August 2018

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VOL. 46, NO. 3

AUGUST 2018

www.riverhillstraveler.com

Make sure to eat at Paula’s when passing through SEMO

By MATTIE LINK

P

mattie@sextonmediagroup.com _____________

aula’s Home Cooking, located in Lesterville, Mo., is on the “must eat at” list for locals and travelers through southeast Missouri.

“We were located in Centerville for a year before moving to Lesterville,” said Paula Henson, owner.

“We owned the grocery store, too, but decided to turn it into the restaurant because it’s just more fun.”

Henson ran the grocery store for 10 years, and before that she stayed home to raise her children.

Before going in to the restaurant business, Henson did some catering on the side.

Trail of Tears State Forest Tower (above) and the geodetic marker at Bald Knob (below).

more

Tower power

T

By Bob Frakes he July edition of the River Hills Traveler featured a piece on the Shawnee National Forest.

I quickly received several emails asking if I had information on the fire towers there.

Although most of my focus has been on the towers in Missouri, I have collected folders on the Shawnee Forest Towers over the years.

In fact, to separate the towers east

B

By Roger Smith ig business and corporations seem to rule most of the trade in this country these days and there is nothing wrong with that.

Big businesses boost the economy and make life simpler for some folks, along with supplying jobs, but going back to a prior article in the Traveler there is a downside.

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Cedar Falls Tactical goes above & beyond for its customers

and west of the Mississippi is something that was not done even within the Forest Service at one time.

You see, from 1953 to 1962 (in a head-scratcher for some then and now), the Fristoe and Wappapello Units in SE Missouri were assigned to the Shawnee National Forest headquartered in Harrisburg, Illinois.

There were about 30 forest lookout towers that once stood in Illinois. The

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“I’ve always liked the food industry and it’s fun to see the same people and all the summer visitors,” said Henson.

According to Henson, everything she learned about cooking she learned in her home economics class in high school.

“That class taught me a lot of

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It has closed most of the “mom and pop” stores and made it much harder for the small businessman to survive.

Here in the Lead Belt of Missouri, small businesses at one time were our shopping venues, but as the area started to grow the larger chains started moving in and one by one we watched our daily shopping places put up a Please see GUNS, 15A

Page 2A • August 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Fishing for rainbow on the Meramec River

I

By Bill Cooper have enjoyed float-fishing trips in the Ozarks with people from all walks of life. Most proved enjoyable. A handful did not.

Recently, however, I enjoyed a daylong float on the Meramec River with Air Force veteran Travis Tackett.

Tackett grew up on the Gasconade River, about 40 miles away, and knows his way around rivers. He grew up catfishing and chasing crappie and bass, but had never caught a rainbow trout.

Our only stated objective for the day was for Tackett to catch his very first trout. I assured him that it would happen that day.

We shoved off into the current at 7 a.m. at the Missouri Department of Conservation Highway 8 Access. We were alone. Most floaters start much later in the day.

Tackett and I both took deep breaths as we negotiated the first bend in the river. The tumbling river water tossed intoxicating aromas into the air.

“I love river smells,” I muttered to myself.

“All I want to do today is to hide for a while,” Tackett said.

“That mission won’t be hard to accomplish,” I responded. “I don’t think we will see many people on the river on a Monday.”

Travis Tackett, an Air Force veteran of Afghanistan, shows off his very first rainbow trout.

“We’ll pull over on the gravel bar where Maramec Spring branch hits the river,” I said to Tackett. “The water is pretty skinny between here and there, so we will have to drag the canoe over the rocks in a few places. The exercise will add to our appetites. We’ll be there in 45 minutes.”

“Look,” Tackett whispered. “A deer.

How cool is that?”

A fat doe, perhaps still pregnant, had been drinking at water’s edge.

She slowly climbed a steep 10-foot bank and paused to crane her neck and gaze at us down the length of her spine.

Tackett yelled, “Got one.”

The first fish of the day turned out to be the rainbow fish of the Meramec. It wasn’t a rainbow trout, however.

The little fish was the spectacularly colored long-eared sunfish, which we commonly call pumpkinseeds. It’s colors of blue, orange, gold and black polk-a-dots shined with an uncommon brilliance.

“Man, if this is all I catch on this trip, I will be happy,” Tackett said. “This is so relaxing and I needed it. I miss being on the river.”

“I’ve been floating these rivers for 50 years,” I said. “I never tire of it. In recent years, our rivers have changed dramatically. Floating familiar stretches tells the tale.

“It’s kinda like attending a high school reunion. You can’t believe the changes in classmates you haven’t seen in years. Rivers are like that.”

We dragged the aluminum canoe up on the gravel bar across from Maramec Spring Park, the grating noises of gravel on aluminum interrupting the natural noises of the river corridor.

“Tackett, grab your rod and wade out into the river to belly-button deep water and start casting,” I instructed.

“I’ll start breakfast.”

“Dang, Cooper, that water is cooooold,” Tackett responded. “It’s early. I think I’ll wait until it warms up a bit, before I tackle that cold water.”

I broke out my old Coleman backpacking stove and started a pot of coffee.

“You can drink coffee, wade cold water and fish all at the same time,” I teased.

“The coffee and fishing sounds good,” Tackett fired back.

Within minutes we blew on hot cups of steaming coffee to cool it down enough to take the first sip. Sausage patties sizzled in the skillet.

“Life is good,” Tackett said.

“It’s gonna get considerably better as soon a I get these potatoes and onions and eggs done,” I said.

“Yep,” Tackett answered, while he made another cast.

“Come and get it,” I hollered, as I flipped the last eggs on Tackett’s plate.

Only the sound of the river flowing by graced our tiny camp as we dove into breakfast. Two miles of paddling had sharpened our appetites.

With our energy rekindled, we shoved off and headed downstream.

Bill Cooper cooks up a riverside meal of steak fajitas.

A huge sawed-off sycamore came into view. “There,Tackett. At that big tree. We need to beach above it and line our canoe around it. It’s a canoe-eater.”

Several deep pools lay within the next 150 yards.

“Start here, Tackett. Cast your spoon towards the other bank and let it drift.

There are lots of trout in these pools.

I’ll walk downstream a ways.”

I looked back upstream when I heard aluminum on gravel. Seconds later yet another canoe was swept under the sycamore tree and tipped over. The

couple reacted quickly and saved all their gear, but fishing rods.

A few minutes later, Tackett yelled, “Got one.”

I walked to him to see and photograph his very first rainbow trout. The grin on his face spoke volumes.

Far down the river, we broke for lunch. Steak fajitas relieved our hunger pains. We chatted, each expressing our enjoyment of the day.

Our wars were a generation apart, mine in Cambodia, his in Afghanistan.

Neither of us mentioned them.

August 2018 • Page 3A

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Feather painter grabbing national attention

By MATTIE LINK

F

mattie@sextonmediagroup.com _____________

or many, it is hard to find a job that is also their passion. For Tina Richards, that is not the case.

Richards, 49, from Columbus Junction, Iowa, has been in the Branson area for 13 years and she’s been following her passion for six years by painting.

“When I started painting, I didn’t know I could do it,” said Richards. “I always drew and I used to draw cartoony things, but I never took art past grade school.

“My teacher would always have us sketch, I’m so glad that she did that because that really challenged us and it was always my thing.”

When Richards got older she would draw cartoons for kids’ rooms and church but nothing that really went beyond cartoons.

Six years ago, a friend took Richards to an outdoor festival at Silver Dollar City (SDC) and there she saw a lady painting feathers.

“I thought they were beautiful and the lady told me ‘it’s a paycheck,’ and that stuck with me and changed my life forever,” said Richards.

“This lady only did it for the paycheck, and I thought if she could do it for that, I could do it because I love it.”

Richards had never painted before, but found two goose feathers and then painted her very first feather.

Within the first year of her painting feathers, it took off.

Richards then got invited to several Duck Unlimited live auctions for her painted feathers and for her, it took an entire year for her success to sink in.

“Because I started on feathers, that was all I knew how to paint but Ducks Unlimited asked me to try for a contest for their duck stamp and at the same time SDC asked me to paint at their festival,” said Richards.

“I know how to drive a Volkswagen, I don’t know how to drive a semi, so I was very nervous about it, but did it and sure enough, I won the 2015 Ducks Unlimited Sponsor print duck stamp.”

The entry was made into a print and a stamp that really changed everything for Richards. The stamp is now one of the Ducks Unlimited collectors stamps.

“I was the most surprised by it all and the canvas stamp that I had made sold for $10,000,” said Richards.

After that, Richards took the painting that won the stamp and entered it in a contest for the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources 2017 calendar for November — and won.

Other than painting, Richards’ favorite thing to do is to encourage people to try something new and see what happens.

Now, six years later, Richards is a cohost for an online talk show “Be Encouraged” that is broadcast every Sunday morning at 7 a.m.

“Shane Grady is great and the show has done amazing,” she said. “It has reached people in Australia... and everyone needs to be encouraged.

“I’ve always wanted to minister to people and I just think, Lord, you are so amazing for allowing me to do what I’ve always wanted.”

Richards has been married for 24 years to her husband, Eric, and has three children ages 13, 15, and almost 17.

“This has all been a huge blessing for us and they are very supportive of mom,” said Richards.

When Richards first started painting at SDC, they put her right next to Buck Taylor and he has encouraged her and inspired her for several years now.

“It has been the cherry on the cherry on top of the cake for me,” said Richards. “I didn’t have to go buy the

biggest easel, I just started where I was.”

Richards has several things that she really enjoys painting, such as horses, but really likes to paint “realistic” paintings.

“I also paint on the feather and launch it onto the background,” said Richards.

Bev Dolittle is a Native American cowboy artist that hides things in her paintings, and Richards has done several works in which she also hid things in her paintings.

“I also do a lot of pet portraits. The first one I ever did was a poodle, and I painted it on a feather and I put it in a 5x7 frame,” said Richards.

“It’s easy to do, doesn’t take a lot of time, but once it took me a whole week to paint this guy’s dog because I wanted it to look exactly like the dog. I always want it to be perfect and that’s probably the hardest thing I do.”

Richards also gets several calls from people seeing roadkill and wondering if she needs the feathers.

Richards can only paint on certain feathers and she mostly uses turkey feathers and goose feathers.

“I really love female peacock feathers.

They are beautiful and when I get those I paint a lot of owls and sell them quick,” said Richards.

To see Richards’ work, check out her facebook page at Tina Richards Studio.

