History and amenities of Meramec State Park As early as 1926, land was being purchased to create what is now Meramec State Park. In 1933, the craftsmen of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) began constructing trails, picnic shelters and other facilities at the park. Nine years of CCC work left Meramec State Park with a collection of comfortable facilities that blend into the rugged landscape with their rustic design. The Meramec River runs for 13 miles through this 461-acre park in South-Central Missouri. The park features, bluffs, glades, sinkholes, springs, and over 40 caves. The most popular cave, is Fisher Cave. Naturalists offer tours of Fisher Cave on a seasonal basis. https://mostateparks.com/page/54984/general-information (All above information taken from the State Park website.) Our Visit We have visited Meramec State Park numerous times over the last 20 years living in Missouri. This most recent visit was over Labor Day weekend. During this visit, we realized that we have hiked all the trails, so we decided to present a "Park Tour" so we could show all the park has to offer. We were camping this visit and had the time to really cover the developed parts of the park. one weekend is not enough time to "do it all". Our first stop was the Visitor Center where we viewed all of the exhibits. The exhibits in the Visitor Center are great and the staff is very helpful! But we go to the State Parks to be outside. In the past we have hiked. Our favorite hike is The Wilderness Trail. Please take a minute to look at one of our first channel videos from this beautiful trail! Over the years, we have discovered SO much more to do than hike at Meramec. We have camped, picnicked, stayed in the motel, played in the river, and explored many trails and natural areas. There is just so much to do! Take a look at our most recent tour to find out how you want to spend your time in Meramec State Park! Until next time, keep on trekking! Statistics of the North Rim of Grand Canyon NP North Rim 8,000 feet/ 2400m Average Rim to Rim distance 10 miles/ 16km Grand Canyon; a twisting, 1 mile deep, 277 mile long gorge formed over millions of years by the geologic forces and erosion by the Colorado River. Temperatures: North Rim summer high temperatures are typically cooler than the South Rim due to increased elevation (8000 feet/2440 m), with highs typically ranging in the 70s (21-26°C). Overnight lows can still drop near to below freezing occasionally on the North Rim, although typically low temperatures range from the 40s and 50s More specific information on weather for the North Rim can be found by clicking here: https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/weather-condition.htm#CP_JUMP_1955873 (all above information from the National Park web site.) Our Visit We visited in early July at the start of monsoon season. This was our second trip to the North Rim, so we had some ideas of what we wanted to see and do. (We still didn't get to do everything we wanted to for lack of time.) When we arrived on a Sunday afternoon, it was cloudy, but not raining. By the time we checked into our room, the "bottom had dropped out" and it was POURING rain. The smell and sounds of the rain in the pines was perfect! Once the quick shower was over we headed to the Grand Canyon Lodge main building to scope out a plan for dinner. (Side note: none of the rooms are attached to the main building. All are cabins or motel style rooms a short walk from the main building.) It rained some more that evening, but we were able to sit on the patio of the lodge and enjoy some pizza and beer. The sunset was nice that evening too, but mostly cloudy. The next morning we were up early for sunrise at Bright Angel Point. This quarter-mile hike was a perfect warm-up for the day. To see that hike, click here. After that wonderful show from the canyon, we sat down for breakfast at the lodge before packing up for our big hike of the trip, Widforss Point. This 10-mile trail showed the best of the North Rim. We hiked through Ponderosa Pine forest with vast views of the canyon. Widforss Point was the perfect lunch spot and we saw a California Condor flying across the canyon. It was BEAUTIFUL! Check here for that flight: After our hike, we got cleaned up and headed back to the lodge for our dinner reservations in the dining room and more patio sitting for sunset. The next morning we headed out for sunrise at Point Imperial and exploring Cape Royal Road. There we found Roosevelt Point, Angel's Window, Cape Royal, and Cliff Spring Trail. Check out our whole trip by clicking below. You can hear the rain and see the motion of the clouds as well as walk out on Angel's Window