the first annual ride

This weekend marked the first annual ride in honor of June Marie. A small group of family and friends converged in Windsor Missouri just before noon. We readied our bicycles, grabbed a quick bite for lunch, and then hit the trail for the five mile ride west to June Marie's Mystical Mile. It was a beautiful fall day... and a perfect day for a ride.

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There were ten of us on bikes, although only eight in the image below. I think that two of us were taking photos...

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Empty bench...

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Full bench! Our cycling entourage included two of June's brothers, her sister-in-law, a friend from Dallas, and assorted girlfriends... some with their husbands/others.

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Below, another friend drove from Kansas City to Calhoun, where he walked east from the trailhead to meet us at the other end of June's mile.
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One of my favorite images of the day is below... I don't think that Beth and Gary even knew that I took this picture!
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A big THANK YOU to Keith and his crew from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources for completing the work in such a timely fashion... we were all very pleased with the completed project. What a very fitting tribute to someone who was very special to each of us from TeamJUNE.

This is to be an annual ride in honor of June Marie... the fourth full weekend in October. Until next year... In the meanwhile, if you find yourself riding or strolling through the Mystical Mile, please email me a photo for posting on the blog!

the mystical mile

June Marie's Mystical Mile is complete... and real. Thanks to each of you who contributed resources to bringing this project to fruition.
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The guy from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (Keith) that has been our primary contact on this project has been wonderful. Yesterday he sent me a few photos of the completed work. As I opened the files last evening, my breath was literally taken away. What a fitting tribute to a phenomenal woman... sister, friend, daughter...
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This Saturday, October 25 - rain or shine - we'll convene for a first annual gathering at The Mystical Mile. There will be a group picture at June’s bench at 3:00 p.m. to be preceded and followed by lots of memory-sharing and celebrating.

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Mile 253 on the Katy Trail may be accessed from either the Calhoun or Windsor (Missouri) trailheads. If on foot, the Calhoun trailhead would be the better option. We know already of several folks that are planning to join us. Please let either Jenn or me know if you plan on joining us and we haven't already heard from you... and check back next week for photos.

mark your calendar!

There's been a bit of email exchange this week regarding progress on June Marie's Mystical Mile. Mark your calendar! Keith (the parks guy... in the green shirt in the post below) said that it is looking very good for the bench and signs to be installed by the end of next week. He said that the materials are in the park now but that there have been human resource issues with folks being out with the flu.

Sooo... please mark your calendar for the first annual ride (or walk) of June Marie's Mystical Mile on Saturday, October 25. We're hoping to make this an annual gathering of June's family and friends on the fourth weekend of October each year.

The trailheads on either end of the mystical mile are in Windsor or Calhoun, Missouri. Although we don't have a precise agenda for 10/25 in place, please check back here for details if you are interested in joining us. Plans will most likely evolve into an early-to-mid afternoon gathering at the Calhoun trailhead with some sort of potluck picnic or box lunch, a ride/walk through the mystical mile, and lots of story telling!

There are a few bed and breakfasts in the area, as well as camping facilties and a small hotel, so if anyone is interested in making it a weekend outing, the option is certainly available. It could very easily be just a day trip, as well. Please consider coming out to share your stories... rain or shine! If it is raining, the picnic may be compromised and the bike ride would be a bit on the sloppy side... but we could still walk June's mile and head into Windsor to spend the afternoon together at the local cafe.

We hope to see you on October 25!

the wheel is rolling!

It was a beautiful day for a bike ride... with clear blue skies and a warm late summer sun. June Marie's Mystical Mile is soon to become a reality. It will be most easily accessed on foot or bicycle from the Calhoun trailhead of the Katy Trail State Park, although there is a trailhead to the east a few miles in the town of Windsor which also provides good access.
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Throughout the process of establishing the mile and bench in June's honor, I've been corresponding with Keith who works for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Keith met us on the trail this morning at about 11:00 a.m. and then we headed east a mile to the span of trail that will be marked as June Marie's Mystical Mile.
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Most importantly, we learned that we were counting the miles from the wrong direction. When we arrived at the line of what we *thought* was mile 254, Keith informed us that it was actually mile 253. When Jenn and I originally selected the mile two months ago, we thought that June would enjoy it that we had to work just a bit to actually get to her mile. Ergo, the Mystical Mile is the second mile to the east of the Calhoun trailhead.
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Jenn and I arrived at the park about an hour before Keith as we wanted to ride the mile a time or two to select an appropriate spot for the bench before meeting with him. We marked the spot on the trail with crossed branches... and when we returned to it, Keith marked it with a red flag.
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The bench will be positioned facing the southeast about halfway into the Mystical Mile. At left is a photo of what you might see if you were sitting on the bench today. The late summer growth is quite lush and green. One of the best things about this spot is that there is a beautiful old oak tree just across the trail. An oak tree is a symbol of hospitality, stability, strength, honor, eternity, endurance and liberty... and interestingly - in Celtic mythology, it is the tree of doors... believed to be a gateway between worlds or a place where portals could be erected.
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To the right is a picture of what the bench will look. It has been requested that the plaque read:
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"Its all about the love..."
June Marie
1961-2008
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Our trail host, Keith, said that the best case scenario is that the bench and signs will be placed within four to five weeks...depending upon availability of materials, staffing, and weather. Stay tuned...

the next step

Just a quick update on June's Mystical Mile...

I've received confirmation from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources that our checks have been received and have had a couple of preliminary conversations about our proposed verbiage for the signage and bench plaque. At this point, it sounds as though both have been approved (see 7/4 post).

