Cresting a hill we began our descent, curving and swerving downhill, face to face with vistas through the tall pines and hardwoods. Along this highway at the tips of its gravel spines, springs and waterfalls push to form their own … Read More
Cuisine Along the Katy
Fresh cut flowers sprout from vases atop linen tablecloths. Real silver serves up the best fare this side of the Savoy. The attention to detail befits royalty. In movies, mysteries and memories, the railroad dining car is the centerpiece to … Read More
River Art
Sycamores mostly, some a hundred years old, peeled off the banks and sent like torpedoes downriver to collect together as Mother Nature’s art.
Thank you, river stewards
Today a passing kayaker complained about a few downed trees over the upper Current River. He should have seen the river six weeks ago. Thank you, river stewards. Your work is amazing.
Interview with a Vulture
“Stay away,” she warned. Surprised she didn’t fly away from me, I asked what was wrong. “Ate too much,” she said. “Too heavy to fly.” I’d never been so close to a vulture. But it’s true: when they gorge themselves, … Read More
Burma Shavings
It was about as far back as my memory goes, back when I was practicing my phonics on Burma Shave signs. My family unit rolled out of Rolla, leaving Route 66 in our rearview mirror, headed for the springs. Our … Read More
Feel the Burn
The first known grist mill along Camden County’s Little Niangua River was burned to the ground by unknown assailants in the middle of the night. It was 1864, and the mill family barely escaped alive. Today, nothing remains of Burnt … Read More
The Pits and the Pinnacles
I drove a couple of miles north to a geologic marvel, a naturally sculpted breathtaker called the Pinnacles Youth Park. Like the name suggests, the featured attractions are the Pinnacles themselves, 80-foot limestone towers carved by water and wind, pointing … Read More
Comeback in Harrison County
There used to be millions of ’em. Until General Joe Sheridan came along and slaughtered them all. His job was to move the native American tribes out of Missouri. So he killed off their major livelihood. Buffalo, he said, “are … Read More