with me. We hope you enjoy our adventure and will be able to plan your own. Until next time, keep on trekking! We hiked here in July of 2014. Wow! That felt like ages ago! We are certainly different people since that visit! We had a great time then! But is was fun to see it with fresh eyes! On our first visit to Kolob Canyons in Zion National Park, We drove all the way to end of the scenic drive and then came back to hike Taylor Creek Trail to see the double Arch Alcove. That trek was a great introduction to Kolob Canyons, but we felt we should come back for a second look. We were Staying in Las Vegas and had made a day trip up to Cedar Breaks National Monument north of Kolob Canyons on I-15 and decided that we should stop to see what we missed. We stopped by the visitor's center and then took off for our driving tour of the park. Once we got to the end of the road, we decided that we could handle the 1-mile hike on Timber Creek Trail. The mountains were awe inspiring and we enjoyed our time on the trail. Click below to see our adventurer! Thanks for reading/watching! Keep on trekking! We always want to take longer trails, but drive time and daylight have usually been what have thwarted our efforts. This led us to get back into camping! Our camping "reboot" started at Hawn State Park to hike the whole Whispering Pine Trail. It is 10 miles and has 2 loops. Until now, we have only managed the North Loop. Since we camped the night before, we had plenty of time to hike all of the trail and explore a little more before sundown. We got a pretty early start after a good breakfast including bacon. I wanted to do the trail backwards of the suggested counter-clockwise direction. It makes me feel that we avoid some of the crowds at the beginning of the trails and provides a different view of the trail. Even though we left early, we didn't see any animals other than a turtle on the trail. That's not too surprising, Whispering Pine Trail and Pickle Creek are very popular trails. We did manage to trek both loops of Whispering Pine Trail. The caves and creek at beautiful on the South Loop and the solitude was perfect. We probably saw less than a dozen people all day. The Whispering Pine Trail is a great trial and we highly recommend it. We added the Pickle Creek Trail to the end so we could walk along the creek at the end of our day. it was lovely! Please enjoy the video of our trek. After we hike 11 miles, we deserve cookies! SO we made some over the campfire that night. Please check out how we made them in our Dutch Oven. (You should probably eat cookies while/after watching.) Until next time, keep on trekking! If we go to bed early enough, 4:00 in the morning is not an issue. If we have amazing sights to see, a hike at 4:30 is easy! Both of those factors aligned on our trip to Grand Canyon National Park on the North Rim last July. Our friends happened to be at the Grand Canyon Lodge at the same time we were and wanted to join us for a sunrise hike and breakfast. We are so glad they did! **Special thanks to John, Donna, Joe, and Sue for hiking with us! I can't say that a sunrise in a National Park is boring, but the clouds on this morning made the sky spectacular! So, Not only was the Canyon stellar, but the sky made the experience awesome! As we always say, pictures and video can't do it justice. We still try. Please enjoy our hike to amazing views! Until next time, keep on trekking! We were going to skip this one and try to catch a good spot on the Grand Canyon Lodge Patio (www.grandcanyonforever.com/) before dinner and sunset. However, we have learned that when someone on the waitstaff at breakfast says, "Go on this hike," we should go. The staff at the parks know where the best trails are to escape the crowds. This time was no exception! This 1-mile hike was calm and beautiful. We saw less than 10 people in the hour-plus we were on the trail. The spring was like "Weeping Rock" in Zion National Park. It was filled with moss and dripping quite a bit. We watched a storm cloud pass over, but never got rained on. The rocks were beautiful and the side canyon was enchanting. All in all, we can't say enough good things about this hike. It is certainly on the "must do" list. Enjoy a few more pictures and video from our hike below. Until next time, keep on trekking! When we told people that we were traveling to the Grand Canyon, their first question was, "Are you going to the bottom?" Our answer was usually, "Not in July with heat warnings." We found out this trip that we didn't have to go down to the bottom (with at least 100 other people on the same trail) to enjoy hiking Grand Canyon National Park. The 10-mile Widforss Trail was the awe inspiring solitude