It's My Life

When you say the word mountains, a certain image comes to one's mind. I personally picture the great Rocky Mountains in Colorado. I lived there for five years in my younger years and I still love the feeling I get when I travel west on I-70 and pass the Gennessee exit and get that first breathtaking view of the Rocky's.  When I think of mountains, I don't really think of my own state even though Missouri is part of the Ozark Mountain range. The mountains in Missouri are not nearly as majestic as the Rockies. They are smaller. They seem to be greener because the mountains do not soar high in the air above the point where vegetation thrives.   While we were on vacation in the southeast part of Missouri we learned the the highest point in Missouri is on Taum Sauk Mountain. That mountain was very close to where we were visiting.  A short drive from Johnson's Shut-Ins and we were at Taum Sauk.   Like any other state park we have visited, Taum Sauk Mountain is...

We are a family that loves exploring. We explore by land and water. One of our favorite family past times is floating in the summer. Floating usually involves a canoe or a kayak and a river. It also usually involves some friends, some drinks, and maybe even some snacks. It almost always involves a fishing net and water guns.  We have gone canoeing with our camping buddies for the past several years. Each year in the dead of winter we start making a list of our summer plans. Perhaps this is one way we tolerate the winter!  We have floated on the  North Fork in 2013 , the  Niangua in 2014  in 2014, and this year we decided to float the Black River since we were already in the Southeast corner of the state. This year, not only did our camping buddies go with us, but so did her mom and her husband, as well as a work friend of mine and her family.  There were five canoes, 2 inflatable rafts, and 14 people in our floating group this year.  ...

Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park. I have longed to go there for a few years but the distance from our home to the park is really...really far. So, we took a week off from work and made the 300 mile drive worth our effort. We started off at the week off at  Montauk State Park . We spent four days trout fishing before moving on over to Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park. Before we explored the Shut-Ins we drove up to  Elephant Rock State Park .  After all that rock climbing we were ready for a cool dip into the spring fed water. I did a lot of research before we left to go on vacation. I knew that a Shut-In was a constriction in a river-way. I knew that hundreds of people visit the Shut-Ins every weekend of the summer. I also knew that approximately five years ago an electric company's water reservoir breached sending 1.3 billion gallons of water downstream flooding this state park. I also knew that venomous copperhead snakes and even black bears were known to call this area th...

The last week before school started we packed up our camper and headed out on a long road trip to explore the southeastern part of Missouri. After spending four days at Montauk State Park  we moved further east to Johnson Shut-In's State Park. We were so lucky to have shared this vacation with some great friends and family members. The Husband's father joined us on the first leg for fly fishing. One of my work friends and her family joined us at Johnson Shut-In's. We were not the only one's who had family join us, our camping buddy's  mom and husband also joined us. In the end, we had a group of fourteen people for parts of our Johnson Shut-In's stay. After a hot dog cookout on our first night in Johnson Shut-Ins we were ready to gather  by the campfire to enjoy some adult beverages and a few laughs while the kids "tore up" the campground on their scooters. Apparently our space and group looked so inviting that a venomous copperhead snake decide...

Our third ride on The Katy Trail took us back to where we actually started: Sedalia, MO.  We have previously completed a 35.6 mile ride from  Sedalia, MO to Clinton, MO  and a 22.3  mile ride from  Booneville, MO to McBaine, MO . Since we skipped the 37.2 mile stretch from Sedalia to Booneville.  In planning for this ride, water and the temperature were two main concern. We would be visiting four total trail-head: Sedalia, Clifton City, Pilot Grove, and Booneville, MO. Each leg was approximately 12 miles apart and there would be no access to water at Clifton City and the temperature was projected to be 92 degrees.  We got an early start; well as early as you can get when you have to drive an hour and half to get to the trail-head. We biked the city streets until we found the trail. The streets were marked with a bike path clearly marked for the Katy.  The elevation was in our favor departing Sedalia and heading East. We dro...

 We first visited Watkins Mill this spring for our first camping trip of the season. It was a quick trip and we did not have enough time to explore the entire park, so we looked forward to returning. We visited the same park over the July 4th weekend. We enjoyed a sunny mild day on July 4th. We biked five miles around the lake, gave The Short Chic a bike riding lesson (she can't bike The Katy Trail if she does not know how to bike),  and enjoyed the company of our friends. Saturday, July 5th was cloudy and rainy. The Boy was able to spend a few days with us before he left for a summer vacation with his dad.  So, we headed out to expose him to some history before he left. The Short Chic has to bring Elsa with us everywhere we go. We visited the Visitor Center and learned about the Watkins family and their farm and mill. We chose to do the self guided tour but guide tours were available as well. The rain passed over us as we were in the Visitor Center. ...