canoe

A Park of Memories, Old and New

When visiting a park or conservation area in the countryside, it’s hard to fathom just how large an area many of them encompass. We followed the directions, turned down the unassuming, gravel road, passed the sign and the one couple camping out, over to a gravel parking lot and walked to the water. While there was a new concrete ramp, the place seemed tiny.

Since I was not interested in hunting or camping, the section of the Gasconade River that bent in both directions and the ramp connecting the two were about the sum of my interests. I later learned that the area totaled 380 acres.

The Missouri Department of Conservation and the Allen Family dedicated the park to Mr. Wilbur Allen, who invented the compound bow and had it patented in 1969. The area was half wooded, half planted with tall grasses and native plants. While it sustains a variety of wildlife, the purpose is to support the sport of bow hunting.

Compound bows are higher-tech than traditional bows.  They have a lever and pulley system and are often made of aluminum or carbon fiber and fiberglass composite parts. It seems that it gathers power earlier in the draw of the bow compared with a standard bow and sustains that power rather than gathering the bulk of it at the end. While I have dabbled in archery as a kid and more recently at a church retreat, I have zero experience with a compound bow. I learned a bit from this article at Outside On-line.

No hunters were in sight during this visit. Only a few other visitors were present, but the fishermen were friendly enough, and so was their lab puppy who will grow into his paws one day.

I also met an older gentleman who was quite late in following his large dogs down the ramp to where I stood. They were friendly and dismissed me with a quick sniff in favor of river water and a spot where some bait was left behind. The owner apologized for the dog’s bad haircuts, blamed himself and said the dogs were embarrassed.

I was planning on spending my time on shore, but was talked into testing out my first experience in a sit-on-top kayak and it was the perfect spot with gorgeous, nearly still shallows. The water was so calm that I managed to keep my t-shirt, jeans and sneakers dry.

I prefer the idea of getting into a kayak, protected by the sides- all of my previous kayaking experiences.  So this set up looked precarious to me, until I tried it out (I can’t emphasize enough how critical calm waters were to this first experience).  I could see where hopping off would be much easier in this model, should I ever need to abandon ship quickly.

This was yet another spot to add to the list for future boating, fishing or possible remote camping. The drive out of the park was entertaining. I had noted the farm(s) on the way in, but heading back, cows roamed along the road. They hadn’t exactly gotten out; I have seen that and it’s a common enough excuse for running late in this area. Some cows were eating hay in a field that had no fences.

We wound our way back along a two-lane highway through the unincorporated towns of Manes and Green Mountain.