These are my 2021 Top Five Travelogues/Memoirs that I find inspirational and give me insight into how others see the world. I hope these books help you find a journey of discovery about yourself and others.
2021 Top Five Travelogues and Memoirs
Fall Hikes: Quail Ridge Park
Stealey Way Trail crosses small brooks and goes along Peruque Creek through Quail Ridge Park south of Wentzville, Mo. The 2.3-mile natural surface trail is the longest one in the park and the most remote for being so close to the intersection of Interstate 64 and Interstate 70 in St. Charles County. MY TIME HERE I began at the Stealey Way Trailhead by the Group…
Fall Hikes: Rock Cave Nature Preserve
A 1.3 mile out and back trail that has a small cave, sandstone outcroppings, and rock formations can be found at Rock Cave Nature Preserve. Unusual for Central Illinois compared to northern and southern Illinois where this topography is more common. It is located about seven miles north of Interstate 70 and halfway between Vandalia, Il., and Effingham, Il. Overview Of Rock Cave Nature Preserve The…
Exploring Pleasant Ridge Park
Forested ravines with creek views can be found at Pleasant Ridge Park just north of St. Clair Square Mall in Fairview Heights.
Fall Hikes: Rockwoods Reservation
Andrew dipping his toes in the cold spring water.
Fall Hikes: Engelmann Woods Natural Area
Engelmann Woods Natural Area preserves old-growth forests that once covered the uplands along the Missouri River. This family hike allowed us to venture into the deep woods and climb some hills. Forest Life Trees here include red oak, white oak, white ash, basswood, and sugar maple that grow in the rich soil of loess deposits. Some of the larger trees are three feet in diameter,…
Fall Hikes: Powder Valley Nature Center
Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center has paved trails for families to explore the woods crossing wooden bridges over small rocky brooks and streams. It also has an educational component that helps children learn about the environment with interpretive signs that can be found as you walk in the area. Broken Ridge Trail on a Spring Day This 2/3 mile trail is along the back north…
Halloween Hikes: Arnold City Park
Walking along former residential streets through the bottomland forest was my hike at Arnold City Park. FIRST HIKE A gravel parking lot for the hike can be found at the end of Bradley Beach Road past the main area of Arnold City Park. This walk is along gravel roads and parts of them are still used for auto traffic. Starting the Hike I began the…
Halloween Hikes: A Route 66 Ghost Town
Hiking along a former street in a ghost town near the skeletal remains of a Route 66 bridge across the Meramec River was my destination. This area has a lot of history, from once being a resort town to becoming contaminated by the dangerous chemical of dioxin. History How A Ghost Town Began Times Beach, Mo., where the park now exists, was born from promotion…
Halloween Hikes: Busch Memorial Conservation Area
Like scenes of a post-apocalyptic nightmare or a zombie movie, abandoned cement bunkers are scattered throughout August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area. History In the 1940s the Department of the Army took over the area for the production of TNT and DNT production and by the Atomic Energy Commission in the 1960s for uranium ore processing. Then in the 1980s it was designated a Superfund…
