In researching Caledonia tonight, it seems like I’ll find more to explore and photograph than I’d originally expected.

Turns out, Caledonia, celebrating its 190th anniversary in 2009,  is home to the oldest continually operating church and cemetery west of the Mississippi River.

I’m looking forward to checking out the town’s Greek Revival Architecture; to getting ice cream at the old mercantile; walking the tiny community; and exploring the cemetery.

Did I mention that my day will end with a glass of wine in Caledonia’s “Wine Cottage”?

Check back tomorrow night!

I jogged on the trail a few times in high school, and took my mountain bike there for my first ride on it when I was in my early twenties.  Since moving back to Missouri, I’ve ridden the full trail twice.

St. Joe State Park Map, Credit: Missouri State Parks

If you’re not up for the full 14 miles, you can park at several points along the trail, and ride out half your intended distance before doubling back. If you’re in reasonably good shape, though, I’d do the full loop.

I’ve ridden this starting in Farmington, crossing US Hwy 67, and entering the park at the Farmington Trail head at the Southeast corner of the map.  By starting in Farmington, you can add a couple more miles to the ride.

I’ve also parked at the Old Mines entrance at the Northern edge of the park and ridden the loop. If you intend to ride the full 14 miles, where you start the ride is secondary, in my opinion, to which direction you ride in once you’re on the trail.

St. Joe State Park Bicycle Trail, photo by smalltowngirl

Riding the trail counterclockwise, according to this map view, you’ll encounter several long, low-grade uphills. If you ride clockwise, on the other hand, you’ll hit two hills that are neither terribly long nor terribly steep.

The asphalt is smooth;  fit for road bikes or hybrids, though I only have a mountain bike, and it works out fine as well. Because there’s a large area for riding ORVs in the center of the park, beware that on dry, windy winds, you’ll be riding through a lot of dust when you’re riding past Missouri Mines.

Missouri Mines from St. Joe State Park Bicycle Trail, photo by smalltowngirl

St.  Joe State Park can be accessed from several towns in the area, including Farmington, Park Hills, and Leadington. Parking is available at the trail heads, and there is at least one point along the trail (I believe it’s at the Harris Branch Trail Head) where clean drinking water is available.

Missouri’s spring showers have been a welcome home, of sorts, after ten years away, missing the storms that Missouri is well-known for.

Another kind of shower came up this weekend, as a close family friend and her husband (also a long time friend of mine) prepare for the birth of their first baby, due July 20th. My mom and I threw the mom-to-be a baby shower on Saturday for them.

My mom made every invitation and every party favor by hand from scratch, matching everything to the baby’s brown and blue nursery decorations. I followed suit with chocolate fudge mini cupcakes with blue mint icing topped with miniature chocolate chips.

Chocolate Fudge Mini Cupcakes with Blue Mint Icing and Mini Chocolate Chips, cupcakes and photos by smalltowngirl

Whether it’s rain showers or baby showers, seems Missouri has welcomed me back with much adue. I felt really good about being home again after all these years to be present for these special days in the lives of my friends. Now if we can just do something about these rain showers…

Like most kids, my brother and I liked to blow things up. Like most country kids, we had plenty of access to flamable objects and ingitables. Of all the things we tried to make explode, my favorite was the He-Man doll.

He-Men were hollow on the inside, so we popped off little He-Man’s head, filled him up with gasoline and lit him on fire.  Yellow plastic melted onto the concrete outside the basement door and our dad was fit to be tied. I’m pretty sure we were punished for it, but I’m also pretty sure we spent hours giggling over it out of ear-shot from our parents.

Over the next few days, tables will be set up and truckloads of fireworks will be hauled in. Moms and dad will bring kids to buy supplies for their little kid arsenals, and on 4th, lots of little kiddos will be making memories that they’ll reminesce over, just like my brother and I still reminesce about melting little He-Man.

Like any other small town, Farmington has a revenue-boosting, visitor-drawing weekend of fun. In other towns, it might be a watermelon festival or a apple harvest. In this small town, it’s Country Days.

Up go fair booths and sidewalk sales and carnival rides, and the streets become blocked off to vehicle traffic. The smells of dirt and sweat and funnel cake and hot dogs fill the air, and town comes to life for one weekend.

Activities begin in earnest tomorrow, with rides opening at 5 pm, a dance party starting at 6, and the annual moonlight bike ride starting at 10:30.

On Saturday, highlights include a one-mile fun run at 7 am, a 5 mile run at 7:30, the opening of the arts & crafts fair at 9, and the parade at 10. THE big event of Country Days 2009 will be the Aaron Tippin concert at 8:30 pm in Long Park.

Activities continue through mid-day Sunday. I’m considering wandering the events with my camera to see if I can get some fun small town moments, though I may escape the crowds and head into the woods for a weekend of hiking instead.

Click here for a complete schedule of events.

