A nice start to spring!

On the 22nd, Theron and I decided to test out the trail (The Katy Trial, that is). Although the going was rough for some of the way (thanks to those who cleared the trail of fallen trees and left large chunks of wood) due to debris on the trail, we huffed and puffed through it. We went a total of 28 miles, which, compared to last year is excellent! By the end of the season last summer, we hit a total of 24 miles, I believe. That is what a cyst, a herniated disk, and being fat and out of shape will do to you. I am glad to say that all my time at the gym has paid off in longer rides, and much more endurance. There is Theron pumping up the tires before we leave (started at about 11:30 - I know, a pretty 'late' start). We started in Augusta and went west.

This is a horrible picture of me. After the first 9 miles, we stopped at our favorite (and only) restaurant in Dutzow for some home-made lunch. Yum!! Just what we needed to refuel and start back out, going further west. I didn't realize it until last time, but we were already in Warren County at this point!


Here is a nice train tussle, there are many of them on the trail, but what makes them so unique is that they were all built during the Great Depression, which I imagine the metal cost a lot back then? I wonder if these were part of the WPA works? Not sure. At this bridge, however, we thought we saw a body in the water (two real criminologists for you!) and so Theron went down to check it out. Come to find out it must have been a wolf (the skeleton had legs, knees, and what looked like feet!) However, the skeleton had a tail (!) almost 2 feet long, so clearly it wasn't a person! Thank goodness!!




There is Theron checking out the "body!"



Next, we got back on the bikes, and rode another 2 miles where we hit Marthasville (named for Daniel Boone's wife). I must say there was a lot more there compared to when the trail first opened almost 12 years ago. The last time I had been there, there was a silo and a Katy Trail informational pavilion. Now there was a gas station, houses, an antique store, even more silos and this cute little cabin.

I thought it was "real," but then I saw the sign saying it was a replica from 1806, when Lewis and Clark stopped at this area which was a French, fur trading town. This is the type of cabin they stayed in at the time. Notice the poles go vertical, instead of the common log cabin built in pioneer times. Back then, they built a bit shoddy, because they did not know what the outcome of the Louisiana Purchase would be, so they did not know if they would be staying there long. Pretty cool!


Over the next bridge, we saw something that resembled a car. So, of course, we had to go down for a closer look. By this time it was 5pm and we knew we would only have time for a quick look before we had to head back. (Riding bikes in the dark is not much fun out there!)


We had to ride our bikes to the next farmer's field, park them, climb down a small embankment, then walk across the field, to the creek bluff, which we promptly slid down because it was sand. We got down to the cars, and wondered what was in the car. Unfortunately it was upside-down and we couldn't do much but dig with sticks at the river mud that had built up around it. We couldn't tell

what kind of car it was, although it was HUGE! Very long with a very large front end. Surprisingly from this picture, my grandpa (who was a tool and die maker for Chrysler) was able to tell from the picture that it was probably a 1957 Chevy. He is possibly correct in that assumption. Anyone know what kind of car this is...?

Although we were hoping for a car that was from Prohibition times with shotgun holes in it, we instead, think we stumbled upon a farmer's junk pile. Here is a steering wheel in the water, it was connected to some "part" of a car that was submerged in water. Although we both wanted to keep the steering wheel, we knew we didn't want to wade into two feet of water and pry it off of whatever it was connected to...so a picture will have to suffice.

We also came up with our own theory about the cars, maybe they fell off a train that was going over the bridge! Highly unlikely, as I think the bridge would show some evidence of being struck by three vehicles falling off a train. Oh well!







We accidentally spent an hour digging at the car (no identifying markers, no VIN, no licence plates...hmmm) so we had to run back up the two bluffs and get our bikes and start back. Only 14 miles with dark coming on fast..no biggie. Ha!


