I wasn’t sure I was convinced when my dashboard insisted it was 70 degrees as I pulled into the Creve Couer parking lot.
The sun had been shifting in and out of the clouds all morning, and the winds were cool. After tugging my bike out of the back of the truck, though, I tossed my jacket back in the cab.
It was beautifully warm and peaceful pedaling around the lake. There were only a handful of other riders and strollers enjoying the afternoon.
The leaves are tumbling now,
scattering across the trails
and floating along the edges of the stream.
The waterfall trickles in a sudden burst of sunshine and the golden glow of the trees.
September morning, finally edging cooler; I thought the garden would be mostly deserted. I wanted to play with my new camera lens without bothering anyone, and experiment with settings and ideas from a recent class.
Deserted it was not. I got the first hint when I pulled into the already bustling parking lot. It looked a little overwhelming with huge trucks and barriers for the new visitor’s center construction, but it was actually well marked and I easily found my way inside.
Although there were more people than I expected on a Thursday morning, there still seemed to plenty of space to set up and experiment. I tried to be aware of anyone wanting to pass and wave them through. I take a lot of time fiddling with buttons, and I didn’t want anyone to feel obligated to wait on me. Often, I could find places slightly off the path where everyone had room to pass.
There were lots of “cool lens” comments, which were an easy response. More difficult, were those who were far more experienced photographers and wanted to have an intelligent conversation about it. I have no intelligence to offer! It was fun to get a few suggestions though, from those who stayed to talk after I explained I was just learning.
The scattered sculptures and fountains were fun. I don’t know that I’d ever noticed them particularly before.
Origami in the Garden is a temporary exhibit though October 10th, of eighteen origami inspired sculptures throughout the park. They’re a little large to capture with the telephoto lens, but it was lots of fun to try. They’re huge, but amazingly detailed.
I wondered were the bulbs had gone! They’re probably one of the features I’m most aware of in the park, and I was glad to discover them again in Carver garden.
Summer’s last blooms still linger throughout the garden. They brush off the short-lived cool morning breeze, and sway confidently in the warming sun.
Summer stills clings tight, even as it’s grasp slips away. The animals are lethargic in the afternoon heat. The paths are quiet, loosely scattered with few toddlers in strollers, homeschool families, and ambling adults.
Cypress swamp, the old 1904 World’s Fair flight cage, is as hushed as a natural swamp. The soft splash and rustle of the birds themselves, seemed muffled against the thick trees. Only the little duck seems to make much noise, insulted by the attention paid to the showier birds.
Under much better care than the ones on my deck, the summer flowers are still thick and bright. They usher out the glowering heat in a final burst of brilliant color.
The northern trailhead of the Madison County Transit Confluence Trail opens just under the beautiful Clark Bridge in Alton, Illinois.
After a quick climb to the top of the levy, it runs along a mostly level trail parallel to the river and the highway.
Modern traffic and timeless riverways converge on the early miles of the trail. It’s not quiet. The sites and sounds of the highway are a continuous backdrop to the historical sites and river views for the first several miles.
Access trails lead off to multiple sites worthy of their own visits; the National Great Rivers Museum and the Price Locks and Dam,
the Confluence tower, with its viewing platforms, picnic areas, and native plant gardens;
and the Lewis and Clark State Historic Site and reconstructed Dubois Camp.
Shortly past the tower, the trail curves off into a quiet meadow behind the Lewis and Clark site, packed with summer wildflowers.
A gravel trail and rapidly deflating rear tire end my ramble today, but I’ll definitely be back to explore the museums and cross the levee trail.
Schoolhouse trail is a 15 mile section of the multi trail Madison County transit trail system, in southwestern Illinois.
Early on, it feels more rural than it really has a right to, running in tandem with busy State Highway 203.
It’s bounded on both sides by trumpet flower vines before it flows into thick woodlands.
Birds and insects call and hum, just beneath the roar of the traffic and the thump and rattle of industrial plants.
Four miles in, it winds along beautiful Horseshoe Lake State Park.
Then it crosses the highway and transitions to quiet open farmland and through the bustling outskirts of Collinsville.
Collinsville is busy and crowded, but the trail remains completely off the road, except for quick, well-marked crossings.
It drops past town, into a thickly wooded neighborhood trail, that seems to be more heavily used than the earlier section. Translation: I meet probably 8 -10 people versus 3 -4.
Threatening clouds merge into drizzly rain. 2.4 miles from Troy and 13 from my car, Troy seems the better bet.
In a beautiful Maryville park, I stop for a quick snack break.
The rain sputters out. The air is clean and muggy and honeysuckle fresh, chasing me on to the end.
I was horrified when I learned they were closing the Children’s Zoo. I loved that place from the time we moved to St Louis twenty years ago. Even though my kids were a little beyond the target age at that point, we still explored it often. I continued going with anyone I could drag along; my nephews, kids I was watching, and finally my own young grandsons.
I wasn’t impressed with the idea of a dinosaur exhibit in its place. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting, but something tacky and plastic I guess.
I don’t know why I didn’t trust them. I’ve loved every new exhibit over the years, and this one turned out to be just as wonderful.
The beautiful wooded paths are still there. The animatronic dinosaurs are realistic and colorful, moving and calling and even hatching among the trees.
It’s a temporary exhibit, with a new children’s zoo to come. I’ll always love the old one, but this is a lot of fun for now. I’ll take it while I can, and enjoy the next iteration when it comes.
Sunny, windy, beautiful spring afternoon. The park is full and busy with bike riders and even a few horse back riders. There’s lots of room and multiple intersecting trail, it never feels crowded at all.
This one was not easy to find. For my third 10/10 challenge, I wanted to try one to the south.
The directions seemed simple enough on the county challenge page, and my GPS was agreeable. Then it took my down a terrifyingly narrow and winding road down a bluff and deposited me on a dead end road that crossed the trail, but had no parking area.
I circled back to the main road though, and found the county park sign just a little farther down the road.
It still seemed pretty deserted, but there was a clearly marked path, good signage, and several parking spots.
It actually turned out to be pretty well traveled. I passed several joggers, a few more bikers, and families out with their children.
The trail runs alongside the Meramec River bluffs and the tracks of the Wabash Frisco and Pacific Steam Railway
The suggested connector trail to get the 10 mile loop was the Rock Hollow Trail, although there are several other choices.
It’s paved, as promised. It is also referred to as “hilly” . To me that means it should go up and down. I guess that’s honest enough. It goes up; all the way to the top of the bluff, then when you turn around it goes down again.
It wasn’t that bad really. It’s very beautiful, and mostly manageable, though I did push my bike up the last section.
There’s a school at the top of the hill, with a wonderful outdoor learning area full of picnic tables and plants. I hope they’re able to use the trail, it would be an amazing natural classroom.
A second, and much more successful attempt to do the 10/10 bike challenge here. The sky is mostly clear today. It’s a little breezy, but nice in my jacket and the sun reflects warmly off the lake. Parts of the trail are lightly puddled from yesterday’s rain, but most is clear and dry.
It’s a beautiful quiet park. The bike trail loops the lake in 1.4 miles of tree-lined, mostly level surface, heavily populated with birds. They sing and call constantly, scattering in almost deliberate tease, when I stop to try to photograph them.
It’s a fun park for all kinds of activities. Around the walking/biking trail are several fitness stops with work out gear and fun models and nature signs for kids. A fishing pier, open fields and huge picnic pavilion set it up for all kinds of family fun.
Rambling ... 