Pickle Springs Natural Area

After hiking Elephant rocks and eating our lunch in Farmington, we were ready for Pickle Springs.  A park brochure describes it as "a trail approximately 2 miles long and will take you several hours to hike at a leisurely pace...moderately difficult with some short segments of steep grades".  It is important to take it slow, if for no other reason then to appreciate the beauty of its canyons, ravines, waterfalls and tall sandstone bluffs.

First natural area which we came to is called The Slot.  It began forming when shifts in the earth's crust caused vertical fractures in the limestone. 

The walls of this ravine are peppered with strange holes, pockets and ridges, and is constantly being eroded by freezing and thawing.

Amanda, our son Dan's wife is showing the double arch in the picture above.  It is one of the more fascinating features of the park.The buttress arch supports three huge rocks, two of which form another smaller arch.

Pictured above is the Keyhole, another type of arch, formed by two very large rocks leaning against each other.

And above we have the Terrapin Rock.  Surely you can see what looks like a turtle head in the picture above?  From here the trail slopes downward into the Pickle Creek area.

 

It was a bright sunny day, but some how my camera did a poor job in picking up the colors around the creek and small waterfalls of Pickle Creek.  In this area the vegetation was quite lush with moss and ferns, shades of green strikingly beautiful against the rock walls of Spirit and Rockpile Canyon.

Some of our hiking group (nieces Rebecca and Elizabeth) joined us for this hike on Tuesday afternoon. They are pictured standing on Dome Rock Overlook, one of the largest hoodoo complex in this natural area.  I certainly hope by now I have piqued your interest to visit what we consider one of the more beautiful parks in Missouri!

Elephant Rocks State Park

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving here in St.Louis!  Our son Daniel and his wife Amanda flew into St.Louis Monday evening, and our oldest son Mike flew in from San Diego on Wednesday.  It pays to have roots when we want to host family!  Our last home on wheels never could fit in that many people comfortably.  Or even serve a Thanksgiving meal for a dozen people.

Our son Dan requested that we take a trip to Farmington to visit extended family, and while there to do some hiking.  His wife Amanda had not seen southeastern Missouri and he was desirous to show it to her.  We chose Elephant Rocks and Pickle Springs.  The picture above gives you an idea of Elephant Rocks- big boulders of granite lying around.  It was a cool overcast day- perfect for hiking.

The landform is called a "tor", described by the park's brochure as a pile of weathered residual granite rock boulders sitting atop bedrock mass of the same rock.  And, as you may notice in the picture above, those giant boulders in the park are standing end-to-end like a giant train of circus elephants.

I am not sure that the biggest one is pictured above, but the largest one is 27 feet tall,has a length of 34 feet and weights 680 tons.

This park not only attracts geologists, but also history buffs interested in the quarry activity in the area.  Pictured above are the ruins of a 1890s engine house which serviced trains for the Sheahan Quarries private railroad.  By 1902 railroad cars were being operated regularly, shipping red Missouri granite throughout the country.  Other nearby quarries furnished finished facing stone for the Eads Bridge piers in St.Louis as well as stone for Anheuser Busch brewery, and the turned columns on the front porch of the Governor's mansion in Jefferson City.

And the giant boulders are just plain fun to walk around, between, and under and over- for children and adults.  It may just happen too, if you get to wandering a lot and not paying attention to where you are, that the only way to return to the main trail is through what is known as "fat man's squeeze"!

My next posting will be regarding our hike in Pickle Springs- another beautiful park in southeastern Missouri.

Autumn in the Midwest

As I write this we are recovering from our first snowfall for the season- about 6 inches this past Thursday.  What a shock for us two snowbirds trying to adjust to settling down here in the Midwest!  Fortunately  I had just bought the grandchildren their boots the day before, but Nathan still lacked waterproof snow pants, as you can see in the picture below.

It took a few big safety pins to keep his mom's pants on him!   The snowfall was certainly a novel experience for the two children.  Nathan loved sledding down the hill behind our apartment, Clarissa kept squishing the snow between her mittens as if it were some strange substance.  Nathan scooped up some of the cold stuff to taste it (I did warn him not to put yellow snow in his mouth).

We were treated to some spectacular autumn color when the leaves turned, it was a bit late in coming and seemed to last only two weeks- but we were grateful for that as we had missed seeing the leaves turning during our traveling years. 
Our daughter Melissa was determined that her children get to experience all the events of fall; as apple picking, and visiting a pumpkin patch.  We even managed to get in a hay ride, complete with a bonfire and smores in local county park.  That was a very cold evening!  My wardrobe is still not ready for a Midwest winter.

