Why am I posting at nearly midnight on a school night? Well, folks, I have my good days and I have my bad ones and tonight has fallen into the latter category. I cannot sleep so I thought I would take the time to write.

On Sunday, I followed the advice of my coworker Sam and headed out to Babler State Park to hike but before I get to that, I need to take a detour to talk about the suburban nonsense one is forced to drive by prior to getting there. The subdivisions out this way are absolutely ridiculous and unnecessary as far as I can tell. The houses have enough gables to proclaim them as expensive and are far enough from the city to show that the occupants have escaped all the urban problems that beset St. Louis proper….that is, until the next exurb opens up beyond them. I have trouble understanding why people move to the first ring of suburbs, let alone all the way out in land once considered a flood plain.

Beyond that, however, lies Babler, a state park that remains nearly untouched by the encroaching development nearby. It is a serene place to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. I stopped off at the visitor’s center on my way into the park to grab a map and talk to the woman behind the desk. I knew from some prior research that the park is quite large and did not want to waste time getting lost along the way. The friendly woman pointed out a great trailhead that serves both the Dogwood and Woodbine trails so I started there.

The walk itself was beautiful but the paths are not particularly strenuous, which was probably a good thing for me following two days of activity. I spend about two hours meandering through the woods on these paths and could not have felt more relaxed afterwards. I am already searching for my next hiking adventure and hope that someone will be able to join me next time.

I woke up this morning to a perfect blue sky and moderate temperatures and decided that this was an opportunity to get outside that could not be missed. This decision may also have had something to do with not wanting to clean my house but that is not the point. The point is that every time I drive on I-44 and see the brightly painted Grant’s Trail bridge, I want to check this bike path out but by the time I get home, I have forgotten this piece of information. Not this time, however. Last night, Susan mentioned going for a bike ride this weekend and it must have planted a seed in my brain because that is the first thing I thought of when I opened my eyes.

I should back up a bit and say here that I have not ridden my bike since early spring when I made the mistake of dusting off my bike and riding for nearly eighteen miles. About halfway through this journey, I realized not only was I running low on water but the bike seat was also rubbing me the wrong way…literally. Nothing was more miserable than the last five miles of that trip. By the time I got home, I was swearing like a drunken sailor and barely able to walk.

Fast forward to today. I have not been on my bike since that incident but figured that this trail is touted as being paved and flat. I am now smart enough to fill the bladder on the CamelBak to take on the ride and bring a sports drink for post-riding replenishment. The seat, however, has not been changed out so for the first half of the trip, I was fine but it was not the most pleasant experience on the way back to the truck. True to the website’s word, the trail is mostly flat and has a decent amount of shade and rest areas along it. The only real problem I encountered besides the seat issue was the wind hitting me in the face as I struggled to make it through the final few miles. All in all, it was a great experience and I hope someone will be able to join me next time.

Unrelated side note: Someone needs to stand by my side and keep me from buying a digital SLR. I really, really, really want one.

There are days when I need to take a break from everything day life. Yesterday was one of them but with an added bonus: Jesse, my friend and former roommate, sent me a text asking me to join him for an afternoon hike at Castlewood State Park. As it was a beautiful day, very few people were in the office anyway so I had to wait for a bit before I could find someone to sign my vacation slip. Within half an hour, I slipped out of the office and nearly ran the few blocks back to my house. I changed clothes, grabbed my gear and flew out of the house, breaking all previously set land speed records.

As we set out on the River Scene trail, I heard a few rumblings in the sky. Looking up, the clouds had started to gather but we kept moving, not wanting to let this day pass without a good hike. Soon, however, the first drops of rain began to fall upon the tree canopy. Still we kept on, under the train tracks and up the steep stairs to the top of the ridge. The rain continued to steadily increase, though it felt really nice on my skin. I snapped a few photos from the top but we were quickly chased back underneath the trees. The rain became nearly unbearable as we were coming down the final hill of the trail and the loose rock was quickly becoming really slick. I cannot recall how many times I tried to break my ankle on that particular incline but it was more than a couple. Fortunately, there was a shelter at the bottom of the hill and we were forced to sit there for about 45 minutes waiting for the storm to pass. The two of us were soaked through by the time we made it back to the truck but I felt it was completely worth the use of three hours of vacation time to take a break from the craziness of every day life.