“I have just been so blessed to do what I love. Yes, it is a paycheck, but that’s a perk. I do it because I love it.”

Richards recently changed studios but is still located in the Branson Mill on Highway 248 in Branson.

“My new studio turned out amazing.

It is smaller, but in a better location,” said Richards.

“I have become part of Crooked Sky Trading Post. It is part of the Branson Mill that looks like an old-time trading post."

According to Richards, Rattle Snake Eddie is the big pull to Crooked Sky Trading Post, as he is in lots of movies and is part of the new Shepherd of the Hills performance.

“It is a great team and I am so very thankful for them,” said Richards.

Page 4A • August 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

New MDC center, caving tips & traveling through MO

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ildcat Glades Conservation & Audubon Center in northern Newton County, Mo., is closed until further notice while the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) makes some changes to the center.

A year ago, the National Audubon Society decided to turn over the operations of the center to the MDC, connecting its funding to the state budget.

“At that time we asked the public to be patient with us as we get a plan together for the future and they have done that, and we are so thankful to everyone,” said Aaron Jeffries, deputy director of the MDC. The MDC has developed an operational plan for the center with the help Jimmy Sexton of a local task force ———— that was made up of Journey On individuals in the community, and they are continuing to work on the plan.

“Our ownership began July 1, 2018, so we are currently working on getting staff in there to see what kinds of repairs are needed, and see what kinds of changes that need to be made,” said Jeffries.

Some of the changes that will be made to the center are renovating the exhibits, the aquarium, and the HVAC system.

“We have also renamed the center to Shoal Creek Conservation Education Center,” said Jeffries.

The grounds are still open for hiking for visitors, but the center itself is closed for several months, according to Jeffries.

I

In addition to making renovations to the interior of the center, new signs for the building will also be made and some landscaping will be done to the outside.

“Since it will be a MDC facility and offer MDC programs, everything will be free for visitors, which is something that the Audubon did not always offer,” said Jeffries.

The MDC is currently trying to get in and see what needs to be done to get the center up and rolling again for visitors.

“Everything has gone very well during this transition and now we are going to make the necessary changes so we can offer the best center we can,” said Jeffries.

——— We haven't given caving much publicity in the Traveler lately, and I'd like to change that starting now. Here's some information about caving and cave story that came across my desk recently, that I'd like to pass on.

Here goes: Caves are cool in more ways than one here in Missouri. Caves remain a constant temperature all year long.

During the winter Missouri caves feel warm, but as the temperature outside rises, the cave, even with its near 100 percent humidity, feels cooler and cooler by comparison.

At Fantastic Caverns, for example, the temperature hovers at a comfortable 60 degrees all year long.

Caves are also cool in that they

beckon exploration. Caves are hidden worlds that are so close, yet seem so foreign.

Interested cavers should look for caving groups and source the proper equipment before trying their hand at spelunking. Caving groups comprised of experienced cavers can bestow a lot of wisdom and share past caving experiences, both successes and mistakes.

In the early planning stages of your cave expedition, equip yourself with at least three dependable sources of light, a hard hat with a head lamp, suitable clothing, gloves, batteries, food, water and a camera.

Never go caving alone. Always go with a group of four or five people.

One of those people should be an experienced caver and aware of the dynamics of the cave system you're exploring.

Remember to tell a few people where your caving group will be spelunking and when you expect to return home.

Many caves are protected and/or are on private land, so make certain your group has permission to explore the cave first and foremost. Researching what is available on the cave you are planning to explore will let you know what you're getting into.

Keeping an eye on the weather and being aware of the cave's watershed and the role the cave plays in moving rainwater from the surface, are crucial aspects of caving.

When you get in the cave, have fun exploring. Step lightly, go slowly and quietly. As you venture deeper into the

Better keep an eye out for snakes

’m not a fan of the serpent. I’m not scared of them, mind you. I could just do without them. I’d be alright if I never saw one again.

Good thing we have some Ozark superstitions to help us better coexist with our scaly neighbors.

First of all, if you plant gourds around your home you may not have to worry about snakes at all, or at least not near the house.

Wes Franklin Snakes suppos———— edly won’t cross the Native Ozarker gourd line. They don’t like the smell.

Everyone knows that snakes become more aggressive when shedding their skins, and Ozarkers used to say that snakes go blind when the huckleberries are ripe, which is a good way to remind yourself of when the shedding period is, which is often late summer, also

called the dog days of summer.

However, in reality, snakes can shed at other times of the year as well.

When you see a blue-tailed lizard, a snake is probably close by. When you see a green tree snake, there is also probably another snake nearby.

This is because green snakes are doctor snakes and help heal other serpents.

Beware the hoop snake, which can put its tail in its mouth and roll like a wheel and chase you. Also keep watch for milk snakes, which like to suck on cows’ udders.

If you ever discover a baby playing with a snake, do not kill the snake. The child’s life is tied to that of the snake’s.

Instead, catch the snake and let it go free.

A single horsehair placed in a creek or river will turn into a snake. Water moccasins swallow their young at the approach of danger. Also, they can’t bite you if their heads are under water.

Even if they do bite you, they can’t inject poison.

You can treat snake bits by soaking

the infected area in kerosene. You can also treat the bite with a poultice of soft soap and salt.

Most importantly, if you do get bit by a snake, try to catch the snake and burn it immediately. Please remember that these are only superstitions and meant for fun. They are by no means to be considered as fact.

If you get bit by a poisonous snake, or any snake at all for that matter, you better go to the closest hospital emergency room.

Watch out when you’re outdoors the rest of this summer.

(Wes Franklin!can be reached by email at cato.uticensis46@gmail.com, or by USPS mail at 12161 Norway Road, Neosho, MO 64850.)

On the Cover Wyatt Sexton, 9, son of Traveler owner Jimmy Sexton and one of the magazine’s deliverymen, fishes for trout at Roaring River State Park during Kids’ Free Fishing Day.

cave, remember to glance back now and then, so you'll know what your exit route should look like.

Many caves only have a single access point. Caves are fascinating and should be experienced safely.

——— Planning on traveling down one of Missouri's interstates this summer?

Check this website before you go for rest areas, welcome centers and truck parking — www.modot.org/services/travel/restarea /index.htm.

On the website, click on any of the locations designated on the interactive map for more information about that facility.!

Missouri maintains eight welcome centers, 14 rest areas and 23 truck-only parking sites across the state. Located on seven different interstates, the facilities feature a variety of easy-to-access amenities to serve travelers.

Here's some contact information, if you're traveling, that would be good to write down and keep handy in you're vehicle — you never know when an emergency will arise: • General MoDOT Information: www.modot.org • Road Conditions: (888) 275-6636) • Customer Service: (888) 275-6636) • State Highway Patrol: General: (573) 751-3313 • Emergency: (800) 525-5555 or *55 (Jimmy Sexton is owner and publisher of the River Hills Traveler. He can be reached at (417) 451-3798, or jimmy@riverhillstraveler.com.)

River Hills Traveler 212 E. Main St., Neosho, MO 64850 Phone: (417) 451-3798 Fax: (417) 451-5188

www.riverhillstraveler.com Email: jimmy@riverhillstraveler. com Owner & Publisher Jimmy Sexton Managing Editor Madeleine Link Circulation Manager Chloe Giles Staff Writers Wes Franklin • Mike Roux Bill Wakefield • Bill Oder Judy Smith • Michelle Turner Dana Sturgeon • Bill Hoagland Richard Whiteside • Roger Smith Advertising Jimmy Sexton & Madeleine Link

River Hills Traveler, established in 1973, is published monthly by Sexton Media Group and Traveler Publishing Company. Postmaster: Send change of address notices to: River Hills Traveler, 212 E. Main St., Neosho, MO 64850. Subscription prices: $22 per year; 2 years, $40. Back issues available up to one year from publication, $5 plus sales tax & shipping.

COPYRIGHT © 2018 No part of this publication may be reproduced without the express written permission of the publisher of the River Hills Traveler or his duly appointed agent. The publisher reserves the right to reject any advertising or editorial submission for any reason.

August 2018 • Page 5A

RiverHillsTraveler.com

VINTAGE OZARKS:

Women anglers’ evening camp on Owens famous float trip

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loating was never an exclusively male sport.!Fishing may have been the justification for a five-day, fournight float, but the evening campfire was its own sensual experience – a time for the universal pleasures of freshly-caught fried fish, tall tales, and leisurely conversations.

Advertisements and promotions for the float services often included an invitation for wives and daughters to join the men on a James River float.!

American women from the 1890s to the end of World War II were outdoorsy, even making the covers of hunting and fishing magazines.

(This feature is courtesy of Leland and Crystal Payton at Lens & Pen Press, publishers of all-color books on the Ozarks.

Their new book, James Fork of the White, was published in 2017. Some pages from this book can be seen on www.beautifulozarks.com. Their earlier river book, Damming the Osage, can be at seen www.dammingtheosage.com)

5 years ago • Ozark National Scenic Riverways Superintendent William N. Black invites the public to comment on a proposed Current River Trail designated for hiking only.

Presently, the section of the park from Current River State Park to the Brushy Creek area does not have any long distance hiking opportunities. Most of the Recreation is limited to activities on the river.

• In just six short months, the White River’s vast basin in Missouri and Arkansas went from being the second to receive the U.S. Department of Interior’s new Blueway designation “for rivers and watersheds of national significance” to being “undesignated” by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, who has put the Blueway system on pause pending investigation by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Natural Resources Committee.

10 years ago • We don’t know which direction it came from, or just why it came to Missouri, but a hummingbird of the Rocky Mountains was found in Farmington on Friday the 13th in June. It was the first documented appearance of the broadtailed hummingbird in our state.

Bill Reeves, attorney and noted birder, instantly recognized the “sound” of the bird as it visited the hummingbird feeders in his yard. (Bob Lewis) • Traveler territory is home to an abundance of outdoor recreation possibilities, including the finest dove hunting in the state of Missouri.

Southeast Missouri is the indisputable dove hunting hotspot due in large part to the rich Mississippi River delta soils and the abundance of agricultural crops grown here. (Bill Cooper) 15 years ago •!Deer season doesn’t open for archers until Oct. 1, but fawns are traveling with does now, and the appearance of these youngsters brings deer to mind with

REMEMBER WHEN

some frequency.

Young turkeys are getting larger by the day now, too, making them more noticeable.

Instead of getting a fleeting glimpse of a hen and some movement in the brush, there is now a whole flock to be seen.

• Over 7,000 anglers turned out on opening day this year. I can assure you I wasn’t one of them.

