The interesting things I run across...

I was out last weekend for a trip around the Ozarks and decided to stop at Elephant Rocks State Park to scramble around on the granite dome and perhaps take a few photos. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the clanking and clashing I could hear all the way down in the parking lot turned out to be a group of a dozen fencers from the St. Louis area for an open air sparring session. Interesting. Definitely unexpected, yet interesting. I sat with my dad and watched a few bouts (am I using the correct terminology here?). I must admit the setting was pretty spectacular for a fencing contest; quite a bit more dramatic than a typical city gymnasium. Since it was a warm October Sunday, the crowds at the park were worse than usual and the mid-day light was bad, so we didn't bother with any photos other than a quick cell phone video to share.

D.
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Fall is finally here

Footprints and maple leaves, Millstream Gardens, near Fredericktown, MO

I spent a nice weekend motorcycling around the Ozarks in search of the first signs of fall. This photograph sums up the trip. Looking at this photo gives me a very strong urge to break out the backpack and sleeping bag and hit the trail (any trail) for a few days. It was a whirlwind trip through some favorite places to see how the color was progressing. I'll probably head back to some of these spots again in the next week or two as the chlorophyll continues to dissipate.

I visited Millstream Gardens, Pickle Spring, Johnson's Shut-ins and Elephant Rocks. The problem with trying to cram so many places into basically an evening and the following morning is that you can't get the best light for everything (or even decent light for anything in my case). I was treating this as a scouting run, so I'll give the area the time it deserves on my next trip.

Some nice places to visit for fall color in Missouri:

• Pickle Spring Natural Area (near Farmington)
  
• Millstream Gardens Conservation Area (near Fredericktown)
  
• Johnson's Shut-ins State Park (near Ironton)
  
• Hickory Canyon Natural Area (near Farmington)
• Maple Woods Natural Area (in Gladstone)
  
• Current River (near Eminence)
  
• Wildcat Glades Natural Area (near Joplin)
  

More to come in the following days.

Johnson's Shut-ins, Black River, Reynolds Co. MO

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