Around a sweeping bend we noticed thick black smoke that signaled one of the rarest sights on the river, at least nowadays. Sure enough, a paddlewheel steamer appeared, churning toward us. As the distance closed between our two craft, the … Read More
Bothwellian
Detouring to the top of a high cliff, I stopped to see an old friend. On a clear day, she’s hard to miss, built on the edge of this bluff and sticking out of a forest canopy like a Bavarian … Read More
Bionic, When She Starts
Sometimes you get lucky. Erifnus broke down right in front of the house. Bad starter. But since she’s a 5-speed manual transmission, and we live on a slope, I rolled her downhill and popped the clutch. Engine started like she … Read More
Ticket to Ride
Racking up more miles on her odometer than the distance to the moon, my 1999 Pontiac Sunfire became Trigger and Lassie and Old Faithful all rolled into one. Her sleek lines suggest roadster, and she handles through twists and turns … Read More
12,000 Poles Down
The storm spread a path of destruction through northern Arkansas and southern Missouri. In two Bootheel counties alone, the ice toppled 12,000 telephone poles.
SOS
See this and you know you’re headed into hell. From a dozen states a bucket truck convoy as far as the eye could see.
Nature Rocks the Bootheel
Seven years ago this weekend the Ice Storm of 2009 rolled across northern Arkansas and southern Missouri, thick as Dusty’s beard.
Bringing the Backroads to the Classroom
Just spoke to 70 fourth graders. Captured their attention with my prairie chicken dance. We talked about finding wild Missouri. Their eyes got even wider when I told them about joining a producer from Saturday Night Live to raft the … Read More