The Coronavirus has had us under a state mandated, shelter-in-place order for several days now. The stress and uncertainty of it all had us both wound up very tightly. A nervous, uptight and grouchy couple is no fun. Cabin Fever was definitely kicking in at our house.
He had reason to go see a client a couple hours from home on Thursday. I decided to ride along as I badly needed a change of scenery. Besides, it was forecast to be a beautiful, sunny, seventy-some degree day.
We took my car and drove to his appointment. His customer had retreated to his farm in remote Missouri, down in Ozarks country. On the way we passed several state parks and campgrounds.
After his meeting, we headed toward home and stopped at one of the parks that I had read about and had always wanted to see. It features a unique waterfall area that I had seen pictures of online. This was our chance to finally see it in person.
Upon arriving at the park, we found it deserted. There was no one at the welcome center, no one on the mile long drive into the park until we nearly got to the main parking lot for the trail to the falls. We encountered a park ranger in a pickup truck. We waved him down to make sure that it was OK for us to be there and he told us it was, so we continued onto the lot and parked the car.
The lot was totally empty as we watched the ranger drive away. We grabbed a day pack and some water and snacks and prepared for the 3/4 mile hike to the falls. The park was so quiet that we could hear the rushing roar of the falls even from as far away as we were..
As we walked down the paved trail, we both marveled at how quiet and peaceful it was. In other any circumstance, there would have been some other people using this park, but today- it was just us, the squirrels and deer, blue jays and chickadees. Early spring in the Ozarks brings forth the red bud's unique and brilliant purple flowering and numerous small wildflowers. The scene was idyllic and peaceful. We finally had a chance to relax.
Wandering down the trails, he took my hand. I smiled. The trail was wide and level and we just enjoyed the early spring sunshine and the beauty around us. Once we had walked about a half mile, the trail took us to the river's edge, above the falls. Huge rocks and sand bars littered the river bed as we passed. The trail turned into a boardwalk as we began to climb into the rocks of the gorge that contained the falls. Many steps and stairs later, we came upon the first observation deck facing the falls. We wandered onto the deck and took in the splendor of what bedrock and water combined produced over the eons. It was truly magnificent.
For several minutes, we stood silently at the rail watching the crystal clear waters tumble over the rocks, forming a blue-green pool at the bottom of the falls that rivaled any tropical vista. He put his arm around my hip and told me he was glad I came with him. I smiled and thanked him for inviting me. We stood there like that for several minutes more, taking in the day.
Another set of steps led off the deck and we decided to follow them to see what we could see. The steps lead to another boardwalk, then more steps, up and down over the undulating rocks and forest floor below us. After a few minutes walking and stair climbing and ascending, we arrived at another observation deck, this one looking upriver at the falls with a view over the pool. It was truly magnificent. Once again, we stood and took in the wonder before us for several minutes.
Over this time, we had still yet to see another human. Nearly a mile into the woods and not another soul in sight. We felt a little like the last two on earth. I turned and hugged him. He held me close for a time, then leaned down to kiss me. It felt so good. We'd been so stressed for so long and now it seemed like the stress had temporarily left us. The world seemed right again, at least for now.
A sign on a set of steps read "Upper Trail Loop". He asked me if I felt like walking some more. We'd been in the car for a few hours, so it felt good to stretch my legs and spend time with my guy. "Let's go", I said.
The top of the steps put us out on a natural trail. Soil, rock, leaves and tree roots and considerably steeper terrain made the trail much more difficult walking than the paved trails and boardwalks that we had walked on up until now. The lack of footprints in the soil made it pretty clear that no one had passed through in a while.
He asked me if I was up for a walk on rougher trails and I told him we could try for a bit. I just had on running shoes and this was clearly a surface where at least a pair of sturdy hiking shoes should be worn.
We started up the trail and after a hundred feet, the trail narrowed and we had to walk single file. I had him take the lead, just in case a snake or something might be out on a rock sunning. He's way better at spotting them than I am.