Halloween was a cool damp day.  Our daughter Melissa had to switch Clarissa's fairy dress to a fish costume so she could be dressed warmer.  In the picture above Melissa is putting the finishing touches on Nathan's Captain Barnacle's outfit.  For those of you without preschoolers, Captain Barnacles is part of the Octonaut crew.  The Octonauts "explore, rescue and protect"  our seas.
For Christmas John and I are planning on fleeing the Midwest for Florida, after that first snowfall we suddenly got the urge to drive south, at least for a little while.

Ozark National Scenic Riverways

We had just gotten through a rainy cool weekend when we realized that a couple nice warmer days were ahead of us.  On Tuesday morning John suddenly commented that we should leave that day to finish our trip down into southern Missouri.  That sounded like a good idea to me and we suddenly left the breakfast table, packed and headed out the door.  Never, in all our married years had we been that spontaneous.   We may not be in our mobile home any more, but we still have the yen to travel!
Also, now that we are living in the Midwest,  we have a different appreciation of the seasons- it is not sunny and warm up here year around as in Florida!

Our first stop that afternoon was Big Springs.  A sign in the park noted that it averages a daily flow of 288 million gallons- which would fill up Busch Stadium in 33 hours.  It, as well as the other two springs we were planning on visiting, is part of the Ozark National Riverways.  In the 1950s and 1960 America was into damming up its rivers for hydroelectric power.  Concerned citizens in Missouri  fought to keep the Current and Jack Forks Rivers open and free-flowing.  A bill was introduced in Congress and the first national river based park (the Ozark National Scenic Riverways) was opened in 1964.

Pictured above is Alley Springs, located on the Jack Forks River.  The mill located there was a grist mill in 1868, and a steel roller mill (powered by a turbine) in 1894.

Round Springs is on the Current River- by the way, that river is the most spring-fed river in the Ozarks and can be floated any time of the year.

John and I have seen many of Missouri's springs over the years and have floated a few times on the rivers.  Our main goal for this trip was to see Echo Bluff  State Park, located near Eminence Missouri.  A new lodge was built in the park two years ago, and we had planned to stay there Tuesday night.  Surely there was no need to make reservations for a night in the beginning of the week- but we were so wrong, it was filled up.  Maybe that was because it was a new lodge, or that families were vacationing for fall school breaks.  Could have also been that people were in the Ozarks for the fall colors.  It so happens that fall is slow this year, here in St.Louis we are just starting to see the leaves change into beautiful hues of red, yellow and orange.

We spent Tuesday night in a motel in Eminence- at about a quarter of the cost we would have paid at the park.  Echo Bluff's famous feature is a large sheer bluff located right outside of the lodge.  Also in this park is Sinking Creek, a crystal clear stream which feeds into the Current River.  The creek seems to sink into a hill as it flows into a tunnel at the base of the hill.  After hiking the Current River Trail (which has sections in both the Current River State Park as well as Echo Bluff State park) we head back north to St. Louis.  We may miss warm and sunny Florida, but the rolling hills and beauty of the Ozarks still makes it a place near and dear to our hearts!

Saxon Lutheran Memorial

John and I had planned one trip down to southwestern Missouri, but cold and wet weather changed our plans.  We decided to try for two different forays into that area, with the first being last Saturday when the Saxon Memorial was having its fall festival.  Many years ago we had been to that festival and I still remember the large kettles of apple butter which were cooked on outside fires.

Summer flowers are still blooming!  In the distance is the Fenwick Cabin built in the late 1700s.  The memorial features four log homes, including a two story cabin and a double one.  They were moved from other areas of Perry County.  Joseph Fenwick had 10 children and numerous slaves.  We were able to tour the two story cabin and I was quite impressed with the antique bed pictured below.

In the Hamilton-Goehring cabin we watched a lady weaving rugs on a loom which had been in her family for 200 years.  She thinks that she will be one of the last of her family members using the loom.  The cabin was once located on the western part of the 660 acres of the Wittenberg tract of land purchased by the Saxons.  Goehring obtained his land in 1839.

Perhaps I need to explain further the Saxon immigration from Germany.  In 1839 some 700 Lutherans came from Saxony to American in search of a haven for their beliefs.  Some stayed in St.Louis, others traveled down the Mississippi River and established seven settlements in what is now Perry County.  On the Memorial grounds is a statue of Carl Walther, born in 1811 and arrived with the Saxons in 1939.  He organized and founded the Lutheran Church in America- becoming known as "the American Luther".

