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Pairing the possibilities

Thu, 08 May 2008 18:28:17 GMT

6 Missouri wine trails blend wine, food, and fun

By Barbara Gibbs Ostmann

One of the most popular ways to visit wine country is via a wine trail, and Missouri has several. The trails offer a user-friendly way to explore wine areas, with tips on top sights and attractions in each area. Most wine trails sponsor special themed events throughout the year.

Patty Held-Uthlaut of Stone Hill Winery at Hermann is the state’s wine trail diva. After hearing a presentation about wine trails at a national marketing conference several years ago, she came back charged up and ready to roll. She spearheaded the Hermann Wine Trail, and her presentations on the topic at industry conferences have helped launch several wine trails in Missouri and other states.

“What’s really nice about the state’s wine trails,” Patty says, “is that they expose visitors to the wineries in our wine regions. We show them how versatile Missouri wines are by pairing the wines with foods. The wine trails have resulted in increased visits to the wineries throughout the year because people have such a good time during the trail events that they come back on their own.”

Most of the trails have some sort of passport program, by which visitors get their passports stamped at each winery and can enter prize drawings.

HERMANN WINE TRAIL

One of the best-organized Missouri wine trails is the Hermann Wine Trail (www.hermannwinetrail.com), which encompasses seven family-owned wineries in Hermann, Berger, and New Haven. The web site boasts that these wineries are the heart and soul of Missouri Wine Country, producing about one-third of the state’s total wine production. They are situated along the Missouri River, in what is called Missouri’s Rhineland. The German influence is strong, and the history is deep.

The trail organizes four main events each year, plus a bike ride. The next event will be the second annual Seven Hills of Hermann Bike Ride on June 29. This ride started last year in conjunction with the first Tour of Missouri cycling race; this year it is being held separately from the Tour. On the Very Berry Wine Trail, July 26-27, each winery will pair one of its wines with a special berry dish. Participants go from winery to winery, tasting and experimenting. The twenty-five-dollar ticket price per person includes a souvenir wineglass.

Other events include the Holiday Fare Wine Trail in November, the Chocolate Wine Trail in February, and the Hermann Norton Wine Trail in May.
For the holiday trail, each winery pairs a festive dish with a wine, creating a memorable way to usher in the holiday season. The chocolate trail ties in with Valentine’s Day; the wineries pair their wines with chocolate dishes. The Norton trail offers participants a chance to taste Norton (also called Cynthiana) wine from each winery and to talk with the various winemakers.

Detailed information about each event can be found on the web site closer to the time. The trails tend to sell out, so be sure to book early.

Participating Wineries:

Adam Puchta Winery, Hermann
573-486-5596; www.adampuchtawine.com

Bias Vineyards & Winery, Berger
573-834-5475; www.biaswinery.com

Bommarito Estate Almond Tree Winery, New Haven
573-237-5158; www.bommaritoestatewinery.com

Hermannhof Winery, Hermann
573-486-5959; www.hermannhof.com

OakGlenn Vineyards & Winery, Hermann
573-486-5057; www.oakglenn.com

Röbller Vineyard, New Haven
573-237-3986; www.robllerwines.com

Stone Hill Winery, Hermann
573-486-2221; www.stonehillwinery.com

ROUTE DU VIN

French heritage flavors the Route du Vin, or wine route, which meanders through the rolling hills of Ste. Genevieve County. This wine area features a bevy of new wineries and focuses on local foods and purveyors.

The wine route sponsors special events, including a progressive dinner paired with wines from each winery in June; the Wine Diva Weekend in November, which offers a girlfriend getaway while the guys are deer hunting; the Jour d’Amour weekend for Valentine’s Day in February; and the Jour de la Terre weekend in April, which focuses on cooking with herbs.

Prices vary but are generally twenty-five dollars per person, including a complimentary wineglass, plus a discount on wine purchases that day.

There is no Route du Vin web site, but each winery has brochures and trail maps. Most of the participating wineries have a Ste. Genevieve address, although many are outside the city limits.

Participating Wineries:

Cave Vineyard, Ste. Genevieve
573-543-5284; www.cavevineyard.com

Charleville Vineyard, Ste. Genevieve
573-756-4537; www.charlevillevineyard.com

Chaumette Winery, Ste. Genevieve
573-747-1000; www.chaumette.com

Ste. Genevieve Winery, Ste. Genevieve
573-883-2800; www.saintegenevievewinery.com

Twin Oaks Vineyard & Winery, Farmington
573-756-6500; www.twinoaksvineyard.com

Crown Valley Winery no longer participates in the Route du Vin but has developed its own wine trail, linking its outposts. There’s the main winery at Coffman, the Champagne House at nearby Farmington, and the Port House up north at Clarksville.

Crown Valley Winery
573-756-9463; www.crownvalleywinery.com

MISSOURI WEINSTRASSE

The Weinstrasse, which roams along the Missouri River in the Augusta area, was the state’s first wine road, long before the wine trail concept blossomed nationwide. Originally more a sense of place than an organized trail, the Weinstrasse has been reorganized and is up and running again as an official wine trail, with two special events each year in May and September. The purpose of the Weinstrasse is to educate visitors about wine and how to pair it with foods—as well as to offer a pleasant day’s outing with visits to some or all of the wineries along the route.

The scenic Weinstrasse runs through the heart of the country’s first designated American Viticultural Area. Augusta received that distinction in 1980—ahead of Napa Valley, California.

For the latest information, visit www.moweinstrasse.com.

Participating Wineries:

Augusta Winery, Augusta
636-228-4301; www.augustawinery.com

Balducci Vineyards, Augusta
636-482-8466; www.balduccivineyards.com

Montelle Winery, Augusta
636-228-4464; www.montelle.com

Sugar Creek Winery & Vineyards, Defiance
636-987-2400; www.sugarcreekwines.com

MISSOURI RIVER WINE TRAIL

The central part of the state boasts the scenic Missouri River Wine Trail (www.missouririverwinetrail.com), which runs from Rocheport to Jefferson City, with stops in Hartsburg and Holts Summit along the way.

This trail started last year and is still developing its annual events. Check the trail’s web site or any of the wineries for more information.

Participating wineries:

Les Bourgeois Winery, Rocheport
573-698-2133; www.missouriwine.com

Native Stone Winery & Bull Rock Brewery, Jefferson City
573-584-8600; www.nativestonewinery.com

Summit Lake Winery, Hartsburg and Holts Summit
573-657-0467 or 573-896-9966; www.summitlakewinery.com

OZARK MOUNTAIN REGION WINE TRAIL

Inaugurated in August 2007, the Ozark Mountain Region Trail is Missouri’s newest—and most of its wineries are new, too. At present, six wineries participate in the trail, which roams from Joplin to Seymour in the southwest corner of the state, with one or two more wineries expected to join soon. Although the wineries are fairly spread out, it’s possible to do the entire trail in a day, depending on how long you want to spend at each winery. Fairly close to Branson, the trail offers a fun side trip during a Branson vacation.

The wineries offer tastings, tours, and special events, including an Octoberfest. There is no trail web site yet, although one is in the works.

For events information, call Beth White at Le Cave Vineyards.

Participating wineries:

Keltoi Vineyard, Oronogo
417-642-6190; www.keltoivineyard.com

Le Cave Vineyards, Billings
417-744-4122; www.lecavevineyards.com

OOVVDA Winery, Springfield
417-833-4896; www.oovvda.com

Whispering Oaks Vineyard &Winery, Seymour
417-935-4103; www.whisperingoakswinery.com

White Rose Winery, Carthage
417-359-9253; www.whiterosebed-breakfast.com

Williams Creek Winery, Mt. Vernon
417-466-4076; www.williamscreekwinery.com

MARAMEC TRAIL

Not a wine trail per se, the Maramec Trail (www.maramectrail.com) includes wineries along with bed-and-breakfasts, restaurants, shops, recreation, and entertainment. Centered in and around St. James, the Ozark Highlands viticultural area reflects the early Italian heritage in the state’s wine-making industry. Today, the area celebrates its proximity to the Ozarks, with its rivers, springs, fishing, floating, hiking, and other recreational opportunities.

The spelling of the trail’s name comes from the spelling of Maramec Spring Park, which is often confused with the spelling of the Meramec River and Meramec State Park.

The Maramec Trail sponsors a bicycle ride in May and September.

Participating wineries:

Heinrichshaus Vineyards and Winery, St. James
573-265-5000; www.heinrichshaus.com

Meramec Vineyards, St. James
573-265-7847; www.meramecvineyards.com

Peaceful Bend Vineyard, Steelville
573-775-3000; www.peacefulbend.com

St. James Winery, St. James
573-265-7912; www.stjameswinery.com

Show-Me Wines

For the most up-to-date information about wine trails, visit the Missouri Wine and Grape Board's official web site, www.missouriwine.org, and click on "wine trails," or call 800-392-WINE and ask for a copy of the new Missouri Wines brochure. There are more than seventy wineries in Missouri.

June 2008

Giddy Up!

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:08:52 GMT

Rodeo Fans Celebrate 20^th Anniversary

By Stefani Kronk

Garth Brooks sang about it. Hollywood heartthrobs have acted out the drama and glory of it, and spectators are enthralled by its energy. The rodeo is more than an event which mimics the requisite roping and riding skills used by cowboys on the range. For many, it is a passionate past time and a way of life for many rodeo converts.

Dedicated fans and those curious about the zealous following can mosey down to the 20^th Annual Show Me Center Championship Rodeo at Cape Girardeau. Modern day cowboys and cowgirls have their speed and abilities tested as spectators watch these Wrangler-wearing athletes compete. This two day event held on February 8 and 9 will feature roping and riding events including steer wrestling, barrel racing, bareback riding, calf roping, saddle bronco riding, team roping, and the infamous 8 seconds in the saddle—bull riding.

Cowboys and cowgirls, including Great Lakes Circuit ranked riders of the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association will strut their stuff in the ring. And captivated fans will be brought back to the days of campfires, open prairies, and a trusty horse.

For more information, visit www.showmecenter.biz or call 573-651-5000.

February 2008 MissouriLifeLines

Lead-Foot Race

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:01:50 GMT

By Stefani Kronk

For motor sports enthusiasts, performance rallying is a far cry from the asphalt track. Forget the pristine raceway and the monotonous laps. Rallying is a motorized adventure in back-road racing. Full throttle speeds combine with the hazards of winding country roads, creating a thrilling and unpredictable race where anything can happen.

Rally in the 100 Acre Wood at Salem is a nationally sanctioned race by Rally America. Held on February 22 and 23, the race is the second of nine national chapter events across the country and is noted by the organization as being one of the most scenic. This is the third year as a national champion race, bringing approximately fifty entries from around the world. The course consists of stages—closed sections of county road where vehicles are pushed to their limit, reaching speeds of 130 miles per hour on straight stretches. These no-holds barred sections are linked together with transit sections, where local laws must be obeyed. Rally in the 100 Acre Wood consists of approximately 110 pedal-to-the-metal stage miles.