we were looking for. We saw less than 15 people in the 4+ hours we were on the trail. We also saw 2 Kaibab Squirrels, several ground squirrels, a lizard, and a CONDOR. The Trail is mostly shaded by Ponderosa Pines and a few Aspen Trees. The elevation change didn't seem like much. It is mostly a rim walk. I can honestly say that this was our favorite hike of our vacation. Even though we didn't go to the bottom of the canyon. I feel that we experienced the Grand Canyon in the way that was best for us. We still have more to see (as with EVERY park we visit). That means we have to go back some day. We hope you enjoy the views of Grand Canyon National Park in the video and that you will enjoy this trail yourself sometime. Until next time, keep on trekking! We believe when we get a recommendation from a person who lives in the area we are going to, we should at least check it out. So, we did. Thanks to www.instagram.com/2beagles.1jeep/ for the recommendation! Mount Charleston National Recreation Trails and the Spring Mountains National Forest are a fantastic escape from the heat and hustle of Las Vegas! When we got out of the car in the parking lot, we noticed that the temperatures have dropped about 20 degrees in our 45 minute drive from Las Vegas. This was WONDERFUL! You'll notice the pine trees and the change in color of the rocks. These views were very welcome! It all looked so lush! The hike up Cathedral Rock was a HUGE bang for our energy buck! Fantastic views in 1.4 miles. Hike along with us in our video. Keep on Trekking! When we were introduced to Cedar Breaks National Monument in 2015, we didn't have the time to take anything in. It was a quick stop, to say the least. When we had to leave, we vowed that we would be return for an "intentional" trip. This year provided that opportunity. In doing research for our vacation, Kay found Cedar Breaks NM Facebook page. It is a wonderful page that you should check out if you are planning a trip (or just like to see pretty vistas and awesome outdoor events) to CBNM (www.facebook.com/CedarBreaksNationalMonument/) We knew found out that the wild flowers would be blooming at the time we were planning to visit and that they would be having Professional Artists performing demonstrations in the park those days too. That was SO exciting! Our goal was to plan a hike to walk through the wild flowers and see the breaks. We stopped that the visitors center first and got a recommendation from the Rangers for a trail. The Alpine Pond Trail was PERFECT! We thoroughly enjoyed the parts of the park we were able to see this time. During our time in the park we got to learn from rangers, artists, and National Park Volunteers who happened to be professors on Astronomy. Cedar Breaks National Monument truly is an awesome place that should be preserved. I personally think it should be at National Park status. Maybe one day. Until next time, keep on trekking! As we wake this morning to the sound of rain, I am thankful for it. Not just the much-needed rain for the Earth that surrounds my home, but for the SOUND. It's the sound of rain that slows down life and allows me to feel that I don't need to move fast. The feel of rain on my head or down the back of my neck usually makes me want to walk a bit faster, but the SOUND helps me slow down. On our adventures, we look for the beautiful vistas and the little things along side the trail. When we stop our trek to rest or get some water, we notice the sound outside of ourselves. When we are no longer just listening to the patter our own footsteps and the swish of our clothes and the thought that are in our heads or pouring out of our mouthes, we hear the sound of our hike. In that sound, is the solitude that we seek, the adventure we strive for, and the life we live. Admittedly, we don't live in a place with the most GRAND vistas in our country. But we do find something we seek on every hike. Mostly through those sounds. So, this morning, I will enjoy the sound of the relaxation that I seek at the end of the Summer. On the days when there is no rain or wind through the trees or crickets singing, I am happy that I have those sounds saved so, I can go back to those sounds and feelings . I hope that you will find your sound location too. Until next time, keep on trekking! We THOUGHT was were doing it right! We had our map, compass, and our plan. Maybe we hadn't had enough coffee. (It was right after sunrise...) Calico 1 trail was supposed to be a straight forward hike. on the map it looked like a straight line. It is NOT. In then end, we had a great time anyway. See what happened by clicking the link below. Keep on Trekking! "If you go to Las Vegas, you HAVE to go to Red