful.

Brian

To see pictures of my jungle walk check out the March 2005 archive (http://onefootforwardrepeat.blogspot.com/2005_03_01_archive.html)

Mississippi, Denver, Cut Off... A Little of Everywhere

16 January 2007
560 miles into my walk

What has happened to Mississippi?

Where has all of the time and mileage gone? I’ve really fallen behind in my log book. Maybe I should quit looking at the paving passing under me and make more time to write about this journey. I’m only 50 miles south of Memphis and only wrote about Mississippi once! And it’s a really nice state! It deserved better from me. I think I’ll take some time off in Memphis and catch up on my writings. Maybe take in some good music and compare the Memphis blues with the New Orleans blues (though with the Saints currently in the playoffs, New Orleans ain’t singing no blues right now). GO SAINTS!!! SUPERBOWL, YEAH!!!

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OK… What’s really been going on?

Christmas and New Years Came and Went

We made our annual trip back to Louisiana this year (with a 4 day stop-over in Denver) and really had a good time. It just went by way too fast for my liking (always does). We flew from Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong, Hong Kong to Los Angeles, and Los Angeles to Denver. All told… it took about 25 hours of shuffling through airports and sitting, cramped and butt-numbed on the really 'comfortable', haha, econo-seats of American Airlines.

We arrived in Denver at night, grabbed a car, and headed to our hotel for a good night’s sleep. And we got one too!

I woke up a bit early and went for a fast 30 minute walk along the main commercial drag. My body was not used to the cold weather, but I warmed up quickly. We ate breakfast near the hotel at a great Jewish Deli, Bagel ‘something or the other’, can't remember the name. But I do remember the food. We ate there 3 mornings in a row... mmmmmm.

In Denver we visited the Red Rocks and walked a trail there. Really beautiful country. I ran up and down the amphitheater seating a couple of times and imagined myself singing on stage to the roar of boos and masses of people rushing out of the exits.

We walked downtown along Cherry Creek and watched the suicidal teens skateboarding at one of the country’s biggest skateboard park. After getting good and numb from the cold (and a little blue-tinged), we welcomed the warm relief of a bookstore and big, hot cups of coffee. We also visited the Museum of Modern Art. An ugly, pretentious building in my opinion, but with great exhibits inside. We walked around the Cherry Creek commercial center and visited a bakery that catered to dogs only (cakes sure did look good though). They even had carrot cakes for dogs. And freshly baked cookies. Now I have a poodle and I really like my little dog, BUT, there is something wrong when you can walk into a store, buy clothes for a dog, a dog latte, and a slice of dog cheesecake.

I used the hotel ‘dreadmill’ a few times while my daughter swam in the indoor pool. So far I was keeping up with my walking schedule.

We left Denver Tuesday morning and flew to New Orleans (I missed the Wednesday snow storm by ONE day). My parents were waiting for us at the airport and we quickly drove down Hwy 90 and stopped at Spahrs for their famous catfish chips platter. Traveling half-way around the world just to eat this catfish is worth every butt-numbing minute, believe me ( http://www.wwltv.com/morningnews/spahrs.htm )!!!

We arrived in Cut Off, down on the Bayou, and the eating began. We had stuffed crabs, soft-shelled crabs, fried shrimp, fresh oysters (raw and fried), oyster soup, gumbo, fried fish, boiled crabs, boiled crawfish, deer sausage, and for a more traditional family Christmas meal… Turkey and all the trimmings. For dessert we had lemon meringue pie, key lime pie, lemon ice box pie, black-bottom strawberry cheesecake, and custard tarts. In 10 days we packed in the food. And still my parents couldn’t cook everything they had planned.

How did I fare? I gained 2 lbs and it sure wasn’t muscle. Luckily I kept with my walking program and put in a lot of mileage or I would have easily gained 10+ pounds. One day I even walked down to our family church and back for a total of 13.6 miles (ate more pie that night to celebrate). And the fact that my dad had a dreadmill sure didn’t hurt my walking schedule.

As always, it was sure nice to visit with the family. My brother and his wife and daughter joined us for a couple of days. I was able to visit my sick Aunt and spend the day with her (gave us another excuse to stop at Spahrs for more catfish too). But, as always seems the case, the visit was just not long enough.

We left New Orleans and flew to Dallas, then onward to Los Angeles, Hong Kong and then back to Kuala Lumpur. Coming back always takes longer (headwinds) and after 30 hours I couldn’t wait to start moving again. I think I’ve finally got the coarsely textured airplane seat material removed from my butt and I’ve started my regularly scheduled walking.

Christmas was great this year. Just wish the visits could last longer.

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Hash Run

I participated in my first Hash Run recently. The Hash House Harriers (the original "drinking club with a running problem") is an international drinking/running club founded in 1938 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia by: A.E. Gispert, Cecil Lee, "Horse" Thomson and "Torch" Bennett.

The overriding purpose of the Hash House Harriers is, as written by the original Hash:

1. To promote physical fitness among our members
2. To get rid of weekend hangovers
3. To acquire a good thirst and to satisfy it in beer
4. To persuade the older members that they are not as old as they feel

The template for a Hash Run is for one or a small handful of hashers to lay out a running trail, which may include false trails, and for the rest of the members to try follow the trail to a cache of beer.

A Hash Run usually takes place in the jungle though may follow roads and streets for short distances. Someone will go ahead and mark a 'trail' in advance using small pieces of paper. The trail in most cases is NOT a recognizable trail and may follow near impossible and inaccessible terrains. I found myself clawing through underbrush, climbing hills that are sometimes near vertical, sliding down hills on my butt, sloshing across streams and generally avoiding broken bones and cut limbs. Along the way there are check-points. These checkpoints mean that the trail may take a different course. You have to look within a 100 meter radius of the checkpoint to find the new trailhead (paper slips along the new path). There could also be ‘false’ trails planted for added confusion.

Out of about 100 participants, I finished in the top 10 so I felt a little proud, actually, more than a little (also extremely sore and full of scratches). After the Hash Run everyone proceeds to drink a lot of beer. I ate watermelon and drank water. More refreshing and healthier too. There’s no rule that says you have to get ‘sloshed’. Although there seems to be a rule that goes something like this: If a hash runner turns up with new shoes, before the run one of the shoes is filled with beer and the runner has to drink it while the others sing a song about running, and drinking, and generally having a good time. He then has to run in a beer soaked shoe. I’ll scuff up my future pairs of new shoes before participating in any other Hash Runs. Maybe dishonest, yes? But better than drinking beer out of a running shoe…

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One other note: I have finally broken the 12:00 minute mile walk by walking 3 miles in 36 minutes. That’s one goal accomplished. Something I really didn’t think I could do 6 months ago.

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Well, my next entry should find me in Memphis, well-rested and well on my way toward my goal of reaching the head-waters of the Mississippi River in Minnesota. It has been a cold winter and it has made walking uncomfortable, but I’ll get there, and I’ll hopefully get there by this year… if I survive future Hash runs that is.

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Here's a picture of me before I lost 45 pounds and after I lost 45 pounds. I think I lost 10 lbs just in the face!




Brian