The Road Less Traveled: Beautiful Day For A Hike and A Few Surprises!

What a BEAUTIFUL day!

I have been looking forward to today all week. Not only for the obvious reason that it is Saturday, but also because the weathermen have been saying that the temperature was going to get into the 60's today. Here in Missouri in the winter, we are blessed with an occasional beautiful day mixed amongst the bitter cold and ice and snow that are regular visitors. We have seen two such days this winter so far. I, unfortunately, have had to work both days and missed out on breaking free from the mundane and getting out into nature. Today, though, I am FREE! I have learned to seize the day while you can because the opportunity might not be here tomorrow. This is true for the weather...as well as life. There is a saying that if you don't like the weather here in Missouri, just wait a few minutes...it will change. So true!

Today was beautiful. I am sometimes skeptical as far as the weather forecasts go...but they were right. Well actually, they were a bit off. Today's high reached into the 70's!!! It was a day for the record books! It's hard to believe that not far from here in Southern Missouri, as well as in Arkansas and Kentucky, they have been devastated by horrid winter storms when the weather here has been so mild. Many are still without power as ice and snow have blanketed the region! Some of my family is in Arkansas and it has been said that it could take into mid-February before all power can be restored! Please keep everyone affected in your prayers. Not having power in the winter months can be uncomfortable if not deadly.

I started my day going to my niece's last basketball game of her 6th grade season. I would like to say CONGRATULATIONS to the Eagle girls for taking First place in their tournament! GO EAGLES! And to Belle...you go girl! Now...STOP growing up! ;-) It's all going by too fast!

After the game and lunch, I headed out on my journey. I had been scoping out a path along the edge of a lake not far from where I work. There are actually two lakes here, one sits a little higher than the other (Lake Jacomo) and its overflow drains into the lower lake (Blue Springs Lake). Lake Jacomo is a lake that we would visit often when I was a child. Blue Springs Lake is relatively new, having just been "created" in my lifetime. My hike today took me along the edge of Blue Springs Lake.

After finding a place to park my car I grabbed my mp3 player, some water, and my cell phone (only for an emergency since I was going out alone) and hit the trail. The trail meandered along the edge of the lake...first covered in fine gravel...then packed dirt and some wood chips...and finally turned to mud. I noticed mountain bike tracks in the mud. What fun! I'll have to get me one of those!

Blue Springs Lake still had a pretty solid layer of ice covering it.

Another view of the shoreline.

Ahhh! The beauty of the trail!

Yes...it was quite windy! Our area was actually under a Wind Advisory. Don't blow away!

I stumbled across a rock outcropping along the trail. I had a fun time climbing and exploring the area. What a pleasant surprise!

My view looking up.

Shadow puppets! And no...I don't have a "little captain" in me!

Although it was a gorgeous day and a beautiful walk, I was somewhat disappointed that I had not yet seen any wildlife.

Cool pattern in the water.

As I walked on I heard some rustling in the fallen leaves. I looked around and saw two furry friends running toward me. The yellow and chocolate labs were both full of love for their fellow trail mate. I was so taken by them that I did not think to get a picture. Oh well...no sooner had they ran to meet me that they ran back up the hill to their humans. Ahh doggies! You can't help but love them. I walked a little further and came across the uphill "steps" and I thought that it might be fun to check out. *Please note the railroad spikes sticking up out of the log in the bottom right of the picture...I was so curious about the destination that I did not pay attention to where my feet were going...oops! Splat! Have you ever fallen uphill?!? I have. :-) And I have the bruises to prove it! At least there wasn't anyone around to witness my clumsiness! At least...I don't think there was...

Does anyone have a hammer?

One thing that I noticed on my hike that greatly disturbed me was the presence of garbage. It was everywhere. I wish that I had a large bag with me so that I could at least clean up some of it. I don't understand why people do this. Unfortunately the environment is not very high on many people's lists here. Recycling is not convenient, as many communities do not encourage or support it, so people do not go out of their way to do it. Next weekend is supposed to have nice weather...my plan is to get some people together and clean up as much of this as possible. It's a shame to see the park in this condition. I'll let you know how it goes. If you would like to help, let me know.

Litter all along the trail.

After my hike, I found a nice place along the lake to relax and look for wildlife. Since I didn't see anything but the dogs on my hike, I was hoping to at least get in some birdwatching. There are always Canadian Geese on the lake this time of year. I was able to spot some geese waddling on the frozen lake and some searching for patches of free flowing water, while others were swimming in the parts of the lake that had thawed from the warmth of the day. At times I could feel myself drifting off to sleep. It was so peaceful!

Going for a swim.

Taking flight.

Honking in formation.

Checking me out while I was checking them out...Walking on water.

Taking flight.

As I sat along the shoreline reflecting on my day and continuing to observe my surroundings, I noticed something in the distance. Could it be? I had to make sure that my eyes were not deceiving me so I grabbed my binoculars. It was! A Bald Eagle was soaring high very high in the distance! I know that the eagle's migratory path is along the Missouri River in the winter, but I have only seen one eagle here in my entire lifetime. I know that there are more, but I just have never seen them. The only other place that I have seen an eagle, besides the many that I see frequenting the San Juan Islands on my summer visits, was on the way to my aunt's house in Mulberry, Arkansas. This was truly a rare treat for this area.

As the day drew to an end...I stayed long enough to catch the sunset. The wind had been blowing all day and now there was a chill in the air. I could hear tire noise from cars driving across the dam. There were a lot of people out today-rushing about. However, I did not encounter many on the trail or out in the park. What were people doing if not enjoying the great outdoors? I'm sure that some might say that I didn't really accomplish much today. That it might seem to them that I wasted my day. Well, today was exactly what I needed. Having finally gotten rid of that horrid cold...fresh air and an open trail were a very welcome respite in the middle of winter. So for me...it was time well wasted!