Rally teams consist of a driver and a navigator. At the start of the race, the navigator is given a route book with exact mileages and simple directions. Rally cars are specially equipped for the gravel roads and rough racing surfaces, making them well-suited for the road less traveled.

Rallying favorite Travis Pastrana will be a popular driver to watch as he speeds along the tight and twisty roads that make Rally in the 100 Acre Wood one of the best in the nation for this sport.

Visit www.100aw.org for spectator spots or more information.

February 2008 MissouriLifeLines

Journey

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:08:15 GMT

The Great River Road Delivers Scenic Byways, Eagles, City Lights, River Heritage, & Adventure

By James Bondank

For nearly four hundred miles, the Missouri portion of the Great River Road meanders along the west bank of the Mississippi River. It visits charming small towns, a big city, locks and dams, fine architecture, well-known restaurants, and more on its path from the Iowa border to the Arkansas state line, and while it could be driven in a day, part of the attraction is a slow journey along the Mighty Mississippi.
In its entirety, the Great River Road stretches 2,340 miles and was developed by the governors of the ten states adjacent to the river in 1938 as a national river parkway to promote commerce in those ten states, according to the Mississippi River Parkway Commission; however, the road itself is not a single byway but a collection of routes.
     At the Iowa border, two-lane Route 81 launches the first leg of the journey to Canton, where Lock and Dam No. 20 is the northernmost lock and dam on the Mississippi River in Missouri. Opened in 1935, the dam is 2,369 feet long. Passing ships are raised and lowered through the locks by gravity. Only the gates are mechanically powered. Canton also boasts the longest continually operating ferry on the Mississippi, which links Canton to Meyer, Illinois.
     While there are several good spots along the road to bird-watch, South Riverfront Park is a perfect place to watch for eagles, which can be seen along the river in winter months. They can often be spied snatching a fish from the water below the dams on the Mississippi.
     Highway 61 supports the next leg of the journey as it heads toward LaGrange. There, riverboat gambling at the Mark Twain Casino at the south end of town harkens back to the days when showboats and gamblers aboard them used to ply the river. Those banks at LaGrange are also a hot spot to stick your toes in the sand at the beach at Riverfront Park and watch the summer powerboat races.
     A few minutes further south, fishing for bass, bluegill, and catfish along with swimming and boating at Wakonda State Park could occupy more than a few hours.
     Highway 61 then leads into Hannibal, home of the newspaper reporter, writer, and riverboat pilot Mark Twain, known locally as Samuel Clemens. His presence can be felt throughout Hannibal—from the statues of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn on Cardiff Hill to the statue of Twain himself, overlooking his beloved Mississippi River in Riverview Park. Samuel Clemens was born in 1835 in Florida, Missouri, and moved to Hannibal in 1839.
Twain can still be visited at his boyhood home downtown or at the Mark Twain Museum. Although physically, of course, he’s not there, a collection of exhibits and artifacts details his life and the era in which he lived. The truly serious Twain enthusiasts will get out of the car at Mark Twain Cave and tiptoe into the past where Twain played as a boy and where he set several of his story lines involving Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher.
     Unique shops, restaurants, and river cruises on the Mark Twain Riverboat beckon from downtown, as well.
     From Hannibal south to St. Peters, Route 79 takes up the Great River Road and is an especially scenic stretch. Often cresting the many hills along the river, a section of the road from the northern Pike County line to Clarksville is a designated Missouri Scenic Byway. In addition, it is also a National Scenic Byway known as The Little Dixie Highway of the Great River Road, so named because of Southern-style architecture and Deep South ambience of charming riverfront towns. Bicyclists know this as one of the completed sections of the Missouri River Trail. Both on- and off-road paths are available in varying lengths.
     An abundance of Victorian-style architecture awaits visitors on their arrival at Louisiana. As part of the region’s 50 Miles of Art corridor, sightseers need to take time to view the many murals on display throughout the town. Arts, crafts, pottery, and pewter can be found in downtown shops, and artisans can often be viewed at work.
     Along the road on Route 79, scenic overlooks provide inspiring views of the river valley, not unlike those that Mark Twain enjoyed in the 1880s.
     At Clarksville, “Made in Missouri” takes on a special meaning. Missouri’s art heritage is alive and kicking in this small burg of 490 people. Artisans from across the country relocated here several years ago in response to a call from the state. Potters, glass blowers, painters, and more live, work, and sell their trade here in a city where all of the downtown is on the National Register of Historic Places. Architecture buffs can find Queen Anne, Italianate, and Greek Revival examples all over town. Two particular gems are the Northern Methodist Episcopal Church and the Turner-Pharr House.
     The town is also home to Lock and Dam No. 24, which is 1,340 feet long and opened in March 1940.
     Next, Route 79 takes us from the small town to our biggest city, St. Louis, with its own inimitable style.
     The Gateway Arch, adjacent to the Mississippi River, rises 630 feet into the sky—an impressive sight by day or night. A tram carries passengers to an enclosed area at the top. Designed by architect Eero Saarinen, the Arch was completed in 1965 at a cost of thirteen million dollars. An integral part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, the Arch was built to commemorate the westward pioneers.
     The old Chain of Rocks Bridge, formerly U.S. Route 66 across the Mississippi, is now a biking and hiking path.
     Just outside of the metro area in West Alton lies the Edward “Ted” and Pat Jones - Confluence Point State Park. This day-use park is situated at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Visitors can enjoy the passing parade of ships and birds, as this area is part of the Mississippi Flyway, a spring and fall migration route for thousands of birds and waterfowl on their journey between Canada and the Gulf of Mexico. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service estimates that about 60 percent of the nation’s migrating waterfowl use this route.
     Heading south out of St. Louis, the Great River Road joins Highway 61 and barrels off toward Ste. Genevieve. Settled by the French in the late 1740s, Ste. Genevieve’s National Historic Landmark District is filled with French Colonial and Federal architecture. The Felix Vallé House is a centerpiece to Ste. Genevieve. Open for tours, this Federal-style limestone building was built in 1848 for the Vallé family and is a Missouri State Historic Site. Also on site is the 1792 Bauvais-Amoureux House, one of five poteaux en terre, or vertical-log construction, homes in the country—three of which are in Ste. Genevieve.
Ste. Genevieve also claims to be home to the oldest cemetery in Missouri. Memorial Cemetery, off of Fifth Street, is the final resting place to French and Spanish area pioneers. Currently, restoration work is being done to locate overgrown graves, but no new graves have been added since the 1800s.
     Just thirty miles further south on Highway 61, chimes and bells ring out at Perryville. The town features a classic town square, courthouse with chiming clock tower, and the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, complete with its own bell tower, which welcomes visitors of all faiths. Featuring late nineteenth and early twentieth century Revival-style architecture, the buildings and grounds of the shrine are part of St. Mary’s of the Barrens Historic District.
     Still a guest of Highway 61, seekers will find Missouri’s Wall of Fame, which is a mural depicting the likenesses of famous Missourians, such as Stan Musial, Vincent Price, Walter Cronkite, Yogi Berra, and talk show host Rush Limbaugh, at Cape Girardeau. A map of the Great Murals Tour is available at the visitor’s center on Broadway.
     Civil War aficionados can also explore Fort D at Cape Girardeau. Constructed in 1861 and open for tours, the fort protected the city from Confederate forces during the Civil War. John Wesley Powell, who led the first expedition through America’s Grand Canyon along the Colorado River, designed the fort.
     After visiting the fort, the “Home of Throwed Rolls” is just a short trip down Highway 61 toward the Bootheel. Earl Lambert originally opened Lambert’s Cafe at Sikeston on Main Street, but today’s version is on East Malone. Here, Norm Lambert made road-food history when a customer asked a busy Norm to “throw” him a roll rather than wait for table delivery. Rolls have been sailing aloft ever since.
     Before Highway 61 delivers the Great River Road to Arkansas, New Madrid, known chiefly for the New Madrid Fault and a series of earthquakes in 1811-12, is the final stop. The 1811-12 earthquakes were felt all over the country, and the New Madrid Historical Museum on Main Street details the history and future of the fault. There is a seismograph on the premises as the fault is still active.
     Missouri’s Great River Road is one of the Midwest’s finest road trips. History, architecture, state parks, bicycling, fishing, St. Louis, and more await. Adventurers are sure to enjoy the journey.

