Wednesday 4-17-24 Whistle Trail & Nature Center

 

Fly fishing at Bennett Spring dam

Wow what a beautiful day!!! We had blue skies with the high in the low 80's. 

I got up at 7:15 and made mini waffles for breakfast. After breakfast we got ready for a hike. Today's hike was Whistle Trail, which was 3 miles. We unloaded the motorcycle off it's carrier. Larry started it and let it idle a couple of minutes because it's cold-blooded. The trailhead was about a mile from the campground.

We parked the motorcycle where the fishermen were parked at the trailhead. We started the trail going to the right because it was longer in that direction. The trail went along the banks of the spring and up the side of the hill. At times it was very steep and challenging. We hiked over tree roots, rocks and loose gravel. We were thankful the trail was through the trees. It took us by the hatchery but it's closed right now because the park in that area is under construction. As we hiked we saw views of the spring with fishermen fishing in it. The trail wasn't that long but there were a couple of small trails combined with it, The Bridge Trail (.7 mile) and Oak-Hickory Trail (.3 mile). We hiked them. The oak-hickory trail was a loop and took us up the hill. We had to climb steps that we thought were made by the CCC in 1933. At times the trail narrowed and went downhill and then uphill. When we got there we had to figure the best way through that area. Sometimes we had to take big strides to get on a rock. Larry had to help me a couple of places by using his hiking pole. When we got to the Nature Center the trail turned around and went back the way we came. The center was closed but it gave us a great opportunity to walk around Bennett Spring and watch the fishermen and women fish. Afterwards we got back on the trail. It's strange to notice things that you missed when going the other direction on the same trail. We hiked by rock formations that were formed by the spring years ago, on the way up we didn't even notice them but on the way back we saw them. We saw more and more fishermen showing up to fish. We waved and said hi to some of them. We crossed over a creek a couple of times using a bridge and other times no bridge and no water. When we got back to where we parked the Motorcycle Larry rested while I took a restroom break. Afterwards we continued the hike to the left, there were small paths that the fishermen made to go fishing. We watched the fishermen fish a bit and then went back to the motorcycle. By the end of the hike we had hiked 3.25 miles. It was a gorgeous hike.

A zebra swallowtail

 

 

 The bridge we walked to get over a creek

 

 The arch bridge built by the CCC

 

 

 Rock wall made by Bennett Spring

We loaded back on the bike and headed back to the campground. As we were leaving the parking lot we saw our neighbors from Texas. They had walked down to the trailhead and were just starting their hike and we were done. We like getting an early start before it gets too hot. When we finished it was starting to get warm. 

Before going back to the Minnie we drove around the park. We stopped at the park store again to buy another muffin because we liked it so well. They didn't have the apple cinnamon muffin but they had a banana nut muffin. On the way back to the Minnie Larry noticed the Nature Center was open so we parked the motorcycle and walked through it. Missouri has a lot of beautiful Fish and Wildlife Conservation Centers. Each one talks about the wildlife and fish in the area. The nature center had a lot of great exhibits on the history of Bennett Springs before and after the state owned the land. In the 1846 James Brice built his first mill. He started the small settlement of Brice. His son-in-law Peter Bennett ran it and that's where the spring got its namesake. Bennett Spring was one of the first state parks in 1924-1925. In the 1930's, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built cabins, a shelter house, roads, trails, the arched bridge across the spring and the dining lodge. The 200-250 workers of the CCC who worked on the projects were World War I veterans. There was wildlife on top of the displays and through out the center.  It was a very nice nature center. The worker was friendly. Once I got back on the bike we went back to the Minnie.

 

The largest springs in Missouri exhibit

 

Wildlife in the springs

Water fountain built by the CCC

Old tools used in the 1800's

Wildlife in the area

We spent the rest of the day relaxing. Larry finished another book and started another one. I did my Daily Solitaire Challenge and event. Today the event was Event: World Tour Mini of 10 games. It took me 1 hour, 9 minutes and 19 seconds, which put me in 18th place in my group. Then I started a new book I asked Larry to recommend. It was The Surgeon's Daughter written by Audrey Blake. It's a follow up on a book I read called The Girl In His Shadow.

After dinner when it cooled off I walked around for an hour to get some of my steps. After cooling off I went outside and finished doing my steps. I ended up doing 16,000 steps, which kept me in 1st place in my group.