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.