Rock Canyon!" We heard this ever and over when we told people about our trip itinerary. After being there, I have to say that I agree with everyone that said that. The conservation area is well worth a visit and getting your boots in the dirt. Since we were headed that way in July, we decided to use only the mornings to hike and be out in the desert heat. However, we arrived in the city before noon and knew we couldn't check into our hotel, so we decided to head out to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area after we got our luggage and grabbed a quick bite to eat. As you can see in the video, we asked about hiking for sunrise when we were at the visitor's center. We did just that on July 4th. We drove out to the overlook early that morning and enjoyed the sunrise almost all by ourselves. See the time-lapse of the sunrise below! The video from our hike is coming soon. It was an interesting one where we didn't quite do what we intended. Stay tuned for that! Until next time, keep on trekking! If you have been following us for a while, you know we love sunrises and sunsets. It's the time we see the Earth in its best light. When we knew we were headed to Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim, we decided to try to see both sunrise and sunset each day we were there. Being monsoon season for the area, we had our fingers crossed for a great show. The first night we were there, it rained with no rainbow. The second night was prettier, but the 3rd night was amazing! We spent over an hour walking from Bright Angel Point, to the lodge porches, and then out to the lookout point in front of the lodge. It was a great evening! Please enjoy the video of what we saw that night. If you like what we saw, please subscribe to our YouTube Channel. Until next time, keep on trekking! Extreme Heat (100+ degrees) and 80% humidity means we need to find a cooler way to see awesome vistas. So we decided to tour Onondaga Cave. The cave is beautiful and a wonder to see. It was a great day trip! The cost of the tour is $15 for adults. Please enjoy touring the cave with us. Until next time, keep on trekking! When we started planning our vacation to Nevada, we started asking questions of our hiking friends on Facebook. And one of the people we had met along our journeys lives in NV and suggested that we drive up from Las Vegas to Valley of Fire State Park. (parks.nv.gov/parks/valley-of-fire) We had driven through on 2013, but not really stopped to do anything. (It was afternoon and REALLY hot.) This time, we planned to see the sunrise and get an early start on the Fire Wave. (Thanks to 2beagles.1jeep on Instagram for the suggestion.) We got to the park just as the sun was peeking over the hills. It was beautiful! We stopped in at the visitor's center hoping for a park map, but all we found was a couple of big-horned sheep. They were very fun to watch. After they got out of the road, we headed up to the trailhead for the Fire Wave. All of the rocks were amazing in the morning light and the hike was a wonderful start to our day! After the Fire Wave, we knew the visitor's center would be open, so we headed back there. The rangers there were trying to keep people away from a group of big-horned sheep that had gathered at a water source in front of the visitor's center. They suggested that we hike Mouse's Tank Trail before we headed back to the city to see the petroglyphs. We are always up for finding some cool historic things on our trips, so this sounded perfect. All in all, our first hikes in Valley of Fire State Park were VERY awesome! We intend to return for more hikes in the future! Please watch our video to see the whole adventure! Until next time, keep on Trekking! HOLY COW (or CONDOR)! When we set out on our hike up to Widforss Point on the North Rim in Grand Canyon National Park, we hoped for some solitude and some great views of the canyon. We got more than we hoped for with our lunch stop at Widforss Point. The picture taking at 11:00-noon is not the best because of the harsh sunlight, so we were hoping for a few good shots. I enjoy watching birds. I love watching them fly, but enjoy watching them sitting too. I saw a HUGE bird flying over the canyon to our right and started filming. I am SO glad I did! We later confirmed with a ranger that what we had seen was a California Condor. The view finders on our cameras are very little and we didn't want to get this wrong (and look stupid on the Internet). It was AMAZING and awe inspiring to watch this majestic animal fly across such a majestic space. I felt small and insignificant in these moments, but special at the same time. Please enjoy and share the video and know that you are