Katy did

Need a long run ? Try the Katy ( see link on previous post ) ……. 26. 2 … x 10 ! Thats right campers . Over 264 miles of trail running . Pretty much the whole way across Missouri from Clinton to St Louis .  Its a lot of prairie , so some of it can be a little monotonous . Like No Name key . Or a Jersey Shore boardwalk . But the surface is great,  and there are hills and dales and shade . I think it would be cool to do one of those little jaunts where you do the whole thing …. biking, running …. staying at inns along the way. Today was a good day for a hard 10 ....

Clinton station .... all aboard !

looking down the path towards St Louis ( 264  miles away)

hmmm ... gravel

rest area ?

oops  .... prairie restoration area

the trail , all 264 of it , is a state park

back to the station

I made fun of this a bit but the Keys , Jersey Shore , could learn a lot about what to do with their old right - of - ways 

Sparrowfoot and Tuesdays run

 Thank you Sandy , Max and Glenda for the tomatoes ! Arkansas tomatoes are the best !


the route so far (plus) the next 2 days ( maybe )

 Sparrowfoot is a recreational area created by the Army Corp when they developed Truman Lake ( outside of Clinton MO ) . Say what you will about the Corp , but they build some incredible, and inexpensive campgrounds . The RV park down the road was probably pretty full ( they have cable and wifi ? ) and spaces that are quite close. This place is practically empty and even if it wasn't the sites are shaded and spaced well .

SHOUT OUT to my bro for steering me to .....

the "Katy"

http://www.bikekatytrail.com/

its just a hoot and a holler from where I be now .... to where I definitely want to be tomorrrow !

Sparroewfoot pix

Hardy R & R

Hardy is funky a little town on the banks of the south fork of the buffalo river ( I think ) . Along with the river , the railroad runs through it . Lucky for me I love the sound of freights rumbling through at all hours … and every hour . Wow . You have heard about the oil that they are shipping BWO rail instead of pipe ? Here it be ! Along with more containers of ? than you can imagine .

No trails to run ( and I don't mind recovering ) but a few photos of the place anyway ! I feel a train song coming on .

Main Street - The Hammered Dulcimer Store

Dulcimers getting hammered

Texas Tea

Selfie

 

Perry to Oak Mt to Hardy AK

The drive up from Sebring was great ….  till I got too close to Tampa . Ug ....Cut over to the coast and took one of those old US highways up to Perry Fl . The cliche in the lower keys is you know you are in Conch country when you are closer to Cuba than Walmart ... in Perry,  its you know you are in Seminole country, when you are closer to WiFi than you are to cell service !

Perry;
Rocky's campground and Deals Oyster-house !  Rockys was unique . No cell coverage but great wifi . Deals was unbelievable . Oyster and shrimp ala Florida panhandle .

The drive from Perry up to Birmingham was scary bad . It was a saturday and it reeked of the Jersey shore Saturday … 100,000 weekly renters heading home from vacation ( panama city ? ) and in one hell of a hurry !

I made it as far as Oak Mt State Park ( south of Birmingham) and luckily , for whatever reason , gave up and turned off……Oh smart move Bailey ! Miles and miles of trails . Ups and downs …. but what the heck . Saturday nite in a state park can be … meh …. but I had great neighbors that fed me and had just finished a 2 month stint volunteering at ….. WAIT FOR IT ….. the Black Hills of South Dakota . So I got the skinny !

Woke up early (even with the time zone change ) …. ran 8 on some knarly trails and was on the road by 10 . How Gnarly were they ??? They were so gnarly I did not take a camera ( phone ) because I needed both hands free to pull my ass up the hill … or more important … two hands to stop myself ( trees ) coming down !

The drive from Alabama thru NE Mississippi , SW Memphis and into the great state of Arkansas was uneventful . I landed in Hardy AK . Cool old town, with a city camp ground down by the river .... and its in the antique capital of NE Ak .... whatever that means .

The Bucci took it all in stride . Not sure if I will run or float tomorrow .
Peace

 .

Highland Hammock

After a touch of the Hesitation Blues , I finally put the trailer to the road !
Big Pine to Sebring b.w.o of the Overseas Highway , Krome , Okachoobee , Clewiston  !

Highland Hammock State Park is located just west of Sebring . It was "built" by the Civilian Conservation Corp in the 1930s with the financial assistance, and help,  of local citizens . .. so it comes complete with a beautiful rec hall , amphitheater , music pavilion , museum  and all the classic mortise and tenon junctures that make for a park from that era .

Jammed with old growth live oaks ( think 1000 years old ) , cypress , bromeliads and white tail deer  (that look about the same size as key deer … strangely enough) …. this is perfect spot for a getaway . Biking , Equine and hiking trails are everywhere … not to mention a couple miles of boardwalk that connect the various trails ! The buzzng of the cicadas , crickets, and katydids are about the only sounds you will hear ( except for the owl that hooted at my window around 4 a.m. )

I wanted to run 12 or so to keep up with Angie and Tracy … but the gps doesn't work in the big trees and the cushy trails worked my legs and feet …..  so after 80 minutes I was done. There are at least another 10k to get on the way back !

                                             They aren't much bigger than our key deer

                                          boardwalk thru Highland Hammock cabbage patch

                                            more boardwalk . This time Cypress

                                                                       gettin Tight !

                                 the next 1k will be with out gaurdrail ! Yes, it slowed me down !

old run

first run .... 5 down the old road . Mostly cloudy,  so an easy run ! Its nice to see this beautiful path being used ( though the portion that I took the picture is not part of the "official" heritage trail so it didn't get the face lift ) Even better to see a running buddy from Middle Torch that I hadn't seen for months ! Thanks for the tip about Zion,  Sue. Hope to see you out there !

and they're off !

Its amazing .... I thought it highly unlikely that I could fill this trailers compartments . Good thing I am only driving down the road to Don and MaryAnn's ..... because I "need to weed" a few cubics of whatever it is I filled it with , before I can continue on this journey .
My little buddy wasn't pleased about the whole ordeal and made a half hearted break for freedom when we got to Don's . I won't let that happen again !
More tk in the morning

Itinerary

 the first stop

Black Hills , Badlands , Rushmore , TR Ntl Park etc

http://gfp.sd.gov/state-parks/directory/mickelson-trail/

b.w.o.

Okeechobee . Swanee . Birmingham . Hardy Ark . Clinton Mo . Omaha Ne .......... 


eventual stops

Sierra backside . Great Basin . Dinosaur . 4 Corners

Purpose

Bite off as much as I can !

 run some trails ... write some songs ... and see ( a portion of ) the USA
 with my buddy Bucci
 

in a trailer