St. Louis to Ironton

This morning I drove South to the Mark Twain Forest area. I first stopped at St. Francois State Park . I chose to hike the 3 mile Mooner’s Hollow trail loop. The supposedly “moderately challenging” train was rough and had some obstacles and elevation changes. But, as usual, the description overestimates the difficulty. I would have called it just moderate. It was already midday and it was pretty quiet except for a few amphibians and mosquitos. I keep thinking that I can finally stow the bag of assorted bug repellents that has lived in my front seat since April, but I guess not yet. It was still in the 80s this afternoon, and humid, but a cool-down is expected starting tomorrow. Still, it was a nice nature break.

I then continued on to Elephant Rocks State Park . There really is a rock formation that looks like an elephant. Well, I thought it looked more like a whale. As always, it is in the eye of the beholder. This park features a paved 1 mile loop with dirt trails criss-crossing the area. There is also an abandoned quarry that has filled with water to make a lake.

My lodging for the next two nights was only a few minutes further south. There are no Marriott properties in Ironton, so I chose a B&B that looked nice. I never know what I am going to get with these private properties, although I have been pretty lucky so far. Plain and Fancy is by far the nicest room and property yet. Rachel, the proprietor, met me as I rolled in and showed me to my room and around the grounds. I’ll have to ask her more tomorrow about the history of the place, but someone did an excellent renovation and appointment of my room. Assuming it was Rachel, she didn’t miss a trick. She also had excellent suggestions for my day tomorrow.