My 49th birthday was a day that included hiking by a clear Ozark stream, Jalapeno poppers, and running through a covered bridge with the kid. David had meetings all day so he couldn’t go with us.
A Special Treat
Breakfast was David’s homemade blackberry cobbler made with blackberries from our garden. It was a sweet way to begin the day for me. There was rain forecasted for late that afternoon so we left the house not to long afterward.
Getting There
We packed masks if we had to go inside a gas station along with gloves, wipes, and changes of clothes. Especially important to have for the kid was goldfish, Gatorade. and his Spiderman water bottle.
I was originally going to head out without the dog, but Andrew really, really wanted to take her, so I relented, even though it complicated the trip and you never know who is walking a beast of dog unleashed in the woods. I loaded up the Ipad with downloaded shows for him to watch as we headed to our first hiking destination
Hiking Around Mastodon State Historic Site
Mastodon State Historic Site is known for a small museum with Mastadon fossils. I’ve taken Drew there before when he was younger, so I didn’t need to do that again. There is a hike on the cliffside to the boneyard where they show where the fossils were taken from, but it takes some climbing to do that.
I like the trail along Rock Creek and Spring Branch much better. It is a loop and you can wade into the creek if it is a really warm day. We headed straight there without any stops.
When we arrived at the parking area there were a few cars there, but it looked like it was mostly for a gathering of older adults, which is surprising in this era of coronavirus.
I had him use the restroom before we went hiking. I always have him use the restroom first otherwise that is the next thing we’ll be doing when we’re halfway down the trail. This restroom had just been cleaned and on the outside as a cleaning station.
This trail was a good place to maintain social distance, the trail is not that big, but there were what Andrew called “mini-trails” that led closer to the creek. Andrew grew to love heading into them and wandering along the creek bank. There was even an area of bamboo, which he called the “jungle.”
Where the incline was easy we went down into the creek bed which was filled with small rocks and got our toes wet and which he declared, cold, so we headed back onto the trail.
There was one side trail that led to some small boulders and we climbed on them for a bit.
Where the trail bordered a parking lot for overnight camping I saw an area we hadn’t been to before. This turned out to be a good idea.
There was a low water crossing on one side and a newer wooden bridge on the other. Andrew had fun walking back and forth across the bridge with Chewie.
After wandering around a bit we went down to the low water crossing.
“I want to walk across it,” he said.
“It’s going to be cold,” I said.
He took his sandals off and stuck his feet and walked about a foot then turned back around.
“You were right, let’s go back to the bridge, maybe when it is warmer we’ll do this.”
We went back across the bridge then took the loop back through the woods to the parking lot.
This part went along a clear spring branch, it was all right, just not as nice as the creek walk.
When we got back to the parking lot I looked back and the sign said the trail was .9 of a mile. So when we headed over to our parking lot we had walked a mile.
Time to Eat
It was lunch-time and we did drive-thru at a nearby Burger King. I was up for a Whopper on my birthday. I also like their onion rings with the special sauce. This one also had jalapeno poppers, which turned out to be pretty good for fast food.
I talked him into waiting to eat and we took the 20-minute drive to Sandy Creek Covered Bridge State Historic Site. This was a quieter place and there was only one other family there. The kid had a large orange foam plane that he was flying around with his dad.
We found a spot by ourselves and I put out a picnic blanket and we had our meals. It was clouding up, but the rain was still out in central Missouri. The main attraction here is a covered bridge that you can walk across.
Exploring Sandy Creek Covered Bridge Park
After eating we headed for the bridge and Andrew decided that running back and forth through the bridge with Chewie was fun so that was what we did for a while.
Then we found a side path with two small ditches you had to stumble across to get down to the creek. He thought he was quite the trailblazer and repeated this a few times. We went under the bridge then on the other side.
We found another trail going away from the bridge along the creek down by where someone was fishing. Although all I saw was some really tiny fish, maybe I wasn’t looking in the right place. I had pointed them out to Andrew and we watched them for a bit.
We walked up to the top of the hill on the other side of the bridge then back down and then down another path before I said the rain was coming in so we needed to head back.
Taking the Backroads
I took a scenic off-the-beaten-path route back home taking Old Lemay Ferry to the interstate. We passed through an old village, through many forests, and at one point crested a high hill with panoramic views. Part of the drive followed small clear creeks. It was probably one of the more scenic drives I’ve done this close to St. Louis in the south.
Quick Stop
We stopped at Quik Trip to get gas. Also, he needed to use the restroom. I bought ourselves some sodas and then headed back home.
It turned out to be a good time away and luckily it didn’t start raining until we got back into Edwardsville.
Movie Night with Mexican
Back home the kid’s movie Spies in Disguise had come in the mail so we watched that. It was not really my movie, but I thought it was a good show to relax with.
David was nice and went out and picked up Mexican for me. We had nachos and a huge El Macho Taco from the restaurant. This was a new place in town and turned out to have really good Mexican food that was well spiced.
Afterward, David put a candle on one of the cupcakes, and Andrew and he sang happy birthday to me. It was nice.
Andrew watched a few cartoons before bed but became a little fussy. I am not sure what the issue was tonight. David was reading to him, but he didn’t want to go to bed.
Although I was tired from the hiking, I thought he would be to, but sometimes the kid can have a lot of energy. Anyway, he finally got him to bed and we ended the night watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
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