For three days one summer I matched wits with Missouri’s wary park fish — and I lost. It had been a particularly harsh winter, one of those that lingers on long after the groundhog says spring should arrive.

I was told crystal-clear waters trickled down from the hills past an old gristmill before charging on to form the scenic Current River.

Here, powerful luncher trout would burst out of the deep pools, take an angler’s offering, and create a momentary rainbow as they arched gracefully in the air. (Jim McCarty) 20 years ago • The Missouri Conservation Commission has agreed to continue to provide wild turkeys to the state of Texas for another five years.

Under the agreement, Missouri will send 100 to 150 wild trapped turkeys to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department each year.

Texas pays $500 per turkey, but not to Missouri. Instead, the money goes to the National Wild Turkey Federation for habitat improvement programs.

• A good fall flight of waterfowl does not necessarily translate into a good hunting season — you have to have rain enough to create wetlands, and cold just enough to bring in waterfowl without running it on south.

But without a good fall flight, chances of a good season are slim. This year the outlook is even better than last year, with some of the duck species that didn’t seem to be sharing in the population expansion now showing good numbers, too. Some waterfowl is actually overpopulated.

25 years ago •! When the foundations for the mill at Alley Spring were dug about a century ago, diggers reached just to the top of an archeological site that dates back almost 14,000 years.

Dr. Jim Price, doing archeological work for the National Park Service at the old mill, dug just a little deeper. It was an unexpected find.

• To be a successful naturalist requires a vast range of knowledge about nature, plus the showmanship to answer tourists’ goofy questions without dissolving into a fit of giggles.

Eugene Vale can do this well. Eugene is a naturalist at Odondaga Cave State Park, near Leasburg.

We recently followed Eugene on a tour through the came and learned about the cave’s geology and convoluted history which includes a local land war. (Bill Judd) 30 years ago • Sometimes, when you are fishing from the back of the boat or canoe, it seems as if all the advantages are with the fisherman in the front.

That’s how I was beginning to feel about midway through a fishing rip with Roy Halbert in the front of my canoe.

We’d put in late — almost mid-morning — on a stretch of the St. Francois Ricer in Madison County.

This far up, this was no float trip.

Rather, we fished our way upstream through a big hole, then waded and dragged the canoe up the riffles to the next big hole. (Bob Todd) • A $537,440 contract has been let and work is in progress on major improvements in the Redman Creek area of Lake

Wappapello.

The work includes expansion of the beach, adding to the parking spaces near the boat ramp, a tie-down facility near the boat ramp and reorganization of the road system in the Redman Creek area.

35 years ago • Dusk had settled over the Ozarks and whippoorwills had begun to whistle on the ridge, the evening I first met Paula Opossum.

From the start, we were friends; an odd friendship, based on mutual misunderstandings, but a solid and lasting one for all that.

Now, I don’t know what kind of animal she thought I was (a long sinuous arm stretching down from above, under a partially open door, to place more food on the empty tin pie plate she was pushing about on the concrete steps), but I thought she was another cat when I refilled the pan. (A.E. Lucas) • I had an ache deep inside of me, the origin of which I didn’t understand.

When I heard of the Ozark Mountain Bluegrass Festival at Eminence, I realized my problem was lack of bluegrass.

I hadn’t been to a festival in a couple of years and missed it sorely. I decided then and there I was going to Eminence on July 4th weekend. (Beau Todd) 40 years ago • With a little over 100 campsites, the Piedmont Park Campground overlooking Clearwater Lake is one of the largest federal campgrounds in southeast Missouri.

It is also a hub of activity for the lower sections of Clearwater Lake.

• Twenty-two historic sites in Missouri have recently been nominated to the National Register of Historic Places by the Missouri Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

They are now being given final review. If approved, they would bring the number of historic sites listed in the national register from Missouri to about 300.

Page 6A • August 2018

Covered bridges remind us of days gone by

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eople traveling on the northern section of Highway 21 between Potosi and St. Louis have probably seen the sign north of the Hillsboro exit pointing to the direction of Sandy Creek Covered Bridge.

This historic bridge, along with the accompanying state park, is under the care and supervision of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

At one time it was estimated that Missouri had over 30 Bill Wakefield covered bridges, and ———— Jefferson County had six of them.

Presently the state has only four covered bridges left and one of them is the Sandy Creek Bridge.

John H. Morse built this wood-covered bridge — which was 74 feet, 6 inches long and 18 feet, 10 inches wide, with an entrance height of 13 feet — in 1872 as a means for people to travel from Hillsboro to St. Louis.

The bridge has the unique appearance of an old red barn.

There were many advantages to building a bridge with a roof and sides, but the main purpose behind covering a bridge was to protect the intricate structural network of iron and timber trusses from the weather.

Engineers have stated that uncovered wooden bridges typically have a lifespan of only 10 to 15 years but a covered bridge has a life expectancy at least three times greater than an uncovered bridge.

The coverings also added strength, which reduced sagging and listing. Riders in buggies and carriages often used the bridges as shelters from the wind, snow and rain.

The special design of the Sandy Creek Bridge might have given horses and other livestock the appearance and assurance that they were entering a barn and not crossing a body of water, and/or concealing the height of the bridge from the ground.

Sandy Creek Covered Bridge was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. By 1984, extensive flood damage demanded an extensive restoration of the bridge.

Today, the bridge is open only to pedestrian traffic. Missouri’s surviving Please see BRIDGES, 7A

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BRIDGES from 6A covered bridges are precious examples of fine craftsmanship using simple but effective engineering techniques.

They serve our generation as eloquent reminders of the fabric of life in days gone by.

The Sandy Creek Covered Bridge is nestled within a tranquil and well-maintained 211-acre park. This historic site has paved parking with two handicap spaces.

An accessible!picnic site!is located directly off the parking lot and offers a paved pathway and pad, an extendedend picnic table, and a pedestal grill.

The other picnic sites are also on concrete pads and also have pedestal grills and enclosed trash containers.

A drinking fountain and water hydrant are located along the pathway that winds under huge shade trees to the!bridge. The path to the bridge also passes by an information booth that lists some general facts on covered bridges and the history of the Sandy Creek Bridge, in particular.

The paths are loose gravel and there

are sitting benches at various locations where a person can rest and enjoy the scenery and watch the many bird species.

Accessible toilets have a handicap parking space with a paved pathway.

There are many trails to explore that wind through the park and along Sandy Creek.

People wade and swim in the creek but a sign warns everyone that you do so at your own risk.

For more information, contact Sandy Creek Covered Bridge State Historic Site, c/o Mastodon State Historic Site,

1050 Charles J. Becker Dr., Imperial, MO 63052-3524; or by phone at (636) 464-2976.

(Bill Wakefield runs the Travelerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s St. Louis office and can be reached at w3@charter.net.)

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Greenhorn trailer dry camping

(Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part series about greenhorn dry camping, or “boondocking” as many call it. Topics covered in this second article include tools needed, pleasure stays, emergencies, cooking, flexibility, what to bring and what not to bring.)

L

et’s start with tools needed, because in my estimation you can never have enough tools to work

with.

It is so nice to not have to use the back of an adjustable wrench for a hammer, but sometimes necessity rules.

Unfortunately the tool box is only so big and the weight needs to be taken into consideration.

I have traveled with campers that carry hundreds of pounds of tools with them all the time, but they have big rigs and have the room.

I, on the other hand, try to travel light and simple. Using what I can as best as I can to get the job done correctly.

Traveling light is a conscious effort.

The choice is yours on how you want to enjoy yourself.

Some campers bring large generators, and many pieces of recreational equipment, and are happy.

Whenever I can get off the wellbeaten path, away from noises and inBob Brennecke dividuals who like ———— noise, the better I like it. Life is made up of choices and whatever you want to do to be happy without interfering with someone else, do it.

Equipment for your own purposes is important and if you can use one tool for a couple of jobs, that saves you space and weight.

For instance, I think it is necessary to be able to jack up my trailer and change a tire myself with my own tools. I could bring along a bottle jack, blocks of wood or a floor jack for this job but I made it my challenge to use what I have.

I have experimented in using my original equipment car jack to be able to jack up my trailer and change the tire. I have saved weight, space and made my travel needs a bit simpler.

After all, I needed the car jack anyway.

When trying to figure out what tools are necessary you should go through different emergency and camping scenarios that may come up.

In fact, it is better to make some dry runs camping and see just what you

might need. First Aid kits and fire extinguishers are a high priority on your list and will be discussed latter.

If you are going to do off-the-road driving you might need a rug to give you traction on slick ground. This rug could also be used for the entrance rug to your camper. Maybe not after you have used it to grind mud into, but it would be a dual purpose tool or accessory in an emergency Will your tire tool fit both your lugs on the trailer and your car? You might give them a try before you actually need to, then set one back to save weight and space if one fits both.

Do you have a 12-volt emergency light that you could use under the hood or changing the tire? You can always use more light at camp getting set up or for cooking outdoors at night.

Sometimes tire chains or some type of traction devices on your tires are needed to get yourself out of a tough spot. Do you really need heavy steel chains or could a nylon rope wrapped around the drive wheel and tires suffice?

Think ahead and plan these moves. It probably is not a great idea to tow your trailer in the snow and especially not on ice, but sometimes emergencies happen and you don’t know, so be prepared.

An axe is always nice to have along on a camping, trip along with a hammer. Why not find a good axe that has a decent hammer head on it to do both jobs.

A shovel is a good tool for a couple of reasons: getting out of a pinch on the road or moving charcoal from spot to another cooking spot.

One thing that does not weigh a lot and can be tucked away in a small space is a handheld electric meter. It doesn’t make any difference if it is digital or analog, but this is an absolute must for your tool list.

This meter is inexpensive and (Harbor Freight) even gives them away FREE periodically. Just having one does not mean it will save your bacon if you don’t know how to use it, though.

You can use the meter to check for proper grounding on 120 volts at camping grounds or at your generator. You can check: 12 volt circuits and fuses; your battery charge and shorts or opens in the electrical system; or broken wires.

You can check to see if batteries are

good or if the bulb is bad in your flashlight. An electric meter is another thing to practice with before you need it.

As for kitchen tools try to go as light as possible and use the items for more than one purpose. I hate to keep mentioning my Mom in these articles, but she pulled a travel trailer thousands of miles and I did learn from her challenges and mistakes.

After she gave up pulling a camper at the age of 79, she asked me to clean out her trailer and tow vehicle (TV) so she could sell the rig.

