"MIssouri"

Ozark-bound

I spent a few days last week exploring central Missouri, mostly around the Lake of the Ozarks. It's been twenty years since my last visit and a lot has changed, but there's still some of the old tourist trap quirks to be found if a person looks hard enough. The same goes for my time spent along the old Route 66 around Lebanon, Missouri.

Now I'm back to Nebraska and ready for spring. Surprisingly, there was more snow in Missouri than there was in Omaha when I left. That is until Sunday when a freak 6-8" snowstorm rolled through completely unannounced.

Just a few more weeks.


St. Joseph, Missouri 

 Lupus, Missouri

Lebanon, Missouri




Also visited, Day 1: Atchison and Leavenworth, Kansas. St. Joseph, Rushville, Platte City, Peculiar, Creighton and Urich Missouri.

Also visited, Day 2: Clinton, Tightwad, Warsaw, Climax Springs, Lebanon, Waynesville, Mark Twain National Forest, Roby and Lynchburg, Missouri.

Also visited, Day 3: Camdenton, Ha Ha Tonka State Park, Osage Beach, Lake Ozark, Eldon, Rocky Mountain, Olean, High Point, California, Jamestown, Sandy Hook, Marion, Marion Bottoms Conservation Area, Lupus, Wooldridge, Overton, Overton Bottoms Conservation Area, Huntsdale and McBaine, Missouri.

Also visited, Day 4: Rocheport, New Franklin, Boonesboro, Lisbon, Big Muddy National Wildlife Refuge, Glasgow, Gilliam, Slater, Miami, De Witt, Cary, Carrolton, Norborne, Hardin, Richmond, Polo, Lathrop and Plattsburg, Missouri.

Paris, Florida and Louisiana

Sumner, Missouri

I visited all of these places in one afternoon. Of course, all of them were towns in northeastern Missouri. Mexico wasn't too far away, either.

Paris is a nice, yet fairly nondescript, small town with a charming little main street. Nearly non-existent Florida is the birthplace of Mark Twain and finds itself surrounded by a large man-made lake that bears his name. I got my first sight of the Mississippi River while walking up and down the hills in downtown Louisiana. It's exactly what a person would expect an old river town to be, equal parts charming and industrial. The old, narrow river bridge on US Highway 54 is fantastic.

The photograph above is of Maxie, the "world's largest goose," in a tiny, tiny town of about 200 off the beaten path called Sumner. Most of Sumner has definitely seen better days; More than half of the town's main street is abandoned and dilapidated.

I'm in Hannibal for the night and will be exploring tomorrow morning. Then I'll be heading north towards Keokuk and more river towns in Illinois and Iowa.


Also visited: Avalon, Forker, Salisbury, Moberly, Madison, Victor, Perry, Ashburn and New London, Missouri. Atlas, Illinois.

Towards the Mississippi...

Rulo, Nebraska

This weekend finds me headed towards Hannibal, Missouri and the mighty Mississippi River. I spent a day taking photographs around Burlington, Iowa back in 2008 and have wanted to head back to the Mississippi ever since. For those who may not know, Hannibal holds a special place in American folklore as the childhood home of Mark Twain and his literary creations like Tom Sawyer. It's one of those places that I have wanted to visit for as long as I can remember.

As for today, I meandered to Chillicothe, Missouri via Rulo, Nebraska and Highway 7 in northeastern Kansas. The weather chose not to cooperate, as it sometimes does, but I still got in a few solid photographs over the course of the day.

I did manage to meet two very angry dogs on main street in White Cloud, Kansas and get lost (again) in St. Joseph, Missouri. St. Joe completely throws off my internal compass for one reason or another.

Also visited: Troy and Wathena, Kansas. Watson, Phelps City, Corning, Craig, Big Lake, Easton, Hemple, Hamilton, Mooresville, Ludlow and Dawn, Missouri.