Finally after going about 9 miles, I stopped to take a picture of the setting sun. I just had to. Even though by that time we both knew dark was going to come faster than we could get back, I just had to. As we both gulped Gatorade and water, the sun went down in the 1 minute we stopped to look at it. By that time we were very tired as you can probably tell. We got back to Augusta at 8:00, about 30-40 minutes after sundown. Four deer ran across the trail, the bats started coming out of the bluff caves to our right. I wondered if we would see a monster wolf like we saw in the water, but luckily we did not. Although a man dressed in dark clothing walking on the trail scared us a bit, we thought he was a large animal stumbling around, but he was apparently tipsy and walking to the bar in Augusta. Nice!





After that, we drove out to Wildwood to go to the branch of our gym that has a hot tub. After relaxing our bodies and muscles, we went home for the night. Very good day! An excellent start to spring break. Can't wait until the summer when we get to go on a new adventure every weekend!

St. Paddy's day in K-wood

Surprisingly, it seemed both Theron and I forgot it was St. Patrick's Day last Tuesday. We went on a little adventure in downtown K-wood, all on foot (to those "green" folks out there), since we live in the downtown area.

Went by the firehouse, where I found this little guy that was painted on the fire hydrant out front. Does anyone find it odd that the firehouse has its own fire hydrant...? It seemed odd to me, but of course they need water too if a fire starts. So much for their pet dalmations, I think those are illegal in Kirkwood (at least for public forums) since they are the deadliest dog in the U.S. time and time again. NOT pit-bulls like many think.

As we walked farther, we relaxed a bit in the historic part of down town, near the train tracks which were laid in the 1830s. We found an art rendering of a steam engine right next to the train tracks, so of course I made Theron stand next to it so I could take a corny picture.

I took a picture of the train station (from the 1860s) becuase I take it for granted, since I spend most of my young life in K-wood. I know what it looks like and it acts as a symbol for the town. However, in talking with Theron about it, I was reminded of the time in 2000 or 2001 when someone bought the train station and wanted to tear it down! The town protested for at least a year and somehow was able to save the station. Thank goodness as it stands as a testament to the rails that made America liveable. It still has old, lead glass in the windows and has rounded windows that stick out almost like a bay window. What makes these so cool is that the glass itself is rounded. Not sure how much that would cost today. And the station is still functional with trains coming and going everday. Living two blocks away, hearing the train whistle is a true indication that I am "home."

After eating at our favorite little "hole in the wall" bar, Ice and Fuel, we finished up by walking past a building famous for its old advertisement of the Hay and Grain Flour and Feed Mills. Although that particular business is long since gone (and The Bug Store has taken over residence) it is always neat to me to see this building and remember that the top portion was used as a train lookout so those working in the mill knew when to ready themselves for a load coming in or going out. Further, I think it is neat that those who ran the mill came from a family that still lives in town and I went to high school with two of their girls.

I wanted to stop by City Hall, which has unfortunately come to be known as the place where the "shootings" occurred. We all remember that horrible night. I thought it was wonderful that they had white trees blooming all around the building, which to me seemed to serve as a reminder of "hope" in today's age. Surprisingly K-wood has still not put up a memorial to those that lost their lives in the shooting. I am assuming someone somewhere is waiting for a donor. Or...I was thinking maybe since this was a K-wood citizen perpetrated act, by putting up a memorial to the victims, the other half of the town might get mad. This town is still segregated, unfortunately, althought race relations are decent after the shooting. Sad stuff.

The amazing part of the night came on the way home when we heard a "clack clack, clacking" of feet and looked up to see two grown men fully decked out in Scottish tartans with real bagpipes. Anyone who has known me long knows that the Scottish part of my ancestry is very important to me and I LOVE men in tartans...don't kow why. The men walked to a restaurant that was having a St. Paddy's day celebration (I suppose) and began playing the bag pipes for all of those on the patio. I did not have the nerve to run up to one and snap my picture, they seemed busy and I certainly didn't want to mess them up in their little routine. Not sure if these were roaming guys or if they were meant to go to that restaurant. Nevertheless, I've never seen bagpipes played in person and it was absolutely beautiful.

