Weston Bend State Park (Weston, MO)

2013.05.26 - Two explorers we admire are Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Their expedition up the Missouri from St. Louis has both inspired and motivated us. Of course, we cannot follow exactly in their footsteps, nor can we come anywhere imaginably close, but in places where we can observe and reflect, then we will. One of those places is Weston Bend State Park near Weston, Missouri.

We parked near the trailhead and started our trek on the paved trail going south. An added feature to this paved trail is how the distance is counted down or up every .25 miles by spray painted yellow markers. This is particularly useful if only walking the 2.75 mile paved trail and need a path reference. It can either be a blessing or a curse, depending on how one feels.

When we had the first opportunity to take a dirt path, we took it. The West Ridge Trail leaves the paved trail and climbs up a ridge over-looking the Mighty Missouri. Looking west, we can imagine where Lewis and Clark trekked over two hundred years ago. I have a GPS, an automobile, and restaurants nearby. I can't image what life would be without them and yet, they survived so many miles on their own through some hostile areas without any of these modern conveniences. Simply amazing.

West Ridge Trail crosses with the Harpst Valley trail which leads to the Overlook. It is here where we learn more about Lewis and Clark's path in the area from a nearby sign. A bench encircles a tree and I make the observation that I can spend an afternoon just reading here. It is that peaceful, that calm.

While walking around we saw a couple of cardinals and were welcomed to a sympathy of birds singing above us. Plus, there were signs informing us about the features and benefits to this living aviary. Maybe next time, we will sit, close our eyes, and listen to the musical chirps in surround sound.

Our hike back from the Overlook had us descending only to ascend to where we parked. It was a good hike and we even found a couple of caches along the way. Truth be told that I was expecting to hike the Weston Bluffs Trail which is closer to the River, but I don't regret where we went. If we hadn't we wouldn't have seen the Missouri the way we did and those views I wouldn't trade it. Guess that is the spirit of an any adventure, the experiences taken and life left.

We hiked 3.88 miles in 1 hour : 41 minutes averaging 26 minutes : 15 second miles. Our fastest was the first one at 20 minutes : 07 seconds.

Total blogged miles: 46.09 miles.