February 2008

River Revival

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 15:30:50 GMT

By Brett Dufur As day turns to dusk, the restless winds subside, leaving me afloat on an undulating river of liquid glass. My paddle strokes provide a soft soundtrack as nature’s evening performance begins. Barn swallows and chimney swifts descend in orchestrated chaos to harvest the invisible layer of insects close to the river’s surface. Soon, the silent, darting shadows of grey bats appear from Rocheport Cave to join in the feast. The paddling is effortless, a comfortable cadence that flows through each bend, leaving me to enjoy the scenery and the simple pleasures of guiding my canoe down this endless river. With the towering limestone bluffs to my left and the saturated green banks of the Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge to my right, I enjoy the last light of day. On a nearby wing dike, a great blue heron takes flight and quickly fades into the grey light. Turkey vultures circle high above, wings outstretched, catching the day’s last wave on an invisible moving tide of air. The haunting coo of a mourning dove echoes through the bottoms. Soon we will finish our day’s ten-mile paddle from Rocheport to a few miles below Huntsdale, but not just yet. We stop at a sandbar to rockhound a bit. We find quartz, mozarkite (Missouri’s state rock), petrified wood, and red and deep green granites, all rounded smooth, from some time unimaginable, all slowly working their way from the mountains to the Delta—like postcards from another place, another geologic time. We return to the river’s edge to paddle a bit more, as a familiar orb crests the horizon. It rises slowly, until the entire valley is bathed in the full moon’s mercurial glow. What we knew by day becomes new again. The blues, greens, and browns become one under the moon’s silver brush stroke. The river is calm, no longer teased by the afternoon winds and the sun’s glare. A familiar sandbar appears around the bend, and our group of six sets up camp, starts a crackling bonfire, and enjoys good conversation late into the night. This is as close to floating through life as you can get. *World-Class Float* Exploring the Big Muddy by canoe is something you’ll never forget. It is an adventure that is beginning to draw travelers from around the world. Yet here in Missouri, the longest river in the United States and one of the greatest rivers in the world manages to meander largely unnoticed across our state. Daily, it slips by more than 4.5 million Missourians who live within a few minutes’ drive, from St. Joseph to Kansas City to Columbia and on to Hermann, Washington and St. Louis. It’s a feat no magician could match. It has become Missouri’s number one underused natural resource, according to Bryan Hopkins at the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. It is as though the Missouri River has developed the “Grand Canyon Syndrome.” People drive up to see it, get out of their air-conditioned cars, and photograph it. Then they get back in their cars and drive away. Yet the river abounds with recreational opportunities, such as houseboating, motorboating, fishing, and hunting on selected adjoining Conservation Areas. First-time paddlers on the Missouri are often surprised that the river feels more like a slow-moving lake than a fast-moving river. Missouri is well-known for its safe, scenic, and easily accessible float streams. The Current, Eleven Point, Huzzah, Jacks Fork and many others have long been staples of summer vacations. While a single canoe outfitter on an Ozark stream may rent out three hundred canoes in a weekend, there are only two outfitters on the Missouri River, and there aren’t enough paddlers on the entire 450-mile stretch of river to fill a large shuttle bus on any given weekend. But the Missouri River is also safe, scenic, and easily accessible, thanks to the abundance of Conservation Areas, state parks, federal lands, and city parks adjacent to the river, maintained by various state and federal agencies, including the Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Many of these areas offer access points and camping opportunities. (See www.missouririverwatertrail.org for a complete guide.) *A Psychological Barrier* The Missouri River has a psychological barrier along its banks. And no wonder. A fearful vision of the river has been honed through years of the worst public relations any river could have. In the early days of settlement, it developed a deserved reputation as dangerous. The Missouri River of 1804 was a maze of dangerous snags, shifting sandbars, and collapsing riverbanks. A wide, shallow, slow-moving wetland buffered the edges of its unpredictable and meandering main channel. Then by 1819, the first steamboat was plying the Big Muddy. The river was a captain’s nightmare—downed trees with root balls still intact had a nasty habit of lying submerged right below the water’s surface. Nearly three hundred vessels met with disaster on the river in the 1800s. Today, the only time the Missouri River makes the news is when it’s at flood stage and has escaped beyond where we think its banks should be. But just as there is no boogeyman under the bed, we need to cast off the notion of the Missouri River as a no-man’s land. Let’s cut loose that heavy anchor. *Surf Before You Paddle* In 2006, Missouri Governor Matt Blunt and a coalition of Missouri agencies, including the Department of Conservation, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Division of Tourism, designated the Missouri River as the Lewis and Clark Missouri River Trail, the country’s longest river trail. A water trail is simply a specified route for recreational watercraft to explore. This coalition developed a new web site, www.missouririverwatertrail.org, which makes it easy to plan your paddling adventure. The site offers trip maps, mileage charts, and other interactive tools to help you get on the river. The Missouri River Trail offers an unforgettable, easily accessible afternoon or multi-day river trip. Whether you choose to float for an afternoon or paddle the entire state from St. Joseph to Kansas City and on to St. Louis, you can enjoy miles of paddling in what will appear to be remote wilderness. Paddlers can choose to camp on a sandbar or stay in a nearby bed-and-breakfast and tour a historic river town. You can experience spring’s dazzling dogwood and redbud displays in front of blue cloudless skies, white bluffs hugging the river’s edge with faint glimpses of ancient Native American pictographs, summer’s refreshing stops for a cool dip at sandbars, and fall’s firework displays of amber, red, and burnt orange hues. Then winter brings its own allure, offering an entirely new face with its icy embrace and crisp solitude. A big river puts us back into our proper scale with nature in much the same way mountains do. We become a dot, a blip. We dissolve into the grander view, where the Great Artist’s canvas is alive and ever changing. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote of undisturbed horizons feeding the soul of man. Indeed, there is much here for the spirit. *Roughing it Redefined* Perhaps if Lewis and Clark were to travel the trail today, in addition to the overwhelming number of references to “butifull” and “mosquitors” would be an equally misspelled nod to the fine inhabitants of the trail today. Whatever you need, a helping hand is never too far away. Many key elements have come together to set the stage for the success of this water trail. Call it “roughing it” redefined: gourmet food at a local cafe, a hot shower at a bed-and-breakfast, and a bottle of an award-winning Missouri wine. During the recent Lewis and Clark commemoration from 2003 to 2006, many communities revitalized their riverfronts. As a result, there are now many new city parks, access points, and viewing areas along the river’s edge. In addition, the Missouri Department of Conservation greatly improved river access by expanding the number of boat ramps on public lands along the river corridor. These areas offer wildlife a chance to thrive and allow visitors more public sites from which they can enjoy the river by bird watching, hunting, fishing, launching a boat, and camping. There are more than forty boat ramps and almost fifty Conservation Areas along the river. The Katy Trail State Park, the nation’s longest rails-to-trails project, more or less parallels the river for 150 miles, from Boonville downriver to St. Charles. Many of the services that have sprung up along the Katy Trail are at perfect intervals for paddlers as well. On this section of river, a paddler can float in solitude in a wilderness setting during the day and still explore charming small towns, eat heartily at cafes or wineries, and sleep in air-conditioned comfort at night. The Katy Trail has helped spawn many privately run campgrounds, bed-and-breakfasts, unique shops, restaurants, and many other services along its course, all close to the river’s edge. With towns evenly spaced every ten to twenty miles along the river, it is easy to connect the dots when planning your trip. Visiting local museums and interesting historic sites is a bonus. Even some of Missouri’s famed wine country intersects the Missouri River Trail. Octoberfest in Hermann by canoe, anyone? Rocheport’s Les Bourgeois Winery and Washington’s La Dolce Vita Winery are easily accessible from the river’s edge. Many others are just a mile or two away. Up north, St. Joseph’s new river walk offers a change of pace from paddling. Several shuttle services that cater to cyclists can serve paddlers too, such as the Rocheport Ferry and Transportation Company (573-698-2001). Amtrak provides a scenic and inexpensive way to get back to your car at your put-in point. Or stow your bike in your canoe and pedal back on the Katy Trail, then run your own shuttle back to pick up your canoe or kayak. There are also several commercial boat clubs, marinas, campgrounds, and bait-shops that cater to river traffic where you can obtain supplies or find a place to put up your tent for the night. For paddlers close to Kansas City, just twenty-two miles downstream near river mile marker 343, is the River Refuge at Alligator Cove, where you’ll find camping and other services (816-750-4695 or www.riverrefuge.com; by reservation only). Cooper’s Landing, at river mile marker 170 near Easley, is a river rat haven that has it all: friendly locals, riverside camping, showers, great Thai cooking, resupply items, and live music most weekends (573-657-2544 or www.cooperslanding.net). *Nature Rebounding* You won’t see the buffalo, black bear, elk, or the bright green-and-yellow Carolina parakeet that Lewis and Clark saw, but much of the nature they observed and many of the panoramic views they beheld can still be appreciated today. Nature along the Missouri River is on an incredible rebound, thanks to the Department of Conservation and other state and federal agencies that are restoring crucial wetland and river bottom habitat. The Missouri River today is not as it was in the time of Lewis and Clark, more than two hundred years ago. The Corps of Engineers began removing snags as early as 1824. In 1912, the Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project began. Over the course of the next century, a permanent channel for navigation from St. Louis to Sioux City, Iowa, was created. The project removed oxbows and straightened out the river—shortening it by fifty-seven miles just within the state of Missouri. Wing dikes and rock piers diverted the current, resulting in a channel nine feet deep and three hundred feet wide. Then in 1987, Congress authorized the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Mitigation Project to restore some of the lost fish and wildlife habitat. The Corps bought land in the Missouri River flood plain from willing sellers for this purpose. In addition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture created the Wetlands Reserve Program to help farmers provide seasonal wetland habitat for migrating waterfowl. Landowners participate through easements or restoration cost-share agreements. Occasionally, the Missouri River still shows its untamable nature. Heavy rain throughout the entire Midwest created the Great Flood of 1993 along both the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Flooding forced more than ten thousand people from their homes. Dozens lost their lives, and property damage ran into the billions. The flood breached levees and damaged thousands of acres of farmland. Then the river repeated its rampage in 1995. In the wake of the disaster, Congress authorized the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to buy flood-damaged land. Many landowners opted to sell. This and other programs allowed federal agencies to give landowners relief while also setting aside areas for fish and wildlife habitats and public recreation along the river. In central Missouri, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service bought riverside tracts to form the Big Muddy National Wildlife Refuge. The flood resulted in change on some Missouri Conservation Areas as well. When no public property would be affected, some damaged levees on areas like Marion Bottoms and Lisbon Bottom were not rebuilt. As a result, thousands of acres of public land can now absorb floodwaters to protect private levees and farms. The flood also cut a chute on Lisbon Bottom between Arrow Rock and Glasgow, which has been allowed to mature into a backwater channel that provides river edge habitat for fish and wildlife. Although these efforts were made to protect wildlife habitat and private property, another benefit is that the public can now explore more diverse river habitats. Today, a river traveler can meander into backwaters and find wonderfully diverse areas, created as floodwaters rise onto and then recede from these public lands. You can also leave the main channel and explore many tributaries for miles on end. The two big floods also prompted communities, farmers, and commercial interests along the Missouri River to form the Missouri River Communities Network. This group works to reconcile the interests of navigation, agriculture, recreation, tourism, and other interests. The group even organized a Missouri Department of Conservation Stream Team to coordinate cleanups on the big river. Today, due to the combined efforts of many state and federal agencies, such as the Missouri Department of Conservation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and others, nature is rebounding along the Missouri River. These agencies manage thousands of acres of Missouri River bottomland to allow the river room to breathe once again, to prevent communities from being flooded, to protect farms, and to preserve and restore habitat for fish and wildlife. At the same time, close to half a million tons of commodities move by barge annually on the Missouri River. You can explore the diversity of wildlife and nature in Missouri in many of the Conservation Areas along the river. One with special appeal is Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, along the river near McBaine. It is designated as an Important Bird Area by the Audubon Society. In the spring and summer, you can spot shorebirds like American avocet, black-necked stilts, white-faced ibis, American golden plover, and phalarope. The river timber attracts migrant and resident songbirds like the rose-breasted grosbeak. Each fall, the area serves as a feeding and resting spot for more than half a million waterfowl migrating through the state. More than 260 different species have been spotted in this area, including a pair of nesting bald eagles. *The Beautiful River* In many ways, now is the best time to paddle and explore the Missouri River since Lewis and Clark. Perhaps the river has been overlooked and forgotten because the beauty of the Missouri River valley is so sublime. It rewards idle moments of contemplation as the sun crashes into the horizon in a fiery blaze, trailing striped skies of vivid blue hues and subtle pinks. The river doesn’t take your breath away in an instant like the first time you see the Rocky Mountains. The beauty of the Missouri comes on slowly as the light shifts and the geese alight. The beauty here lies in its perfect painter’s palette of saturated blues and greens. The river can be as grey as a city park pigeon or as blue as a newborn baby’s eyes. The beauty also lies in the silence. Thousands of cubic feet of water rush by every minute with the force of a hundred freight trains, yet the river is quieter than a sleeping infant. The Big Muddy appears to stretch to infinity. Look to that distant point on the horizon, where the line blurs between river and sky. The river stretches right up until it kisses the sky, and they dissolve into one. *• Take a guided tour.