Cuivre River, Blackhawk Point Trail, Sunday, July 28, 2013

View from the Bluffs, Cuivre River State Park

The weather remained amazingly calm, cool and beautiful all through the night. It was actually 54 degrees on the morning of July 28! No stultefying humidity whatsoever. I thought perhaps I was in a different state, sitting out by a fire pit, wearing a sweater the night before this hike. Juneau and I headed off again around 8:15.  She stayed on her 20 ft. leash--only unraveling it once when I wasn't paying attention to chase a squirrel. I'm sure she wanted to chase the deer we saw when they bolted (after observing us for quite some time on two separate occasions), but she's very mindful if I'm paying attention and give her firm resistance.

This time we hiked a trail that's new as of 2011--the Blackhawk Point Trail. The trailhead is right next to the Frenchman's Bluff Trailhead behind the CCC stone shelter. It's 5.75 miles long--crosses Cheatham Road and runs along the bluffs for a substantial part, with excellent views of the river valley and farmland.  The last two miles or so follow Cheatham Road, which is gravel but open to cars. We saw deer and horses--but although the trail is specifically marked for bicyclists, we didn't see any.  I wonder if they avoid Cuivre River because horseback riders seem to claim every trail for their own. In any case, this was an excellent hike.  It was cool and breezy and I hardly ran into anyone. I'd like to come back in Fall when the leaves are changing.

I did get chggers, though. Chiggers like I haven't had since I was 33 years old! And for the first time in over eight years, I had to take a methylprednisolone packe! Ugh!

Cuivre River, Saturday, July 27, 2013

The weather was unbelievable. I don't ever recollect an end of July in St. Louis this cool and beautiful, Seventy-five degrees.  I was house sitting for my brother Pat and his wife Lynnie, so I took one of their dogs, Juneau, for a hike at Cuivre River State Park, which is only about thirty minutes via Highways 61 and 47 from their house in Wentzville. The first trail we hiked was the 2 mile Blazing Star Trail, which traverses a little forest and then this field of wildflowers. Then we hiked the 3.75 mile Big Sugar Creek Trail.  Very satisfying hike--although there was a lot of poison ivy (which I now have) and the trail markers, although much improved over three years ago when I was hiking in winter with Pat, can still be a little confusing.

Junea on her twenty foot leash!

Wildflowers in the field