A lazy day...

Nice start to a lazy day, which is the pre-spring break fever I seem to get every year. The pre-spring break aspect comes from having the latest spring break ever (last week of March), so that I feel the need for some fun on the weekend before the last week before spring break, if you can follow.

Woke up, sun was sun-shiney and beautiful considering we had been having rain and snow for the last few months. I got up in the morning to find Clyde throughly enjoying the sun. By sticking his head between the blinds in the back door, he was "sun-bathing" while his rear-end was sticking outside the blinds. Animals do odd things. I have to wonder if this is what I would look like if I could only go outside when someone said it was time to do so - and then go out on a leash at that.

So, I went to Columbia, MO to visit some old friends. I had the itch to drive in the country, and this seemed to accomplish the task, while at the same time I was able to relax, do some shopping, and hang-out with old friends. Nice time.

On the way to and fro, as usual, I passed the world's smallest water tower - shout out to Williamsburg, MO! This is not an effect of the photo, trust me, it is absolutely ridiculous looking!

While in Columbia, I had to snap a photo of the Ms. Pacman old-school style machine with the picture of toads playing poker on a toadstool. For those of you who knew me in my college days, this seemed the perfect metaphor as well as a throw back to the days when arcade games were fun...sometime in the 1980s I suppose.

A great trip. I came back, renewed to focus on the last week of school before spring break.

Graduate School

Well, well, well. This is what graduate school does to your desk in your house. Let's see, we've got coupons (very important for poor grad students); we've got the drink of kings (coffee) for how could one stay awake through all their boring work! Next we have a can of sparkling water - yes, even a way to make water more exciting since, as a grad student, I look forward to the small things in life...oh!...exciting water (lime flavored by the way, and in a can because again, grad students are poor). But yet, there is also a glass of regular water. Of course one must have three drinks at a time - again, the exciting factor comes in, as well as the notion of , "I will be sitting in this chair for the next three or four hours reading and don't want to waste valuable time getting up for something as measly as a cup of water."

Next we have headache medicine...a staple for grad school. Post-it notes, for those pesky research ideas that pop into your head at any random moment. Finger nail polish - very important for those girly grad students...what else are you going to do while you read?! There is a book (or at least dust cover) on the desk, so see, grad students do work. Pen and pencil holder, clips for papers, matches...(not sure what the use of those is for, other than they fit in that bowl). Also a small container of make-up, since I often fail to get dressed for life if I am staying home to work. When someone comes to the door, slam on some powder and perfume, and "boom!" you can be ready to answer the door in three seconds flat while still being in your pj's.

In conclusion, one can see the staples of grad school life. Oh, and there is a small bag of candy too - sugar is a good thing, at all times. Now, if only my desk weren't so full of "necessities" maybe I could actually do my work! But, being a graduate student, I will find some weird, balled-up position with a blanket and pillow in my reclining chair and then wonder in three hours why my neck and back are so sore. Boy, I'm Little Miss Sunshine today. Happy Friday the 13th!

There is always hope

I realize I have not posted since December and it is now a new year. I am going to try to start posting almost everyday (a bit of a far-reaching goal). Regardless, I am so excited and hopeful. It appeared I would not get summer funding this summer (gulp!); however there appears to be one nice graduate student in this program after all. Once she found that she had summer funding, she is willing to "give me" her class this summer so that I may teach it and hopefully get a little funding from it as well. Also not to mention the class is a topic on which I am doing a comps paper on right now. I am excited, but I cautioned her to do what was in her best interest (why I am so benevolent?) but to definitely keep me in mind. For some reason (apparently there is also at least one grad student here with a conscious) she believed that teaching and getting paid while receiving other sources of funding is not right (wow! I've been saying that all along). If I can only count on one person to be so nice, it would truly be a "turning point" in my graduate school trajectory.