* Going on a float trip guided by one of the two canoe rental businesses on the river offers you an easy and safe way to first paddle the river. Guides explain how to read the river and tell about area history, early explorers, local geology, and how the river has changed. This is a great way to expand your comfort zone. Missouri River Paddling Co., based out of Parkville, offers guided floats on the Missouri and Platte rivers (www.missouririverpaddling.com or 816-352-1765). They offer customized floats and shuttle services. Mighty Mo Canoe Rental in Rocheport offers afternoon trips floating seven miles past Mid-Missouri’s scenic Manitou Bluffs (www.mighty-mo.com or 573-698-3903). You can climb up to the Katy Trail and see an ancient pictograph painted by NativeAmericans, stop on sandbars, and take out at Huntsdale. You can then be shuttled back. Or, you can bike back on the flat Katy Trail on your own bike, which can be dropped off by the shuttle. *• Float elsewhere to learn the basics.* The lower Missouri River is really not an appropriate river to learn to canoe or kayak for the first time. The Missouri State Water Patrol offers an online boating course for free. Even though much of the information is targeted to powerboaters, the safety principles apply to all forms of boating, and there is a section on paddling craft. Visit www.missouririverwatertrail.org for a link to the course and more safety tips. *• Give yourself plenty of time.* The current on the river is typically around three to five miles per hour, and this can help your craft travel down the river. Given ideal conditions, an experienced paddler who keeps moving and does not stop anywhere too long could cover ten to twenty miles in a day. Expedition paddlers may paddle forty miles in a day with favorable conditions. Shore signposts every mile or two have the river mileage posted on them. These are usually given as miles from the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers near St. Louis. By watching for them and knowing the mileage of your take-out point, you will generally know where you are. But beginners should start with small trips and work their way up. A trip between five and fifteen miles is ideal, allowing time to loaf and picnic on sandbars and to let the current do the work. Night paddling on the river is for experts only. *• Allow for the wind.* Winds often blow up the river valley. That’s why Lewis and Clark were able to use a sail to go upriver. At times, wind speeds can be greater on the river than on the surrounding land. An upriver wind can substantially slow you down. During high winds, you may have to “work” your boat down the river, regardless of current. If your canoe is perpendicular to the current and you get caught by a strong crosswind, the canoe will tip more easily. If you get the least bit “tippy,” point your bow downstream. *• Don’t float in fog.* A fog can build up on the river any time of year, especially on autumn mornings and evenings. It is not unusual to wake up on a sandbar and find the river socked in with fog. You may have to wait several hours for the fog to lift. *• Check that your boat has flotation.* This might be foam blocks in the bow and stern of a canoe or an enclosed area on a kayak. The current on the river is strong and could easily take full control of a capsized boat that does not have some type of flotation. *• Learn the navigation system.* The U.S. Coast Guard maintains shore-based beacons or signposts and river buoys marking the channel for the entire lower Missouri River. This will tell you where the river channel is located. Find these navigation guides at www.missouririverwatertrail.org. *• Take river charts with you.* The Army Corps of Engineers provides charts of the river, and someone in your group should have one. Visit www.missouririverwatertrail.org to print maps. *• Stay away from navigation buoys.* They bounce around, and the wake can tip an unbalanced canoe. *• Land pointing upstream.* Having a swift current at your back can make landing tricky. Head upstream before going to shore. *• Stay alert.* While paddling the Missouri can be like paddling a big lake, there’s one big difference. At high water, the current could be carrying big logs and even entire trees. Currents are often strong around them. Especially when the river is rising, debris can end up in the water. Wait until the river begins to drop again, as much of the debris will hang up on shore or wing dams, making travel much better. *• Prepare for wilderness.* It’s a remote river. It allows you to get away from the crowds. But that also means access points can be ten or more miles apart. The surrounding bottomlands are largely agricultural or undeveloped, and one can paddle miles without seeing other people. Tell family or friends where you’re going and when you’ll return, just as you would going into any wilderness. Take your cell phone in a waterproof case; coverage on the river can be surprisingly good, although there are stretches where service is not available. Take walkie-talkies to stay in touch with group members. Take a set of dry clothes in a water-tight bag, too. For floating and camping, take the same wilderness gear, including a first-aid kit, that you would take for backpacking. *• Steer clear of barges.* Look over your shoulder every now and then, and make sure a large barge isn’t sneaking up on you. Barges traveling downriver are quiet. They won’t be looking for you, and they have no ability to steer around you. In fact, a barge needs almost a mile to stop. However, if you learn to read the location of the river channel indicated by the navigation markers, you will know where the channel is and where the barge is headed. When you see a barge, move to the side of the river, point your bow into the wake, and wait for the barge to pass and the waves to settle down. The best place to be is behind a wing dike or out of your canoe on the shore. Steer clear of barges moored on the river, too. Water rushing under the vessel could pull a small craft under. *• Make sure you are visible.* You will also share the river with the occasional fishing boat, houseboat, powerboat, or jet ski. If your craft isn’t a bright color, wear bright-colored life jackets. Turning sideways to the current also makes a bigger display. *• Camp on public sandbars.* Sandbars between the river’s banks are typically open to public use. The lands beyond the river’s banks are mostly private unless marked as public Conservation Areas. Keep in mind that the river can come up fast; a good rainfall can bring the river up several feet in a few hours. Be prepared with an escape route up the bank if the river wants your sandbar back. *• Is the water safe?* As with any body of water in this country, pollutants do exist and are highest after a strong rain. But swimming is as safe as at the Lake of the Ozarks. The murky color is due to silt in the water. The amount of soil in the water today is actually less than during Lewis and Clark's time. *• Respect the river.* It is far more powerful than you are! h1. Know the river level River trips are best at low water levels. The river level determines whether wing dams will be visible or hidden under water. When the tops of the wing dams are out of the water, the current is often more predictable for paddling, with the water behind or below the wing dams typically slower than the main current. A series of gauges on the Missouri River provide real-time river level information. When the Boonville gauge reports fourteen feet, it does not mean the whole river is that deep, but rather, it’s fourteen feet deep at Boonville. Every stretch of the river is different, but as a general guide, when the Boonville gauge is ten feet or lower, many sections of the wing dams are exposed or near the surface. Higher river levels often will overtop the wing dams and result in stronger eddy lines, currents, and boils. Lower river levels expose more sandbars, especially on the stretch of river from Glasgow to Weldon Springs at river levels below seven to eight feet on the Boonville gauge. These sandbars often have fine white sands that rival a Caribbean beach and offer ideal campsites. The web site www.missouririverwatertrail.org has information and links to the river gauge data for the Missouri River. Actual depth of the river channel can range from ten to twenty feet, but the main channel only makes up a fraction of the river's width. Paddlers may be surprised to find that much of the river outside of the channel is very shallow, one to four feet deep. *CANOE OR KAYAK?* Each boat has its own advantages. Canoes are easier to get in and out of, your gear is easily accessible, and a canoe can carry an incredible amount of weight, which is handy for multiple days on the river. Canoes are more prone to being blown off course by the river’s winds, which are generally stronger in the morning but can blow all day. Kayaks have a much lower profile and are unaffected by wind. Kayak paddles make for easy paddling, and most kayaks have solid back support. Short recreational kayaks and canoes often sold for use on lakes do not track well on the river. If your boat is twelve feet or shorter, you could spend your entire outing correcting your boat’s course. A fourteen- to seventeen-foot boat will track much better in the river’s current. High-end composite and wooden boats are fine for the Missouri River. Plastic boats can be both cheaper and hardier. Floating the Missouri River in an inner tube or small inflatable raft is truly a bad idea. These vessels have severely limited directional control required to safely avoid barges, recreational boats, or other hazards in the river. If you live in the St. Louis area, consider attending one of the Alpine Shop’s paddling seminars or river outings. (Visit www.alpineshop.com or call 314-962-7715.) You can also try out a variety of boats on an organized float with one of the two Missouri River canoe rental companies. *CONSERVATION IS ALL ABOUT THE NEXT GENERATION* Each generation uses the Missouri River to make better lives for themselves and their children. Today, the public also recognizes that each generation is also challenged to sustain the river’s natural wealth for the future. The Missouri Department of Conservation has crafted a plan that anticipates the challenges of managing the state’s fish, forest, and wildlife resources and identifies ways to meet them. This strategic plan, titled Next Generation of Conservation, outlines nine goals. The first is conserving plants, animals, and their habitats. Although Missouri is blessed with a rich variety of land and wildlife, the landscape has changed dramatically since settlement. While many plants and animals have been restored to sustainable populations, Missouri continues to lose habitats, leading to the decline of other species. Clearly, to sustain or even boost Missouri’s natural diversity, habitat has to be protected and carefully managed. To meet this goal, the Conservation Department is increasing the variety of natural habitats on public lands. The department is dedicated to managing these lands, which represent less than 2 percent of the state, in ways that both promote more plant and animal diversity and provide easy access and comfortable facilities for the public. _To find out more about the plan for conserving Missouri’s natural diversity, go to www.missouriconservation.org /12843._ *THE WORLD'S LONGEST NON-STOP RACE* Later this summer, the wide banks and gorgeous tree-lined shores of the Missouri River will welcome both novices and seasoned paddlers to the annual Missouri River 340—though those in it to win won’t have the time to enjoy the scenery. West Hansen, last year’s winner, from Austin, Texas, covered the 340 river miles in less than fifty-four hours. Last year, the first race attracted Missourians and visitors from around the country. Requests for information about the second race have come in from Australia, Malaysia, and Canada. Bryan Hopkins from Columbia, who is an environmental education specialist with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, finished second in the men’s solo division and third overall last year. “I felt like a pickup truck in a NASCAR race,” he says. He anticipated having the home-court advantage, but he later realized his handmade wooden kayak couldn’t compete with the “long sleek Kevlar specialized racing canoes and kayaks,” he says. Another racer last year, Katie Pfeffercorn, who was a senior at the University of Missouri at Columbia, took second place in the women’s division and ninth place overall. She was pleasantly surprised at the way participants helped each other and was grateful for the hospitality of people along the way. The Missouri River Communities Network organized volunteers that assisted paddlers at each of the checkpoints. Scott Mansker, the man behind the idea, pioneered the event to increase interest in both paddling and the Missouri River. An idea ten years in the making, he “figured it would be an informal event, maybe only four or five people, including myself, involved.” The race was publicized mainly by word of mouth, and fifteen paddlers competed. So far this year, two dozen have signed up for the second race scheduled for July 24-28. The hundred-hour race starts at Kaw Point Park in Kansas City at 8 am July 24 and ends at noon July 28 at St. Charles. Participants must check in at each of the nine checkpoints, follow all contest rules, and propel themselves “exclusively by paddle power.” You can read competitors’ trip logs and get more information about the race at www.rivermiles.com. For last year’s results, add /resources/2006Results.html. –By Glenna Parks _June 2007_

