August 29, 2009

Turtles, Ticks and Dynamite

The Sweethearts went on a little excursion last Monday to one of our most favorite places, Osage Hills State Park. It's where we got hitched nearly seven years ago, and the first (and last) place Mr. Sweetheart accidentally threw a rock at my head. In fact, my head and various rocks have had more than one meeting at Osage Hills. But, those are stories for another time.
Thankfully, the days are getting a bit cooler, so, helmets on, we headed out for a nature hike on a rocky, wooded trail we had never been down. After a while, we came out into a little clearing where we stopped to smell the weeds and watch a deer bound down the hillside.


Then we met a turtle. Here the turtle is hearing all about our summer trip to Silver Dollar City, another of our most favorite places.


Eventually we came upon a couple of small rock buildings built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Most of the native sandstone structures in the park were built by the Corps, including the shelter where we held our wedding ceremony.


This tiny, dilapidated building in the middle of the woods was built to house blasting caps, dynamite being needed to build all of the sandstone structures, I presume. It stands only about five feet high, and entering would require you to crouch down and duck through a small door.


The heavy iron plated door still opens and closes, but the roof, made of corrugated tin supported by timber beams and covered with flat stones, has caved in.


Out there in the middle of the woods and rocks, the sound of the wind in the oak trees and the calling of wild birds were the only noises to be heard. It felt like we'd stepped back in time. Anyone that knows me knows that there is nothing I love more than stepping back in time.


I spent a very long time staring at the weathered wood and rusty nails on the inside of the door.


Then we hiked back to the car, came home, discovered about a million teensy weensy ticks on ourselves, and scrubbed ourselves bloody in the shower. The next day Sugar Pea and I came down with yucky colds that we're just, today, starting to shake.
Tick bites and a cold are small prices to pay for stepping back in time with my two favorite people.

7 comments:

Robin Thomas said...

Love those pictures!

Holly said...

I've never been there, but judging by your photos, it seems like an awesome place to go! The second picture is so cute. She's taken on the standard curious little girl stance, and I love it.

Briana Shepley said...

Wonderful photos! Thanks for sharing :)

Nick said...

Did you take the photos of the Dynamite Shed?

Holly Hall said...

Thanks for the nice comments, everyone! Yes, Nick, I did take the photos. :)

Heather said...

I've never been there....sounds like a cool place to visit out of tick season ;) BTW, I've never seen your wedding pictures! I love a good wedding album ;)

Nick said...

Is there any way I could get copies of them so we could display them on the computer at our office?