First thing I did before leaving Illinois – family
tradition!
The little town of Goreville was adorable. Made me want to
stay and meet people.
I really didn’t mind the nothingness of farm land. It made me feel connected to America, to the whole web that is the food chain. One of my favorite things has always been tall grasses. The feeling of the seed head brushing your hands as you walked was something I had missed. The fruitfulness of this land made me feel a great vitality within myself. Strong. Healthy. Solid.
As I rounded a corner on the interstate, I saw the Arch, and instantly switched lanes to the right side of the road, in case there was pull-off to take a picture. It was still a good ways away, and I was headed straight for downtown St. Louis, so unfortunately, I wasn’t able to stop. I had to keep moving with the city traffic. But then, a windfall! A traffic jam due to construction stopped us dead on, right on the bridge, just long enough for me to snap a few pics. Awesome! Thanks, Universe!
On my way to the campsite for the evening, stopped to take
in a very scenic view. It had horses, too!
Setting up camp. I was SOO tired!! But the first rule of
camping is shelter first! Always! Then, I ran to the visitor center just in
time to catch the ladies leaving. I convinced them to open the doors just to
get me a trail map. Sorry to say it wasn’t very useful. So far, Florida is
still winning for the best trail maps in State Parks!
A brief snack, and I went hiking anyway! This trail was very
primitive, some parts you could hardly even see the trail for all its
overgrowth. Thank god they DID have trail markers. I had a spooky feeling, as
it winded through some pretty deep woods. Between bugs and spider webs, I just
kept my tripod swinging out in front of me and kept moving. Later I would find
out why I felt odd.
This little guy surprised me! I couldn’t figure out what it
was!! Is is a groundhog?
Overlooking the same spot the Lewis and Clark saw in the
1800s!
Thought they were blackberries, until I looked skyward!
Elderberry!
Just shortly after taking this photo, I had a flash of my
first memory of a past life. I had been native American, and had been down in a
ravine just as this, washing something in the creek, when I realized I was
surrounded, and that my life was in great danger. As I stood up, in my memory,
I woke from the meditation, just as something glimmered among the tree branches
at the top of the ridge. I remembered this whole scenario in mere seconds as I
walked through the last 100 yards of this “primitive” trail, and I started to
book it. They say we learn from the past, so there ya go!
This spring was not big at all! A bit of a let down at the
end of a spooky (but properly rated as moderate to hard – and thus quite
satisfying) hike!
The “Big” spring
Ramen noodles tasted good!
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