Where to go Bird Watching

Thu, 05 Oct 2006 02:24:22 GMT

*Missouri is Perfect for Rare Migrants as well as Eagles and Geese* *By Brian Gosewisch* Missouri is a great place to go bird-watching. We have the rolling grasslands to the north and the west, the cypress swamps and hardwood forests to the south, many rivers and everything else in between. While coast-to-coast travelers might call the Midwest “fly-over country,” that is fine with bird-watchers, who enjoy the annual migrations of thousands of birds. With a few tools, such as binoculars, maps, and reference guides, a winter birder will find a paradise for bird-watching almost anywhere in Missouri. *YOUR OWN BACKYARD* One of the best places to search for birds is right in your own back yard, for common backyard birds like Northern cardinals, chickadees, titmice, wrens, juncos, and woodpeckers. Some birders have had the unusual opportunity to spot extremely rare migrants such as the yellow-billed loons, whooping cranes, Wilson’s plovers, Ross’s gulls, and many more. Bird feeding is second in the country only to gardening as America’s favorite outdoor pastime activity. Something as simple as a handful of black-oil sunflower seeds on the ground can attract birds from all around, especially in the colder winter months. *SQUAW CREEK NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE* If you want to go further than your own backyard, Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge in Holt County near Mound City should be at the top of the list for winter birding in Missouri. This roughly 7,000-acre refuge in northwest Missouri draws people from all over the world. Squaw Creek has excellent birding opportunities year-round, but this refuge really comes to life when the large numbers of migratory birds come through in the early spring after the ice has thawed and again in late fall and early winter. In general, there have been 301 bird, 33 mammal, and 35 reptile species discovered at or near this refuge. There is a ten-mile oneway road that surrounds the marshes, and the road has been raised slightly above the general elevation, which makes for some excellent bird and wildlife viewing. Stand on the shore of these carefully controlled marshes, usually in the freezing cold, and see thousands upon thousands of geese take to flight for no apparent reason right in front of you, flying in unison as if guided by some unspoken flight pattern. The sky fills with birds almost blocking out the sun, and the sound can be deafening. Greater white-fronted, Ross’s, Cackling, and Canada geese can be seen mixed in with as many as 350,000 snow geese during peak migration. There are also many species of ducks such as mallards, northern shovelers, pintails, gadwalls, wood ducks, and blue-winged teals, sometimes numbering close to a hundred thousand by themselves. With this amount of waterfowl on a steady migration route, the king of all birds, the bald eagle, is never far away. As many as three hundred eagles can be seen on a good day during peak times. The eagles and many other raptors, such as the short-eared or great horned owls and the sharp-shinned, Cooper’s, red-tailed, rough-legged, or northern harrier hawks, all play a vital and natural role in weeding out sick and injured waterfowl during the migration. By the end of the migration, waterfowl carcasses can be seen virtually everywhere. _For more information, visit www.squawcreek.org._ *OTHER NORTH MISSOURI LOCATIONS* While in the area, head two miles west of Forest City to the Bob Brown Conservation Area. Located along the Missouri River, this area can also be good for winter birds and shorebirds, especially during migration. Smithville Lake, just north of Kansas City, is another area to visit. The north end of this park has a good reputation for short-eared owls and northern harriers hunting the open fields. Ospreys can often be seen during the migration along with many shorebirds including black-bellied plovers, dunlins, sanderlings, and other sandpipers. While you’re in north Missouri, look for snowy owls. Lemming populations in the far north usually rise and fall roughly every four years. When the numbers of lemmings are low, the snowy owl is pushed south in search of food. As many as eight snowy owls in one season have made it down to northern Missouri — some even as far as the St. Louis area. _For more information, call 816-532-0174 about Smithville Lake, and visit mdc.mo.gov/areas for information about Bob Brown Conservation Area._ *DUNN RANCH AND PAWNEE PRAIRIE* Birders wanting to see the endangered Greater Prairie-Chicken should head northeast to the 2,100-acre Dunn Ranch in Harrison County. Guided tours to small group blinds from March to May will get you right up close to the booming ground where you will witness the exciting mating dances of these threatened birds. _Call The Nature Conservancy at 660-867-3866 or visit nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/missouri for more information and permission to visit._ *EAGLE BLUFFS CONSERVATION AREA* Birders traveling along the I-70 corridor should stop at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area in Boone County just south of Columbia. Located along the Missouri River, this once natural wetland area consists of roughly 4,200 acres and is a great resting ground for migrating winter birds. Look for American White Pelicans in early winter and late fall. This odd visitor to Missouri can number as high as a thousand birds in the bluffs area, and they can stay as little as a day or up to several months at a time. Birders have recorded over two hundred different species of birds in this region. Migrating shorebirds traveling up and down the Missouri River show up here in droves, including some extremely rare birds such as the curlew sandpiper. The bluffs are another great area to find bald eagles that follow other birds during the migration. _For more information, visit http://mdc.mo.gov/._ *MINGO NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE* Some rare species have been spotted at Mingo National Wildlife Refuge in Stoddard and Wayne counties, including Barrow’s goldeneyes, purple gallinules, cinnamon teals, scissor-tailed flycatchers, and sandhill cranes. Covering over 21,000 acres of cypress and hardwood bottomland forest, this refuge has recorded 281 different bird species and 38 species of mammals. During the migrations, some 95 different kinds of waterfowl, shorebirds, and other birds can be seen here. In the winter months, up to 150,000 ducks and up to 75,000 geese call this area home. With this quantity of waterfowl in one location, again, bald eagles in search of food are never far away. Eagles have been successfully nesting in the area since 1985. Winter is a great time to visit Mingo because the stifling heat and humidity and those pesky biting bugs are gone. _For more information, call 573-222-3589 or visit www.fws.gov/midwest/Mingo._ Birding anywhere in the state can be rewarding. The next time someonetells you that you live in “fly-over country,” smile and tell them, “That’s right, but the birds will be back.” *SEE EAGLES SOAR* Missouri offers some of the most spectacular eagle watching in the lower forty-eight states. Nearly a hundred pairs of bald eagles nest in the state, but about two thousand eagles fly along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers and wetlands, feeding on fish, as the Great Lakes and lakes in Canada freeze. Early February still allows many prime eagle viewing opportunities. Watch for eagles perching in big trees near lakes and rivers near Eagle Bluffs, Mingo, and Squaw Creek and also at Bagnell Dam at Lake of the Ozarks, Lock and Dam 24 at Clarksville, Lock and Dam 25 east of Winfield, Old Chain of Rocks Bridge at St. Louis, Schell-Osage Conservation Area north of El Dorado Springs, Swan Lake south of Sumner, Table Rock Lake near Branson, and the Truman Reservoir west of Warsaw. February 2006

