This year, I’ll have been married to Danelle for 25 years. With the kids both away at college, its more important than ever to continue connecting with her. I’ve seen other couples focus on the kids and grow apart. This is something I’ve wanted to avoid. To that end, even being married as long as I have, I still do my best to continue dating and courting Danelle. I don’t ever want to take her for granted.
Today, I did that by taking her on a surprise trip to a local state park. She agreed we would go on a Saturday excursion, but didn’t know where we were going. I was quite excited to surprise her and visit somewhere I’ve wanted to go for a while. We were going to visit Missouri Mines State Historical Site. This was a working lead mine retired in 1972. Part of the allure to me is how run down it looks. Its been maintained by the state parks department, but its a loosing battle. I didn’t know what to expect as I had only driven by before. We walked around outdoors for a bit taking in the site. Eventually we found our way inside and to the only ranger on the property that day. We gladly paid our entrance fee. Inside, we saw a bunch of equipment used to mine the lead from the veins underground.
There was a ton to read and it kept us busy for over an hour exploring. Below you can see me thinking about the locker room shower used after working in the mines. There isn’t much more relaxing than cleaning up after a hard day’s work. Until you have to do it next to your buddy…
I was hoping they had an underground tour of some of the old mines. Unfortunately, they are all sealed off and filled in. We’ll just have to imagine.
We left the mine and found lunch at a small cafe in Park Hills, MO. We entertained ourselves on a short walk to get the feel of the city.
Since we were already out for the day, we stacked in one more activity. We went into St. Francis state park and took a hike. That excursion took us down a muddy trail. We chatted and walked together when we could and braved the single track mud when we couldn’t.
We hit the apex of our hike at a waterfall. I saw it existed on the map and we went for it. In some ways, social media has ruined me. I expected to see a large waterfall with a breathtaking view. Instead, it was just the river dropping without much fanfare.
If I had looked ahead of time at the photos, I might not have pushed to come here. I’m glad I did though. I spent time with Danelle and there was peace at this place. I’m glad I was able to spend the day with Danelle. All the time I spend with her is worth it!
Hogan Haake