Hiking along the Missouri River and exploring a rock shelter were the newest adventures of this week.
Day 57 Coronavirus
I decided I needed a little time to myself today. I love my son, but sometimes spending a lot of time with him, he can be fussy and a little demanding and it is nice just to decompress for a bit.
David understood and took him to a bike path. Which was nice. I took a nice warm bath and relaxed for a bit before doing some online work.
I think it is also good for Andrew to spend time with David on his own and apart from me. During this coronavirus time, we get a bit on top of each other so I think it is good for us to have some time apart.
When they got back we had leftover Domino’s Pizza for dinner that we headed up in the stove. He watched some cartoons before going to sleep.
It was my turn to read to him tonight. We read Darth Vader and Son again. Even though I’ve read it a few times, I still find it a cute book.
We also read Good Night, Florida Keys. We picked this book up when we in the Keys. I read this book more for me.
I remember watching sunsets over the ocean joined by many others. Street performers swallowed fire and wowed the audiences. Going out to Dry Tortugas National Park and touring Fort Jefferson and seeing all the aquatic life in the wide blue Caribbean. Swimming in the hotel pool where we lounged drinking cocktails and taking turns splashing around with Andrew. These were simpler times.
It was a happy memory while you’re stuck at home waiting for the end of coronavirus.
Day 58 Coronavirus
I played Tic-tac-toe with him at the start of the day. My mom had this Tic-tac-toe marble game at our house when we were growing up and I had been given it. One person has blue marbles and the other person has red marbles and you place them on the wooden indention on the board. I’ve been teaching him the game. Today for the first time he set himself up to where he could go in two directions and won outright.
Today’s big adventure was where I walked and he rode his bike next to me on a bike trail.
I loaded up the SUV with masks, snacks, and water bottles. Andrew found Chewie’s harness, which had been missing, so she could be a little more relaxed in our hiking.
I was thinking about the Katy Trail, but it is a crushed rock one, so I would have to see how that goes for Andrew. He has a way of slipping in the pebbles at times.
Mostly, I wanted a photo op of him on the trail I think for the first time. The Katy Trail goes from the St. Louis area across the state to the Kansas City area. I love that he likes to bike ride like did when I was a kid. He enjoys it and I like doing it with him.
I found a trail entrance that was a bit out of the way so we could have the trail mostly to ourselves.
We crossed the Missouri River and stopped at the gas station at the first exit in St. Charles, Mo. Here I snagged gas at $1.49 a gallon. Andrew said he needed to go to the bathroom so we put our masks on and headed in and quickly headed out.
I crossed back under the highway and headed to a park area that had a connection to the trail. I found an area where we were by ourselves and headed up to the trail. He started riding it and then slipped and then got right back on. He had his helmet on and pants and a long sleeve shirt, the more clothing the better.
He noticed that there was a gravel path that led down from the Katy Trail that was on the levee near the river. So I thought that would be fine, I had never been into this wooded area so I was open to exploring. There was this short path that went up and down, like a short mini-bike trail and he did that a few times.
I remember biking up and down at a park in Sedalia when I was a kid, going fast enough to go airborne as I rode back the other direction to do the same. I wasn’t encouraging him to do that, though.
Anyway, we went by a small pond area and came to a wide dirt path that went directly along the river.
“Can we go along the path?” he asked.
“Only if you watch where you’re going. This is right next to the Missouri River which really moves fast, do you understand.”
He said he did and he rode to the left of me and I stood on the right keeping a watchful eye on the river.
The woods were thick with tall cottonwoods. There were even the cotton-seeds that the trees disperse blowing about as we walked. The Native Americans made their canoes from these trees large branches.
This trail was actually easier than the crushed rock Katy Trail. It was dirt so it was easy for him to ride along.
The wide river is amazing here, swirling below and with the fallen trees along the embankment. We came to a place where the vines overhead created a tunnel.
I had him stop where the trail curved back to the Katy Trail. I showed him an indention in the ground and explained why we had to be careful since this piece of land would one day fall into the river and the dirt from this would go down the Mississippi and go all the way to where we went on a cruise years ago to the Gulf of Mexico.
