BRYANT CREEK STATE PARK EXPEDITION!

In 2024, I went with friends from "Women Hiking the Ozarks" abbreviated "WHO" to do a hike at a place that had never been on our schedule before.  It was Bryant Creek State Park (www.mostateparks.com), which was added to the Missouri system in 2022.  As always, our group "circled up" at the beginning, to go over the instructions from our volunteer trail coordinators, tell our names, and number off.  (The goal being to have the same number at the end of the hike, as at the beginning!)  The concrete pad where we are gathered also serves as the handicap parking spot, for the two pit toilets, which are handicapped accessible.  The covered kiosk on the left, had helpful information posted behind the glass, plus a container that had paper maps, a hiker could take with them while exploring.

Our large group divided into those who wanted the longer, more difficult hike and those who wanted the shorter, less difficult hike.  I was in the group who wanted the shorter distance, and I took the photo below of my group, when we started our journey:

The long trail group hikers are TOUGH!

At one point far from our starting point, the two groups crossed paths.  I was in the group with their backs facing the camera, while the longer mileage hikers are facing the camera. 

The photo below shows 3 ladies conferring with their map, while the lady at the left of the photo worked on the ambitious goal of getting a very wide angle photo that would show the entire group. 

What the map readers were trying to figure out, is where we were in terms of the waterfall that is listed on the map.  Eventually, we came across the (barely flowing) waterfall, and it is pictured behind me.  We were visiting the area during deer hunting season, which accounts for my bright orange attire. 

  The bluffs that occur throughout the park add to its biodiversity, with a bioinventory indicating 940 kinds of plants, shrubs, wildflowers, and trees.  The photo below shows one of our hikers beside an outcrop of sandstone. 

The park brochure says ledges of Roubidoux sandstone, stacked two or three layers tall, follow the ins and outs of the area hills and hollows.  Sometimes our trail was on top of the sandstone, sometimes beside it, and sometimes between it, as shown in photo below:

The Ozarks is famous for its "hills and hollers", which means there may be a bit of water flowing through the hollers at the bottom of the hills.  As a trail patrol volunteer with the Arkansas Master Naturalists (www.arkansasmasternaturalists.org), I can appreciate the labor that is required to create a trail through a heavily wooded area.  The trails here were built with the assistance of team Fire 1 of AmeriCorps NCCC, a full-time service program (www.americorps.gov) allowing young adults ages 18-26 to serve in communities across the country to learn leadership skills. 

When I was at the park last November, I read the information at the kiosk, that said a track chair was available, by advance reservation, for visitors to the parks.  When I contacted the park to arrange a demonstration in December, the ranger explained that it generally is not available during December, January, February, and March because of weather-related issues, so I was delighted when the park ranger, Nick, followed up with me again in April, indicating that a demonstration of the track chair could now be scheduled.  Friends of mine from church (R and C) were also interested in learning about the track chair, and we are shown below:

After the park ranger explained how it worked,  the liability release form had been signed, and identity verified by R showing a photo ID driver's license, we were ready to start rolling!  C is shown below, using the track chair as it was set up, upon our arrival.  C has limited use of her right hand, so she was having to reach across her body, to operate the "joy stick" that controls the chair, with her still-functional left hand.  This was not an "ergo-efficient" movement, and proved to be very tiring for her left hand. 

Thankfully, there was a solution, as the ranger explained that the controls could be moved to the opposite side of the chair, with advance notice, but he did not have the necessary tools with him, to make the change at that time.  That is when R pulled out a fully-equipped tool bag out of his van, and the two guys started the process of switching the sides of the chair that the joy stick was located.  It did not require a change in the electronics cord, just a matter of unscrewing the control boxes for the electronics, and transferring them behind the chair, to be relocated to the opposite side. The chair runs on battery power, with the amount of battery charge remaining, displayed on the arm controls.  Because of the limited battery power, it is generally recommended that the chair can only be used for a two hour time period, before needing to be recharged at an electrical source. 

It was inspiring to see these two work together on a common goal! 

The chair was much easier for C to maneuver with the controls on the left:

C has an electric wheel chair at home that uses a "joy stick", so once she had the controls on the left side, she was ready to go "full throttle" on the trail!  (The speed is adjustable incrementally, from 1 (slowest) to 5 (fastest).    The photo below shows she was several feet ahead of me, as I was a walker; and, the photo also shows the golden "track chair" blaze on the pine tree, as well as illustrating there are park benches along the trail used by the track chair. 

