Montauk State Park, Missouri

Saffire’s latest adventure began last Sunday, September 13th. The WAC group from all over the country is meeting at Montauk State Park in Missouri. Most are arriving beginning Friday, and we are expecting people from Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Colorado.

Montauk is one of Missouri’s premier trout parks. The Current River, one of American’s National Scenic Riverways, has it’s headwaters in Montauk. The river is fed by four natural springs which put billions of gallons of fresh water into the river daily. The flow through the Park is ideal for rainbow trout, and just out of the park is beautiful kayaking water.

I decided to come down early to get some serious flyfishing in before the crazy fun begins. Luanne decided to come too for more lessons.

On the way down I saw a man coming down I-44 going east, he was riding a bicycle on the shoulder of the interstate. That would have been interesting enough, but he was towing three trailers behind the bicycle! Two of them were the kind you pull kids in and the other looked like a homemade something. I wish I could have gotten a picture of him.

Luanne decided to come early too for more flyfishing lessons and either I’m a good teacher or she’s a great pupil because her first fish here was a 17” rainbow! This was the first fish she landed on a fly rod and did a great job. We are “catch and realeasing”, so she put the big boy back in the stream to be caught another day.

We went exploring Monday and found out where to go to get shuttles for kyaking and wandered around the hills. The country is beautiful and pretty remote, great to visit but not for me to live! As usual, AT&T has no service, so I have no phone, but Luanne’s Verizon is intermittent and she can at least send texts. The only wifi is at the park store.

Today we left the park to fish at Baptist Camp, a beautiful site with flowing river and towering bluffs. This is a put in point for kayaking, and over a weekend is probably pretty busy, but today, we had the river to ourselves. The fishing was slow, but so beautiful it didn’t matter if we were caught anything. (I did catch one so we weren’t skunked!)

The weather has been glorious, a little shower at night and very pleasant during the day.

It looks like rain this afternoon, but we’re hoping to get back on the stream a while before dinner. We could go kayaking but we’re having so much fun fishing that will probably wait until the group arrives. I think we’ll have 9 kayaks for floats, and if the weather holds will probably go at least three times next week.

Will try and get this posted today, but won’t put any pictures up until I get home. Back soon!

Pere Marquette Park, Illinois

Pere Marquette Park, Illinois

Luanne and I met at Pere Marquette State Park in Illinois August 12 thru 16th. I hadn't
gotten around to writing a report because I've been suffering from the
aftereffects of "keeping up with Luanne" or I'm getting a sinus infection.
Probably the Luanne problem!

We put the trip off for a couple of days because of 100 degree weather, but when
it dropped into the 80's we decided we were a go. We did have a couple of days
that weren't too bad, but then the humidity descended and the a/c's ran full
time.

We chose Pere Marquette because it is adjacent to a biking trail and we planned
on riding during the trip. I mistakenly thought it was going to be fairly flat
because the trail parallels the river, oh was I wrong. The trail runs up and
down over the river bluffs and was I huffing and puffing.

We arrived Wednesday and had fun catching up and running the dogs. I am happy
to report that Tucker and Teddy are now best buddies, and Tucker no longer
attacks Teddy. Big relief!

Thursday we did our killer ride, from the park to the town of Grafton. The
reward was lunch on a patio overlooking the river watching the boats and barges
go by and then an ice cream cone. During the flood of 1993 the entire town was
completely submerged, it must have been awful. Unfortunately, we had to ride
back to the park. I, of course, was dying and Luanne went sailing in.

Luanne and Tucker were up every morning and had a long walk before Teddy and I
emerged from Saffire. The park had lots of great places to walk the dogs, and
we were able to let them run off leash a lot.

There's a fun resaturant not far from the park, Fast Eddie's Bon Aire in Alton.
The food is CHEAP and good, burgers $1, shrimp 30 cents each, chicken $1.50, and
they claim to serve the coldest beer anywhere. It pulls a great crowd, people
watching is exceptional. We went early afternoon Saturday and the place was packed.

The heat, humitidy and bugs drove us into Saffire in the evening, and we had a
great time watching season one of 30 Rock. I think it is a great show, and
Luanne's laughter says she agrees. We're looking forward to seeing the second
season when we camp in September.

