Hiking with Pat around April 23, 2014: Cuivre River

I got a little lazy about posting my hikes, walks, etc.. It's been a busy and somewhat stressful season--from Spring to Summer to Fall. Took Gateway Writing Project in June/July, had surgery the first week of August and started school mid-August. Trying to catch up with postings and get back to hiking and blogging. . . .

 This is my brother Patrick Coleman on his 42nd birthday at Cuivre River State Park. We hiked after I'd left school early for a doctor's appointment--and then I purchased his gifts and headed out to Wentzville. Day was cool, a little humid. We talked a lot about Mom and her death, our Dad's sociopathic tendencies--samo, samo, but hiking and talking is a good way to process difficult information and occurrences.

 This is where Pat made the joke about . . well, it was inappropriate, as usual :).

 Odd drainage system. This was not concrete but some kind of synthetic material. Gave me the willies about cancer and toxins.

 The Cuivre River. It was a record cold winter in St. Louis--as cold a winter as I can ever remember and I'm 48.  Green was just trying to make a comeback in late April.  Contrast that with Spring 2011 when foliage was in bloom by the end of March.

 Back pack camp. We made plans to camp here, but as yet, they haven't materialized.

Field by the parking lot, heading home.