Mom defiantly did not believe in

traveling light and using accessories/tools for more than one purpose. I pulled out of her 34-foot travel trailer: two electric waffle irons; 2 pressure cookers; at least 2 complete sets of pots and pans; 2 electric doughnut makers; a bagel maker; 2 BBQ pits, one propane and one charcoal; a quantity of glass canning jars with lids; a 12-volt electric impact wrench; heavy duty truck 4-way lug speed wrench; 6 ea. long handle steel hot dog forks; two toolboxes of hand tools; and that was in the first pick-up truck load.

Please see CAMP, 9A

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CAMP from 8A I must admit she was prepared to go anywhere and do anything at that age, and did.

Traveling light takes a lot of thought, but it has its rewards. When traveling light and small you can get into places large rigs won’t even look at.

National parks are now restricting a camper’s total lengths. The total lengths are the COMBINED lengths of the tow vehicle and the trailer/fifth wheel, or the motorhome and the towed vehicle. !

So you need to add the length of the RV and the vehicle together to get the length limit to be accepted. Also, keep in mind that RV companies often fudge the numbers on the length of their RVs. Get out a tape measure and actually measure your RV to know – it’s probably longer than what the manufacturer advertised.

If your car won’t fit with your trailer in your camping spot, you may have to park in a remote parking area.

Take what you want camping, whatever you are used to or are happy with... it is your decision so live with it.

“In my humble opinion, small and light is good for me.”

Pleasure stays Most of my stays outdoors are pleasurable stays especially if my time is with people I love and enjoy being around.

Sometimes I spend my time making a fire, cooking, fishing, or trying new techniques hunting or pursuing different camp crafts.

Anytime we are out it is good to try different methods cooking, setting up camp or daydreaming of projects that have been started but not completed.

Quiet time is good for re-creating (recreating), opening up your mind and just float into the open flames and smoke in front of a fire.

Safety When we are at home, and especially when we are away from home, we should try to keep one step ahead of the disasters we often fall prey to.

Fires, falls, cuts, bangs and bruises can shorten our vacation or trip in the outdoors.

I was amazed to see how many recreational vehicles there were in a RV salvage yard I visited a few years back.

There were a few RVs that had damage from collisions but the majority of them were destroyed by fire.

It was amazing to see the total devastation that takes place in a travel trailer or motor home that has been burned.

Plywood, wooden paneling, carpet, drapes and plastics ignite with great volatility once started. It was hard to determine what started the fire since I am not a fire investigator, but it looked like most of the fires started where propane lines and electrical wires were connected or terminated.

Furnaces, water heaters, refrigerators all looked like culprits for starting the fires.

We spoke of the tools needed in a camper and, for sure, one or two goodsize fire extinguishers should be carried. One in the tow vehicle and one in the trailer.

If your rig is large you might need more than two fire extinguishers. Make sure these extinguishers are Class “A,” “B” or “C.” These extinguishers will put out nearly any small fire starting in your rig. Take a course in putting out fires if

you haven’t already, it might save your rig or someone’s life.

These extinguishers need maintenance also, so do your research and be safe and prepared.

Falls are another possibility while out of doors with uneven surfaces. Even stepping outdoors from your rig can present a hazard.

You should always hold onto a handle while going into and from your rig.

The older you get the more this should be ingrained in your mind.

Can you imagine if you were camping remotely by yourself and breaking an ankle or leg and not being able to get help?

If you do injure yourself try to perform first aid as soon as possible to keep the injury from getting infected or worse. Again, you should plan ahead with: training, scenarios and equipment.

First aid equipment is as important as a fire extinguisher so add these things to your “tools needed” list. Again, there are classes in your area that will help you with first aid training.

It may not be perfect but you are camping and you really don’t need to impress anyone. Yes, it is good to keep your campsite picked up so you’re not tripping over firewood or folding chairs, (safety first).

Your cooking may not be exactly the

way you envisioned, but it more than likely will sustain life.

You may not have worn your best clothes or they may be a bit wrinkled, but oh well! You are out to get away from things that you are tied doing at home and or work, things that may bug you.

Relax, take it easy, drop your guard for a bit!

Cooking Cooking can be a ball while camping! Just remember KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)! Figure out what you want for your meals ahead of time.

Yes, you will have to plan on what you want to eat just like what tools you’re going to need on the trip. Aluminum foil has made my camping experience much easier than bringing along heavy cast iron pots and pans.

Even if you do bring along cast iron stuff, aluminum foil lining will save you time and water while cleaning.

Foil packs or Ho Bo packs (an old Boy Scout trick) can be made up at home and just put into your campfire coals to cook and eat right out of the foil.

You can skewer your meat on a green hardwood stick and even bake twist biscuits on the stick, too.

Crockpots are another timesaver and mess reducer. The crockpots even can

be lined with special plastic cooking bags and discarded after cooking and serving from them, leaving the pot clean.

Cereal in the morning is another quick meal, hot or cold. If you use a heavy paper cup for your cereal and milk then drink your coffee from it, the paper cup could be burnt removing any evidence of a mess.

The more you travel, the more you learn. When we go out in our trailer during cold mornings we make percolator coffee on the propane stove first, warming our little trailer to a comfortable level so the furnace is not needed.

What to bring & what not to bring That is the question, isn’t it? The answer to that question is hiding in the question, (how much room do you have) and when you plan to use that tool or food stuff you are bringing along.

If you are truly boondocking you may not have the luxury of stopping by a store every few days and stocking back up.

When you purchase an item, do you really need the box and a bag in another box to haul around? Can the extra box be considered “fire starter” or is it plastic and needs to be packed out.

Can you purchase dehydrated foods and just add water, there-in saving packing steel cans out with the plastic.

Practice your camping skills, ask others you camp with for ideas, and there are many books available to help you in your planning.

Once you’re out there in the woods or the open field, relax, breathe in the fresh air, watch the animals and stars and dream as you are mesmerized by the flames in your campfire.

(Bob Brennecke lives in Ballwin, Mo., and can be reached at robertbrennecke@hotmail.com.)

AROUND the WORLD with the River Hills Traveler

Carlee Patterson and Holliday Newman enjoyed some shopping at Branson Landing while taking a break from a church convention held in Branson in December 2017. They took a friend along with them.

——— If you're going on a trip or vacation, please take the River Hills Traveler with you and have someone photograph you and the magazine in front of a landmark or particular setting.

Then email the picture to us at jimmy@riverhillstraveler.com and we will publish it an upcoming issue. You can also text your photos & info to (417) 451-3798 or send them to us via our Facebook page.

Thank you very much and we look forward to seeing your family’s adventures!

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Introducing a person to fishing is very rewarding A fter spending my entire life in the outdoors I have decided that sharing the outdoors with a child is easily the most rewarding out of all the activities one can muster.

A person can do this in the Ozarks with little effort. For the price of $25 you can have all you need to forever hook a kid on fishing.

Nothing extravagant is needed for a child. Plenty of rod and reel combos for under $20 at Walmart. No snoopy poles.

Nothing against Snoopy, but the goal is for the child to fall in love with fishing and a Snoopy pole just doesn’t cut it.

The key to doing this right is sticking to the basics. Getting down on their level.

What I do is Richard gather some small split shots, some Whiteside small hooks, a bob———— ber, bucket and box of worms.

Bluegill and sun perch is what we are after. If your like, take the time to chase down a grass hopper on the bank, the grass hopper will work in place of a worm.

Pinch a small bit of worm and put it on the small hook. Between 8 and 10 inches above the hook a split shot must be placed. Another 10 inches above the split shot put the bobber.

In the early stages this setup will be all you need. In time the bobber will come off, and then fish without the bobber, which is fishing by feel.

A big part of the child’s success depends on the ability of the adult to be patient and help the youngster when they need help.

They will need help getting the setup rigged. They will need help baiting the hook and will need help getting the fish off.

I bring a bucket so the child can put the fish that’s caught in the bucket. The children love watching the fish they have caught in the bucket.

Getting involved requires a person to

give up their own ideas of what fishing is to them. Don’t make the mistake of making the excursion difficult. Don’t take on too much and be sure to take photos.

Remember, you have a child with you. Slow and steady and make sure you’re catching fish.

All it takes is taking a kid on an allday fishing trip two or three times without catching fish and the kid won’t want to go again.

Don’t make it difficult. Plenty of time down the road to get complicated but until then, just slow down and stick to the basics.

Balogna and cheese sandwiches, worms and a buckets of fish. And possibly a fishing partner for life.

(Richard Whiteside lives in Doniphan, Mo., and can be reached at rlwhiteside72@gmail.com. His blog can be followed at www.ozarkriverman.wordpress. com.)

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Connecting with our children in the 21st Century

P

eople look forward to camping in the great outdoors for many reasons. The reasons are many, and vary fro person to person.

These can include getting away from the pressures of everyday life like work, the telephone calls from salespeople or survey takers, the constant negative news that is being reported on television and in newspapers, and the ever-growing “honey–do” list.

They also often include the time shopping for food and the many hours preparing meals that are consumed in a matter of minutes and the almost fulltime job of being a chauffeur for carpools, transporting your children to sporting and social events and the required practices for those events.

A family camping trip is an important opportunity to reconnect as a family. A time to work together, to play together and to listen to one another.

It would be so relaxing and refreshing to find a nice quiet location at one of the many places in Missouri that offers camping, to set up a tent or park the RV, build a small campfire, and sit in a comfortable camp Bill Wakefield chair with the aroma ———— of a great smelling cup of coffee filling the air.

The only sounds that you hear are the wind wrestling through the leaves of trees, the drumming of a pileated woodpecker somewhere off in the distance, the cry of a Blue Jay when something invades its territory and, if you are lucky enough to be camping next to a brook or river, the relaxing sound of running water.

This may be great for you but it could be a boring disaster for your children.

To help them through the culture shock of not having Internet connections, Facebook, texting friends, television, a gang of friends to hang out with, and the privacy of their own room will require some planning on the part of the parents.

Camping is for the enjoyment of the whole family, which includes the children.

To keep your children interested in something you need to get them involved, and for them to be successful.

The degree of involvement will depend on the age of the children and the skill level required, which is something that you will need to judge.

Unless you have your own private camping location, have your children research locations in which they think would be interesting and fun for them.

The Missouri Department of Conservation website (www.mdc.mo.gov), Missouri State Parks website (www.mostateparks.com), and Missouri Vacation Travel Guide (www.missouri-vacations.com) are good websites to start with.