We did some geocaching Sunday with mixed results. We found quite a few, and
were frustrated by a couple that said the cache was "under the rock" and there
were 10,000 rocks. We headed to Alton and found the statue of Robert Wadlow,
the Alton Giant. He was 8'11" tall, today he would have been a star in the NBA!

Two young girls camped across from us and watching them we learned how to make a
great fire. They brought about five cans of lighter fluid with them and sat
and squirted until the flames rose 15 feet, let it die down, and did it again!
I'm not sure what they were smoking while they watched the flames dance.

We headed home Monday morning. I spotted a truck wash across from Fast Eddies
so went and washed Saffire, so she's clean and ready to go in September to meet the WAC's who are traveling to Missouri from all over the country!

Next journey leaves Kirkwood on September 13. Will post if there is wifi, or send a big one at the end. Stay tuned...this one will be full of kayaks, trout, fly rods, hikes and good friends along for all of it!

Pictures from Hunting Island Trip, June 2009

Pictures from Hunting Island Trip, June 2009

Pictures from Hunting Island Trip, June 2009

Hunting Island trip

We're home!  It was a great trip I will attempt to recreate, but I know it won't be the same as keeping up every day would have been.  We had no wifi our entire trip which obviously made it impossible to post to the blog.  Here goes with the highlights and some pictures!

We left St. Louis and our first stop was Metropolis, Illinois, the home of Superman.

We had to stop and see the Man of Steel and his phone booth.  I remember watching Superman and was able to impress my Grandchildren with my recitation of  "faster than a speeding bullet etc"  Superman is an enduring character, as our three generations can attest!

Chattanooga was our overnight, pulling into a commercial campground at dusk.  We had a long day and the kids had been great, as they were the entire trip.  Phil and Elyse headed for the swimming pool and we had a comfortable night.

We were within a mile of Hunting Island when we had the only real upset of the trip, and looking back it was very minor.  The bridge going to the Island is a very narrow old drawbridge. We were almost across when a truck with mirrors at the same height as mine came in the opposite direction.  While we were both in our lanes, the mirrors "kissed" and shattered.  It was pretty upsetting when it happened, but really could have been so much worse.  I probably would have been more upset at the time if I hadn't been keeping my cool so the kids wouldn't be upset.  It is a no fault accident so I have an added expense from the trip, darn!  I rigged two cosmetic mirrors with Gorilla Tape, and although they got us home I'm not going to travel any further with them.  

We pulled into the campground with our trauma, and within a half an hour the kids were at the beach!  Our site was great, we had trees around to shade Saffire, just down from a shower and yards from the beach.  We were so close the kids could run back and forth to Saffire if they needed something.  

This was their first time at the beach, and they loved it.  I don't think they love it as much as their Mother though!  Kristin could stay in the water and sit and read at the beach from morning to night. 

The temperature started climbing Monday, and the week got hotter and hotter.  Thank God for Saffire's air conditioning.  It was so hot that Teddy cried when he walked across the dry sand on the way back from the beach!  No one at home felt sorry for us because they were having 100+ temps and we at least had water and beach breezes.  

Hunting Island has the only SC lighthouse open to climb to the top.  Kristin doesn't much like heights, so her reactions were great!  It was really a lesson on the power of water and erosion to learn the lighthouse had originally been 1.5 miles inland and now is only 400 yards from the beach!

Philip and Elyse loved their boogy boards, and Philip made friends with two fishermen.  They caught a big shark which he got to hold and two stingrays!  See, that's why I love the mountains, those things are swimming around in that water with you!!!!!!!!!

We took some time off  Thursday and went to see Up and did some laundry.  We all liked the movie and it was nice to get away from the heat for a while.  

Friday was great as my WAC friend Nancy from Atlanta arrived to visit with her daughter Susan and her dogs Lizzie and Jack.  Nancy and Susan were in Charleston to see the Tall Ships and I was really glad they came to Hunting to see us.  Susan is darling and I love Nancy and her dogs.  It was, as usual, very hot that day.  Elyse helped make a mexican dip we shared and we took a walk to the beach.  Susan didn't have a suit so only the dogs got in the water.  Thanks for coming over Nancy!

