A Hike in Weston

   The weather forecast called for another almost-too-good-to-be-true day here in the Midwest, so I packed up the shibas & talked my buddy Kelly into going on a hike with me. We were off to Weston Bend State Park in Weston, Missouri, about 45 miles north of Overland Park. The high today was about 70 degrees, warm but with a nice breeze. You couldn't order better weather for a day in the woods! And, as I'd hoped, fall was in full swing and the trees were just stunning with the sunlight streaming through their colorful leaves.
   We started at the Overlook, with a sweeping view of the MO River:

   And then we were off! We started along the North Ridge Trail with Taylor leading the way:

And Kelly & Aki following closely behind us:

Every view looked like a painting. A really GOOD painting!

   We met a nice couple at a clearing & took each other's photos:

Keep the shibas away from the edge & don't look down!

Aki tried to hide behind a log:

Taylor & Aki, a.k.a. Raccoon & Fox:

I love looking hard to find fun details. Nature is incredible:

At another clearing, a nice view of the river bend:

Then back into the woods...

   At one point Kelly spotted a snail crossing the path. He was well- camouflaged and I was glad to not have stepped on him!

So we moved him to safety. He was a little shy:

   Soon Aki found another critter: a wooly bear caterpillar. He was shy, too, and was booking it away from her! These guys turn into the appropriately fall-colored Isabella tiger moth. Wikipedia confirms a story I heard just this week, that the caterpillar is "the subject of common folklore, which claims the forthcoming severity of a winter can be predicted by the amount of black on the caterpillar." But it's doubtful. This one had a lot of brown, so I hope it's true... a light winter!

   OK, Aki: time to sniff out some lunch! I had checked for restaurants online prior to the trip, and we decided on O'Malley's Pub / American Bowman Restaurant. As soon as we stepped out of the car & the smell wafted to us, we knew we had made the right choice!

   Kelly enjoyed the fish & chips, and I had the pub burger, both with heaps of fries & a side of cheddar & ale soup. We had certainly worked up an appetite!

   We completed the Harpst Valley trail, the North Ridge trail, and part of the paved bike/hike trail, an estimated 3.5 miles, in 1:45. The dogs weren't even a little tired & pulled excitedly the whole way. But they were great in the car, as always, and patient while we enjoyed our lunch. They didn't make a peep on the way home.
   Then this afternoon, the dogs joined me on another home evaluation for MSIR (Midwest Shiba Inu Rescue). They must have been tired, because Taylor was leaning sleepily on Ryan's legs the whole time, while Aki was lying down doing the sleepy-eyed head-bobbing thing like a toddler. Ryan & I enjoyed a good laugh at their expense. But they were great ambassadors for their breed & our group, and Ryan will be an awesome dog owner, so it was a fantastic day!