This tree shows the blazes (hiking trail markers) used for all the trails at Bryant Creek State Park.  The red rectangle designates the  4.5 mile Pike Hollow Trail, the yellow rectangle designates the Pinewoods Trail, and the blaze below it with the symbol for the track chair, means this section is where the track chair is permitted.  The liability release form that a participant signs, indicates the chair is equipped with a GPS locator, so the possibility of a person in the chair getting lost in the woods is minimal.  Also, the liability release form one signs, indicates that park personnel are not allowed to assist the user into or out of the chair, so most users will need to have a helper with them for that maneuver.  The form also states that their photo/video may be used by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, while they are using the action track chair.  However, before I published their photos, I asked C and R, if it was okay for me to do so, which they said was okay.  By the way, the blazes in this photo (which do not harm the trees) are on trees that are partly responsible for the development of Bryant Creek State Park.  That is because the park acreage has a nice stand of Missouri's only native Shortleaf Pine. 

One reason I became interested in accessibility to the outdoors is that decades ago, my nephew was teaching hang-gliding at a location in Southern California.  A gust of wind caught his hang-glider, slamming him against a cliff.  The injury resulted in him having lower body paralysis, causing him to be confined to a wheelchair from then on.  Another learning experience was the week I spent at a Road Scholar (www.RoadScholar.org) program at the FDR Presidential Library and Museum, in Hyde Park, New York.  Learning about the difficulties FDR had when he was confined to a wheel chair after a bout with polio, I was impressed by his determination.  I remember in particular a quote from President Franklin D. Roosevelt saying to the effect, that he had just signed into existence, a new USA National Park, that he would never be able to enjoy, as a person confined to a wheel chair.  Fortunately, since that time, progress has been made to correct that situation.  One group that I follow on social media that has the goal of taking mobility-impaired folks to places they could never go otherwise, is called Luke5Adventures (www.Luke5Adventures.org).  Using a "chair cycle" (similar to what is used in mountain rescues) they take people on some, otherwise unattainable for the paralyzed person, trails.  The name comes from the passage in Luke 5:17-26, that tells about the men who carried a paralyzed man to Jesus for healing, gaining access to Jesus, by lowering the man down through a hole in the roof of the room where Jesus was teaching.  They were demonstrating faith and friendship in action! 

Seeing the faith and perseverance my nephew, my friends C and R, and other wheel-chair folks at my church demonstrate, despite their challenges, is an uplifting testimony.  It is in stark contrast I had many years ago, when making patient rounds at the hospital I worked.  I entered a paralyzed patient's room, to find out his food preferences, and he started cursing at me and throwing objects at me, such that I had to leave the room.  His anger was completely understandable, which makes a good attitude in the same situation, so amazing to me.  

 Hopefully, enabling folks to get out into God's Great Outdoors, will point them to a new-found strength, through accessibility advances, like a track chair.  My experiences at Bryant Creek State Park, both hiking and observing the track chair, gave me "MILES OF SMILES"!!  Tricia




 

HISTORIC HUGUENOT STREET EXPEDITION!

I have to be honest and tell you that I had never heard of Historic Huguenot Street, until I started researching activities to do in conjunction with an automobile trip I was taking to the Hudson River Valley, to attend a week-long Road Scholar ( www.roadscholar.org ) program at Mount Saint Mary's College in Newburgh, New York.  Since I was going to be in the area on the Fourth of July, I googled "Hudson River Valley Fourth of July activities", and Historic Huguenot Street ( www.huguenotstreet.org ) came up, because they were having special, FREE historical demonstrations/re-enactments that day.  Being a frugal traveler, I put it on my list of possible activities for that day. 

I read on the event listing that this National Historic Landmark was located in the town of New Paltz, which I also had never heard of!  (However, after returning from my trip, I re-watched the movie Dirty Dancing---which was written to reflect this Catskill Mountain area of New York---and the town of New Paltz is mentioned as the location to take a resort staff member to the doctor.  Needless to say, I did not catch the reference, the first time I saw the movie, back in the 1980's!)

The first stop for any visitor to Historic Huguenot Street is the DuBois Fort, which serves as the Visitor Center, exhibit area, gift shop, and ticket sales office.  (They also have a second-story restroom with an old-fashioned claw-foot bathtub in it!)

As part of the Independence Day festivities, a staff member was giving a demonstration inside the Visitor Center, on how to churn butter, using the kitchen implements available during colonial days. 

On the grounds outside the visitor center, the demonstrations had been set up as promised, and were attracting several visitors, in spite of the fine mist of precipitation that was falling. 

