Back in October, one of my best friends, 
The paved road to this part of the Mark Twain Forest leads directly to the lake, and then the walking-trail goes on for miles and miles
As we passed the trail-head marker, the path wound around the edge of the lake
Then, accompanied by our canine friends, we continued on the trail that lead us through a lush forest, surrounded by greenery and some interesting fungi!
We've hiked several miles of this trail on other occasions, but Heather and I had to turn around and head back since time was of the essence. Also because we were getting tired. Okay, okay...we were mostly tired...and there was still another place to stop on the way home! ;)
As we exited the trail, we noticed some sumac in the parking lot. Heather is a fountain of information when it comes to local flora, and she noted that this is very different from "poison" sumac.
Although this was only a couple short months ago, I'm already missing the comfort of hiking in the mild weather! We haven't had enough spare time or been brave enough to venture out yet this winter, but I'm sure we will before the season is over.
Be on the lookout for some Winter '18 photos from our home... The beautiful Missouri Ozarks!!! :)