An appointment has been made to meet with the guy who manages the west end of the trail next Friday morning, September 19. At that point, we'll confirm the mile for the signage and select the location for the bench. If anyone is interested in joining in that process let me know or shoot me an email, and I'll be happy to share with you what specifics I have at this point.

After 9/19, we'll hopefully get a better idea of the timeline with which we are dealing... and whether or not the work will be completed such that we can coordinate a fall gathering on the trail.

mission accomplished

The final contribution was received today! I've put together the application/ request packet and will drop it in the Wednesday mail. For those of you with this check outstanding on your check register, it should clear within the next week or two... depending on how quickly the Katy Trail State Park folks process it from here. Thank you for your patience as we've been waiting for the last of the outstanding pledges.

As for next steps, I will call my KT contact tomorrow to let her know the checks are coming, and will talk with her about the timeline for placing the signs and installing the bench. The signage shouldn't be a big deal as that is just a nuts/bolts issue in terms of attaching the signs to existing mile markers after they have been lettered. The bench, however, will probably require a concrete footing as part of the installation... which I imagine will be dependent on availability/ scheduling of personnel and cooperative weather.

Many MANY thanks, again, to each of you for your generous contribution to this effort in honor of June. Please check back as I will be posting updates re my dialogue with the KT folks. With any luck, we'll be able to schedule a get-together in this area of the trail later in the fall.

Here's to Mystical June Marie!!!

a quick update

Just a quick update on where things stand with the request to the Katy Trail State Park folks…

Pledges are still outstanding from FIVE individuals; our request will be submitted as soon as those checks are received. Initially, the hope was for funds to be raised and the request submitted by September 1… so we’re still a bit ahead of schedule. As Martha Stewart would say... 'Its a good thing.'

THANKS, again, to each of you for your generous support of this project to honor June. Further information will be posted as it becomes available.

yippee!

Yippeee!!! Our goal is achieved!

As soon as all of the pledges have been received, the order will be placed with the Katy Trail State Park. To date, eight of sixteen pledges have been received.

If you have not already done so, please send a check now, payable to: State of Missouri - DNR

On the 'notes' line of your check, please write:
Katy Trail State Park Donation

If you have misplaced my mailing address, please send an email to donnaronnebaum@yahoo.com and I will forward the information to you via email.

MANY thanks to EACH of you for your generous gift to this effort!!! Please check back in here for an update on progress.

the mystical mile

This blog is for June Marie...who left this world on 18-June after a brief battle with cancer. June was an avid cyclist and Katy Trail enthusiast... and a lover of life and her family/ friends, a tough physical challenge, and a good adventure.

In the past weeks, I've talked at length with another friend (Jenn) about a fitting tribute to June. Jenn and I went for a ride on the Katy Trail a few weeks back and reminisced for much of the day about our many bike rides with June. June and Jenn rode the whole Katy Trail from West to East over five days in June of 2007. Over the years, I've ridden well over a thousand miles (maybe two!) with June... so a love for biking and for the Trail is something that Jenn and June and I all wholeheartedly shared.

What is the Katy Trail, you ask? The Katy Trail is a 225 mile trail in the Missouri State Parks system which runs from Clinton to St. Charles in the right of way of the former Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad.

For a nominal annual fee ($100/year), the Missouri State Parks system will allow a mile on the Katy Trail to be named for someone - placing a sign stating such at either end of the mile. Also for a fee ($1,500/permanent), a bench with a plaque can also be placed along the mile. The parks folks use the funds for trail mainenance and staff uniforms.

At this point, we are seeking contributions from anyone interested so that this tribute to June can be realized. We are hoping to raise $1,600.00 to cover the cost of the bench and first year of trail signage. Funds raised in excess of $1600 will be used to fund future years of signage.

We were thinking that the signs on either end of the mile could read "June Marie's Mystical Mile." 'Mystical' really fits June, as one definition of the word is "spiritually symbolic."

For the bench plaque, we thought of something like:

"It's all about the love..."
June Marie
1961 - 2008

as this was one of June's frequent and favorite sayings.

It remains to be seen if the Missouri State Park system will approve our wording for the signs and bench, but whatever the case - we'll adapt as necessary.

Mile 254 of the trail is the mile that we hope to adopt - just east of Calhoun Missouri. During a recent reconnaissance ride, Jenn and I really liked this mile because it is treed, moderately shaded, and has a few views through the trees of serene flowered fields...see below.

This section of the trail is away from major roads...and lots of birdsong could be heard... we think June would approve! We plan to request that the bench be placed along the trail such that it takes in a view like the one above. A vew from an adjacent mile is below...

Clinton is the nearest trailhead to Kansas City, and Calhoun the very next one out... so it is easy to reach for anyone who wants to travel to a trailhead to ride June's mile or just 'be' in her 'space' and sit on the bench in her mile. The specific mile that we are interested in is just a mile or so east of the Calhoun trailhead... so it is also very accessible on foot if you're not a cyclist.

If you are interested in contributing to this effort, please email me at donnaronnebaum@yahoo.com and we can work out the logistics... and thank you very much for your consideration. We'd like to be able to place the application/ request by September first, but will do so earlier if sufficient funds are received. And... please visit this blog again, as it is our intention to use it as a tool to communicate progress, and post pics from rides through June's Mystical Mile!

thanks!!! to...

• Allen
• Beth
• Cindy
• Dennis
• Donna & Ed
• Jenn
• Jennifer
• Jim
• Joel
• John & Kathy
• KU School of Nursing Faculty
• Mike
• Monica
• Pat & Daelene
• Patrick
• Vicky