In Which Butterflies Don’t Appear and Appear

Grant Wood Trail on sunny, warm Iowa day.

American flags at the edge of a lawn in Marion, Iowa.

Grant Wood Trail has two segments, that don't meet. Ride for a short distance on this gravel road was part of the experience today.

One app says it was 32, the other 33. I’ll go with 33.

Anyway, yesterday we came home from picking up some grandchildren, and while they were piling out of the van, we were watching a butterfly in the front garden. A pretty monarch was drinking at the butterfly flowers there.

I couldn’t see clearly if it was male or female, but I didn’t see any rear wing spots, so I will call it she. She left before I could make her image.

Well, my sister had done a tour de Marion the other day, and lost her flag, so today I was flag hunting. In addition, I took the good camera, hoping to get some summer flower and critter images on this muggy, warm Iowa July day.

I took two water bottles, and am glad I did. I was moving a bit quicker because I was riding the road bike—not quite Cate speed, but my sister is a young, fast trike rider. But at least I was on Argent, and although my GPS systems don’t agree, one said I averaged over 10 mph on the ride today.

I rode down the Boyson Trail and across Marion to the Grant Wood Trail. Sorry, sis, but along the way I did not spy any trike flag on the side of the road. When I got past Highway 13, were you leave the city and enter the county, I noted some puddles in a gravel parking lot beside the trail. Some butterflies were enjoying the rocky water for hydration and minerals, and although it wasn’t exactly the flower show on my butterfly flowers I was hoping to get, I made some images of a butterfly there.

Monarch in gravel parking lot at trailhead at the edge of Marion on Grant Wood Trail.

Argent, my road bike, parked by Grant Wood Trail as I make images.

Flowers by Grant Wood Trail trailhead parking lot.

Butterfly on queen anne's lace flower.

I circled the pond at Waldo’s Rock Park, and shot an image of an angry blackbird there. On the return journey later, I was again squawked at by another blackbird, and watch one chase of an egret who was trying to land in the pond and was made to regret that choice. Keep that in mind if you want to bike or walk about Waldo’s Rock pond—the birds there are ornery, so I think a hat is a good idea. My experience is that blackbirds may sometimes actually try to claw you in the head if they get riled up enough, and this seems to be home to a rambunctious avian community—but they don’t represent a serious threat and a hat seems to provide enough protection.

Anyway, I’ve jumped ahead. Maybe the heat of the day had an impact on my brain.

I rode on. When I was passing a patch of thistles, I saw another monarch, enjoying those large flowers. It was a bit skittish, but I managed to make some images there, so chasing the bright elusive butterfly of biking worked out.

Thistle by Grant Wood Trail. Spiky plant you do not want in your yard, but pretty flowers.

Here and below, monarch butterfly on thistle flower by Grant Wood Trail.

After the photo shoot, I again rode on. I was not upset at taking a few breaks on this very warm ride that had started around 10 a.m.

The narrow tyres of Argent didn’t appreciate the limestone surface beyond Waldo’s Rock, but it was OK to ride on. As I headed east, I was growing more curious about the leg of the trail beyond the T intersection that the limestone trail ends at, so when I got there, I continued on a gravel road to the county highway that leads to the next leg.

Grassy end of Grant Wood Trail. Did not go far, will have to save this section for mountain bike.

Bike parked on Grassy segment of Grant Wood Trail.

Grant Wood Trail.

I go to the grassy trail, but after a few yards, quickly decided it would be a trail to try with the Fancy Beast, my road bike, which is still in the shop awaiting shipment of a new rear wheel.

I took a short break, and accidentally met Monica, a friendly large dog who was with her owner and came over to say hi.

I then headed west, back to town. I stopped again at Waldo’s Rock to eat a snack and reapply sunscreen and bug spray. I then rode across Marion to the Boyson Trail, and took on more water at a park restroom along the trail.

Waldo's Rock Park, I stop and shoot images of some angry blackbirds who do not appreciate my company.

Blackbird chases egret away from pond at Waldo's Rock Park.

Hornet seen at Waldo's Rock Park.

I had another goal in mind, besides the butterfly images. Catalpa trees bloom in June in Iowa, and what with one thing an another, I have not made images of their pretty flowers. But I knew that at the end of Boyson Road, on 10th Street, there was a late blooming tree whose flowers have not yet all faded, and I headed over there just to capture some images.

Catalpa tree, here and below, on 10th Street, seen on today's tour de Marion.

I then headed up to Tower Terrace Road and out to the Lowe Park Trail. I headed to Echo Hill, and was going to continue past the trail and past the new school being built there to try to find the bike route that leads to the Marion corn sculpture—I thought that would be another bookend for the tour de Marion.

But it was getting past 1 p.m. and the hottest part of the day was upon me. I was fading, and decided a ride of over 30 miles was enough for today, specially since I was feeling too under the weather to ride Thursday.

So I headed back towards home. I used the short side trail that leads to the neighborhood you can ride to in order to get to the paved led of the Lindale Trail, and then headed home from there.

It was a good ride, all in all. I hope to get out much earlier tomorrow morning and get in more miles than today. One these warm summer days, an early start is key!