Hiking at Bennett Springs State Park

I left early yesterday morning for an adventurous day in the great outdoors with my twin sister who lives in the heart of Missouri's Ozarks right on the edge of Bennett Springs State Park.   Sue and I were raised in the city but for the last ten years Sue has lived and worked at the park and developed a close relationship with the park conservationist.  Due to this relationship she has become a conservationist of sorts herself.  I find listening to her chatter about the resident animals and plant life fascinating and looked forward to a day tromping around in the woods with her.

Even though I am not a morning person I was so excited about my upcoming adventure I left early for the three hour drive to Lebanon MO and arrived a good hour before our cousin Lynette, who was also joining us.  So what are we to do with an hour to waste?   Why explore the different hiking options the park has to offer, of course.  The park has several hiking trails with varying degrees of length and difficulty to traverse.  Not knowing how fit our cousin was we decided on the 4 1/2 mile trail rather than the 7 miles.  Just a good stretch of the legs!

The fall day was perfect for the excursion into the woods, gentle cool breezes and just enough sunshine to make the outing enjoyable.  All three ladies had dressed in layers so that we would be warm when we began our outing and we could slowing strip as our bodies warmed up from the exercise warranting less clothing. It wasn't long before the stripping began.  Out in the open the cool breeze was actually rather cold but not in the woods where the trees shielded us.  The trail we had chosen was not terribly difficult making it easy to hop over logs and climb the gentle rise of the hills while talking, laughing and enjoying our company.  We followed the winding path along the Niangua River until the trail abruptly ended.  We then had to climb a section of the bluffs where the trail started up once again. 

Suddenly we had come to the end of our hiking trail.  Two and a half hours had passed in a blink of the eye.  Amazing how quickly time flies when you are with good company. 

We returned to the park's country store to have a nourishing bowl of homemade vegetable soup and talk about our little adventure.  We were slightly disappointed that the only wildlife we had seen was a sleepy little black snake looking for a little sun to warm himself.  Much of the plant life was now dormant preparing for the cold winter but still there was some soft velvety moss that had bloomed just to make us happy and even some blue/green lichen scattered around on the rocks.

The day had come to an end much too soon and all three ladies had to head for home, each with our own responsibilities that needed our attention.  For a short time all our concerns and problems were swept under the rug as we played just as we had fifty years ago as little girls on our grandfather's farm.  Who says you have to grow up?  OK, we grew up but we still can retreat to our childhood occasionally.