Though I’m no longer vegetarian, I do enjoy vegetarian cooking and trying vegetarian restaurants. Somehow taking meat out of the equation seems to make cooks more creative.

Last week, after a morning meeting in Clayton (St. Louis), my boss invited me to lunch at Gokul, a vegetarian Indian restaurant on Page Blvd.

Gokul restaurant, photo by smalltowngirl

My boss and I both had the lunch buffet.  I would definitely say that Gokul was on par with vegetarian restaurants in the same price range in NYC. The food was good and the service was very good. I’m sure I’ll be back.

Gokul is located at 10633/B Page Boulevard in St. Louis, and is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. If you make it in for lunch, I recommend the lunch buffet.

Farmington Recycling Center, photo by smalltowngirl

When I moved back to Missouri three months ago, it was a shock to my system to not sort my trash for recyling at home. In the last three cities I’ve called home, recycling was mandatory, so I’m excited to see that this small town now has five large recyling bins conveniently located in the middle of town. 

Recyling, photo by smalltowngirl

Each of the bins is intended for collection of either cardboard or “paper and containers”.  Containers can be plastic, glass, steel, or aluminum, among other materials. Paper and cardboard are self explanatory, I think. If you chose to recycle cardboard, be sure to break it down first though.

Kudos to small town Missouri for getting on board with greening up the community. 

photo by smalltowngirl

Waterfall at Pickle Springs, photo by smalltowngirl

Pickle Springs is a truly beautiful area. As a hiker, you lose the sounds and thoughts of the rest of the world once you’ve taken a few feet down the trail, which makes a two-mile loop. The forest is dense with plant life, and my walk on Saturday was a fungus-hunter’s delight. For more fungus photos, check out my flickr photostream. Here’s one example of the almost beautiful texture, color, and pattern of the fungi I saw.

Jelly-like Fungus on Tree, photo by smalltowngirl

The trails at Pickle Springs are rocky and have roots growing through them. This isn’t a trail to walk with weak ankles or knees, and be forewarned as we face this spring’s rains; the trails become conduits for rainwater. I was very thankful for my Goretex boots on this particular hike.  Don’t be fooled by this photo. It looks like a creek, but it’s actually the flooded trail.

Flooded Trail, photo by smalltowngirl

Pickle Springs has a lot of sandstone formations, most of which I’m sure have proper geological names, none of which I know. What I do know is that there are huge sandstone boulders like the ones in the flooded trail picture that you hiked between; there are even bigger ones that have holes in them the size of small cars that you can climb through; and there are sandstone bluffs that drop down 100 or so feet to the earth below.

Sandstone Boulders, photo by smalltowngirl

The views from the highest bluffs are really nice. Near the end of the loop, there’s a high bluff looking out over the forest, and it’s truly a beautiful Missouri view.

View from high bluff, photo by smalltowngirl

A blog about Pickle Springs wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the waterfalls. We aren’t talking Niagra Falls here, but this two-mile trail boasts countless small waterfalls, ranging from short ones in full blown creeks to 30-foot tall onces with a steady but small stream of water falling down. This weekend was a great time to hike the trail (with waterproof boots) since the surplus of rainwater meant that our hike was constantly made more peaceful by the sounds of dripping or streaming water.

Smaller Waterfall at Pickle Springs, photo by smalltowngirl

Pickle Springs State Natural Area is owned and maintained by the Missouri Department of Conservation, and is located in St. Genevieve County, Missouri off of Ste. Genevieve County Highway AA. To reach the park from Farmington or Ste. Gen, take State Hwy 32 to AA and continue two miles or so down AA, where you’ll see a brown Conservation Department Sign for Pickle Springs. Turn onto the gravel road across from the sign and continue 1-2 minutes to the Pickle Springs parking area.

I’d recommend this nature trail for a short day hike, and not for hikers who have problems with uneven or rocky trails.

To see more pictures of fungi, waterfalls, and sandstone boulders at Pickle Springs, check out my flickr photostream.

Budweiser Clydesdales in Farmington, photo by smalltowngirl

I arrived at the Buffalo Wild Wings parking lot fifteen minutes before the end of the Clydesdale’s three-hour show — just in time to watch the handlers disassemble the horses’ rigging.  (If there’s a better word for the chains and hardware that hold the horses in alignment with one another, let me know.)

As a proper Missourian, I’ve seen the Clydesdales before, but I’d forgotten how truly impressive these animals are. At the top of the shoulder, they stand six feet tall. These horses weigh 2,000 to 2,300 pounds, and they’re unbelievably muscular.

Budweiser Clydesdales in Farmington, photo by smalltowngirl

The Clydesdales ride in style. In fact, I think the Clydesdales’ accomodations (see photo above) are fancier than my own digs. Their gigantic feet are the sizes of dinner plates, and the fluffy white hair (called feathering) on those ginormous feet makes me run for the hot oil treatments for my own lustry locks.

