Bell Mountain and Elephant Rocks State Park

This weekend, my friend Katie and I went on an adventure! Saturday, we drove about 2 hours south of St. Louis to the Ozarks. We visited Elephant Rocks State Park and hiked Bell Mountain, Missouri’s second highest peak! 

Before I get to the photos, I want to share this resource with you. It’s a wonderful trip planner to the Ozark Trail system. You can choose what kind of hike you’d like to take and what length and the program suggests paths for you and provides detailed directions and maps. It was a great tool for us and helped us organize a fun 8-mile hike! 

The early settlers stumbled upon this rock formation and named them after the circus elephants the boulders resemble. 

Geology lesson: the granite boulders were once covered with loose sediment. Years of wind and water wore this covering away and eventually carved out the rounded boulders we see today. 

Katie tried to push the boulder. She couldn’t move it…

On top of Bell Mountain, Missouri’s second-highest point! 

 

Me, the mountaineer! 

Spring…Summer…is that you?

Slept with the windows open last night!

Inspiration…Move Me Brightly

Hello, blog, remember me…it’s been a while…I know, I know…

I have some good and bad excuses, laziness being at the top, I’m afraid. My creative juices have been tapped and drained by my paying freelance gigs lately, and I’ve been left with little to share with my blog friends (the few following). 

First, let me say HAPPY EARTH DAY! I hope you all figure out something to do today to celebrate MOTHER EARTH! I’m going to a yoga event under The Arch today at noon! 

Back to this blog post…Really, a lot has been going on. I’ve moved to a totally new city…HELLO?! St. Louis, the Gateway to the West ….oooooooooooooooo…….aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah  

Highlights of my life here so far include: MY PLACE! Zach and I live in two-bedroom flat, with an office, living room, dining room, kitchen and SUN ROOM! It’s awesome…a great place to work from home! Here are some pics:

We’re on the second floor. Our neighbor is nice!

The living and dining rooms are filled with SUN in the morning!

Home Office

A nice big kitchen for making delish veggie meals!

The bedroom and sun room…so relaxing!

I’ve been trying not to spend all my time at home…even though last week was soooo rainy! I’ve taken a couple bike rides to Tower Grove Park and Francis Park. Both are very close and so beautiful. The fountains and gardens in both reminded me of the parks in London…so well tended and rich feeling! 

I’ve also started to get involved in the community. Starting May 3, I will be teaching FREE community classes on Sundays at 10 a.m. at Southtown Yoga. I love this studio, the staff and students. Living in the suburbs of Chicago before, I was usually the youngest, most advanced student in the classes I attended outside of my teacher training. Now, I feel a lot more challenged and have more experienced teachers to help me develop my practice more! I’m very excited about this! 

Happy Spring everyone! I hope to update more frequently and take some pictures of the area…I can’t wait until things are blooming at the Missouri Botanical Gardens! 

I Have Arrived

FINALLY got my Internet set up! Fells great to be sitting on my couch checking my email. I finally feel like I’m settled in to  my new place! 

I woke up at 4 a.m. Saturday, April 4, 2009, to move from Cary, Illinois to St. Louis, Missouri. I got into my car, which I had packed the night before, nearly to the brim, with my most precious belongings: my clothes, yoga stuff, picture frames, decorative items from my room, the quilt my grandmother sewed me and my plants–they got shotgun.

I followed my dad and mom, he in the U-Haul and she in her car, to St. Louis. I had made the trip oh so many times before, and it’s a pretty long trip (between five and six hours), especially by yourself. I think the fact that I knew this trip down I-55 was going to be the last in a while made the time fly. (I didn’t even listen to a book on tape, which is standard for me on these hauls.) 

We arrived at our flat at about 10 a.m. The first 24 hours flew by. It is a blur of moving and unpacking and saying goodbye. I’m an only child leaving the nest, I think it is going to be an interesting transition for all of us–not one we’re not ready for, though.

Things are going great. It’s been 11 days and I’ve got to do and see a lot. Zach got me a new-to-me bike for my birthday! So, on a nice day (there haven’t been many yet…mostly rain), I took a ride to and around Tower Grove Park. It was fun! I love spring! 

I’ve also been to two of the neighborhood eateries. Murdoch Perk and Macklind Avenue Deli. Both had delish food, nice people and free wifi! 

I’m also teaching yoga at a local gym and studio. And, I’ve got some intriguing freelance stuff in the works! I’m very excited. When the weather gets nice, I will take some photos. There’s bound to be some great color with all this water!