2011 Inaugural Sunday Night Bikeride

During the Spring, Summer, and Fall, Nick and I try to go on a bikeride on Sunday nights.  It's a nice way to clear our minds before the start of the work week.  Most often, we go across the street to Tyler State Park, which is where we went tonight.  Today we got out a little later than we wanted, so we had to cut the bikeride short a bit because we were losing sunlight.  I can't wait until Daylight Savings Starts in a few weeks!

At some point during the ride, we usually sit by one of the dams for a couple of minutes.  It's pretty much the main gathering place in the park.  You can rent canoes here in the summer.  There are grills and picnic tables, a giant open fireplace where you can roast marshmallows, and rocks for kids and dogs to climb on and splash in the water.

Right by the bridge that crosses over the creek, we saw a sign that told us that Pennsylvania won Best State Parks in the Nation for 2011!  How exciting!

We definitely want to check out some other PA State Parks this year.  During our ride, we saw some nice end-of-winter views.  I am a sucker for a tree silhouette.

I couldn't resist climbing down a few hills to take some shots and saw this awesome rock formation.

::Warning: You are about to see pictures of a deer carcass.  They're pretty much fur and bone, but if you don't want to see it, I suggest you stop reading!::

On the ride over to the park, we cut through a middle school parking lot to pick up with the trail that leads into the park.  Nick spotted a complete deer carcass on the side of the road and we went to investigate.

This is exactly how we found the scene.  At least the deer died doing what he loved!  HA!  I'm assuming that some kids were playing with the football and once they realized where it landed, they decided to cut their loses.  It's so perfectly placed! 

Anyway, this deer fascinated me.  It appeared to have been moved about 10 feet from the original spot where it decayed.  I'm really hoping that an animal and not a human moved it.  Aside from a few ribs that we found away from the body, the deer appears to be intact.

Check out the head.  Is it creepy that I think it looks awesome with the eyes gone and the face is still in one piece?  He also has very few teeth.  Do deer not have teeth?  I'm assuming that some of his top front teeth are missing because he has bottom front teeth.  Otherwise, he only has back molars.

Inexplicably, one leg and hoof appeared to be untouched.  How did this happen?

We stood around this guy for a good ten minutes investigating everything.  Don't worry, we didn't touch anything and we kept our distance! 

Between the deer and the neato rock formations, we had quite an exciting bikeride!  And I got to ring my awesome bell that Nick got me for my birthday last year!  You twist the side and the gears move the ringer inside.  It's so fun!

I finished knitting another piece for my blanket, so check back for some pictures this week.  For now, I'm going to get set up on the couch with a fresh skein and watch the Oscars.  Will you be watching too?