2006 Civil War Guide

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 21:31:22 GMT

*Skirmishes and Scars of the Show Me State's Struggle* *By Rebecca Smith* Literally a stomping ground during the Civil War, almost every corner of Missouri has a story to tell. From city streets to fields of corn to cemeteries, there are legends and stories of battles, encampments, guerrilla warfare, and the underground railroad. Use this guide to discover those stories. *ARROW ROCK* Secessionist Gov. Claiborne Jackson died in Arkansas in 1862 but was interred after the war at Sappington Cemetery outside Arrow Rock. *ATHENS* The August 5, 1861, Battle of Athens was the northernmost skirmish west of the Mississippi River. The State Historic Site preserves period homes and a mill. Especially notable is the Thome-Benning House, struck by Southern artillery fire during the battle and now known as the Cannonball House. *BELMONT* On November 7, 1861, Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant led a drive to force Confederate troops out of their camp at Belmont and across the Mississippi River to Kentucky. The Confederates regrouped, and Union troops ultimately withdrew in the Battle of Belmont. *BILLINGSVILLE* An October 1864 clash between Gen. Sanborn’s Union Army and Gen. J.O. Shelby’s Confederates is commemorated with a bronze plaque at the site of Wilkins Bridge. *BLOOMFIELD* Stars and Stripes, the newspaper that keeps service members and their families informed, was first published in Bloomfield in November 1861. A museum is dedicated to the paper. *The Stoddard County Civil War Cemetery* has 150 military markers for the soldiers and citizens who died in Stoddard County during the war. *BONNE TERRE* Hildebrand’s Cave in St. Francois State Park sheltered outlaws during the war. Sam Hildebrand became notorious for guerilla tactics against the Union. The rugged area made it easy to hide in the Missouri countryside. *BOONVILLE* The first battle in Missouri was the First Battle of Boonville. Union Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon caught up with the Missouri State Guard outside Boonville and took control of the town. *1859 Crestmead Plantation Mansion* has original furnishings and built-in hiding places to tour. Legend says a fellow Mason sent to execute John Taylor for being a Southern sympathizer realized Taylor was a Mason and didn’t carry out his orders. Taylor was sent to prison in St. Louis, instead. *Cooper County Jail* was used as a prison for Southern sympathizers and even held Frank James for a few hours. Until its closing in 1978 by a Federal Court that deemed it cruel and unusual punishment, the 1848 jail was one of the oldest continuously used jails in Missouri. *Thespian Hall,* used as a hospital and troop barracks during the Second Battle of Boonville, is the oldest theater still in use west of the Alleghenies. *BUNCETON* Built for Civil War Capt. Nathaniel Leonard and his bride, Nadine Nelson, Ravenswood Plantation offers tours of the original furnishings, including George Caleb Bingham portraits. *BURFORDVILLE* Burned by Union troops to keep it out of rebel hands, Bollinger Mill, now a State Historic Site, was rebuilt on the original foundation by Solomon Burford. Today, the working mill sits next to Burfordville Covered Bridge, the oldest of Missouri’s four surviving covered bridges. *CAPE GIRARDEAU* The city and surrounding areas were home to several conflicts, most notably the April 26, 1863, Battle of Cape Girardeau. The battle site is marked, and the city’s only remaining original fort, Fort D, has been restored and is now a park. The town also is home to Union and Confederate memorials. *The Old Lorimier Cemetery,* established in 1820, is the final resting place of soldiers that died in battle and also from smallpox in the Minton House hospital. *The Minton House* Hospital was the site of many soldiers’ deaths due to smallpox. *The Common Pleas Courthouse,* headquarters for the Union forces, jailed Southern sympathizers and Confederate soldiers in its dungeon. *CARTHAGE* The First Battle of Bull Run is called the first land battle of the Civil War, but the Battle of Carthage took place seventeen days earlier on July 5, 1861. An interpretive display stands at the site of the last skirmish in the day-long battle. *The Civil War Museum* has an exhibit on Belle Starr, a Confederate spy who reported Union troop positions. The museum has other artifacts from the Battle of Carthage and southwest Missouri. *CENTRALIA* Markers describe the September 27, 1864, Centralia Massacre by “Bloody” Bill Anderson. *The Gray Ghost Trail* opens May 20. It is a driving tour from Danville through Fulton, Centralia, and Columbia to Kansas City that will highlight points in Centralia related to the massacre, as well as lesser known Civil War sites of “Bloody” Bill Anderson. *Centralia Area Historical Society* houses a statue of “Bloody” Bill Anderson and a Confederate flag replica in the Civil War room. *CLINTON* The Henry County Historical Museum boasts a period doctor’s office complete with the surgical bag and instruments used by Dr. John H. Britts during the Civil War. The military room houses a uniform, Confederate money, and an original “pardon” from President Andrew Johnson, needed after the war by all Confederate-affiliated citizens. *COLE CAMP* Museum exhibits tell the story of the Home Guard’s defeat of June 19, 1861, in the Battle of Cole Camp, one of the first of the war. *COLUMBIA* The State Historical Society of Missouri possesses paintings by Missouri artist George Caleb Bingham, including his famous Order No. 11. *CUBA* Outdoor storyboard murals in Cuba commemorate the Battle of Pilot Knob and the Confederate pursuit of the retreating Union army. *The Crawford County Historical Museum* displays Civil War uniforms and weapons. *DANVILLE* “Bloody” Bill Anderson rode into Danville on October 14, 1864, to destroy the homes of Union sympathizers. Baker Plantation House still bears scars from bullets and sabers. *DIAMOND* Peanut innovator and scientist George Washington Carver, born in 1861, was said to be kidnapped with his slave mother and taken to Arkansas by Confederate raiders. Carver eventually was returned to Diamond, where the plantation owner raised him. The George Washington Carver National Monument is on part of that plantation. *DONIPHAN* Maps of Gen. Sterling Price’s battles, stone cannonballs, clay bullets, and Confederate money are on display at the Current River Heritage Museum. Driving tour maps and histories of skirmishes in Ripley County are also available. *DREXEL* The Frontier Military Museum includes Civil War uniforms, saddles, and guns. *FAYETTE* “Bloody” Bill Anderson’s raid on Fayette was repelled by Union forces barricaded in the courthouse in the Battle of Fayette. *FREDERICKTOWN* Union troops led by Col. J.B. Plummer and Col. William P. Carlin successfully pushed Brig. Gen. M. Jeff Thompson and Confederate forces out of Fredericktown in an October 21, 1861, battle. The town cemetery offers a vantage point to view the battlefield. *War Eagle Trail Driving Tour* will highlight the 36 battles of the 8th Wisconsin Infantry with “Old Abe” the War Eagle, an actual eagle, as their mascot. *FULTON* On July 28, 1862, Confederate troops led by Col. Joseph Porter ambushed the Union Army led by Col. Odon Guitar in Callaway County near Calwood but were forced to retreat. The Kingdom of Callaway Historical Society displays artifacts and the history of the Battle of Moore’s Mill. *GLASGOW* A marker describes the October 15, 1864, Battle of Glasgow, during which a Confederate detachment raided Union stores in search of rifles. *HANNIBAL* Union forces occupied Hannibal throughout the war, though most residents were Southern sympathizers. The town was a stop on the Underground Railroad; slaves seeking freedom reportedly hid in Mark Twain Cave. Mark Twain himself served briefly in the Confederate Army. *HARRISONVILLE* The town became a Union stronghold and command center for enforcement of Order No. 11, which forced thousands of Missourians near the Kansas border from their homes. *HIGGINSVILLE* The Confederate Memorial State Historic Site, a 135-acre park, preserves homes used by Confederate veterans, a cemetery, and a 106-year-old chapel. More than 800 Confederate soldiers, including part of William Quantrill of Quantrill’s Raiders, were buried here. *INDEPENDENCE* Brig. Gen. John S. Marmaduke’s troops held back Union forces in a skirmish just west of Independence. *1859 Marshal’s Jail* (now a museum) After Union Provost marshals jailed women and children after the battles of Lone Jack and Independence the jail overflowed. A building that housed some of the overflow in Kansas City collapsed and killed several young girls, and historians believe this prompted the raid on Lawrence, Kansas, in 1863. *IRONTON* The site of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s headquarters, Ironton is home to a Grant memorial statue. The nearby Fort Davidson State Historic Site offers an electronic scale model of the September 1864 Battle of Pilot Knob. One of the largest battles in Missouri, it left a thousand men wounded. The site preserves the Union post of Fort Davidson and the battlefield. *The Iron County Courthouse,* built in 1858 and on the National Register of Historic Places, still bears witness to the Civil War with a cannonball mark on its face. *JEFFERSON CITY* The capital is home to the Missouri State Museum’s Civil War artifacts and the Cole County Historical Museum. *KANSAS CITY* Union Gen. Thomas Ewing signed Order No. 11 in the Pacific House Hotel in Kansas City’s River Marketplace on August 25, 1863. The Order forced nearly 20,000 residents in four western Missouri counties from their homes. *Forest Hill, Elmwood, and Union cemeteries* are all final resting places to many Civil War dead from both sides, including Gen. J.O. Shelby. *Westport* is known as “The Gettysburg of the West,” where the October 23, 1864, Battle of Westport ended with three thousand casualties. *Westport Historical Society Museum* is in the antebellum Harris-Kearney House. *Wornall House Museum* was headquarters and field hospital to both Union and Confederate armies. *KEARNEY* Union soldiers tortured Jesse James’s stepfather and harassed his mother at their farm here. The act led James to vow revenge. James is buried in nearby Mount Olivet Cemetery. *KEYTESVILLE* Gen. Sterling Price’s hometown pays homage to the Confederate leader and governor with a museum and monument. *KIRKSVILLE* Two battles in early August 1862 helped establish Union control of northeast Missouri. Led by Col. John McNeil, Union troops pursued Col. Joseph C. Porter and his Confederate Missouri Brigade to Kirksville, where Porter and his men hid in homes, stores, and fields. In a three-hour battle, the Union secured the town and captured many of Porter’s men. *Truman State University’s Pickler Memorial Library* has letters written by brothers Samuel and Clark Zeigler while they were in Arkansas with the Union Army. *LEXINGTON* Confederate forces captured a Union garrison during the Battle of Lexington September 18 to 20, 1861. The State Historic Site preserves the battlefield and the 1853 Anderson House. *LIBERTY* A battle near here on September 17, 1861, resulted in 126 casualties and helped the Confederates consolidate northwest Missouri. *Clay County Veteran’s Memorial* contains more than 440 names of veterans, including Civil War soldiers. *LONE JACK* The Civil War Battlefield, Museum, and Cemetery depict the Battle of Lone Jack August 16, 1862. *MARSHALL* A marker describes the Battle of Marshall, the final confrontation of Confederate Col. Joseph O. Shelby’s daring 1863 raid. *MEMPHIS* The William Downing House (now a museum), was a Union headquarters. Soldiers rode their horses through the ten-foot doors. *MEXICO* After Ulysses S. Grant joined the Union army, he was stationed at Mexico, Missouri, in July 1861, where he commanded the 21st Illinois Volunteer Infantry. *MOBERLY* The Oakland Cemetery pays tribute to both sides with statuary of both Union and Confederate soldiers surrounded by respective graves. The cemetery is also home to one of the few full-size statues of Abraham Lincoln west of the Mississippi River. *NEOSHO* Southern sympathizer Gov. Claiborne Jackson and the ousted Missouri legislature made a provisional capital at Neosho. On October 30, 1861, the group held the Secession Convention at Neosho to pass a bill calling for Missouri secession. *NEVADA* Known as the Bushwhacker Capital during the Civil War, Nevada is home to the Bushwhacker Museum and Bushwhacker Jail; both house permanent exhibits of the area’s Civil War involvement. *NEW MADRID* Island No. 10 was a Confederate stronghold in defense of the Mississippi River. Nearby New Madrid was a weak spot. On March 3, 1862, Union troops led by Brig. Gen. John Pope laid siege to the city. Unable to hold the island and the town, Confederate forces deserted New Madrid on March 14. The Union continued its push, eventually forcing surrender of Island No. 10 on April 8 to open the Mississippi all the way to Fort Pillow, Tennessee. The victory was essential to the Union’s naval strategy. *The Hunter-Dawson State Historic Site,* once the headquarters for Union Gen. John Pope, still holds about eighty percent of the original furnishings. *The New Madrid Historical Museum* has letters, clothing, equipment, and weaponry. *NEWTONIA* The First Battle of Newtonia, September 30, 1862, ended with a hasty Union retreat. During the Second Battle, Union troops chased Gen. Sterling Price out of Missouri on October 28, 1864. *Old Newtonia Cemetery* contains two hundred unreadable gravestones, possibly Civil War veterans. Second-in-command at the Second Battle of Newtonia, 1st Lt. Robert Christian, is positively identified. Oral history claims Union soldiers buried in the cemetery were moved to the National Cemetery in Springfield. *The Ritchey Mansion House,* built with bricks made by slaves, was headquarters and hospital at different times to both Union and Confederate troops. *OTTERVILLE* The 1861 earthen embankments and trenches are thought to have been built in anticipation of a battle that never happened. *PALMYRA* Brig. Gen. John McNeil commanded a firing squad to execute ten Confederate prisoners in retaliation for the abduction of a former Union soldier and alleged spy. Known as the Palmyra Massacre, the executions earned McNeil the nickname “The Butcher of Palmyra;” his actions were criticized in newspapers around the world. Afterward, enlistments and reenlistments in the Confederate Army increased. A granite monument is a memorial. *PEA RIDGE, ARKANSAS* Just over the Missouri border, nearly 6,000 soldiers, most Confederate, died in the March 1862 Battle of Pea Ridge. Missouri soldiers fought on both sides in this decisive battle that saved Missouri for the Union. The 4,300-acre Pea Ridge National Military Park offers a driving tour of one of the best preserved battlefields in the country. *REPUBLIC* Union Gen. Nathaniel Lyon died in the August 10, 1861, Battle of Wilson’s Creek, the first major engagement west of the Mississippi River. Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield near Republic offers extensive displays. *General Sweeny’s Civil War Museum* traces the war in the Trans-Mississippi West and displays over 5,000 artifacts collected over the lifetime by a descendant of Union Gen. Thomas W. Sweeny for whom the museum is named. *ROLLA* The end of the line for the southwest branch of the Pacific Railroad, Rolla was the staging point for Union troops and supplies heading west. After the Union defeat at Wilson’s Creek, the army fell back to Rolla and established Fort Wyman. *SALISBURY* The Chariton County Historical Society and Museum houses Civil War artifacts. *SPRINGFIELD* A series of twelve markers in Springfield describes Union Maj. John Zagonyi’s successful charge of the city on October 25, 1861, and Confederate Brig. Gen. John S. Marmaduke’s unsuccessful attack on January 8, 1863. *The Springfield National Cemetery* began as a burial place for men who died in the battle of Wilson’s Creek. It contains Civil War memorials as well as a stone wall that originally separated it from a Confederate cemetery. After a federal decision in 1911, the two cemeteries became one. *The History Museum* for Springfield-Greene County has a hands-on exhibit for kids and a display of artifacts from the war. *ST. JOSEPH* The Union used the Pony Express to communicate with allies in California. *ST. LOUIS* *Bellefontaine Cemetery:* Union and Confederate officers are buried here. *Calvary Cemetery:* Union Generals and Dred Scott, the slave who sought freedom in Missouri courts are buried here. *Camp Jackson:* This camp is on what is today St. Louis University campus. *Old Courthouse:* This building is part of the Jefferson National Expansion. *Eads Boatyard:* Bridge builder, inventor, and Union Capt. James. B. Eads built the first ironclad warships used by Union forces. Bellerive Park offers a river view similar to the Eads Boatyard in 1861. *Jefferson Barracks:* The first permanent military base west of the Mississippi River, Jefferson Barracks served as a Union training camp. Several museum buildings, including a laborer’s house, stables, and ammunition storage facilities, contain exhibits *White Haven:* Julia Dent Grant’s childhood home and her home with Ulysses S. Grant early in their marriage is preserved as Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site. The property includes five buildings and exhibits. *Grant’s Trail:* A six-mile trail runs through southern St. Louis and takes hikers and bicyclists past White Haven and Grant’s Farm. *Missouri History Museum:* Located in Forest Park, the museum houses an exhibit about the Civil War experience in St. Louis and the slave Dred Scott. Several Civil War memorials dot the park. *Olin Library, Washington University:* A broad collection of nineteenth-century American historical prints covering slavery, the Civil War, emancipation, and reconstruction from 1840-1890 is on permanent display in the library’s special collections. *Riverfront Trail:* The eleven-mile paved, recreational greenway passes the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing, one of 64 Underground Railroad sites listed on the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. *Lincoln Shields Recreational Area:* A memorial containing names of Confederate soldiers who died in the Alton prison smallpox epidemic across the river in Alton, Illinois, stands at this area in West Alton. Named for a duel that never took place between Abraham Lincoln and James Shields, the area overlooks an island now underwater, at one time called Smallpox Island for the soldiers buried there. *WAYNESVILLE* The Old Stagecoach Stop, now a museum, served as the hospital and infirmary for Post Waynesville. Exhibits of an operating room and surgical instruments are on display. *WEST PLAINS* The town was raided repeatedly by foraging Union and Confederate troops. Paintings and news articles of Civil War actions are on display at the Harlin Museum. *WESTON* The only road into Weston during the Civil War, Leavenworth Military Road is today East Bluff Road, a hiking and biking trail that extends three miles from Route 45 into Weston. Fort Leavenworth soldiers were ferried across the river daily. *Weston Historical Museum* has a collection of Civil War artifacts. April 2006