If you missed the Clydesdales in Farmington today, I’ve heard rumor that they’ll be in Fredericktown, Missouri tomorrow for the Azalea Festival.

President Obama in Arnold, Missouri, photo by smalltowngirl

President Obama's 100th Day, Fox High School, photo by smalltowngirl

What I saw were angry, agressive pro-lifers and anti-socialism protestors lined the sidewalk outside of Fox Senior High School. One of the anti-abortion protesters held a sign reading, “Obama’s policies kill 30% black babies.” I’m not even sure what that means.

News vans were parked in a flower nursery parking lot across JeffCo Boulevard from the school. A man dressed in an Uncle Sam costume and standing on stilts held a sign reading, “Govt Pork: more dangerous to America than Swine Flu.” Others held signs saying “Pray for an end to abortion,” or more simply, the word “socialism” with a red “X” through it.

Worse for American than Swine Flu, photo by smalltowngirl

This blog is not a political blog, so I’m not going to speak out on my own political opinions. I think it’s great that President Obama chose a fairly small Missouri community in which to speak on his 100th day in office, and I value our right to gather and protest in public places.

Racism is never okay with me, though, so this woman’s sign struck me as inappropriate:

Don't Tax Me Bro, photo by smalltowngirl

While standing amidst the protesters I had my own “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto” moment, substituting “Kansas” for “Brooklyn” and “Toto” for…well…nevermind. You get my point.  President Obama’s visit to Arnold today will undoubtedly be referenced later, so in a way, I felt like I was part, however briefly, of a piece of American history.

For more of my photos from today, visit my Flickr stream.

St. Louis is... photo by smalltowngirl

I love this coffee shop.

Still new (open for less than a month, I believe), Bauhaus Kaffee is the newest addition to quaint, downtown Farmington’s collection of stores and restaurants.

The owners, who are from Fredericktown, Missouri, have spent the last two years renovating the space.

I’m not sure how old downtown’s buildings are, but my guess is that they’re from the early 1900s. The sidewalk outside is red brick, and two tables with two chairs each, sit just outside the cafe’s front doors.

The cafe’s two floor-to-ceiling picture windows let sunshine stream in, and offer a view of the side of the court house, around which downtown Farmington was built.

Gleaming, subtly distressed hardwood floors are offset by black granite-topped tables and contemporary black leather sofa and armchairs.

Prints of German artwork hang on the red, exposed brick, and a piano sits in the back.

Beside the piano sits an empty guitar stand – empty because someone in the cafe has inevitably picked up the instrument to pluck out acoustic melodies each time I’ve been in the cafe.

I like to think that by way of my Sunday afternoon latte ritual, I’m helping keep Pat, the owner’s spirits high. Today we chatted about their scones being hand made from scratch each morning, and about the anticipation over the arrival of their new stove, which will accomodate homeades soups in addition to their already homemade baked goods.

Today, craving something sweet, I ordered a mocha. The taste was just as great as the presentation:

I hardly recognize my downtown square, which is now lined with a cafe, a New York style pizza place, a fairly nice bar and restaurant, and a music store.

Photo from 4statehome.com

Part One:

I’m grouchy today.

On Monday, I was invited to take a personal tour of the Sayersbrook Bison Ranch in Potosi, Missouri.

The property is 3,000 acres, and its perimeter is six square miles. This repeater radio tower stands on Missouri’s third-highest place (the highest is Taum Sauk and second is Little Pilot Knob).  We stopped here so that Mr. Sayers could feed this portion of the herd.

Both friends can get pretty stinky in a day’s work, so their version of happy hour is aptly named “stinky drinks.”

Good night, all!

If you had told me I’d love my new position working in Potosi, Missouri, I would probably have laughed in your face. (And I’m generally very polite).

Yet here I am, tired after my first week of work here, but tired in the “sugarplums dancing in their heads” kind of way, where I feel an excitement about what’s to come and such a deep peace about where I am in this moment that rest will come easily when I finish this post and crawl into my bed.

This week I have been woken up by the family dog, I’ve had coffee at the kitchen table with my dad before work, and I’ve watched my mom get so creative and excited about cooking really great, healthy meals for us.

Wednesday on my way home from work, I saw a deer cross the road in front of me and run down a hill and into a field. The weather has warmed up here, so I’ve continued to test out my new trail running shoes on jogs in the woods behind the office. Tonight, I held a chincilla in my hands (his little nose was adorable, and his “pricklies” were softer than they looked!).

My coworkers are gracious, thoughtful, and incredibly welcoming. Do not misunderstand me here, they are also hard-working, experienced, many of them very well-traveled professionals. They have brought me into my first week here at the Y with nothing but compassion and kindness, which heals my soul in ways that I didn’t know it was even aching.

Do I miss New York City? Of course I do, in little ways, and sporatically. Do I love where I am though, professionally and personally; mentally, spiritually, and physically? Yes, wholly.

All things happen for a reason, and I believe that my new job and new home are no exceptions.