Father Pere Marquette led the first western exploration of the Saint Louis area in 1673. While canoeing the Mississippi he saw the original Piasa Bird and wrote:

While skirting rocks, which by their height and length inspired awe, we saw upon one of them two painted monsters which first made us afraid and upon which the boldest savages dare not rest their eyes.

These paintings, though faded, were still visible 150 years later. Since then, recreations have been made. Pictured is the most modern of them and is located just north of Alton, on a limestone bluff overlooking the river. Bald Eagles winter along these bluffs and deer are plentiful in the area too, but where the rest of this fanciful creature came from is anyone’s guess.

For February at least, we have been on a bit of a tear of late. We feel like the social butterflies of the month. Unseasonably warm weather can be thanked for a lot of that that and serendipity too. To the already enumerated activities let me add a luncheon with some of our bicycling buddies at Massa and the ordering of a new couch. File the later of those two items under keeping up with the cousins. We ordered it from Havertys, based in Atlanta, it is the oldest furniture store chain in America. Hence its rather limited lifetime warranty. We did not do a lot of comparison shopping for this purchase, pretty much a one-and-done deal. This activity begs the question, which is more expensive, a sofa, couch or davenport? Or could it be referred to as a settee, divan or loveseat? Hard to say. In cycling culture, a couch equals death and more broadly it is ridiculed by referring to those who use one as couch potatoes. To combat these monikers, after our shopping spree, we headed out to Babler State Park for a hike. Located in the heart of hoity-toity Wildwood, we walked a rather hilly four miles.