Fire setters! Inspector Gadget Saves the Econ.

Another sunny Sunday at the Econ. 

While we were riding, trees were falling and fires were being set.

Northstar, Tomcat, and Inspector Gadget all prefer the west trailhead.  Fine with us.  Popeye and I always welcome a little extra mileage.

IG is late, but for the rest of us it's a quick 2 miles down the multi-use Flagler Trail to the bike trails along the river.  First stop, the Gator Pond.  No gators in sight, just one brave heron.  No snap of jaws, no squawk, no splash, at least while we are watching.  But I am convinced, if Big Bird stays put long enough, it will happen!

We swoop through our favorite and familiar loops, and head back for our reward.  As if the sunny day isn't reward enough, we get to eat too!

But on the way back out, the Flagler Trail is chopped up and lumpy.  Horses. 

We come up behind 5 riders, and they tell us to go ahead without pulling their horses off the trail.  "The Paint is the only one that's skittish," the last girl in line says looking down at us from the saddle.  She seems a long way up. 

I am never happy being that near the back hooves of a stange horse, especially when my pony is made of weird smelling aluminum.  I try my best to act like a human and not a cougar.  I stay on trail and keep talking in a normal voice.  Popeye doesn't stop to take a photo and I don't blame him!

The next obstacle is a good sized tree down across the trail, which had to have fallen since we came in 2 hours earlier.  We lift the bikes over and ride on. 

And there is Inspector Gadget waiting at the parking lot, flying a kite. 

Okay.

On to dinner, where the Inspector tells his story.  Broken spokes early on turned him around.  In the distance he said he saw "dust" rising from the trail ahead. 

We all assumed he had seen the tree immediately after it's fall.  But no, what he saw was 2 adult men running away from a fire they had set on the trail! 

He stopped to stomp out the fire, and then tried to follow them, but came out into a nearby suburban development, the firestarters long gone. 

Thank you, Inspector Gadget!  It's dry as heck in there.  You probably saved a big chunk of our favorite state forest!  I think we all owe you a dinner!