Andy Mann's Edward Jones Challenge

About how many miles do the Columbus people trails cover?

The people trails cover over 19 miles right now, but they are always being expanded. Currently, the Columbus Parks and Rec Department maintains the trails and adds things like landscaping and benches. Every year there is a Tour de Trails that raises money for the people trails and gives people a chance to get together and explore the trails. We've done the entire loop once, and picked up about 6 geocaches on the way. We love to take our mountains bikes and go.

Eos Goddess of Dawn

Our favorite sculpture in Columbus is Eos, but she almost had to leave. Thanks to the CYP Amazing Race Team "The Winners," Ryan Lauer and Blair Dugid, their campaign raised over $24,000 of the $35,000 it cost to save her. Eos was created by Dessa Kirk, who modeled the face after her own.

Eos is the goddes of dawn in Greek mythology. The statue is oriented so that is looks like Eos is rising from the Earth along with the sun and floating through the sky. She always stares out to the west, and hopefully she will for many years to come.

Mill Race Tower

This was quite a hike on a hot day, but we had company. The only problem was that we all counted a different number of steps going up, and all of us counted something else again on the way back down. That was definitely unexpected; we are all grown adults with jobs that require us to work with numbers. We will chuck this one up to the heat, but after a "roundtable discussion" and a third party consultant we decided to go with 131 steps if you include the platforms...are we close? Seriously, even the lady at the visitor's center said she wasn't sure, so please let us know what you find out.



The view was great from the top and we even managed to drag the mini-cycle along. There's no way the full size version was getting up these steps.



This tower used to have a fully functional clock with lights that ran all the way up, but maintainence was too much of a hassle. I wonder what it would take to re-fit the tower with some solar panels and LEDs? It would be a pretty cool project.

Seven Wonders of Columbus

July 12th, 2008

We met Team Redbull for a very informative, and hot, tour around downtown Columbus. We were hoping for more company, but it made for a nice small tour of the 7 gems of Columbus:

1) Yellow Neon Chandelier by Dale Chihuly was a glass sculpure commisioned specifically for the visitor's center.

2) Irwin Gardens is one of our favorite places to escape on the weekends. We know several people that have taken their engagement or wedding pictures here. From the secret garden and scholarly busts, to the animal head foutains that trail up a grand staircase, this is an amazing secret right next to the county library.

3) Large Arch by Henry Moore is our very own version of stone henge in front of the library. We got to walk all around it and lightly rap on the bronze for a dull peeling sound. This courtyard is home to the annual Pop Fest, although it was moved because of rain this year. Pop Fest is another one of my favorite festivals in Columbus and the Large Arch stoicly stands watch.

4) Eos by Dessa Kirk is our favorite sculpture in Columbus, even though it is relatively new. Eos is known as the Titan of the dawn in greek mythology, but it's kinda of weird that she faces sunset. I guess she is supposed to appear like she is rising with the sun in the east. Dessa Kirk models her sculptures with her face, so she really does put herself into her work.

5) Mill Race Park has drained and dried out a bit, and it is still as pretty as ever. It's hard to believe that it used to be called Death Valley, but the recent floods were just a reminder. We are looking forward to the Hospice concert this fall and have enjoyed several other events here. This is one of our favorite parts of the the people trails and we even climbed to the top of the tower, but there was some debate over how many steps we took. We also learned something new; next time you're in Mill Race, look closely at the metel roof of the bathrooms. The Men's side is shaped like an "M" and the Women's side is shaped like a "W."

6) Second Street Bridge is huge and anyone that's been to Columbus knows about it. It is a welcoming sight when you head into town and see the courthouse framed in the distance. Nothing compares to cruising on the motorcycle over the bridge on a warm summer night. Both the bridge and courthouse are well lit and give us a warm feeling of being home.

7) Bartholomew County Memorial for Veterans is last but certainly not least. As you approach this monolith, you can see the 25 limestone 4-sided pillars that commemorate the men that have fallen in the 100 years of modern warfare. Their names are etched on the pillars, and as you walk into the heart of the monument, their letters and diary entries are etched as well. It gives us mixed emotions of sorrow and pride. If you come at night, it is well lit and adds even more to the effect.

We enjoyed our tour and learned quite a bit about the surrounding architecture as well as the Seven Wonders of Columbus.

Globe that Floats on Water

July 5th, 2008

Team Abner knew exactly where to look. IUPUC is home to this beautiful fountain and a similar black granite globe is located at Columbia Zoo park near our fair Alma Mater in Lafayette. This sculpture of a globe resting on books overlooks the Duke Energy Sculpture Garden and is an icon for the school's outdoor learning environment. This little corner of Columbus truly creates a sanctuary for higher learning.

This is also where the March of Dimes holds it's annual 5K to fight premature births. Since we first moved to Columbus, we've participated in the March of Dimes Walk America/March for Babies. It is a great place to make new friends, raise money for a good cause, and get some exercise on the people trails.

Even though CYP and the City of Columbus allowed us to ride the motorcyle up the stairs of city hall, it's not always practical to bring her to every location. So we brought out the mini-cycle. Keep an eye out for it as we continue our journey through Bartholomew County.

And They're Off!

Thursday June 26th 5:30 pm we arrived with several other competitors on the steps of City Hall. We didn't just make an entrance, we started the entire pageantry of teams. CYP graciously allowed us to drive right up the steps of city hall and do a couple laps on the lower platform. That alone makes this a memorable first race for us, and gives us bragging rights for years to come.

We're looking forward to networking with people around Columbus, sharing our love of hot peppers and biking, putting in some community service hours, and just exploring our beloved hometown. We've lived in Columbus for four years and have made several friends, but we're always looking for new and exciting experiences and people to share them with; the more the merrier.

We are festival junkies and just spent last night at the 29th POPFEST. Since James works for Salin Bank we always go and help clean up. He is always there sporadically from start to finish. Gina just wishes she could compete in the logo design competition. Things like this are what Columbus is all about. We even saw our friend Jimmy Baker there.

(Here's an inside tip to all the other teams) Jimmy Baker probably knows more about all of Columbus than anyone else we know. He has been EVERYWHERE and is helping out at every event we've been to. He was even nice enough to take our team picture, as well as one of himself. Thank you Jimmy!