We decided that we needed explore the state we live in a little more thoroughly. We always say to everyone that we love it here, and we do, but we realized we hadn't done much exploring. So we have a goal to see more of what Missouri has to offer because, well, we want even more reasons to love it. The first place we decided to check out is Rock Bridge State Park. It is just about 45 minutes away from us, and we couldn't have picked a more lovely day to go. We also didn't even see the half of what the state park there had to offer, so be forewarned, we will probably be revisiting this title down the road. You can see the main attraction in the above picture. It is this massive rock bridge (duh!) in which a stream goes through. The really amazing part about this whole place is there wasn't a "Stay on the designated path" mentality. There were paths, but park rangers said to feel free to go under the bridge and explore off of the path as well. If you know me and Kenny at all, you know that is definitely the way we like it.
Before we started our trek, we had a picnic lunch. A cute fuzzy caterpillar joined us as well and was a highlight for the boys.
There was a little stone plaque right by the picnic area that the boys got all sorts of use out of while Ken and I finished eating.
Here is a view of us heading into the tunnel. The boys had a blast throwing rocks into the water and keeping their eyes opened for bats!
We decided to have a go with some of the boardwalk paths. What you don't see in these pictures...there were soooo many stairs, sometimes 20 or so at a time and they went up and down and up and down. Eli loved it! Which is great. He didn't want to stop. He wanted to just keep going. No nature admiring for him, just pure climbing and energy disposal. Needless to say, he kept me warm and a little out of breath. Notice cute Shiloh's walk and how big he was carrying his own backpack and both sippy cups.
The story that you can't see from this pic: Shiloh having a freak out just prior and Eli rolling his cup off of the boardwalk for attention, and me, daringly mind you, climbing over the fence and onto the mountainside to get the cup to avoid further screaming from Eli. We lucked out because a tree root stopped it from rolling off the twenty or more foot cliff into the stream below... The things you do for your children and, maybe more importantly, for a little peace.
Just outside the Devil's Icebox, a very chilly cave with bats.
Shiloh in the cave. He got to see a few bats and was very excited about it. I didn't go in. I have seen enough bats in my life that I was content to just let them alone.
This is a view looking up from Devil's Icebox. The walls were covered in moss and ferns and it was just gorgeous.
We loved this outing. The boys had a blast, Ken and I had a blast, and we got to discover more about where we live. I am actually really excited to see more of this state park and to explore the other state parks that are close by. Stay tuned for more posts about why we love where we are.
That looks awesome! It's the perfect time of year for exploring.
ReplyDelete