The River Hills Traveler also promotes several privately-owned camp locations with their location, amenities and website address.

Have the children present their findings and listen to their suggestions. A discussion with the whole family on finding and selecting a camping location that everyone agrees on is always a good start.

Another pre-camping activity that the children can start with is helping to make the first meal. A “hobo dinner” can be prepared at home and placed in a cooler to be ready to cook at the camp site.

This meal will always taste great cooked over a bed of charcoals or on an open grill.

Ingredients for a simple hobo meal may include: • 1⁄2 lb meat (ground beef is the most common) • 1 cup!potato, sliced • 1 cup!carrots, sliced • 1⁄2 cup!onion, sliced • 4 teaspoons!butter • Garlic powder • Salt • Pepper • Cooking spray • Aluminum foil Directions 1. Spray 18-inch square of aluminum foil with cooking spray.

2. Place 1/4 of the meat in center of foil.

3. Place 1/4 of the vegetables on top of meat.

4. Season with butter, salt, garlic powder and pepper to taste.

5. Fold top and sides of foil several times to seal food.

6. Always place seam side up when cooking. You may want to double wrap if cooking on a campfire or grill.

7. CAMPFIRE: Place on hot coals near the edge of your campfire and allow to cook 25-30 minutes, or until meat is done.

8. GRILL: Place on medium/hot grill for 40 minutes; rotate 1/2 way through cooking time.

There are several things that your children can assist you in making this hobo dinner such as cutting the aluminum foil to size, making the ground beef patty, or chopping and placing the vegetables on the patty.

This recipe is supposed to yield four dinners but I think that it might be a little light.

Here are some more ideas to keep the kids entertained and having fun: ——— If you are camping where there is fishable water, such as a lake or river, ask your children to help you catch dinner for the family.

Most everyone enjoys fishing and this could be a good teaching experience for both you and your children from finding baits, locating a good

fishing spot, the fun part of catching fish and the hard part of cleaning them for dinner, and the rewarding part of eating food that they helped in catching and preparing for the family meal.

Think how good fresh bluegill, crappie or catfish would taste cooked over a campfire along with fried potatoes followed up by S’mores for dessert.

——— It is important that your children develop a sense of accomplishment and belonging to the group. Accomplishment is a byproduct of responsibility.

Depending on the child’s age some responsibilities could include policing the prospective campsite looking for things that could be of danger or cause harm such as rocks that could be stepped on by bare feet, exposed tree roots or buried rocks that someone could trip over, or trash left by a careless camper.

Another idea for campsite responsibility is to keep an adequate kindling supply. Most camping locations have firewood for you to use or buy. It is not good conservation practice to bring in firewood from outside the area that you are camping in because it might contain harmful pests.

You will still need some type of kindling to start a campfire, so make it your children’s responsibility to search for twigs or small sticks to use for this purpose and to keep the kindling pile full.

——— If camping isn’t fun, then what good is it? If you’re taking kids camping, there is only so much dirt, rocks and bugs that will entertain kids before they can become bored.

Some equipment and toys to bring along that would be fun to have, and also useful, would include binoculars, a magnifying glass, card games, and maybe a couple of squirt guns.

——— Bring an extra tent to use as a designated play area. This way, your kids can have their own space to use for their toys and games.

It’s nice to have spaces separate from the sleeping tent or the RV so they don’t always have to worry about cleaning feet before they climb into the “play tent” like you would the sleeping tent.

Plus, it’s shaded if you need to get the kids out of the sun for a while.

——— Another good thing to bring with you are glow sticks. Glow sticks are easy to find and work great for kids to string

together and wear as a necklace, anklet or bracelet so you can keep track of them when it gets dark.!

Throw glow sticks into water bottles for more illumination,!or if you have a handful of water bottles, this could be a fun game of night!bowling before bedtime.

Kids love to throw rocks. It is hard to find an appropriate place for rockthrowing in suburbia. However, as long as your kid isn’t throwing rocks at anyone, why not let them have at it?

Throw rocks in the river or the lake.

Find rocks of varying sizes and shapes and see what a difference it makes in how they “splat.”

Skipping rocks across the water for distance is also good fun. Always be mindful of each other and any animals that are sharing your space.

——— One of the most fun and challenging activities for the whole family is a scavenger hunt.

Kids love scavenger hunts, and the great outdoors is the perfect place to hold one. If you use the Internet and “Google” outdoor scavenger hunt you will find a long list of ideas that you can print off and use.

Have players collect items like pine cones, maple leaves, oak leaves, snail shells, pine needles and rocks of certain colors. Each player should stick with an assigned buddy or small group.

Compasses and watches are useful, plus cloth bags rather than plastic to store the findings. Have the unsuccessful team roast and serve the marshmallows at the fire that night.

——— There is a quote that states, “When you’re in nature, be curious about nature.” Share time with your children to learn the names and properties of the plants and animals around you.

You could even keep a log book and compare the different natural finds in different places you visit.

I believe that some of the best scavenger lists to use in Missouri are the free field guides published by the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Some of the guide books are about birds, mammals, trees, land invertebrates and reptiles and amphibians.

These guide books contain pictures, descriptions and habitat information of the various plant and animal life in Missouri.

Locate a particular plant or animal that is listed in the field guide, mark found and the date that it was discovered next to the picture. The person with the most discoveries during an outing wins.

This might be a good place to use a disposable camera or the camera on a cell phone, and take a picture of the plant or animal and compare it to the one in the field guide.

You can work with your children to make your own Missouri Wildlife Field Guide by making a scrapbook journal with the photo and description on what the photo shows, when and where it was taken.

The most important thing that a parent can do for their children is to spend time with them and listen to them and enjoy them.

Remember, the outdoors can be a bonding moment with lessons learned together, not just a teaching moment.

(Bill Wakefield runs the Traveler’s St. Louis office and can be reached at w3@charter.net.)

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TOWER from 1A paperwork mentions about 16 towers built in the 1930s in the Shawnee by the CCC.!

The towers stood in an arc from Dry Hill near Ava!to Peters!Creek near Elizabethtown. From Dry Hill (going counter-clockwise) were Hickory Ridge (Pamona), Fountain Bluff (Grand Tower), Bald Knob (Alto Pass), Water Valley (Cobden), Atwood (Jonesboro), Bass Hill (Tamms), Honey School (Thebes), Massac (Metropolis), Deputy (Golconda), Raum (Herod), McCormick (Eddyville), Williams Hill (Herod), High Knob (Equality), and Peters Creek (Elizabethtown).

You notice at times the town listed was close, and at times not so close. These sites often produce footings, like these from Hickory Ridge courtesy of Gary Price.

These “historic” sites are on public land at times and private, also. One needs to check before going “footing hunting.” Hickory Ridge might be a good place to start. The footings there are located in the parking lot for the Little Grand Canyon Trail. There is a picnic table there, also.

Several sets of geodetic markers can be found at Bald Knob, site of the famous cross.

The Fountain Bluff footings are deep in the brush but the view of the Mississippi from the bluff gives a hint as to what the view from the tower must have been.

Water Valley is south of Giant City and Atwood is on private ground. The road up to the Honey School footings is in good shape, and at Williams Hill you will find a sign proclaiming it to be the second highest point in Illinois.

You will find High Knob just beyond the horse camp.

Both Trigg Tower and Trail of Tears Tower are in this arc, but the towers there are still all or partly up.

The Trigg Tower is located NE of Simpson. The top half of the tower has been removed to form an observation lookout.

It is a “must do” in the fall. The tower is named after L.O. Trigg who was the publisher of the Eldorado Daily Journal.

Mr. Trigg was famous for his yearly “Ozark Tour” where he encouraged par-

T

The footings at Hickory Ridge.

ticipants to enjoy the wonders of the area. The U.S. Forest Service named the tower in his honor.

The Trail of Tears Tower is located in the Trail of Tears State Forest near AnnaJonesboro. This area was crossed by Native Americans during their forced movement west, hence the name.

The drive up can be managed or a trail runs up from the parking lot. Although discussions for the tower usage have occurred, it remains fenced at the moment despite the fact it is contained in the National Historic Lookout Registry.

However, the loop drive is very enjoyable, especially in the fall.

In a line above the Shawnee is a series of historic tower sites. They start at Lively Grove then Pinckneyville, Royalton, Benton, Aden, and Shawneetown which is just outside the national forest.

Lively Grove and Aden are interesting as farmland has replaced trees leaving any wooded area hard to see in any direction.

The Pinckneyville Tower was actually known as the Oak Grove and stood just south of that church.

The Royalton Tower stood across from St Mary’s Cemetery. The Benton Tower was located at the present IDNR building.

Aden was off I-64 east of Mt. Vernon, Lively Grove north of that village and Shawneetown NE of there.

The Cypress Tower near Cypress was just outside the Shawnee Forest and a tower at Crab Orchard Lake was a Fish and Wildlife tower, according to the Southern Illinoisan.

The footings there are in the brush.

The Crab Orchard Tower was worked by Gordon Tripp. His daughter, Judy (Tripp) Tonellato, and her husband, Richard, sent me lots of pictures and information on the tower. I dedicate this piece to Gordon.

The northern part of Illinois contains few towers, but oddly two of the best to climb. At Big River State Forest, near

Seaton, you can get the key from the office and climb the only cab-intact climbable tower in the state.

There is also an Aermotor wind tower nearby which the later Aermotor towers evolved from.

Also, just south of Danville at Forest Glen Forest Preserve is a tower built in 1970 (no cab) that has been incorporated wonderfully into the park.

It has a large walkway and on cool fall days you can see a constant line of people streaming up for a view of the Vermillion River.

I hope you have enjoyed this Shawnee Forest and Illinois “tower tour.” Sadly, unlike Missouri and its 60-some towers still up, the towers of Illinois are mostly gone.

It is an interesting story, however, and there are still a few views and vistas to be had.

(Questions or comments? Bob Frakes can be reached by email at frakes2@ mvn.net or by phone at 618-244-1642.)

MISSOURI CONSERVATION COMMISSION ACTION — JULY 2018

he Missouri Conservation Commission met on Thursday, July 12, for its closed executive session at The Nature Conservancy in Eagleville.

The Commission met on Friday, July 13, for its regular open meeting at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park Conference Center in Maryville.

The Commission: • Approved bids on construction of the Fiery Fork Bridge Improvements project located in Camden County. This project is eligible for a grant toward the total cost through the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Fish Passage Program.

