The S Family's Homesteading: Hiking

Well we have been trampling through the woods where ever we go it seems. There is no telling what you will find you go hiking here. You can really get lost very quickly in the dense woods of Mark Twain National Forest. We have it all around us. Honestly, though I don’t know how much we’ve been on that land or not. Our first attempt to hike took us to River of Life. River of Life is a resort like place that is owned by a guy Super D knew as a kid. We went there one day to say Hi and catch up with him. He has built these really cool tree top cabins. They all are up on stilts and have grand views. He was nice enough to let us go in one someone had just checked out of. They offer canoeing trips and teach fly fishing on the river with guided tours. Plus he has several hiking trails on his land. He encouraged us to go on one to Inspiration Point. The day was cloudy and not to hot which to me is perfect hiking weather. So we set off. We barely made it to the start of the trail about a city block away from where we parked when the rain came pouring down! We would have kept going too but I had the camera and no way to keep it dry. By the time we got back to the office where the car was we were soaked through. I did manage to save the camera by keeping it under my shirt and then Super D’s hat when my shirt was soaked. We had a good laugh at all of us trying to run in the rain. Running in jeans that are a wet as if we’d jumped in the river is not an easy task. We thanked Mr. M for letting us explore his place and promised to come back another time to try again. It was time to go home and get dry.

Super Cool cabins! Awesome views of the river.

Attempting to beat the rain!

Well, Sugarbug that's your shower for today :)

Most of our hiking has taken us to fishing holes. Athea Spring is a cold spring not far from us that has good fishing. This day we wanted to get to a different spot on the river for Super D and Sugarbug to fish. So we crossed a tree that had fallen over the river and hiked through the woods. It’s amazing what you will find in the middle of the woods. We saw two very old rusted cars. I can’t even imagine how on earth they got there. Maybe a tornado dropped them there years ago. This little hike we took actually lead us nowhere. We didn’t find a good spot we could fish from but we had fun trying. The spring is beautiful and many people love to stop and jump in it. It is VERY cold. It would have to be a super hot day to get me in there, which may happen as the summer heats up. So far sugarbug is the only brave one of us that has jumped in, twice. You don’t stay in the water long.

We had to cross the log below to get to this! hmmm...

TaDa!

See MA! Are we done yet??

When Aunt S took us on our trip we went on a great hike to a water fall. This day was also cloudy and drizzly but no major rain. It made for great hiking weather. I think Aunt S is trying to toughen me up a bit. This hike included a water crossing. There was a creek we had to cross and there was no way to get across without getting wet. So my choices were to A. Just walk across in tennis shoes and get shoes and pants wet. B. Attempt to roll up my pants and just get shoes and sock wet. C. Take off shoes and socks go bare foot and roll up pants. Well, I opted for C. I hate wet shoes and as the water would be cold I figured if I had dry stuff to put on I’d stay warmer. So I took off shoes as did Aunt S. Sugarbug the goof waded through shoes and all not even attempting to roll up her pants and then took her shoes off. I’m not sure what she was thinking. So I went hiking in the Missouri forest barefoot. After getting across the creek it was sandy. And after our little hike we would have to go back across the creek. Aunt S assured me that it was mostly sandy trail and going bare foot would be fine as she was. Well, she was mostly right. I carried my shoes with me (Aunt S had left hers at the crossing) and we went down the trail. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be and the waterfall was beautiful and well worth it. We had one more water crossing to get to a small pond area where everyone else fished. ( I still didn’t have my license) I ended up putting my shoes back on loosely to get back as I was just too slow walking barefoot. But it was a fun experience and beautiful hike. I saw all sorts of flowers I haven’t seen before and enjoyed the coolness of the day and drizzle of the rain on tree tops that acted as umbrellas for us. I love going to the remote places that you hardly see anyone at and being lost in nature. I can’t wait to explore more.