We broke camp Friday afternoon, took down the screen room and put up the bikes.  We pretty much had everything ready to go for Saturday morning.  We decided to go into town to the book store and go out for dinner.  Elyse is a HUGE reader and needed a couple of more books to get home.  The bookstore in Beaufort was charming, carrying used and rare books.  Elyse settled on a book published in the late 40's, a mystery featuring Shirley Temple!  There was a whole series of mysteries written around movie stars of the 40's.  

Dinner was at a wonderful little restaurant, The Wren.  I had my favorite Low Country dish, grits with shrimp, lobster and scallops.  The flavors were mouth watering, and the children both tried the scallops and decided they weren't bad!  

Saturday morning had us coming across the cursed bridge with no problems, and heading to the mountains!  We had a beautiful drive to Moonshine Creek Campground in Balsam, NC.  It is about 20 miles from Asheville, a bit isolated and wonderful!!!  We emerged to NO humidity, 70 degree temps, a creek rushing right behind our campsite, life was good!   It made me feel good just to be there.  

Elyse and Phil were refreshed too, squeezing cherries into their water to create new drinks, playing games and running all over.  Elyse created a magic show for us, with assigned seating! She was very clever with her card tricks, watch out when she gets old enough to go to the casino!! 

When we went to bed we had all the windows open and left a fan on, by morning we were all freezing!!  What a difference a few miles can make!!!!!

Sunday found us heading into the Smoky Mountains.  We stopped at the Cherokee museum and thought it was well done.  On into the mountains we made a stop and took a nice hike.  It is such a beautiful area, I love all the ferns and streams, and the mountains unfolding beyond us.  

We decided we wanted to go horseback riding, so we found a stable for a late afternoon ride.

I used to ride a lot, but hadn't been on a horse in probably six years.  I assumed (you know what that word means, don't you?) they would have a mounting block, well, surprise surprise.  And I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't have any trouble mounting!!  We had a lovely ride up the mountain along the stream and I remembered how much I love to ride.  I realized before long that my stirrups were too short, and boy my knees started to hurt.  I thought I was going to limp for the rest of my life when I first dismounted, holding on to Elyse and Phil to hobble across the corral!  After I got locomoting all was well again.  

Kristin, Elyse and Philip really enjoyed their ride.  Brochures at the stable alerted Elyse to the Guiness Museum in Gatlinburg where we were going to spend the night.  It was her heart's desire to see the museum, so after we set up Saffire we boarded one of the Gatlinburg Trolley's and went in for dinner and the Guiness Museum.  There were at least a million people in the town, what a tourist place.  And what a rip off, Guiness was really a sad worn place, and I felt bad for Elyse that she was so let down.  I think I will have to get her the book for Christmas, as that is why she wanted to see the "stuff".  

Monday morning we went to Nashville and spent several hours at The Hermitage,  Andrew Jackson's home plantation.   The state of TN has done a wonderful job with the house, grounds and museum and we all loved it.  As we were leaving the grounds to go back to the museum and gift shop, Philip started howling.  A bee had gotten between his flip flop and foot and stung him!  The stinger was still in and and we had to pull it out.  He recovered quickly but that was not to be our last trauma with his foot.  

When we  came out of the museum it was around four, and we debated a six hour drive home or going to our campground.  As we had no plans for Tuesday but driving, we decided to head home.  We would have a cool evening drive and all day Tuesday to unpack and be home.  

We were in Kentucky when howls erupted from the back.  It was Philip, who had pulled the skin off of a blister on his foot and thought he was going to die!  Oh he was in such pain, like no one else had ever felt.  He needed his Mother NOW.  A nearby exit and a first aid kit soothed the savage beast, and we were able to continue our trek home.  The carrot of a stop at Steak and Shake for dinner kept us going, and Phil was asleep ten minutes after he finished his dinner.

Elyse and Philip were great travelers, the only tears were the result of Philip's foot traumas, and there were very few sibling squabbles.  We travelled nearly 2,000 miles and Saffire performed perfectly.  Kristin did all the cooking; we played Scrabble, Farkle and UNO; we read a lot; we watched episodes of The Waltons on DVD (a series which is surprisingly sophisticated); loved our trips to Beaufort; had sore bottoms from riding and all agreed we had a great trip.

Elyse wants to go to The Four Corners next!

I'm sorry for the long post, and I know I've forgotten lots of fun things.  I'll try to do better next trip!