The re-enactors in this area were giving a demonstration of Dutch-oven cooking, with promises of samples to taste, as the day progressed!

A black-smith was getting his hot coals ready for a demonstration on how knives were made by the colonists.

These younger-looking re-enactors look different, not only because of their clothing suitable to the colonial days, but also because they are not staring down at a cell phone, the way their peer in the burgundy shirt is doing!

The powerful-looking stance of this blacksmith, as he hammered away on the hot metal, show one reason the colonists burned lots more calories in their work, than we do in present-day activities.  If we want a new knife, all it takes is a few clicks on the Internet, and one will arrive at our door within hours!

New Paltz has been a college town for 150 years, and is now the location of SUNY/New Paltz ( State University of New York ).  An option of ANY college student who is beyond their freshman year, is to apply for an internship at Historic Huguenot Street.  The internships are part-time work, and the intern has the opportunity to earn college credits for the experience they will gain. 

The 10-acre National Landmark Historic District was built in the 1700's and consists of seven stone houses.  The Bevier House shown in this photo has a unique stone cellar, that was used to house African slaves.  The historical record of slavery in New Paltz begins in 1674, 3 years before its founding, when Louis DuBois purchased two African slaves at public auction held in Kingston, New York.  By 1790, 77 slave holders owned 302 slaves, or 13% of the population. 

There have been four sanctuaries built on Historic Huguenot Street.  French speaking Protestants who settled New Paltz built the first church in 1683, which was a simple log building; it was eventually replaced by a stone church.  Note that the language spoken in the church was French, until 1753.  At that point, due to the influx of Dutch settlers, the language spoken at the church changed to Dutch, which was used until 1800. 

The Adam Hasbrouck  House reflects the defining elements  of Dutch Architecture.  One of these is that the gable ends of the structure face the street, which conserves street frontage.  Another is a jambless fireplace.  (This means the fireplace does not have the side "jambs" or vertical supports, one normally sees in a fireplace).

The Freer House has been continuously occupied for 250 years.  That means someone had done continuous preventive maintenance on this abode for generations!  I salute them!

Notice the wooden shutters on the house are not just "for looks", as they actually open and close as needed, to protect the occupants from adverse weather conditions.  Also, notice the rain barrels positioned on the ends of the house to collect fresh water from the roof run-off. 

The fieldstone used to construct the houses, is often seen in the architecture of homes built in the prevailing style of the low countries of Northern Europe, that the early settlers would have been familiar with. 

  This reconstructed stone church built in 1717, reflected REFORM thinking, with the pulpit in the central location and pews  placed so everyone could see and hear more clearly.  This expressed the concept that each person had a direct relationship with God, rather than one mediated through a church hierarchy.

  The Jean Hasbrouck stone house serves as the headquarters for the Huguenot Historical Society, which was founded in 1894!  I find it amazing that these founding fathers had the foresight to preserve this significant religious heritage of our nation's history over 120 years ago!!  I am very thankful that they took it to heart, and put into action the advise given in the Bible in I Chronicles 6:5-9 that says, "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates."

The main topic of the Road Scholar program I was to start later that same week, was on the subject of the Roosevelt family.  Therefore, I was fascinated to learn that the Crispell Church is named after Antoine Crispell, one of 12 founders (patentees) of New Paltz, and a direct ancestor of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  Since he had ancestors from this region full of Dutch Christians, it is more understandable to me why FDR wanted his family's Bible to be used, each time he was sworn in as President of the United States of America.  The Bible was turned to I Corinthians 13, which is the chapter on Love.  However, unless the onlookers were fluent in foreign languages, they could not have read the chapter, because FDR's family Bible was written in the Dutch language, and had been passed down through the generations of his family!  I was thankful to get to see that Bible later in the week, when I visited the FDR library in Hyde Park, New York.

This ancient stone wall serves as a boundary marker for the gravestones that denote the lives of the early settlers of this region of New York State.  As an example of the on-going mission of this National Historic Landmark, they are offering a "Gravestone Preservation Workshop" on September 19-20, of this year.  There is a fee for the workshop, and you can check out their website for more information.  Another example of its mission to help the current generation learn about their religious heritage, is the fact that each college student enrolled at SUNY in New Paltz receive a free, one year membership to the Historic Huguenot Site!  Their student ID cards have an imprint on the back, reminding them to take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity for free guided tours, free admission to special events, and member discounts.  I think if these students use that membership, they will learn about their history, and it will give them "MILES OF SMILES", as it did for me!  Tricia