Missouri Life

April 2008

FEATURES

Suprising Scuba Diving  50
Discover underwater wonders and warm, clear water at 6 great diving lakes and springs in southern Missouri. Try river drift diving, too.

Best Taco Stands  60
Our King of the Road John Robinson tries most of the more than 400 Mexican restaurants along Missouri highways. Find out which one is best.

Union Station  66
At Kansas City's Union Station, choose among train models, special exhibits, dinosaur bones at Science City, a planetarium, and an Irish Museum.

Secret Life of a Lawman's Wife  78
Jails were Mom -and-Pop shops in Missouri until recently. The little lady cooked, cleaned, and stopped lynchings. Find the jails you can still tour.

Winged Beauty  72
See nature's fluttering jewels at 3 butterfly houses and 3 open-air gardens!

Green Communities  84
We scoured the state to find innovative and unique eco-friendly towns and cities, from one powered by wind to one that composts coffee grounds.

Steve McQueen Days  92
Slater honors the legendary actor who spent his formative years there with the second annual festival. See where he went to school, and watch his movies.

A Taste of Italia  106
Come along as our Tasteful Traveler visits The Hill in St. Louis and samples its food heritage, plus recipes for veal, penne borghese, and easy toasted ravioli.

Ste. Genevieve's French Lessons  119
Our Missouri Journal explores our French heritage, left by the earliest explorers and settlers in our state.

ON THE COVER: Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House at St. Louis by Andrew Barton

DEPARTMENTS

Missouri Memo  12
How did that greatest generation of women do it?

Your Letters: A Burning Capitol Photo  14
You tell us about Bingham's home, those non-existent Warrensburg parking meters, Boonville, NASCAR, moving to Missouri, historic bells, and more.

Missouri Symbol: The State Dinosaur  21
It's a hadrosaur from Bollinger County.

Missouri Medley  23
We scout out an international piano competition at Joplin, a restaurant in a cave that's for sale, a terra cotta bust acquired by a Columbia museum, and a world champion sand sculptor from St. Louis.

All Around Missouri 27
We bring you 94 events and festivals, plus a new Branson display and Jiggle Jam.

Made in Missouri  46
A distiller at Weston makes eco-friendly vodka.

Civil War Series: Into the Wild  96
Irish immigrants from St. Louis settled the forests near Doniphan prior to the war, but when the smoke cleared, they were gone, and nobody knows where.

Dream Homes: Garden Getaways  104
Homes for sale that have garden escapes at Ste. Genevieve, Porto Cima, and St. Albans.

Missouri Wine  114
Pop a cork or unscrew a cap?

Trivia: Leading Ladies  135
Meet Missouri women in politics, sports, and more.

Books: Bedtime Stories  136
Spark a child's imagination with Unicorn Races and Tera's Dawn, by Missouri authors.

Artists  138
See the creations of a Kansas City ceramic tile painter, a St. Louis jeweler, and a Lake of the Ozarks oil and watercolor painter, plus an equine art exhibit at Columbia.

Marketplace  146
Zing into spring with salad dressing, picture-pretty mugs and coasters, and a paddling guide.

Show-Me Health  148
About 1,200 Missourians await organs to save their lives. Read how a little girl's tragic accident saved a little boy's life during National Donate Life Month.

Musings  150
Our Ozark philosopher doesn't worry, even when the river outside his door threatens to carry away his canoe.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTIONS

Best of Missouri Life Festival  16
Celebrate the food, wine, art, and cultural heritage of our state. Meet famous Missouri characters.

Ste. Genevieve  128
Discover the charm of one of the few preserved French colonial settlements in the country.