• Approved bids on construction of the Roaring River Fish Hatchery Spring Pool Renovation project located in Barry County. This project is eligible for 75 percent reimbursement of the total cost through a Federal Sport Fish Restoration Grant.

• Approved the exchange of approximately 3.1 acres of Three Creeks Conservation Area in Boone County for an approximately 3.1-acre tract in Boone County as an addition to Three Creeks Conservation Area.

• Approved the purchase of approxi-

mately 65 acres in Pemiscot County as an addition to Black Island Conservation Area.

• Approved the renaming of the building at the Wildcat Glades Conservation and Audubon Center in Joplin as the Shoal Creek Conservation Education Center.

The Commission also suspended or revoked one or more hunting, fishing, or trapping privileges of 11 individuals for cause: • Garrett W. Fischer, Cole Camp, hunting, three years; • Colton W. Ford, Liberal, hunting, one year; • Mark A. Goodwin, Philadelphia, hunting, additional two years; • Gustav A. Liedtke, Mosinee (WI), hunting, four years; • Kevin Nible, Bethany, all sport, one year; • Kenneth J. Parks, Mountain View, hunting, one year; • Thomas D. Sheets, Amazonia, hunting, one year; • Elijah R. Smith, Cole Camp, hunting, three years;

• Anthony K. Stacy, Arcadia, hunting, additional one year; • Bradley K. Stuart, High Ridge, hunting, two years; and • Ernest B. Weir, Argyle (NY), hunting, three years.

• Suspended or revoked all hunting and fishing privileges of 255 individuals

who are not in compliance with applicable child support laws.

• Suspended or revoked one or more hunting, fishing, and trapping privileges of 380 individuals in accordance with the terms of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact.

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RiverHillsTraveler.com

EAT from 1A things,” said Henson.

A buffet was added to her restaurant and is offered every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night.

“Something that we do that is pretty cool is that every Saturday night we serve different food,” said Henson.

“One weekend it’s Chinese, another weekend it’s Mexican... we just change it up.”

Henson also cooks fried chicken on a daily basis as well as several other items.

“Catfish and fried chicken are the two things I do the most, people really like that,” said Henson.

Henson also still does a lot of catering on the side, and enjoys baking.

“When I cater, it’s mainly fried chicken, but I also do a lot of baking and I make a lot of cakes,” said Henson.

Henson bakes three or four cakes a year for weddings, anniversaries and other events and also cooks pies and desserts for the restaurant.

“Coconut creme pie is the most popular pie we have here,” said Henson.

According to Henson, there are plans of adding a cake room in the restaurant so she can create her cakes, thereby adding more seating for the restaurant.

“It will be nice to have a room just do my cakes, and it will be great adding more seating because we have standing room only a lot of the time here,” said Henson.

Currently, about 70 people can sit and eat and Henson is hoping to get 90 total with the added space and seating.

For Paula’s the busiest time of the year is during the summer and at Christmastime.

“Summer is always swamped with travelers and at Christmastime I do a lot of catering, so we are pretty busy then, too,” said Henson.

“On a regular day, though, breakfast and supper are very busy and on Fridays and Saturdays we are busy all day long.”

Henson has several employees to help keep up with the constant flow of traffic.

“My 80-year-old aunt is my main employee and I really couldn’t do it without her, she does everything,” said Henson.

“I also hire a lot of teenagers because they don’t have experience and can’t get a job without experience, so I try to give them that.”

According to Henson, she has had a good majority of the students from the local high school work for her.

Henson’s favorite — and least favorite at the same time — thing about being in the restaurant business is

in town, she also fills in for the nursing home cooks when they are out.

“I do a lot things, but I love it. I love getting to do a little of everything,” said Henson.

Paula’s Home Cooking is open Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 5:30 a.m.-7 p.m.; closed Wednesday; Friday and Saturday from 5:30 a.m.-8 p.m.; and Sunday from 5:30 a.m.-3 p.m.

For more information about the restaurant, Paula’s can be reached at (573) 637-1200.

The Last Resort

59962 Hwy. 21 • Ellington, MO 63638 (573) 663-3623 • email: jmaxcy@mcmo.net

that she gets to know the people that come in.

“You get so close to people and they become your family and it’s great, but when you lose someone it hurts and it’s devastating,” said Henson.

“I also have a lot of teens who work for me, plus my own kids, so schedules can be a pain, too.”

People come form Fronton, Bedford, Farmington, and all over come eat at Paula’s, according to Henson.

“When we have our special buffet, we get people from everywhere to come eat,” said Henson.

“We also get several international people that come and stay at the local bed and breakfast and we feed them the breakfast, so that’s cool.”

In addition to running the restaurant, making cakes, and feeding the people that stay at the bed and breakfast

Vacation rental features central access to all recreation areas including Big Spring, Current River, Blue Spring, Clearwater, Owls Bend, Wappapello, and Jacks Fork River. Fully furnished 3-bedroom house four miles south of Ellington, Mo. Fully-equipped kitchen, linens, and towels supplied.

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August 2018 • Page 15A

RiverHillsTraveler.com

GUNS from 1A closed sign and slowly fade away.

But I’d like to introduce you to one man who decided to buck the odds and try to meet the needs of the local sportsmen, keeping the money local and make buying a convenient, pleasant experience.

Ben Minkel and his wife, Natalie, started a small gun shop in the basement of his home in rural Bonne Terre, offering a limited amount of guns, ammo and supplies but more importantly, offering gunsmithing which was very important as all the local gunsmiths had grown old and retired and it seemed to be a dying profession.

They were limited to the amount of inventory they could carry due to limited space but as word spread of the services he offered, the number of customers grew.

After a short time they moved the business into their garage which offered a little more space. Pleased customers shared their experience with others and in a matter of time he had to move his business to a location in Park Hills which had more space.

He named the business “Cedar Falls Tactical” due to the fact he started at his home on Cedar Falls Road.

During that period was when gun owners faced the ammo crunch and it was very hard to obtain, but somehow Ben managed to keep his shelves decently stocked with a wide variety of ammunition.

The places that did have ammunition limited it to 2 boxes per customer but Mr. Minkel would sell you whatever amount you wished to purchase.

Again, his clientele outgrew his location and he moved to a larger building in Farmington. There were a couple other gun stores but none that offered the services he did or variety of equipment.

By this time he could no longer run the place with just himself and his wife, so he took on a couple employees.

Once again, he outgrew his place of business so he built his own building capable of handling the larger numbers of customers and services he provided.

He built it back on Cedar Falls Road, so the business had made a full circle and returned home.

After a short time a local sporting goods store we had that couldn’t compete with the larger chains had just opened and closed. Unfortunately, they were the only place to offer archery services in a 60-mile radius.

So, Mr. Minkel, as he had always done, wanted to continue to provide those services to the local outdoorsmen so he purchased their complete archery line, including all the equipment to build and customize arrows and to service bows.

To make sure he could provide the quality of service we needed, he also hired on Seth Firebaugh who had worked primarily providing all the archery needs for the now defunct business.

This was a huge relief to all the archery hunters in the area as he would accommodate all our needs without traveling. Then, as spring broke this year, the

only true business to cater to the fisherman had to close its doors due to competition.

Once again, Ben stepped up and took over their inventory which required him to expand his current building but as always before, he wanted to provide the local people the option of shopping locally and offering a variety of equipment including all types of live bait; so he stepped up and met the challenge.

Now as you can imagine, as this has grown and expanded, he has also had to take on more employees. But he has taken on the challenge to keep the local outdoorsmen happy and now you can go to Cedar Falls Tactical and have your needs met whether you’re a hunter, target shooter, gun collector, fisherman, bowhunter or use archery as a form of recreation, all under one roof.

And the employees are very knowledgeable and helpful, and you get service with a smile. Whether you are a veteran outdoorsman or a beginner, they will take the time to answer any questions and work with you on learning your equipment.

And unlike any former experiences at other outlets, while I have been shopping there I may have a question about an item and at times they will suggest a different item more suited to my needs, even if it is at a lower cost.

Most people won’t take money out of their own pocket to better serve a customer, but you will experience it there.

Cedar Falls offers a full line of firearms in every price range and suited to accommodate everyone including the beginner or veteran, the target shooter, the hunter or just someone looking for self or home defense.

He also carries a full line of equipment exclusively for law enforcement as well as offering CCW classes.

You want a new recurve, compound or crossbow? He either has it in stock or will get it for you in a matter of a couple days.

You need new customized arrows?

They will make them. You need your current bow serviced, tuned or restrung?

They will meet that need and in a very timely fashion.

If you’re headed to the lake and need live bait, he carries it all at very affordable prices as well as a full line of rods,

reels and tackle.

They often have special events and giveaways, many times offering up fresh BBQ off the grill during these events, and many times Ben will have representatives from the major manufacturers on hand to answer any questions you may have about a product.

They offer a wide array of gunsmithing services and the machinist they have on hand has every piece of equipment and the ability to provide what you

need. Even if a part is no longer available, chances are he can fabricate one for you.

They have a full staff of very knowledgeable employees on hand to serve you. I find it a very honorable gesture for him to strive to meet our needs, going through sacrifices of his own and hardships in that line of business.

And to think this all started with a young man and his wife who saw a need and decided to step up to the challenge of meeting that need, plus more.

They give back to the community in many forms as a show of appreciation for their support. They have proved that any dream, with some hard work and sacrifices, can come true.

Ben now has an online store where you can view a majority of his inventory, and you can even purchase it online and pick it up at the store if you wish.

The URL is www.cedarfallstactical. com. The physical address is 3519 Cedar Falls Road, Bonne Terre, Mo., and they can be reached at (573) 756-0100.

Directions can be found on their website but it is easy to locate: just take U.S. Highway 67 to the 67/8 Exit at Desloge, Mo., then go east and just follow the signs.

They are located 2 miles out of town.

(Roger Smith lives in Bonne Terre, Mo., and can be reached at n0uss@ yahoo.com)

Enjoy the Ozarks!

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August 2018 â&#x20AC;¢ Page 1B

Page 2B • August 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Black bear program in MO is progressing on schedule

O

n June 19 of this year, a young black bear was videotaped romping through the backyards of a fancy subdivision in St. Louis County, Mis-

souri.

Presumably, this young bear was not in town to score some tickets to a Cardinal game.

He was just doing what young male black bears sometimes do in the spring — having an exploratory fling — but more on that later.

First, let’s go over some general background facts about this interesting species, the black bear.

The Ursus Americanus, or black bear, is a species of bear traditionally found only in North America and Mexico. At one time, the black bear was present in nearly all of the states in the United States.