part of something special now too. Keep on trekking! The weather was gorgeous and we had to be outside. Saturday had been crazy, so Sunday was our day. But we had made no plans (not like us at all). We got in the car and started driving towards our usual treks with cameras, packs, and snacks ready for an adventure. Since there are SO many great parks and trails near our home in St Charles County, Missouri, we knew we would come across a good idea quickly. We had been introduced to The Historic Daniel Boone Home at Lindenwood Park (www.sccmo.org/1701/The-Historic-Daniel-Boone-Home) a couple of times in the last year, but hadn't taken a tour. Thus, we chose that park as our destination. We knew there would be some thing fun to take pictures of at the park. We had no idea that the gardens and prairie restoration would have so many butterflies, bees and other pollinators to target for pictures. It made for a fun morning of watching them gather food. We also enjoyed seeing a couple of deer and a flock of Turkey Vultures. You can see those in this video. We got so caught up with taking pictures and enjoying the river, that we lost track of time and forgot about scheduling a tour. The park has a Self-guided tour with a booklet. We decided that that was the way to go. Without the guide, we couldn't get into any of the buildings, but we enjoyed our time none-the-less. (And we have a great reason to go back.) You can see pictures from the park in the video below. Sunday was a great surprise day outside! We will certainly revisit this beautiful and interesting park in St Charles County! Keep on trekking! When we decided to start the public face of Happy Trails Hiking a year ago, we hadn't really thought about describing why we had chosen to start hiking. "We just like being outside and together." That was our answer to our friends and family when they wanted to know why we spent so much time hiking. It is our escape from the busy, loud, and crazy world we exist in every day. It is also our research lab, think tank, kitchen table, and place to plan our life. So, hiking isn't an activity that we "do". It has become a place we go to make our life happen. We have been hiking (and living) together for more than half of our lives. Through Happy Trails Hiking, we are inviting you to come along on our exploration of the world. Please enjoy the pictures and videos of life as we see it. One year ago, a couple of former colleagues came to visit with me for a fun day in Historic St Charles, Missouri (www.historicstcharles.com/). Little did we know that this would start an adventure to visit every state park in our state and a YouTube channel! Jennifer, who has challenged herself to get EVERY stamp in the state, still needed to visit Castlewood State Park (mostateparks.com/park/castlewood-state-park) for her stamp, so we decided to meet for a morning hike. It had been quite a while since I had visited Castlewood State Park. It was a great morning for a hike and for animal spotting. Take a look at our adventure. Keep on trekking! Our first stop on our Spring adventure in March of 2017, was Death Valley National Park. (www.nps.gov/deva/index.htm) We arrived on a Saturday afternoon and got checked in to the Furnace Creek Ranch (now called The Oasis at Death Valley www.oasisatdeathvalley.com/) After we checked out the grounds, restaurants, and the pool, we headed to Zabriskie Point for some views of the badlands at dusk. It was BEAUTIFUL and a great introduction to Death Valley. On Sunday morning, we had an adventure planned to Scotty's Castle. The castle and grounds were damaged in a flash flood in October of 2015 and has been closed since then. So, when we found out that the Death Valley Natural History Association (dvnha.org/) was offering Restoration Tours, we signed up to get tickets. It was a great tour where we learned quite a bit about flooding in the desert as well as the history of Scotty's Castle. Early Monday morning, we started our day with a sunrise hike in Golden Canyon and Gower Gulch. This hike was a little over 5 miles. It was stunning! Since we started so early, we had no crowds! Just what we needed. Our afternoons were spent with short side trips and the swimming pool at the Ranch. Take a look at our overview video for those side trips. Death Valley was a great vacation and nothing like we imagined it to be. We have already planned our second trip to DVNP, so stay tuned! Keep on trekking! |
AuthorAt Happy Trails Hiking, we encourage you to live the life you love and seek solace and adventure in America’s Parks and Public Lands. This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies. Opt Out of CookiesCategories
All
Archives
October 2020
|