In Pursuit of a Hike

"Now I see the secret of making the best person, it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth." -Walt Whitman When the forecaster said we would be having more seasonable weather later in the week, meaning full winter gear is on the horizon, we headed for the trails. It may possibly be the last fare-weather hike we take in a while - or maybe not - Missouri weather can be fickle. But any excuse to hike, right?  This is the third time we've been to this location, on the south side of Mark Twain National Forest. We were here first when we were scouting a location for our family pictures. We came back a second time to take our family pictures. It was on that trip that Eli spotted a trail head and we immediately made a mental note to come back. Which brings us today, our third visit.  This is seriously the third abandoned metal frame bridge we've come across in this area, while exploring a new area.  The beautiful view of Cedar Cre...

We are full into our fall schedule now. Lex and Eli have both started soccer which means weeknight practices and Saturday morning games (in different locations). Lex is back into piano which means weeknight lesson and many weekend performances. School is busy both for me and the boys. Committee meetings, lesson plans, and paperwork for me. Curriculum night, packed lunches, permission slips, library books for the boys. You know the deal. It's busy. And I love it. Weekends are great for us because we get to reset as a family. We have lots of downtime, catch up on things at home, and try to get out and do something. Usually hiking. Not always. But usually.  We've hiked so much around here now that we have a menu of trails from which to choose, depending on our mood, our available time, and our energy. We know where to find long trails, short trails, rugged trails, and grassland trails. We know trails with elevation and flat trails. Trails with river views, creek views, and...

Last weekend, we were desperate to get outdoors. Even though we had hiked the weekend before, that had only acted as a teaser and made us want to get out more. We were all in the mood to hike and the boys have never done better. Since the time they have walked, we have had the boys on trails with us. We have had them on steep terrain, in creek beds, grasslands, and wooded trails. But we have always kept the hikes short or at least allowed for some significant break time (aka swimming in the creek) before finishing the hike. But this past week, our boys proved that they are ready for real hiking. After a good mile, the boys insisted that we keep going because they were dying to try out a trail head that broke off the main trail. We ended up going more than 2 miles, including plucking through mud, jumping over creeks, climbing trees (that part was optional, but the boys insisted), and up a steep climb to the top of a bluff. The payoff was amazing. You'll see in a minute. The boys...