But with the eventual decline of forested cover in most states, today the black bear can be found only in states that still have a significant amount of forest cover, such as Alaska, the Rocky MounBill Hoagland tain states, the Appalachian states ———— and the northern border states.

Fortunately for us, one of the other remaining forested enclaves for the black bear is northern Arkansas and southern Missouri. It is estimated that we now have over 350 black bears residing in Missouri on a permanent basis.

While most of these bears are believed to have originated from bears migrating from Arkansas, some wildlife experts believe that a few of the current black bear population in Missouri can be genetically traced to bears that were living in Missouri when Europeans originally settled in the area.

In other words, it is possible that not all black bears were killed off in Missouri by 1930 as was previously believed; instead, a few are thought to have survived without detection in the most remote parts of the Missouri Ozarks.

If true, that says a lot about the genetic makeup of these bears; they are definitely survivors.

The black bear is much smaller than the grizzly.

The adult male black bear generally weighs between 150 and 500 pounds; the adult female generally weighs between 90 and 175 pounds.

Standing on all four legs, they are two to three feet high at the shoulders and between four and seven feet long.

They typically have a lifespan of about 18 years in the wild, barring accidents which, unfortunately, usually involve humans in one way or another.

The black bear has excellent hearing, eyesight and a well-developed ability to smell. They can easily climb trees, swim and run in short bursts over 30 miles per hour.

They primarily eat berries, grasses, insects and some small animals, but they are not regarded as carnivores.

They can and do communicate with each other by grunts and clicking noises, but they routinely do not growl, contrary to popular belief.

Please see BEARS, 3B

August 2018 • Page 3B

RiverHillsTraveler.com

BEARS from 2B The male tends to be a loner. The female, on the other hand, stays in the same general area throughout her life, and as most would suspect, spends a prolonged period with her offspring even after they are weaned.

Generally, the females begin pregnancy in their third year and they tend to have between one and five cubs in each litter. There is a somewhat high mortality rate for cubs when the mother (sow) is dealing with her first litter, but after the first litter, the mortality rate for cubs drops considerably.

Unfortunately, once the cubs separate from their mothers — usually at about 18 months — there is an increased risk of injury or death simply due to inexperience on the part of the young bear now out on its own.

In Missouri, the black bear usually hibernates during the winter but it is the pregnant female that utilizes a den the most during this period. She is the first to enter the den in the fall and she is the last to leave in the spring.

She will always give birth to her litter in the den. The other bears — the non-pregnant females, the females accompanied by an older off-spring and the males — are less inclined to use the den to hibernate for the entire winter but this ultimately depends on the availability of food sources in the area near the den.

If food is scarce, they are more inclined to hibernate. Bears are wellsuited for hibernation; they can retain all excrement during long-term hibernations and their metabolism slows down to the point that they can remain in a metabolic state during the entire period of hibernation, if necessary.

The hibernation den is usually inside a cave or under a substantial amount of downed timber and brush, although sometimes even more open areas can serve as a den.

In the Missouri Ozarks, the hibernation period generally runs from November to February or March. While we are lucky to have the black bear living in Missouri, the bears are even luckier to have the Missouri Department of Conservation (DOC) so focused on them and their welfare.

Since 2010, the DOC has been intensively studying the habits of the Missouri black bear. Starting in 2010 and continuing through 2016, the DOC put tracking collars on both male and female bears to get a better idea as to their habitat usage and to get a better estimate of the population count.

The information developed is not only fascinating but it also gives us a

Both sows pictured in this story are wearing locator collars. In the den photo (above), the sow has been tranquilized so that she and the cub can be examined for health issues.

better idea of black bear habits.

With respect to the males, such as the young male seen in June in the St. Louis suburb, wildlife experts have known for some time that young males are solitary and are capable of traveling long distances in search of mates.

With the use of tracking collars, however, we now have a much better idea of how these males behave in our Missouri environment.

One young bear (with collar #1417), for example, was first collared near Springfield, Missouri, in 2014. During the next two years, he traveled northeast approximately 200 miles and in early May 2016 was located on a private farm in Warren County, roughly 40 miles west of St. Louis.

DOC agents moved in, tranquillized him, and gave him a thorough physical examination. He was found to be in excellent physical condition so he was released where he had been found.

But this bear was not done traveling.

He next headed southeast, again crossing the Missouri River; by June 8, he was located near Cape Girardeau, a distance of roughly 150 miles from Warren County.

He then turned west and headed another 100 miles to Shannon County.

This is a remarkable journey because unless he did some hitchhiking along the way, he had to have crossed the Missouri River at least twice and he had to have crossed one or more interstate highways three times, all without being detected or injured.

When he was last tracked with a collar, he was hibernating in Washington County and then moved back to Shannon County. Unfortunately, he lost his collar at that point, so his exact whereabouts today is not clear.

Beginning in 2016, the DOC has been collaring and tracking mostly females. This is so they can focus on monitoring the birth rates and survival

rates of both the adult female and her cubs.

At the present time, there are 30 females that are collared and being studied. This includes locating and checking them during hibernation.

Laura Conlee is the furbearer biologist in charge of this project for the DOC. According to Conlee, all of the collared females are located during hibernation; when possible, they are tranquillized and then given physical examinations, as are their cubs.

And in case you are wondering, despite being in a state of hibernation during this check-up, the female is generally aware that humans are present.

This is whey they have to be tranquillized during this process.

Checking the dens during hibernation seems to be an efficient way of determining and projecting black bear populations.

Since the program began, it appears that the population of Missouri black bears is increasing but the rate of in-

crease should be easier to project once this study is completed.

So far, the pregnant females in Missouri appear to be having between one and three cubs per litter, and they have litters usually once every two or three years. If you want more information on the black bear project in Missouri, the DOC has a wealth of information on its website.

One way to get to it is to google “Missouri Black Bear Project.” The site includes a map showing the various spots within the state where bears have been spotted up through 2017.

Most, but not all, of these sightings north of Interstate 44 are believed to be young males “feeling their oats,” similar to the young bear recently spotted in St. Louis County.

When you see the DOC location map, you may be surprised to learn that a bear was recently “in your neck of the woods.”

(Bill Hoagland can be reached at billhoagland70@gmail.com.)

Page 4B • August 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

A look at Czar Tower through the years

W

By Becky Ewing ith the recent rains and greenup of the forest, spring fire season is just about over for the Potosi-Fredericktown Ranger District.

Even so, I thought it would be interesting to feature one of Mark Twain National Forest’s most interesting wildland firefighting tools – the fire lookout tower.

Construction of fire lookout towers on ridges and high points began as early as the late-1920s in Missouri. Observers would be stationed in the lookout tower and would scan the horizon for smoke.

The observer would record the direction and distance of the smoke and call this information into the fire dispatcher.

Other tower lookouts would call in their distance and bearing estimates to the dispatcher, who would then plot the location of the fire and send out a call to the firefighters.

Czar Tower is located at the intersection of Highways C, V, and Y in Crawford County. It is a 100-foot tower made by the Chicago-based Aermotor Company and built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) about 1934.

The tower is stabilized with four steel posts or legs attached to concrete footings. The plans called for the tower to be constructed in ten different sections, with the interior of each section consisting of stairs, railings and landings in the interior of the structure.

Diagonals, main struts, stiffeners, and hangers comprise the exterior of each section. On top is the 7-foot by 7-foot cab, which is accessed through a trap door in the floor.

Czar Tower is almost 85 years old. If one looks closely at the first section of the tower, historic graffiti can be found in the form of names and associated camps of the CCC who built the tower decades ago.

The CCC built several structures at Czar Tower to support early firefighting efforts. By 1936, the Towerman’s dwelling, the privy, and garage/woodshed were completed.

The warehouse was added to the site about 1942 or 1943 and was built with salvaged materials from the Berryman CCC Camp. Next to the oil house is the original gas pump, which is a unique feature to Czar Tower.

Use of fire lookout towers has decreased over time across the United States. When and where available, aircraft and helicopters are used to locate wildfires.

Mark Twain National Forest remains one of the few national forests in the eastern United States to still employ the use of fire towers and lookouts during periods of high fire danger.

Do you have a family member or friend who served as a fire tower lookout? We would enjoy hearing about their experiences and adventures.

The Potosi Ranger Station is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. You can reach us by calling (573) 438-5427.

To receive updates on Mark Twain National Forest events and happenings, follow us on Twitter @marktwain_nf, and like us on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/marktwainnationalforest.

(Becky Ewing is the district ranger for the Mark Twain National Forest, PotosiFredericktown Ranger District. She can be reached by email at rewing@fs.fed.us.)

Czar Tower in 1934.

Czar Tower in 1936.

Czar Tower is nearly 85 years old, but remains an active fire lookout tower used by Mark Twain National Forest. The tower and associated buildings were constructed in the 1930s to support firefighting efforts in the Crawford, Iron, and Washington counties area. These pictures show the tower in 1934, 1936, 1960, and 2018 (above). Not only does the tower change over time, but look at the change in trees and check out the vehicles.

Czar Tower in 1960.

August 2018 • Page 5B

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Get your trailer bearings checked before heading out

N

By Bob Brennecke o matter what time of year, if you are towing a trailer and you haven’t at least looked at your wheel bearings in the last year, you may be getting into trouble without even knowing it until too late.

How many boats or campers have you seen stopped along the side of the road with the trailer wheel jacked off the ground? This problem could be one of two things — a flat tire or a seized wheel bearing.

Either way, that is not where you want to be no matter when it happens. Trailer manufacturers recommend that the owner be responsible for getting the wheel bearings checked on a yearly basis.

The grease in the wheel bearing could dry up or

have gotten moisture in the bearing, rendering the grease damaged and not allowing the bearings to roll freely.

Some grease will separate leaving the carrier in the bearings and the oils leaking out. Boat trailers are particularly susceptible to bearing damage because of the axle being submerged in water frequently while launching and retrieving a boat from the water.

Some of these boat trailer bearings have what is called a “bearing buddy.” This is a spring-loaded axle cap with a jerk fitting on the end for forcing grease into the bearings in hopes of driving any water from the rollers or ball bearings.

This sometimes works but sometimes it will not remove all moisture. There are many ways of either

learning how to check the bearings or getting them checked or packed. YouTube is a method of finding out how to do almost anything.

However you get it done, think about those bearings before taking off on a trip. After traveling for a time it might be a good idea to stop and CAREFULLY touch the hub of the bearing housing to check the temperature of the hub or around the wheel nearer the hub.

