Taum Sauk Mountain

Taum Sauk Mountain rises to the highest point in Missouri at 1,772 feet.  These are short yet, ancient mountains.

Mina Sauk Falls, which can be reached  halfway through a 3 mile loop trail, drops 132 feet down rocky ledges. The waterfall wasn't falling, due to dry conditions.  I look forward to going back when it is wet.

A portion of Mina Sauk Trail is also the Ozark Trail, which is more than 350 miles long.  Eventually it will run from St Louis area to Arkansas, connecting to the Ozark Highland Trail.
This trail was perfect for our family.  Even though it is rugged, i was surprised by how well the kids did.  On this particular day, we made an impromptu trip south because the weather said so.  This summer has been a beauty!

Bigger Chickens

Happy 9th Birthday To Jasper!!

I am behind...    Happy birthday to Jasper!  You are so old, you no longer draw on yourself.

Objects That Fly Through Space

I cannot seem to remember the difference between asteroids, comets, meteors, meteorites, and meteoroids.

No matter how much we read and study, i always have to look it up again.

I did end up setting the alarm for 2 A.M. for the meteor shower.  Despite our careful efforts not to make the motion light go off, someone wasn't in a straight line.  We had to wait 15 minutes for the light to go back off and then another 20 to let our eyes adjust.  (Why doesn't it have a switch anywhere?)

So we cuddled up on the wet trampoline and some people fussed.  But we all saw several shooting stars and i am thankful that i got up when the jarring noise woke me.  

It is amazing how much you can see in the middle of the city.  I think it is because there are so many vacant houses nearby.  Looking on the bright side.

So here is a chart from NASA.

Summary Table

Asteroid	A relatively small, inactive, rocky body orbiting the Sun.
Comet	A relatively small, at times active, object whose ices can vaporize in sunlight forming an atmosphere (coma) of dust and gas and, sometimes, a tail of dust and/or gas.
Meteoroid	A small particle from a comet or asteroid orbiting the Sun.
Meteor	The light phenomena which results when a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere and vaporizes; a shooting star.
Meteorite	A meteoroid that survives its passage through the Earth's atmosphere and lands upon the Earth's surface.

Perseid Meteor Shower

The Perseid Meteor Shower peaks tonight and tomorrow night.  I saw one shooting star last night, so i hope to wake the kids up and go out on the trampoline to see up to 100 per hour.  We wouldn't see that many here in the city, but seeing 1 in the city is pretty special to me.

For people who don't want to go outside, you can watch it live.
http://www.space.com/19195-night-sky-planets-asteroids-webcasts.html

Summertime Hike/LaBarque

This perfectly white rock was in a mass of perfectly black rocks.  I am not sure if someone pulled an Andy Goldsworthy or if it was my lucky day, but it was stunning.  

Jasper found this salamander under a rock and it was sporting a very long tail.

This summer has been very cool.  I can gauge it by my hands and feet.  I have hyperhidrosis that leads to awful excema.  Normal summers leave my hands and feet raw with pain.
Going for a 3 mile hike in the afternoon through hot and sunny glades isn't a typical summertime activity.  But on this particular day, it was the only thing we wanted to do.  It was wonderful.