Continuing on the Walk to Rivendell challenge, adding 6 miles that we’ve walked as a family since July. You go slow with a wagon, you know. 
You have walked 37 miles.
You have passed Black Rider Stopping Place.
It is 9 miles to the next landmark.
You have 421 miles to reach Rivendell.
It’s been quite some time since I posted about our family’s walking routine, mainly because we’re getting back into it with minor adjustments. We now have to account for four others who want to sometimes ride/sometimes walk and only one tagalong who is content to stay put in a stroller (that would be Sunshine). Our pace is slower but still a lot of fun. Since the beginning of May we have managed to take several long walks together and I think we are up to about four miles. I am adding these four to our previous total from last year on the Walk to Rivendell challenge.
You have walked 31 miles.
You have passed Black Rider Stopping Place.
It is 15 miles to the next landmark.
You have 427 miles to reach Rivendell.
4.2 miles total since our last update brings us….
You have walked 27 miles.
You have passed Black Rider Stopping Place.
It is 19 miles to the next landmark.
You have 431 miles to reach Rivendell.
At this rate, we should get there by the time Rascal gets his driver’s license, not to mention that black car. Or better still, Trooper will have joined the Park Rangers and will pass us on the walking path while driving the Rangers’ little golf cart patrol “cars.”
3.2 miles total since our last update brings us….
You have walked 22.8 miles.
You have passed Green Hill Country.
It is 4.2 miles to the next landmark.
You have 435.2 miles to reach Rivendell.
This is what my hero has been working on every spare afternoon/evening for two weeks. I should state that it has rained like crazy since we began this project two Saturdays ago, and on the days it didn’t rain Haus Meister was stuck in his windowless office grinding away at a deadline (I love you for it, dearest!). Since this picture was snapped the beams for the swingset have been added coming off the left of the fort. However, it was cloudy by then and I thought this picture in the sunlight made the image even more cheerful.
Trooper and the Rascal adore it. “It’s a vurry nice playground,” Rascal tells us, which is his highest accolade. They run in a constant circle from ladder to slide to ladder to slide… We found the swings from our pre-existing metal swingset will be too short for the new (not-gonna-move-when-you-get-higher-than-two-feet-off-the-ground) set but it was late in the day so we’re going to hold on adding swings for Holy Saturday as an early Easter gift. Besides, it is supposed to rain and get cold for the next several days, so it’ll be hard enough on the boys to have to stay in as it is!
Dinosaur isn’t sure about this thing yet. He categorically refuses to climb the ladder. He’ll stay in the bottom level (a future playhouse for the Princess) and sit on the bottom of the slide.
It’s been a delight watching the boys have so much fun burning off some of their sheer energy. I get rosy visions of all the games they are going to play (until Haus Meister and I asked each other who would be the first kid to use the swingset beam as a tightrope—UGH). The menfolk insist that there will be campouts in the fort. I keep thinking of how Princess will play in her future playhouse…if she turns out to be anything like me, she’s going to spend many childhood summers wishing she could be Laura Ingalls Wilder.
So anyway, our Walk to Rivendell will recommence the next sunny day after this project is finished. Oh, and it is a lot of fun going down the slide (be prepared, Grandpa, they’re going to want you to try it!). I did check to see if the neighbors were watching — pity we worry so fruitlessly about human respect, isn’t it?
We managed the 0.8 mile loop in between rainshowers on Thursday. I want to remember to add this to our next calculation at http://www.barrowdowns.com/walktorivendell.php.
We logged 7 miles today with 0.8 earlier this week, so in addition to our previous total we are now…
You have walked 19.6 miles.
You have passed Green Hill Country.
It is 7.4 miles to the next landmark.
You have 438.4 miles to reach Rivendell.After some time they crossed the Water, west of Hobbiton, by a narrow plank-bridge. The stream was there no more than a winding black ribbon, bordered with leaning alder-trees. A mile or two further south they hastily crossed the great road from the Brandywine Bridge; they were now in the Tookland and bending south-eastwards they made for the Green Hill Country.
You have walked 11.8 miles.
You have passed Last View of Hobbiton.
It is 6.2 miles to the next landmark.
You have 446.2 miles to reach Rivendell.
We’re keeping track of our miles at this site.
Yesterday we logged the 0.8 miles and today we managed a record 6 (+ the 5 prerecorded gives the total above). We unearthed our double jogging stroller so between the stroller and the wagon the kids had a nice ride. Trooper and the Rascal each got out occasionally to walk with us. Yesterday’s route was around our neighborhood while today’s was another section of the Riverpark.
Today we did see some ducks and Canada geese, as well as smaller birds and squirrels. No sign of the amazing aquatic rabbit that disturbed us last Spring by jumping into a marsh when we approached (we thought we caused it to drown itself). We heard a lot of frogs in one part of the marsh as well.
An interesting nature study was also found in a band of fellows–probably from the Society for Creative Anachronism–practicing with swords, shields and armour in a regular picnic spot. We did not stay to observe this phenomenon, however, as I didn’t want the rascals getting any ideas yet.
You have walked 5 miles.
You have passed Bywater.
It is 2 miles to the next landmark.
You have 453 miles to reach Rivendell.
from this site.
Rascal and Dinosaur were on the lookout for ducks and though unsuccessful, had a good time looking. Trooper got to see some large trucks by the Pepsi loading plant (the riverwalk does cross some industrial sectors), and Princess was paid compliments by fellow walkers. A good walk all around!
Today was a fabulous 67F so we packed up kids, stroller and wagon and began this year’s WALK TO RIVENDELL! It follows the principle of choosing a place on the map and ‘walking’ there by tracking your mileage, and being Tolkien fans we decided to do this for kicks. I started the path a few years ago but stopped nearly halfway there due to excessive humidity, laziness, and a debate over the accuracy of pedometers.
Our city has a 13-mile Riverwalk, a beautiful trek of sidewalks and bridges by–heh heh–a river. We often choose to take our walks there. Luckily for my purposes the city chose to put a marker at every half-mile so I can keep count without a pedometer. The bigger boys take turns walking with us or riding in the wagon, so they get both exercise and a ride. 
Anyway, here’s where we are today, having gone 4 miles from “Bag End.”
You have walked 4 miles.
You have passed Bywater.
It is 3 miles to the next landmark.
You have 454 miles to reach Rivendell.
Hopefully we can count bike-rides, otherwise it’s going to take a looong time.