The trail circled back to a dirt road through the woods. This was still nice and there were even larger cottonwoods here.
We didn’t go back to the Katy Trail but went on the other side of the levee and found an area with information on animals and plants in a wetland. I read it to him as we headed back to the SUV and had some snacks and drank from our water bottles. He likes it when I open the hatch and we relax a bit.
I was happy to find this place. Even though I’ve lived in the St. Louis area for ten years, I still don’t know everywhere. I like that there are still new places to explore with the kid.
Day 59 Coronavirus
He wanted scrambled eggs for lunch and we had some ham.
“Can you make it like the Dr. Seuss book Green Eggs and Ham,” Andrew asked. David obliged. Andrew helped out by adding green food coloring to the eggs. I was fine with lunch being green.
He wanted to draw some Star Wars Lego characters. So I found some coloring pages of them on it and printed them out. Then he cut them out himself. He’s getting good at using kid’s scissors. This had been a problem at school before; so glad we’ve made progress somewhere. I played with either being Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader.
David played Chutes and Ladders with him this afternoon. I listened as he discussed counting in the game. He is good about putting in schoolwork with the games, but then he is a teacher, so he does have the skillset for this.
I read to him a Spiderman book in which he is attacked by The Lizard. In the book, you are supposed to help Spiderman find a shrink ray and he helped locate it. He fell asleep pretty easily after Spiderman saved the day.
Day 60 Coronavirus
I was spending the morning prepping for our big hiking trip. David played with him constructing buildings out of a magnetized structure set.
We were doing some serious hiking today so I packed Deet insect repellant to spray on each other when we arrived at the park.
I brought chips, trail mix, two water bottles, two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, some sparkling flavored waters, masks, gloves, and extra shirts. Also, of course, I brought the Ipad loaded with some cartoon movies for him to watch along the hour drive there.
The park is named after Don Robinson who made his fortune with the cleaning product Off. He donated the land to the state to develop a state park on it when he died.
On the way to the park from Highway 30, I crossed Big River and noticed an old bridge and a lower water dam with a waterfall. I wanted to stop but the area is owned by an events place and there is a huge sign saying Private Property.
I make the right into Don Robinson State Park and the road took you up into the hills. The road even separated into two one-lane paved paths until you reach the crest and found a small parking lot for hiking which was full.
I headed around the hillside and found more parking. Later, I noticed an additional gravel parking lot I guess is used when the place is really busy. There was what I would say a moderate amount of people here, but there was no one at their cars; they all must be out on the trails.
The first thing I did was take Andrew to the bathroom. We put on our masks and went together. I sometimes let him go in the woods, but since there were people out in the trails I thought it would be easier to do it here.
Next, I went walking around Robinson’s house. He had been known for being frugal. The only room in the house that was heated was his bedroom upstairs I had read. The place is in disrepair and there is a fence all around it. It is an interesting structure, wooden in most parts with some masonry. In the second story, you can see a long room with lots of windows. I can’t quite figure out what it originally looked like. It looked like the rocky front of the structure might have been the original place and he kept adding on other sections.
On the left side of the house is a huge cement patio, that had once been a swimming pool, that now includes rocking chairs. If it weren’t for coronavirus I might have sat in one. It was a nice view of forested hills in the distance.
We headed to the park’s kiosk and I pulled out information on the trails. It looked like the LaBarque Hills Trail went more into the hilly terrain.
The Sandstone Canyon trail went into some hills but mostly followed a stream that flowed into a canyon. I thought this would be the most interesting route to take. The first section was paved. I chose to go right and take the trail marked “White Connector” to what the map showed was the quickest way to go to the canyon.
Andrew was not happy at first since a yellow jacket was buzzing as we were heading out. I told him we could walk along the parking lot to the trailhead and he was fine with that. The paved section went left and we headed right to the dirt trail.
