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!
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.
