Show #657 – August 23, 2024

Guests: Laura Moulton; Cassie Brandt

As August comes to a close we are beginning to wrap-up our series on great riding trails.  This episode, we take a ride down the Katy Trail in Missouri with trail manager Cassie Brandt.

We’ve had clients tell us how much they enjoy the Katy and listening to Cassie, you might just want to add it to your bucket list.

Before we get to the trail though, my first guest today is .  Back in 2011, I spoke with Laura about her then 3-month art project, Street Books, in Portland, Oregon.

Fast forward 13 years! And, Laura has sort of been kicked upstairs to an administrative position as executive director for the non-profit. Today, Street Books has expanded from one bicycle driven library to three with a set schedule, thousands of books loaned out free each year, and an incredibly inspirational story.  I can’t imagine you not finding this project important and heartwarming.

  In addition to the link to “Loaners,” the book she and “Hodge” wrote, here is a second link to the Librarian Summit on YouTube

If you think you’d like to start a project like Street Books in your community, log on to streetbooks.org and contact Laura.  I can’t think of any reason this wouldn’t be welcomed in any neighborhood.

The Katy Trail is the longest rail trail in the Rails-to-Trails network, consisting of 240 mostly flat miles.  Yep!  Mostly flat! 

Managed on a day-to-day basis by four State Parks, it’s Cassie’s job to make sure that the trail is monitored for problems, even offering up a lost-and-found for cell phones that seem to get left behind occasionally.  Let’s take a little trip on the Katy and find out what you can see, what you can do (other than riding,) and of course where you can eat and stay.

My thanks to Cassie for joining me to fill us in on all-things-Katy-Trail.  Here is a photo of the Sunflower silo  and a link to the Sedalia Depot.  I’m thinking this should be one of our bucket list items.

 

 

Our new YouTube channel will be live soon and, although we won’t be uploading video, you will be able to listen if your favorite medium is YouTube!  We’ll add the link to the channel on the website too.

Next time on TOC, we’ll be speaking with Bruce Donald, the CT manager for the ECG.  He’s got SO much knowledge about not only the CT portions of the route, but much of the Southern New England area.

August 23_transcript