We came to the connector and headed downhill. It was muddy in places and I had to help him some and figure out the best way to go without slipping in too much mud. Chewie went with us so that added to the complexity. Along this trail, we came to a very low natural bridge. I thought about squatting down and walking through it but it was filled with leaves and there might be snakes, so maybe next time if it is drier. After going down the connector .2 miles we made it to the Sandstone Canyon Trail. Here we went past some small rocky falls and we followed the creek.
The canyon we came to was amazing with a huge cliff wall rising way above our heads. We had to stay at a distance from other people who were here, but since it was a large space you could do that. The rocky overhang made Andrew think of it as a cave. It was well worth the walk.
I kept hearing distant rumbling, but it was not supposed to rain so I ignored it. We headed down along the creek as it formed the canyon. I felt a few drops and told Andrew lets to head back and we can stay inside the rock shelter, just as Native Americans might have done if they were faced with heavy rain and wanted protection from it.
He was happy to play here until the small shower passed. He thought to jump around on the rocks and exploring the main canyon area was great.
The rain stopped and I coaxed him back to the car with the promise of PB&J sandwiches. I had asked the guy while I was in the canyon if there was a way to head up out of the canyon and take the loopback. He said there was, but if I wanted to get back to the parking lot I should stick with the way I came.
I did that, but when I got back I looked how far we had come down in the canyon and thought we might have been better off having done that, oh well, next time.
Since I had done the trail it was easier to find my way back. Actually, the route back seemed faster than I had remembered. Andrew got tired and was fussy on the way back, which slowed us down a bit.
When we arrived back to the SUV I opened the hatch and we had our sandwiches and snacks and I provided Chewie with water. She was a mess so I will have to give her a bath when we get home. It was our first big hiking trip in the Ozark hills together and I think it well.
Day 61 Coronavirus
I went outside to see how warm it was barefoot and he followed. He turned around and saw that the wet boards created prints. Then I walked through the wet puddles and created larger ones. Chewie came out of the door and made paw prints. It fascinated him for a bit checking out the different sizes and impressions. At this age, you never know what his sudden interest might be. Sometimes he’s still just a little boy trying to figure everything out.
I noticed a large bird in the backyard of our neighbors and I went grabbed the binoculars for us to gain a closer look. It was a hawk eating maybe a field mouse or fish, not sure. I helped Andrew peer through them and we watched it closely for a bit.
Then I spotted a snake in the water. We spied a mother duck with ducklings. It was fun looking for different animals.
Walking a bit further along the shoreline we found another snake gliding in the water going along the wall. That is one advantage of having a wall versus rocks along the lakeshore, no snakes up in the property as easily.
That afternoon we went out on one of the bike trails.
I packed some waters, our masks in case we had to stop somewhere and snacks. We weren’t going as far so we didn’t have to take as much stuff with us.
I was a little bothered by flies, might have to bring the Deep Woods Off with me next time. Andrew rode ahead of me and we went down aways before he wanted a snack and some water so we went back to the SUV and opened the hatch and took a break.
Then he wanted to go the other direction. This section had a slight downhill to it and he went up and down that a few times before we headed for a small creek. We had brought the dog and she was ready to head back.
I noticed a ding on the window. The other day a semi-truck had shot up rock hard at the SUV and I didn’t see any damage to the window originally. But the ding was towards the bottom of the window. It was not too bad. I just annoyed that it happened.
That night I read to him and he picked a book on different forms of transportation including all types of boats, planes and heavy equipment. We talked about different types of transportation. He remembered the times we’ve had to take the subway, train, funicular or ferry, and the planes we’ve ridden in over the years before he fell asleep.
Day 62 Coronavirus
It was going to rain today so we decided to take the kid out bike riding beforehand. I picked one that would not be as busy and was easy to park at. The trail was on the northeast side of town and parking was along a road. David would walk the dog while Andrew and I rode our bicycles. The bike trail was not to busy and we waited a bit while a large family passed us by. The trail is lower than the surrounding area and trees and brush surround it.
The one nice thing about the town we live in is that there are a lot of bicycle trails, which are only about a mile or two from the house by car and the trails go throughout the town. Along with the lake, it was another nice feature of Edwardsville with having a kid.