 

It was a very cool damp day, we dashed into the visitor center/museum a couple of times to warm up.  However, everything was so interesting- from the cabins and artifacts to the crafters and artisans that we quickly forgot our discomfort.  And we were able to ride in a surrey with a fringe on the top through the corn fields!  Amazingly it was a comfortable ride despite the bumpy field under us.

Farmers from the surrounding areas loaned their draft horses for the day to pull the surrey as well as an old farm wagon.  Apple butter was being cooked in a large kettle, we purchased a quart of that as well as Missouri maple syrup before heading home.

Gateway Arch National Park

A funny thing happened on the way to the arch from our home.  My husband John got off highway 64 and could not find the arch!  My sister Linda (from Atlanta) was his copilot, I was sound asleep in the backseat.  John ignored the signs for downtown and thought there would be one specific for the arch, and doing so missing the exit which would get him to the arch.   My sister feels very certain that there is no highway exit signs for the arch grounds.  Yes, I know, the arch is big enough that you can not miss it.  And we did get there fairly easily once we got off the highway.

It was an overcast day, just great for walking around a park where there is no trees and little hope of finding shade.  We had not been here for at least 20 years.  There was a grand opening of the park this past summer- it was built between 1963 and 1964, but major changes were made to the grounds and entrance to the museum in the past two years.   I thought that those changes would mean shaded walkways, benches and picnic tables.  Boy was I wrong, and we had packed a picnic lunch.

 

  We parked in a garage north of the arch down by the river (quite fortunate at finding that place, our daughter parked west of the arch and paid double the amount we paid).  Anyway, as we walked toward the arch along the river we did come upon some picnic tables.belonging to various food carts which were not open for business the day we were there.  Pictured above is a view of the Mississippi River from the arch steps.  By the way, the riverfront is part of the national park.

Paved paths took us over a large grassy area to the entrance of the underground museum- I was intrigued- not a park bench in sight.  If one got exhausted climbing the many steps up from the river and then hiking across the arch grounds, there would be no place to rest!  Or else, to avoid that,  pay for a more expensive parking garage close to the entrance of the underground visitor center and museum.  Pictured above is the Old Courthouse, which is also part of the national park.

Above John is looking at decals which has recently been placed at the entrance to the arch by the Maplewood artist Margaret Keller.  It is a temporary exhibit.  Her artistic work represents 735 navigable miles of the Missouri River from St.Louis to Sioux City, Iowa.  The river is the longest in North America.

 

The new entrance into the visitor center and museum is quite impressive.  Coming down the escalators we saw a large map of the United States with all the major rivers shown.  It brought back many pleasant memories of the rivers we have crossed while traveling in the past ten years- the Ohio River, Mississippi, Missouri, Columbia, Colorado, Brazos and Rio Grande- to mention but a few.
Despite the cloudy, warm day there were many visitors to the arch, and the lines were long for the tram ride to the top.  Changes that have been made to the museum and grounds are good and long over-due.  I still think, however, that the grounds are a bit austere.

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Grant's Farm and Other Touring at our old Haunts

This summer has certainly flown.  John and I have been busy not only helping our daughter and her husband get settled in their home, but we also have set up housekeeping in an apartment near our daughter.  Our mobile home is currently in storage.  I  would love to spend the winter in it in Florida, however John feels that it would be too much work to move back into it.  That issue is as yet unresolved.  For now I am quite happy to have roots once again.
Our granddaughter has turned two years of age.  Family came in for the occasion, and I must say she was a bit over-whelmed by her whole birthday party.  At two years of age little tots just do not get the birthday celebration activities.  However, a pretty pink car and a cupcake almost put a smile on her face!

Two days after her birthday we went to Grant's Farm.

Who is not familiar with that beer king's logo?  President Grant once owned the property on which most of Grant's Farm now sits.  It was known back then as White Haven.  August A. Bush purchased it in 1903, and opened it to the public in 1954.  It then became an exotic wildlife park as well as home for the famous Clydesdale horses.  Talk about exotic animals, checkout the Silver Laced Crested chicken pictured below.

That is one strange creature!  We went to this park on Labor Day, it was quite a warm day but we made it there by mid-morning when it was still comfortable in the shade.  We immediately took the tram ride through part of the park where foot traffic is prohibited.  Already that early in the day the elk were seeking a cool spot in a small lake.

