Katy Trail

Yesterday, Kelly and I loaded our bikes onto the back of the VW and took a day trip to Rocheport and Booneville, Missouri; two towns next to each other in the middle of the state, just west of Columbia. For years, we have driven past these exits on our way to St. Louis, to visit our cousins, but we’d never gotten off the highway for a look-see. From Kansas City, Booneville is the last exit before, and Rocheport is the first exit after, Missouri’s “halfway bridge” on I-70. 

Rocheport was our first stop. Frommer's has listed it as one of America's 10 Coolest Small Towns, and while that seem like a stretch, it really is a sweet place to be. It's filled with dozens of quaint Bed & Breakfasts and fun little antique and specialty shops. There are several restaurants, but one has live music every Friday night. Although we didn't stay for the show, the restaurant's website had a YouTube clip of the bluegrass group that was scheduled and it looked like it would have been really fun to stay. The town totally caters to the cyclists and weekend overnighters, who come from the nearby surrounding areas, as well as Kansas City and St. Louis. 

Tunnel just west of Rocheport. The temperature
was at least 10 degrees cooler in there!

The Katy Trail is a recreational rail trail that runs 240 miles on the former Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT) Railroad. Running mostly along the northern bank of the Missouri River, it is the country’s longest rails-to-trails trail. We saw hikers, cyclists, families, couples and singles yesterday on the hard, flat crushed limestone path. The part of the Katy we were on is also part of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. While we could have jumped onto the Katy much closer to Kansas City, we really wanted the picturesque and shady lanes that this stretch is known for. Even with the heat and humidity, it was a lovely ride.

The trail goes from Clinton to St. Charles, and I believe there are plans to extend the west trail all the way to Kansas City.

From the Main Street, we first rode west for a couple of miles, through the tunnel and along the wetlands. We stopped just in front of the tunnel and hiked to the top of the bluff to see the River.

About 2 miles east of Rocheport is an access trail up to the Les Bourgeois Vineyard and Restaurant. We locked our bikes at the bottom, and took the short, but steep hike up the trail, to the restaurant on top of the bluff. Overlooking the river from this height, it's so easy to see why it's nicknamed the Muddy Mo - with all the rain we've been getting, the water was up and moving pretty fast. Our waitress said they see very little boat and barge traffic - maybe only a few a week. Sitting at our table we just watched the hawks flying overhead and the water moving below.

I'd love to come back in the fall when the colors are changing and turn this into a weekend.

I took this photo especially for my little friend, Katy Gunther!

A view from the top

On the Les Bourgeois trail

Grand Canal

“By day it is filled with boat traffic - water buses, delivery boats, gondolas - if something floats and it's in Venice, it moves along the Grand Canal. And by daylight it is one of the glories of the Earth. But at night, especially when the moon is full and the soft illumination reflects off the water and onto the palaces - I don't know how to describe it so I won't, but if you died and in your will you asked for your ashes to be spread gently on the Grand Canal at midnight with a full moon, everyone would know this about you - you loved and understood beauty."
― William Goldman, The Silent Gondoliers

Due north.

 "I know my moral compass doesn't exactly point due north, but if I say something's wrong, something's wrong." In the movie, 27 Dresses, actress Judy Greer recites this line to Katherine Heigl's character. Katherine, who is a people-pleaser and usually so nice, has just finished a very unkind, publicly humiliating rant towards her sister, played by Malin Ackerman. Rather than lecturing and being judgmental towards her best friend, Judy replies with the moral compass comment. That scene, and in particular, that line, has always stuck with me. 

The idea of always pointing exactly due north all the time is sometimes challenging. How far off of north do I sway? Usually, only a tad. A bit. Slightly. Perhaps, 1:00 rather than 12-noon. Kind of like the pictures below, where every line is angled just slightly askew.

 

I've never sailed. Watching the sailboats this weekend was fun; there were so many of them. They start from the north and as a group of about 15 or 20 boats, they all sail to the south, circling around buoys in several figure-eight formations, and then head back to the starting point.The amount of effort to "right" the boat from tipping over into the water when it's listing so far to one side seems incredibly difficult. It takes more than one person leaning as far back as possible to keep that delicate balance between staying afloat and submerging.

In times when I have revealed the less-than flattering side of me, I cherish the friends who care enough about me to say the words that set me straight and keep me afloat, and not stand by as I completely submerge.