Andrew has gotten used to having snacks while we doing hiking or biking so we headed back to the SUV and he had some Goldfish snacks and I had some trail mix and we all had some waters.
He then wanted to ride down the hill. David remembered that the nearby street went downhill so we road down it through an older neighborhood towards downtown. The day was getting warmer so after a few blocks he was ready to head back home. We rode back admiring some of the flower gardens people had put in front of their houses. As I was about to take off my front wheel on the bike to put in the back I thought to myself it would be easier for me just to ride it back then take it apart. David thought that was fine so I rode back the two miles. It was also nice to have some time to myself.
Later that day we took the boat out on the water. Andrew wanted us to stop and anchor. I found a spot near a large grove of trees by the lake. It was quiet here except for someone using their weed eater in the distance.
“I want to put the mat out,” he said.
We have a mat that you can lay out on in the water.
“Let’s see how cold it is,” I said.
We went in the back of the boat by the ladder and I dropped my feet in the water.
“It is cold, Andrew,” I said.
He came in back with me. He has his lifejacket just in case he fell in and I was right next to him. We both splashed around with our feet.
“You’re right, dad, it is cold,” he said.
We splashed a bit. The water actually felt nice on my feet. We did this until we started feeling some sprinkles of rain. Mother Nature had shown us that it was time to head back.
The mat was in the middle of the pontoon boat. It started to rain harder and I crawled inside with him and we were out of the rain in the middle of the roll of foam.
Sadly, David was not protected and I told him we could take turns, but he said that I am always cold and to stay with the kid.
Luckily the hard rain did not last long. We headed back home and I helped David park the boat at the dock.
We got inside just in time before it really started to pour.
I thought it was a good time for a cartoon movie that afternoon and we watched Iron Man and the Hulk. It was not the greatest movie, but it entertained Andrew while he playing with his Iron Man and Hulk action figures while he watched the show. David even made popcorn.
Day 63 Coronavirus
David and I decided that we should have some outside time before the rain came in later in the day.
We first took Chewie for a walk and Andrew road his bike with us. We went along the lake noticing that we had a lot of rain and it had turned the water brown.
“I want to ride down the hills at the park,” he said.
David said, “We can do that.”
“Can daddy ride his bike,” he asked.
I said that would be fine I was just riding my bike to the park though since that would be easier than taking it apart and putting it back together again. David and Andrew headed to the park in the SUV and rode mine to the park.
We went to the closest hill to the parking lot first. I remember when he was younger how excited he was to go ride down this hill over and over.
Then we headed off around the park and then rode down the big hill by the back pond. He slipped in the water on the pavement and wanted to get new clothes. We told him he could change when we got back.
David remarked that he could see our house from here.
I noticed that before from our deck, although they really can’t see us that well due to the distance. I’ll look over from the deck sometimes seeing what is going on in the far pond if people are out walking or fishing. We live on the shores of our lake and in the distance, there is a bonus lake view I thought.
After riding around the park a bit more David and Andrew headed back in the car and I took the long way home. David said if I wanted to ride around a bit I could. I headed around our lake going the other direction. I rode by the spillway and noticed a lot of water coming down below the bridge flowing fast. The sounds and the turbulent water reminds me of a mountain stream with the water flows like this. I always like going down here after heavy rains.
The afternoon went slowly by. We played in the beach tent we had set up to make it feel like camping even though we’re indoors. We ate marshmallows. We played the Super Hero Match game that we’ve done before.
A break in the rain allowed me to work with him some on his pedal bike, which he is getting better without the training wheels. We’re hoping that he can skip training wheels since he first learned to ride on the glider bike. He is getting better.
After working on his biking we kicked the soccer ball back and forth and then he hit a few baseballs. Then the rain came back.
Dinner that night was jambalaya and that was tasty.
We watched the last episode of the Flash. It was a cliffhanger and did not rap up the season, we’ll have to wait for the fall for answers.
I read to him a book based on Spiderman 3, the children’s version is actually better than the movie and then he fell asleep, week nine was over.
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