Berries by the Basketful

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 15:58:51 GMT

*By Dawn Klingensmith* Store-bought berries just beg to be treated like toothsome treasures. They’re expensive, so you savor them one at a time. The idea of pouring them by the cupful into a cobbler or pie seems sinfully extravagant. The irony? Farm-grown berries that have never seen the inside of a plastic supermarket container tend to taste a lot better. And they can be had for one or two dollars per pound, provided you’re willing to pick them yourself. From May through July, berry growers across the state invite you to do just that. The weather determines the start of berry-picking season, and consumer demand dictates the end. Geography also plays a role, but generally speaking, Missouri’s picking season is from mid-May to mid-June for strawberries; the beginning of June for gooseberries; all of June for raspberries and blueberries (with some farms yielding the latter into July and even August); and from mid- to late-June through most of July for blackberries. Call ahead to most berry farms for a crop report and hours of operation. Here’s a selection of great places to pick berries by the basketful, so you can bake up a storm without breaking the bank. *LAKEVIEW FARMS AT ST. PETERS* Owner Carl Lask says Lakeview Farms stands apart in the St. Louis area as the only you-pick patch offering red and yellow raspberries in addition to strawberries. Kid-friendly activities, which include digging for shiny, gem-like stones, as well as a more structured Bonnie-and-Clyde-themed treasure hunt, sweeten the experience for pint-sized pickers with short attention spans. “Parents get the idea, ‘Oh, let’s bring the kids out to the country, and we’ll all have a grand old time picking berries,’” Carl says with a knowing chuckle. “For about ten minutes, they do. Then the kids get hot and tired and cranky, and they start clamoring for something else to do.” _Lakeview Farms is located at 8265 Mexico Road in St. Peters. From I-70, take Route K exit (O’Fallon) and go south. Turn left on Mexico Road and go 0.7 miles to farm, on right. Call 636-978-8830 or visit www.lakeview-farms.com._ *THE BERRY PATCH AT CLEVELAND* With thousands of visitors each summer, The Berry Patch is perhaps the most popular you-pick patch in the state. Folks come for the bumper crops of blackberries and blueberries and stay for what owners Tom and Penny Willis describe as “Christian-flavored” family fun, including play and picnic areas, tractor rides, an obstacle course for the kids, and an old-fashioned country store for adults. A real-life hive under glass gives kids a bee’s-eye view of honey making. _The Berry Patch is located at 22509 State Line Road in Cleveland. From I-435, go south on Route D (Holmes Road) to 223rd Street. Go west for one mile to State Line Road, then go south to The Berry Patch. Call 816-618-3771 or 816-658-3663, or visit www.theberrypatchonline.com._ *PERSIMMON HILL BERRY FARM AT LAMPE* With acres of blueberries, blackberries, and gooseberries, the youpick operation at Persimmon Hill, smack dab in the middle of the scenic Ozarks, is all about filling bellies and Ball jars. But at the farm’s June 3rd Blueberry Festival, it’s also about fulfilling the needs of atrisk youths at a nearby residential treatment center, the Lives Under Construction Boys Ranch. The event is free and includes a blueberry cobbler contest and live gospel music. All proceeds benefit the ranch. Try the Thunder Muffins, made with farm-fresh blueberries and eggs, or the fresh cobblers and ice cream, or special jams and jellies, including Nutty Blue Goose Jam, made with berries and black walunts. _Persimmon Hill Berry Farm is at 367 Persimmon Hill Lane in Lampe. From Route 13, take Route 86 west to Lake Road 86-63 (Trace Hollow Road). Turn north on Lake Road 86- 63 and follow the signs to the farm. Call 800-333-4159 or visit www.persimmonhill.com._ *THIERBACH ORCHARDS AND BERRY FARM AT MARTHASVILLE* This family-owned farm about an hour west of St. Louis sells strawberries, blueberries, thorny and thornless blackberries, and, for the first time this season, gooseberries and raspberries. It squashes other you-pick berry patches in the state for sheer variety in different kinds of berries. All but the strawberries, which have runners and minds of their own, are planted in hedgerows for easy access, and the berries aren’t sprayed, so sampling them in the field is safe. Friendly farm animals tolerate pats from tiny, berry-stained hands. _The Thierbach Berry Farm is located at 85 Town Branch Road, just west of Route 47, in Marthasville. Call 636-433-2299 or visit www. thierbachorchards.com._ *HUCKLEBERRY HOLLOW’S U-PICK-IT BLUEBERRY FARM AT ST. CLAIR* “We don’t even have a cash register,” owner Don Dauster says, as evidence of the down-home, friendly feel of the mom-and-pop berry patch he runs with his wife, Mary. But what makes Huckleberry Hollow’s U-Pick-It Blueberry Farm a decidedly non-commercialized haven is not so much what it lacks as what it has to offer: four varieties of blueberries and thornless blackberries planted in tidy, mulched rows; picnic tables in the shade of an orchard; free-ranging chickens and peafowl; and prices that haven’t budged in ten years. _Huckleberry Hollow’s U-Pick-It Blueberry Farm is located at 1712 Sycamore Lane (Route PP) in St. Clair. From I-44, take exit 239 east onto Route 30. Turn south onto Route PP and go a mile and a half to the farm. Call 636-629-0668 or visit www.h-hollow.com._ *LIBERTY FARMS AT FARMINGTON* People come for the berries and stay for the beauty, says John Mayfield, who opened Liberty Farms last year with his wife, Kerry. Berry pickers lose themselves to peaceful reverie amid eleven acres of blueberries and blackberries, surrounded on all sides by quaint, old farmhouses and silos. “The views are breathtaking,” John says, adding that most folks like to “bring a picnic and make a day of it.” The Mayfields run a little store that sells snacks, handmade candles, jams and jellies, and other items. After berry picking, guests can explore nearby wineries, John says. _Liberty Farms is located at 1450 Route OO in Farmington. From I-55, go south to U.S. 67. Take U.S. 67 south to Route 32, then go east through Farmington to the junction of routes 32 and OO. Continue straight on Route OO about nine miles. Call 573-756-2860 or visit www.moblueberries.com._ April 2006

Onondaga Cave

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 14:43:13 GMT

*Beauty Beyond Measure* *By Rebecca Smith* Over millions of years, the Lost River meandered through dolomite bedrock, creating some of the most spectacular speleothems, or deposits, in the country, in Onondaga Cave. The origin of the Lost River is unknown, but ultimately, it emerges from the rock and joins the Meramec River just south of Leasburg. It was this spring that caught the attention of the locals. Diving into the dark requires an insatiable curiosity of the unknown. That adventurous spirit took hold of Charles Christopher, John Eaton, and Mitis Horine in 1886 when they explored an ever so slight opening above the mouth of the spring that led to what would become known as Onondaga Cave. After navigating the entrance flat on their backs by partially submerging a john boat, the men stepped into a cavern that would be fought over for nearly a century until finally becoming a National Natural Landmark in 1980 and the centerpiece of Onondaga Cave State Park in 1982. In 1902, Christopher’s share of the cave sold to Indian Creek Land Company, owned by George Bothe, Sr., for the mining of the calcite rich deposits; however, that soon proved unprofitable because “cave onyx” was more brittle and weak than the marble it was meant to replace. The owners reopened it as a show cave. The World’s Fair in 1904 brought visitors from St. Louis to the cave, and part of the fanfare included giving it a name. The name Onondaga, submitted by a woman named Myrtle Land during a contest, comes from an Iroquois word meaning “spirit of the mountain.” The profitability of tours soon led to disputes over land rights. Tenants and owners above ground claimed rights to the cave below for income purposes. In 1935, the Missouri Supreme Court settled the dispute by finding that property lines extend underground and allowing both sides to exploit the cave. Bought by Lyman Riley and Lester Dill in 1953, the cave continued its life as a showplace; however, more trouble was on the horizon. In 1967, Congress authorized construction of a dam on the Meramec River that would have flooded the cave. Today, the red paint measurements taken by a private surveyor hired by Dill are still visible and indicate about eighty percent of the cave would have been lost. Following major opposition to the dam by Missouri voters, in 1981, Congress rescinded the bill that would have built the dam, thus preserving the cave for future generations. In the nearly mile-long, ninety-minute tour of the cave, only the Missouri Caverns area is not open to humans. This area, once part of the land dispute, is reserved as a haven for the sixty species of animals that inhabit the cave. Currently, a handrail improvement project is underway to improve the accessibility of the cave. Concrete paths, slightly steep in places, take visitors through an entrance, excavated in 1938 as the walkout exit, down to the landing just inside the natural entrance and into the Big Room that houses the Queen’s Canopy — the largest active formation in the cave. The Big Room is the second largest known cave room in Missouri behind Marvel Cave in Silver Dollar City near Branson. Just before the Lily Pad Room, Jericho’s Wall, a row of stalagmites once used like a xylophone to hammer out “Happy Birthday,” stands below the lifeline of the cave along the ceiling. _The cave is open for daily tours March through October; check with park office for times. For more information, visit www.mostateparks.com/onondaga.htm or call 573-245-6600._ April 2006

