Traversing the Trails: A Family Gathering at the KATY Trail

We have family members spread out all over the Midwest. It is nice to find a central location for all to meet and visit.

The KATY Trail is a former railroad right of way that traversed the State of Missouri and is now a Missouri State Park dedicated to a bicycle trail across the state. This is a nice central location to drive to and offers something for all age groups of the family to do.

We met at the former railroad engine house which is now a campground in New Franklin, Missouri. My cousin Phillip and his wife Wendy came as well as my daughters Mandy and Betsy and their families.

We all rode from New Franklin to Rocheport on Day 1 of the trip. It was quite cold the night before so we were glad for warming temps the next day for our ride. Not far from Rocheport we found the trail was closed due to a major washout of one of the bridges over the river during flood conditions in the spring. The detour involved riding along the shoulder of the highway for several miles and this was not an acceptable solution for the youngest riders of the group. Instead we decided to ride down the trail to see what the washed out bridge looked like before we headed back.

Turns out the bridge had washed away near a low water bridge and if we were willing to move our bikes down the side of the dike embankment we could stay on the trail. We did so and had quite the adventure getting all back on the trail, but succeeded.

The next day Phillip and I and two grandsons rode the other direction for a total of a fifteen mile ride.

We all posed for a photo at the Caboose in New Franklin

There are benches along the trail to allow the weary to rest

Mandy and Mom on the Trail

Julie made the trip on a bicycle with a step thru frame and electric pedal assist. This technology allows an electric motor to provide a slight boost to your pedaling effort. Julie ended up riding 25 miles and the battery still never indicated anything but a full charge.

This old grain elevator is found along the trail and is made of the most beautiful glazed bricks

Very nice architectural treatment for a commercial building of days gone bye.

This as the area of the washed out bridge. Much work will be required to repair this.

Phillip enjoyed his electric assist bicycle. He converted a traditional bike to electric and did a fabulous job! It is a sweet ride!

The tunnel at Rocheport

The Grandsons at Rocheport

Phillip and I rode past Rocheport to see the Missouri River. Phillip is holding his classic Instamatic camera. He has a side business selling replacement battery packs for these antique cameras as the traditional battery is no longer produced.

Made it to the river

Heading back to New Franklin

This is the levee that led to the low water bridge around the trail wash out

Bennett on the Trail

Emery on the trail

Mandy posing to show how tired she was...

Julie and her ebike

Phillip and his ebike

Just four of us rode the next day

We checked out the lift bridge over the river. One segment is open for pedestrian traffic but the bridge cannot be crossed.

This was the largest center lift bridge in the country when first build

The center span lifts to clear river traffic. It has been in the "UP" position for a very long time.

The KATY Depot in Boonville Missouri is in the Spanish style

The caboose on display at the Boonville depot has quite a history.

There is a bicycle shop in the Depot

There are occasional large culverts under the highways

We rode as far as where the trail crosses Interstate 70 outside of Booneville. The sounds along the trail are usually so quiet that the sound levels of the Interstate are quite jarring to the senses.