A couple of weeks after that excursion we made it to an apple orchard, we just had to do that for our grandchildren.  It is always exciting for the younger set to ride a farm wagon and pick apples.
John and I also made a trip last week to Farmington for a visit to his sister.  While there I decided that John and I needed to take a hike- never mind the very warm and humid weather.  Pickle Springs Natural Area has always been a favorite place of ours for hiking and is not far from Farmington.  It has been designated a "National Natural Landmark", and is noted for its unique rock formations, shallow caves, bluff overlooks and one seasonal waterfall.  It seemed to have changed since we were there last, parts of the trail have since been  eroded.  And this time that we had to do a bit more rock scrambling, and frequently stumbled over exposed tree roots.  The whole trail is only about 2 miles and in the past seemed very easy- not the day we were there!  I really think the hot weather had something to do with the fact that the trail seemed long and difficult.  I still would  say that it is a very beautiful park and well worth the effort for everyone to discover it for themselves!

Missouri Botanical Gardens

When my sister Julia suggested the gardens as a place to take my grandchildren I at first thought that was a crazy idea.  But she reminded me that there was a splash park for the children as well as a great playground for them.

Nathan and Clarissa are certainly Florida raised children.  They are usually fairly cooperative with hats and sunglasses, at least for awhile.  It was a pretty warm day the time we were there.  It seemed as though the weather is not much different than the weather we had experienced in Florida.

Every season in the garden seems to have its own beauty, and this Saturday in July proved that to be true again.  The water lilies were all in bloom.  Nathan excitedly pointed out every blooming pant to his Nana and then demanded that the sign next to the plant be read so he could learn the name of said plant.  That got a bit tiresome after awhile.  We did not make it through the whole park by any means.  We thought the Climatron would spark their interest, but Claire got especially fussy there.   So what a pleasant surprise that, upon exiting the tropical rain forest, we found ourselves in a room designed with children in mind.

It was while they were playing that I roamed the room and found an interesting botanical display.

Pictured above is the whistling thorn acacia tree, the thorns of which contain stinging ants.  The ants swarm over the tree when they feel the tree is being attacked. The tree can be found on the Serengeti plains.  Even at my advancing years I continue to be fascinated and in awe of nature!

We were able to move the children from that playroom with the promise of a playground and splash park.  And that was about our day in the gardens.  We may come back another day with the little ones and still have a lot to show them, including the children's garden.  So if your are looking for something to do on a hot summer day with your children, consider the botanical gardens here in St.Louis- it is sure to be a winner for all!

A Trip To Michigan

Yes, we had just made the trip from Florida to Missouri and now we were on the road again a week later.  There was to be the 65th reunion of the Hensler clan in Freeland Michigan (always held the second week-end in July) , and seven of my siblings had plans to attend.  It seemed to be an important trip to make.

On Saturday there was a gathering of just the Hensler cousins at the old family homestead and farm.  I did write of this place when we were there about seven years ago.  Two Hensler families still own and live on this land- but not much going on anymore as far as our family farming the land because renters are now doing that.  There are a few cows in the barn.  It would be nice to keep this farm in the family as it has passed the century mark and holds many memories for all of us.  In the picture  above is the old homestead,  where my mom was born.  A total of 11 children were raised here.  There are 50 first cousins and about one-half that number gathered at the farm Friday evening.  A few more showed up for the main event on Sunday, at which one hundred and sixty-five attended.  Hard to believe that some of us first cousins now have great grandchildren!

A trip to visit family in Michigan always includes a trip to Frankenmuth, a town which still today celebrates its German heritage.  John and I, together with all my siblings, ate at the Bavarian Inn restaurant for lunch on Saturday.  A roaming musician dressed in lederhosen certainly contributed to the German ambience of  the restaurant.  And on the walls are displayed the coat of arms of many of the original families from the area, one of which we found belonging to our mom's side of the family- our Rau heritage.

Saturday afternoon we visited the Saginaw History Museum, which use to be the old post office built in 1897.  John and I have visited this place in the past and enjoyed it because the history displayed there has a lot to do with my Mom's history before she married our Dad.  As a young adult she had worked at Lufkin Rule Company, which was founded in 1892 back in the day when Saginaw was a booming lumber town.  The company manufactured steel, wood, and cloth rulers and tape measures. . Also on display in the museum is  information concerning the Herzog Art Furniture company founded in 1899- the Herzogs are part of Mom's family.

Pictured above is the Bavarian Inn and Cass River which runs through Frankenmuth.  The weather was perfect for our week-end of outdoor activities, a nice break from the 90 degree temperatures which we had experienced both in Tampa and St.Louis.