Resurrecting A Dream A North Fork Trout Fishing Hot Spot

Tue, 03 Oct 2006 17:34:59 GMT

River of Life Farm in Dora, Missouri, follows the twists and bends of the renowned North Fork of the White River, one of the best trout streams in the Midwest. About two and a half miles down river from Rainbow Springs, the 120-acre resort blesses fishermen and floaters with graceful trout and swift white caps. The front yard of Myron and Ann McKee, who own River of Life Farm, is located at The Falls on a stretch of the North Fork known as the miracle mile or rainbow alley to many fly fishermen. This stretch of river is managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation and designated as a Wild Trout Management Area, catch-and-release only except for one trout over eighteen inches per day. But fly fishermen and spin-cast anglers often catch rainbow and brown trout even larger than that. "The emphasis is on catching the fish, not necessarily taking them to eat," says Mike Kruse, fisheries research biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation. "The Falls produce surface turbulence and a bubble curtain, which are good overhead cover for trout. Downstream there are also several calm pockets surrounded by faster water. Trout like to be right next to places with a fast current. They can grab food there and then move back into slower water." The low roar of the river, lined with sycamore and willow, is a constant backdrop at the resort. Water continuously rushes over protruding limestone rocks at The Falls, and then slowly settles as it flows south. From The Falls, anglers and recreational floaters can be shuttled up to fifteen miles upstream and float back to River of Life Farm, or they can float downstream eleven miles to Dawt Mill. The resort also offers private wading access. Hikers can enjoy nearly a mile-long walk to Inspiration Point where an eagle¹s view of the North Fork awaits their arrival. Along the way, they may come across native flora, such as wake robin or black cohosh. Explorers can visit Life Spring and the small caves hidden in the surrounding bluffs. Guests can take the resort¹s name two different ways, simply as a river with a large trout population or something a little deeper. As a Christian, Myron took the name from a spiritual chorus, The River of Life. In 1994, Myron heeded the advice of a fly fisherman, who told him he had a gold mine, and attended a fly fishermen¹s conclave in Arkansas, which drew fishermen from five states. With only a dream in his heart, seven dollars in his pocket, and enough gas to get back to Missouri, Myron sought advice from expert fishermen. One was Missouri's fly-fishing authority, Chuck Tryon, author of the Missouri fly-fishing bible, Fly Fishing for Trout in Missouri. This usually hard-nosed fisherman bowed when he was introduced to Myron and said, "Myron McKee who lives at The Falls on the North Fork of the White River, I've been waiting to meet you." "He asked what I was going to call the trout resort," remembers Myron. "I told him I¹m a Christian, and this was a surprise inheritance, and it really means a lot that I make the resort something for Christ's kingdom. I asked him, "How do you feel about River of Life Farm? Is that acceptable?" Chuck leaned back and said, "Myron with a location like yours, you could call it Hell¹s Hole, and we'd still come." River of Life Farm donates a percentage of its profits to the James Project, a non-profit organization that provides financial assistance to widows and orphans of the Third World. Myron and his wife, Ann, help oversee the administrative work for the project, which is currently helping women and children in Guatemala City. The project is Myron and Ann¹s personal mission. Myron's life history has about as many turns as the North Fork itself. He understands first-hand the struggles of widows and orphans. In 1958, Myron's father, John Calvin McKee, dreamed of starting a trout resort on the North Fork. He began with one lodge that had no electricity or running water. A short time thereafter, John McKee was crossing the river by horse to work at the McKee family sawmill. A ten-foot rise at the Kelly Ford made crossing dangerous. The family believes a faulty cinch came loose from his saddle, and he slid off the horse into the flooded river and drowned. Myron was only seven years old. The McKee family's fate worsened. Within one year of John McKee¹s death, Myron¹s four-year-old brother died from a respiratory illness. "My mom just wanted out of here," Myron says. "She hitched a ride with friends to Arizona. She eventually made her home in the inner-city projects of Phoenix." Myron and his little sister boarded with friends until his mother could bring them to their new home. Although the family eventually was able to move to Phoenix's west side, Myron ended up in California foster homes from age fourteen until he turned eighteen. He became a fruit tramp, as he calls it, after his high school graduation. He left his foster home and packaged oranges, apples, tomatoes and pears all across the nation from California to Florida. He ran into his old high school crush, Ann Jameson, on a pear-packing job while working the California circuit. The couple was married in 1977, and they now have seven children. After being away from the land of his birth for seventeen years, Myron returned to the Ozarks and built a log cabin on ten acres of North Fork property his Uncle Warren gave him. In 1982, Myron's Uncle Harold died and left himeighty acres of North Fork woodland, now River of Life Farm. Myron later added forty more acres to his peaceful Ozark refuge. He worked as a purchasing agent for a manufacturing company until he lost his job in 1993. Then Myron began to resurrect his father's dream of more than forty years ago. "You see all this has made me more sensitive and driven to do well with the James Project," Myron says. "I know how it feels to be taken into a home when you need help, and to have a financial benefactor who sets you up." River of Life Farm has become a trout-fishing hot spot and a premiere resort, not solely for the large wild trout. There are six air-conditioned cabins for couples or large groups all with stunning views of the river. One is a treehouse The cabins sleep between two and seventeen people and have full kitchens. _Main cabins cost $125 per night for two. Other lodging: the Fisherman's Room, $50; RV spots, $15; and campsites, $8. Guided fishing trips: $175 for one, $225 for two. Canoes: $18 per person. For more information, call Myron and Ann at 417-261-7777 or visit their Web site at www.RiverOfLifeFarm.com._

Going Buggy at the St Louis Zoo

Tue, 03 Oct 2006 17:38:57 GMT

I don’t like spiders and snakes. So how did I come to be standing outside the St. Louis Zoo’s brand-new Monsanto Insectarium with bug poop all over my hands, and a foot-long African millipede crawling up my arm? “There’s lots new at the zoo. Hey, why don’t we send Cynthia? Get her photographed with a boa constrictor or something. No, no ... that schtick about kids giving her hives is just a joke. It’ll be fun.” I count seventy-three school buses before finding the parking lot adjacent to the zoo.Admission is free. Gratis. Complimentary. But, you have to pay seven bucks for parking if you don’t find a spot on the street. A sign near the entrance proclaims: 900 Acres. 700 Species. And 3 million visitors! Many of them seem to be here this morning. “It’s field trip season,” explains Public Relations Director Janet Powell. “During peak months (April, May and September) we can get over one hundred buses a day.” We had field trips when I was in school. I distinctly remember being herded into an armory for a lively presentation on the history of socks. Like field trips, zoos have changed. Gone are the dancing bears, the monkeys riding bicycles, the elephant rides. In their place is a new philosophy that promotes conservation, education, and respect. In the last three years, the St. Louis Zoo has completed three major projects: a complete overhaul of the Children’s Zoo, the much-touted River’s Edge, and the Monsanto Insectarium. Future developments include River Camp, (a food service and banquet area), Hippo Harbor (with underwater viewing), Rhino Reserve, Warthog Wallow, and an Arctic area which will feature closeup views of the underwater antics of polar bears, along with a penguin and puffin coast. But back to the source of the bug poop. With exhibits of more than one hundred species of insects, the new Monsanto Insectarium opened in May. Curator Jane Stevens and I discover something in common right away: We’ve both been bitten by brown recluse spiders. It doesn’t seem to have fazed Jane. She heads up one of the few centers devoted solely to invertebrates in the world –– and invertebrates make up ninety-five percent of the animal kingdom. “Think of it this way,” she smiles. “If it doesn’t have a spine ... it’s mine.” Shaking off a shiver, I step past the eight-hundred-pound centaurus beetle that guards the front entrance. Thankfully, it’s only a statue, sturdily designed to withstand kids climbing on it. “We had to think carefully about which beetle to choose for the sculpture,” Jane offers. “We wanted one that was non-impaling.” A giant video screen just inside the front door flashes close-up glamour shots of some of the species housed in the building. A giant praying mantis glowers at me with Pepto-Bismol pink eyes. Even though I’m arachnophobic, I must say the insectarium is pretty darn cool. Did you know that roly-polys aren’t really bugs, but crustaceans, close cousins to lobsters and crabs? Gross ... but true. That silkworms no longer exist in the wild? That people in rural Mexico include more than a hundred species of insects in their diets? Okay, I didn’t need to know that last part, either. But it’s all here, and more, in hands-on displays that are fun for kids and adults. In addition to the icky bugs, there are tons of breathtakingly iridescent creatures, beautiful as living jewelry. “The most common reactions to insects are ‘fright and delight,’” Jane tells me. “This is a good way for people to work out their phobias. Especially if they bring children. Insects are fascinating. I don’t like spiders, but I can’t make silk out of my stomach, either. They deserve my admiration and respect. Would you like to hold a hissing cockroach?” With great admiration and respect, I back slowly away. Jane explains that even cockroaches are a integral player in the natural world, functioning as six-legged sanitation engineers, breaking down our garbage. That’s all well and good but it’s probably not going to stop me from reaching for the Raid the next time I see one. _Zoo hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except on Christmas and New Year’s Day, Tuesdays until dusk, from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Zoo entrance is free. Parking is free on the street and $7 in the lot. The Zooline Railroad, Insectarium, and Children’s Zoo are $4 each. The Sea Lion Show is $2.50. (Hint: Buy a day pass for $14.50, which gives you unlimited access to all of the above.) Don’t miss the VW-sized (well, almost) turtles at the Herpetarium, feeding the lorakeets at the Children’s Zoo, watching the bear feedings at 4 p.m. daily, or Big Cat Country._

Winging it at Squaw Creek Refuge

Tue, 03 Oct 2006 17:39:48 GMT

Every year around mid-October, nearly three hundred thousand snow geese and one hundred thousand ducks descend on the marshes of Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge at Mound City in northeastern Missouri. There, the migrating birds find critically needed food, water, and shelter as they take a break on their arduous flight from the northern reaches of North America and the Arctic toward their wintering grounds on the Gulf of Mexico. As predictably as the snow geese arrive, so do the visitors. Few natural spectacles attract more attention than the sight and sound of thousands upon thousands of white geese swooping down for a landing or accelerating for a takeoff from acres of wetland pools. Squaw Creek Refuge was established in 1935 and comprises more than seven thousand acres of man-made marshes. It provides a habitat for thirty-one kinds of mammals, thirty-five species of reptiles and amphibians, and nearly three hundred species of birds Bird migrations occur in the spring and fall. Pelicans arrive early in September followed by great blue herons, sandpipers, ducks, and geese. Bald eagles migrate into the refuge in the late fall and early winter, with as many as three hundred present during the peak of the season. A few stay throughout the winter. _The refuge auto tour route is open sunrise to sunset. Visitors can call 660-442-3187, twenty-four hours a day for information._