Serenity Walk

An Al-Anon group from a neighboring district in Eastern Missouri invited all who wished to attend a Serenity Walk at Cuivre (sounds like quiver) River State Park.  The walk was scheduled for the afternoon of October 18.  When I first heard the announcement, I made note of the date, time, and location, hoping that our very iffy October weather would allow a road trip and hike.

I asked my friend Kris to join me.  As the weather was PERFECT, we headed out for the approximately one hour drive to the park near Troy, Missouri.  We were to meet at the Stone Lodge at the park.  We knew no one else who planned to attend, but I'm not shy, so we started asking people in the parking lot as we made our way to the rustic lodge.  Cheri had started a fire for the s'mores and had all the fixings ready for us to chow down.  Soon, about a dozen people gathered, mostly women, but also including one man and the charming 14 year old Chandler and we decided to keep the s'mores for after the walk.  Cheri led us to the trail head and off we went.  Two 'smore's police' stayed at the lodge to protect our precious assets!

This walk was wonderful.  The trees, mostly maple and sycamore, were in their finest Fall colors - aflame with huge leaves.  The trail was not too difficult as we headed uphill for about the first half of the walk.  At the top of the ridge, there were several overlooks where we could see the glorious vistas - the Cuivre River, a canal, some horses grazing and crops growing in a checkerboard of fields below us.  Sunny, breezy, warm, with new friends, quiet, cheerful conversation, and the trail ahead all down hill.

Kris took these photos so you could see what we saw and drool.  It was a fantastic afternoon.  After the walk, we burned our marshmallows to make s'mores, ate them, then had a cozy meeting on Serenity led by Cheri.

 

The only thing better than a perfect walk in the woods is a perfect walk in the woods with friends.

If you look closely at that last photo, you can see a few of us walking through the cathedral of trees.  Thanks, K!




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