Traveling with Young Children

We moved our home on wheels on June 22 and drove northward.  Or I should say that John accomplished that on his own for this journey.  I helped my daughter finish up with last minute packing- finally emptying their rental home of last minute items which either needed to go in her van or be pitched.  It was not until about 6PM that we (my daughter and I) headed north for St.Louis, with a very loaded car and children aboard. 
I had expected the worse traveling with a twenty-month girl and a four-year old boy.  The first two days of the trip went well- they were contended playing with toys, paging through books and just looking out the window.  Nathan is trying to understand the concept of states. On the last day of the trip he wondered if we had left "Tuckys" yet ( we understood that as Kentucky).
Two hundred and fifty miles a day was about all they could take.  Evenings and nights were all right with them staying in our rv.  Everything was even better when there was hope for a  pool at the end of a day.  A visit in Atlanta with family also helped the children cope with everything.
But it was on Monday, the last leg of our journey, that we entered into crisis mode.  We were about fifteen miles outside of Belleville, Illinois.  A fly had the audacity to land on the baby's leg!  Now first of all recognize that she has a bad skin reaction to a variety of insect bites,  I am referring here to big red welts, so it is very appropriate for her to react hysterically when any flying creature approaches her.  I quickly unbuckled myself from my seat belt and turned around to comfort her, soon discovering that I had to almost completely throw myself over her body to protect her.  I saw the fly about a couple of feet away but could not reach that far to swat it.  No implement near me to swat it with!  I hung over her for fifteen miles, until we reached Target.  Getting out of the car we opened doors hoping that the offending fly had the sense to get out.  Melissa had an appointment in St. Louis in a couple of hours so we did have some time to kill.  We wandered around the store and Clarissa happily forgot her crisis- a pretty hat helped also.  We bought a black fly swatter.
However,  getting back in the car, Clarissa espied a fly -was it the same one, probably not-thought that one had flown out!  Nathan swung the fly swatter, nearly hitting his sister.  That caused more tears.
We entered downtown St.Louis with me hanging over the baby- I soon learned that she was happiest when I kept my hands over her eyes.  I tried to describe to Nathan all the exciting sights of St.Louis as we entered it on Highway 64-40- like the Arch and Cardinal Stadium.  However, all my joy at seeing everything again was marred by trying to comfort a screaming little girl.  We stopped at Ted Drewes, but happiness there was short-lived for Clarissa.  She was still hysterical.  We stopped at St.Francis park in south St.Louis where Melissa left us for her appointment to complete final papers for the house they were buying.  Clarissa forgot her woes and happily climbed around on the playground with her brother.
However, getting back in the car, there it was again- The Fly.  Fortunately we did not have far to go for our final destination.
John and I are now settled in our usual rv park in St.Charles.  Future plans for traveling are now on hold until our daughter, husband and child get fully moved into their new home.  I am hoping to find an apartment and finally have a permanent place to live- John would like to keep traveling, but he is starting to think that my plan is not so bad after all.  We shall see...

Busch Gardens

It seems I should have done some research on the gardens before we even went there!  I have since learned that the 335 acre park is African-themed.  Sections of it include the Congo, Nairobi, Jungala, Stanleyville, Edge of Africa, and Serengeti Plain.  We initially took the park's train, which enabled us to see a bit of the latter.

We probably could have seen more of the Serengeti had we chosen to pay the extra fee for a safari ride, but we were quite satisfied with the number of animals we saw from the train.  There were zebras, rhinoceri, a variety of deer and antelope, and birds.  I wrote in the last posting that it seemed to us that there were not many animals in the park, but in reality there are more than 2,700!  We probably needed another day in the park to have seen more than we did.

We found a bit of the exotic in the park at a section called Pantopia.  Originally this area of the park was called "The Dark Continent", then Timbukta in 1980.  It was later called Pantopia after the malls
and bazaars of  Africa.
Several rides were enjoyed by our daughter Melissa and husband Spencer.  Nathan, our four-year old grandson, enjoyed the Stanley Falls Flume- even though he got soaking wet!

The best part of the park for our young children was Sesame Street, where they were able to explore a variety of playground activities.  A large enclosed trampoline area was a big hit with them.

Some of the botanical offerings of the park were fascinating for me.  Fortunately they have identifying signs located near them.  Pictured above is the acacia tree, found in the lowlands of Africa.  It is a fast-growing tree with smooth bark and 3-inch thorns- once thought to cause sleeping sickness.

And of course, as in most parks of Florida because of the tropical-like climate, I found a beautiful displays of orchids. 
For our supper we ate at the Zambia Smokehouse, not very good food as we had expected.  Our dining pleasure was ruined by the noise of the Sheikra Skyride which towered above our table.  As I said in my last posting, it seems that Busch Gardens is for the younger generation.