I remember as a child looking forward to going to the Muny each summer in Forest Park. Children like routine, and each seven-show season with Grandma Dorothy, my mother and my sister was just that: dependable. Whether we were strolling through the gardens of the newly renovated Pagoda Circle, eating dinner beside the Cascades, driving past the lit-up Emerson Grand Basin fountains or walking beneath towering cottonwood trees, Forest Park was always a place where I felt at home; a place where people and nature met together in harmony. But as time goes by, we become adults — we experience the death of loved ones, birth and new life, and we travel away from where we grew up. We begin to realize how unpredictable life truly is, and how special ....
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The goal of this new blog series is to introduce readers to the various “hidden gems” that exist, at least in my mind, throughout Forest Park. Many of Forest Park’s estimated 13 million annual visitors are repeat users of the Park and a number of them visit regularly, even daily. Still, with a park of this size — 1,370 acres — it is difficult to see everything there is to offer. Every day brings new events and activities to the Park, and every season brings new changes to the park. The continued efforts to improve the Park for users also brings new facilities, new sights and sounds, and new areas to explore. This series is meant to explore ....
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If you’re a bit like me you take comfort in a nice, regular sense of routine. Maybe also like me, you might even be a bit of a “homebody” who enjoys a bit of predictability week-in and week-out.
Take a couple of years ago for example. Weekdays I’d get up and have my 1.5 cups of coffee, leave the house exactly 7:40 am, and drive to work listening to the same sports talk station. Work was generally predictable, along with lunch and what time I typically ate it. I’d end the work day the same time each evening and then drive home listening to NPR. Once home, I’d immediately change right into my shorts and running shoes and set out from my house in Dogtown north three blocks and into Forest Park....
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Between May and November of 2014, Ron Leland cycled 729 miles in Forest Park. He watched the wildflowers bloom in the spring, he witnessed the July 4th preparations and Muny events in the summer, and he rode trails cloaked in golden brown leaves in the fall. Read about his journey here...
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On a recent Friday morning, Crystal Camp stretched her hand toward Government Hill to show me her outdoor office. She stood inside the freshly repainted World’s Fair Pavilion in thickly-lined, camel-colored bib overalls, hardy work boots, a fleece pullover and a knit Forest Park Forever cap. Camp’s zone spans nearly 40 acres of Forest Park, and she’s worked for ...
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