They know that when you stand up and wave, you will throw them food.
Bears figure out how to get food
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Monthly Archives: October 2008
The Saddest Animals
Katy Trail Ride
Yesterday, Jen, Katie, her brother Steve, and I went out to the Katy Trail for a ride. It was a gorgeous day for a bike ride, so we started at the Greens Bottom trailhead and headed south.
It was sunny and cool, the perfect weather for a fun ride and great pictures:
After about ten miles, we reached the Weldon Spring trailhead, which seemed like a good place to stop and eat lunch. There wasn’t much there, but we saddled up on some nice benches and dug into our picnic supplies. Here I snagged a pic of the trail, to give you an idea of the beauty and majesty of this part of the journey:
After lunch, we headed back. Jen had the camera and took the lead in the caravan, which led to these awesome over-the-shoulder shots:
and:
and my favorite:
We made it back in one piece, even though Steve’s new (to him) bike needed a tuneup badly. More than anything, we’re just hoping this nice stretch of weekend weather holds up for a little while longer so we can take these trips again. Click here for more pictures.
Laumeier Sculpture Park
3. See Ernest Trova’s sculptures, tucked away in the wooded grounds of Laumeier Sculpture Park. It was his gift of 40 sculptures—the largest public collection of this internationally known St. Louisan’s work—that made it possible for the park to open, and coming upon one of his Cantos or Variations amid the trees is magical.
Where can you go to see giant sculptures scattered about the property in no apparent order? That’s right, Laumeier Sculpture Park! After our adventure at Grant’s Farm, we all headed over to a place where we knew the exhibits wouldn’t attack us. There was a John Waters exhibit inside which creeped me out, I won’t lie. Interesting, but creepy. Once we got outside, the first thing that greeted us was this:
Um, hmm, that was not what I was expecting. As we wondered further into the park, I noticed how serene the place was. Since it is a county park, I expected crowds of people lounging around on the ground, running around, children screaming. You found none of that here. As you walked around and under these magnificent sculptures, you felt like you were in your own little world.
Here is Bob’s favorite one:
And I thought this one was pretty cool, it reminds me of a very old treasure that you found stored in an attic somewhere:
We didn’t spend too much time there and I know there are so many more pieces of art that have not yet been seen so I will have to remember to go back again. Here are some more photos, if you’re interested.
Who Can Resist Pygmy Goats?
Visiting Grant’s Farm usually does not cross my mind when thinking of what to do on a beautiful Saturday morning but that is exactly what Bob, Kim and I did last weekend. I would have to say it’s been at least 15 years since I’ve been there and the only thing I remembered about that experience was feeding the goats, so I had no idea what to expect when we got there.
Since Grant’s Farm is the home of the Anheuser-Busch Clysdales, we had to go see them.
Then we got on the tram for a brief tour of the bison, elk, donkeys and various hoofed animals.
Finally, we reached the main attraction, the pygmy goats! You pay $1 per bottle of milk to feed these little cuties. Don’t let their bellies fool you, they will still eat. And boy, are they aggressive about it. There was this one who kept ramming me in the back of the leg with his horns. They may be small, but they are feisty and I have the bruises to prove it.
But we all loved every minute of it. The STL101 List is right, even the grumpiest person cannot resist the adorableness.
22. Feed the pygmy goats in the Tier Garten at Grant’s Farm, Affton’s 281-acre wonderland. The wee things’ hilariously single-minded devotion to gorging themselves—they’re little more than stomachs with legs—will lighten even the gloomiest mood. We kid you not.