The end of prohibition killed the Smith brothers’ bootleg business. No matter. They opened two legal taverns, one in Eureka, one in Fenton. And when Route 66 came through Pacific, Missouri, in 1935 they opened the Red Cedar Inn. The … Read More
Mushrooms
Drove into a mushroom at sunset. Finally intersected its core. It didn’t look so menacing. And I was happy. Old skullman watched as we paired the mushroom with a giant hot pepper. And I inhaled french fries.
Somewhere in the Ozarks
On my first birthday I received a gift from a couple I did not know. The couple had asked, “Dear Mr. Wright: Would you design a house for us?” I found the gift 71 years later, a thousand miles from … Read More
Tom ‘n’ Huck
Mark Twain endowed us with more than literary masterpieces. He gave us a lasting river lexicon. America’s exclusive fraternity of riverboat pilots adopted a term for disciples of Twain who act on their fantasies of wild river adventure: Tom’n’Hucks. Because … Read More
He Was Older Than Me
Morning rush hour murders your nerves. Worse for turtles. I saw one the other day, stranded on the center line of a busy expressway. He was upside down, legs fully extended, grasping at the sky. His chances for survival were … Read More
Inappropriate Truck Route
On this day the mountains became the bumper sticker. We left I-40, swerving down rollercoaster roads. Deep in the woods after passing a polite sign warning “Inappropriate Truck Route” we stopped to ask directions. “Easy! Follow the road past Rocky … Read More
The Confluence
It was a cool day. As we paddled down the Missouri River into the Mighty Mississippi, a flock of pelicans took flight from the far shore.
Music City
On our way to the Smoky Mountains we encountered major flooding along the Ohio River, forcing detours through Marion into Kentucky wilderness, past the Bigfoot statues in Hopkinsville and the Coon Dog Café to downtown Nashville. Headed to Broadway. Halfway … Read More
When you come to a fork
Hit the Jacks Fork at the Prongs, keep your eyes on the road, and eat dive bar burgers at Lucky Boys in KC. This guy hit the trifecta. Be like this guy. (Photo by Peter Price).