Times Beach revisited

Beth has learnt to ride her bike & I recommissioned Cheryl's & my bikes so we were all ready to hit some cycle trails before the St Louis summer temperatures arrived! We started off just cycling around Beth's school parking lot before lapping on the walking track around the baseball pitch. We wanted to try something a bit longer so that we could begin to build our stamina so that we can achieve our goal of riding The Katy Trail. One of the people that helps out at the bunny sanctuary suggested that we should try Times Beach since this has a wide tarmac road which circuits within the park.

Times Beach was originally founded in 1925 but a significant flood in the early 1980's (which left 95% of the city covered with 10 feet or more of water) & an announcement by the US Environmental Protection Agency that the area was contaminated with Dioxin, led to the town's evacuation & complete demolition by 1992. After the site cleanup was complete, the site was turned over to the State of Missouri to become the Route 66 State Park.

We had been to Times Beach before, but we had only visited the Route 66 State Park museum & had not actually been into the park. Access is via a single lane bridge over the Meramec River. The main road in the park is approximately two miles long & winds through the grassland & trees that now replace the demolished buildings. There are a number of gravel tracks extending from the road (one which parallels the river) but we stayed off these since these were not as smooth as the main road. Apparently you can often spot wildlife while cycling around Times Beach. On our second circuit around the park we were lucky enough to spot a Deer walking through the long grass to the side of the road.