If the temperature is too hot to touch, you would be advised to get things checked out soon.

Tires are another topic on your trailer, but that’s for another time. For now, get your bearings checked!

(Bob Brennecke lives in Ballwin, Mo., and can be reached at robertbrennecke@hotmail.com.)

Fossils of some gar predate the ‘age of dinosaurs’

G

ars may have a unique look, but their reputation with most anglers has been anything but special down through the years.

Consider this description: “It (the gar) is a wholly worthless and destructive nuisance in relation to mankind. It has, in fact, all the vices and none of the virtues of a predaceous fish.”

These words were written by Stephen Alfred Forbes and Robert Earl Richardson, two prominent ichthyologists of the early 1900s.

To repeat, these words came from ichthyologists – people who are interested in fish. A fish has pretty much reached the bottom of the appreciation Francis scale when even Skalicky ichthyologists have ———— no kind words for it.

For generations, many people considered these long-nosed, toothy fish to be little more than “trash fish” that prey on desirable sportfish species.

Studies have shown this characterization of the fish is a bit undeserved and biologists are working to change this fish’s negative image.

Visitors to this year’s Ozark Empire Fair can see Missouri’s largest gar – the alligator gar – on display at the Missouri Department of Conservation building. The building will be open until 9 p.m. on each day of the Fair.

The alligator gar, which can get up to 10 feet in length and reach a weight of 350 pounds, was historically found in eastern Missouri in the Mississippi River and in the past 10 years been reintroduced at select sites in southeast

Missouri. The intention of the alligator gar re-introductions at select sites was to help the balance required to maintain a healthy aquatic ecosystem. More on the gar’s role in this in a bit.

The alligator gar is one of seven species of gar found in North America, four of which occur in Missouri. There are no alligator gar in southwest Missouri.

Here, the most common type is the longnose gar (Lepiosteus osseus).

Longnose gar commonly reach lengths of three feet or more and weights of more than five pounds.

Sometimes their size is much greater – the state record (by alternative method, which in this case, was archery) for longnose gar is a catch that weighed more than 35 pounds, nine ounces.

Fossils of gars have been found from the Permian Period (290 million to 248 million years ago), a period that predates the “Age of Dinosaurs.” The fish’s most obvious characteristics are its elongated snout (“gar” is an Old English word for spear) and its needle-

like teeth. Its heavy, plate-like scales have occasionally been used for jewelry and were also fashioned into small arrowheads on occasion by Native Americans.

Longnose gars typically inhabit reservoirs and the sluggish pools, backwaters and oxbows of large, moderately clear streams. Gars have the curious habit of rising to the water’s surface, opening and closing their jaws with a loud snap, then sinking again.

This behavior, termed “breaking,” allows the fish to renew the supply of air to its swim bladder.

Gars are effective predators and therein lay the source of the widelyheard criticism – and lesser-known praise – for this creature. While it’s true gars will snap their jaws around any fish they can catch – including bass, crappie and other species of sportfish – studies have shown that, here in Missouri, the bulk of a gar’s diet consists of gizzard shad. For those who love fishing; that’s a good thing.

Gizzard shad are one of the most numerous and widely distributed fish

species in the state. Shad abundance sometimes reaches the point where they compete with other fish species for food and space.

This reason for this abundance is that, in addition to being seldom caught by anglers, adult shad aren’t hunted by many other fish. Young gizzard shad are a prime food source for bass, crappie and other types of sportfish, but mature shad are too big to be a food item for most species.

Most, but not all. Because of their large mouths, gars are one of the few fish species in Missouri waters that are equipped to prey on adult shad.

It’s probably due to the sheer abundance of shad that gar take this species with a greater frequency than they do other types of fish but, whatever the reason, it’s this predation that help keep shad populations under control.

This, in turn, helps make fishing good for Missourians.

(Francis Skalicky works for the Missouri Department of Conservation in southwest Missouri. He can be reached at 417-895-6880.)

Page 6B • August 2018

Port Hudson Lake is fun to explore by foot or by water M

By Michelle Turner issourians are blessed with a multitude of areas maintained for the public by the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Port Hudson Lake is one such area. Based on my personal experiences, I am thankful to live less than a 30-minute drive away from this beautiful location.

Port Hudson Lake is a 55-acre lake located on a 225-acre conservation area. Roads within the area are paved, as are the parking lots.

There’s also a boat ramp, boat dock, vault toilets, picnic area, pavilion, and a fishing dock to enjoy.

Personally, I have enjoyed the little trails beaten down by fishermen walking around the lake. It’s fun to explore on foot, as well as on water!

If fish are what you are after, then take your gear and attempt to reel in white bass, catfish, crappie, sunfish, and/or black bass. All are located in the waters of Port Hudson.

When my daughter, Karlene, was younger this was an excellent spot for her to experience fishing, as well as a few moments of rock throwing. Kids will be kids!

The area is open from 4 a.m. to

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10 p.m. daily. It’s fairly easy to find, too. Highway C is located between the towns of Leslie and Gerald on Highway 50 in Franklin County.

Take Highway C to Bald Hill Road. Signage will point you to Port Hudson Conservation Area.

The area is just under 6 miles north of Highway 50.

(Michelle Turner lives in Union, Mo.)

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August 2018 • Page 7B

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Reasons to try different variations of crankbaits

I

made the cast well beyond where I knew the submerged brush pile laid.

The summer air was warm so I figured the bass would be suspended around the structure.

The water depth was 12-feet and I was finding bass about 8-9 feet down.

Because I wanted to cover as much water per cast as I could, I was throwing a crankbait. As the lure passed along the edge of the brush I could feel it moving through the twigs.

Then I felt something that was definitely NOT a twig.

The big bass hit my crankbait like a late freight. She immediately began stripping line and fighting the drag.

She wanted into that brush and I wanted to keep her out of it.

The tussle was on.

Mike Roux Several times in ———— that first few seconds I could feel my line hit the limbs. Finally, she made a run away from the cover and into open water. She weighed a touch over 7 pounds.

I do not sell nor do I promote any specific crankbaits. But these very productive lures are available in 2 drastically different presentations. Let’s give a quick look at them both.

Crankbait bodies are either round or flat. They either have a plastic lip protruding from their face, or they do not.

We will examine the round-bodied ones first.

Round body crankbaits are the ones I prefer early in the season. I like these

throw a flat crankbait. As I described earlier about the “wobble” of a round body crankbait, the flat ones have more of a “wiggle”.

That may sound like a subtle difference but it is not subtle to the bass.

I throw flat crankbaits when the water really gets warm. The prey that the flat lures are designed to imitate are swimming as fast as they can to escape.

Likewise, the predatory bass have warmed up and are ready for a chase to get their meal. You can use this aggressiveness to your advantage, and you should.

So with this knowledge you now have about crankbaits, hopefully they will become some of your bass lures of choice.

Try different variations of the baits and get ready for a great season.

(Mike Roux can be reached at 217257-7895.)

when I want a slow retrieve that causes a lot of action in the water. The round body helps me accomplish this action.

Slow retrieves with a round body crankbait causes the lure to “wobble.”

In cooler water this slow wobble is especially attractive to less aggressive fish who do not really want to expend much energy chasing a meal.

The round body crankbaits are also the ones with the plastic lips. These lips are designed to make the lure dive deep during the retrieve. The larger the lip, the deeper the lure goes.

Speed of the retrieve is also a factor in how deep a crankbait will run. The faster you wind, the deeper the bait goes. So for the deepest possible presentation use a heavy round body crankbait with a big lip.

Now let’s turn our attention to the flat crankbaits. These lures are usually heavier than their rounded cousins.

They need to be because they lack the plastic lip that allows them to dive.

They depend on their weight to get them down to the desired depth.

With that being said, you can still drive flat crankbaits deeper by increasing the speed of your retrieve. But if

you hesitate for a few seconds before starting your retrieve and give the bait a chance to sink a few feet, they can run even deeper.

The action also differs when you

Page 8B • August 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

August 2018 • Page 9B

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Trotlines remain an effective method to catch fish

H

ere’s a question that may stump even the most experienced angler – how did trotlines get their name?

How the term “trotline” became the name for this well-known stationary fishing device, which consists of a series of hooks suspended from a line, is a head-scratcher.

It’s also known as a set line or limb line. Some people call them “troutlines,” which is completely off-base since catfish are the primary Francis target of this fishing Skalicky method.

———— However trotlines got their name, they are part of an Ozarks fishing tradition that dates back many generations.

Long before there were bass boats, graphite rods and electronic depth-finders,

people were setting trotlines to catch catfish that prowled local waters.

It’s still an effective fishing method that can be used on ponds, streams, river chan-

nels or lake sloughs. There are variations of these lines, but all follow the same basic principle: one end of the line is fastened to a stationary object on the bank (tree, rock, etc.)

and the other end is either anchored by a heavy weight in the water or tied to an object on the opposite bank. A typical trotline consists of a strong nylon cord with hooks every three or four feet and weight every 15 or 20 feet to keep the line down.

Missouri fishing regulations state that hooks should be no closer than two feet apart and one line can’t have more than 33 hooks.

A person can set more than one line, but the total number of hooks in the aggregate can’t exceed 33. Trotlines must be labeled with the owner’s full name and address.

Good locations for trotlines are around bluffs, huge rocks or across deep holes.

Wherever you put your line, make sure the weights are distributed in such a fashion that all hooks are carried to the bottom.

A variety of bait can be used on trotlines.

Various species of small non-gamefish work well. Cut bait, chicken livers and blood bait also can lure catfish onto your hooks.

Like most other outdoor activities, running

a trotline has its own set of safety precautions. One of the most important tips is to never set or check a line by yourself.

Although setting, baiting, and checking a trotline sounds like a fairly basic procedure, it’s still important that you’re careful. You’re dealing with a long line that has large hooks and larger weights. Put them together and you have a fishing device that is effective, but can be extremely unwieldy.

Never set a line from a small, tipsy boat and, if you’re wading, be cautious of your footing. Never set a line in a strong current.

The same care should be used when you are checking your line. Remember, the object of this method of fishing is to hook several large fish on the same line.

That means there’ll be even more weight on the line when you check it (or at least you hope so) and, consequently, it will be more difficult to manage than when you set it.

Also, remember it’s illegal to leave a trotline unattended for more than 24 hours.

(Francis Skalicky works for the Missouri Department of Conservation in southwest Missouri. He can be reached at 417-8956880.)

Critter of the Month: Blanchard’s cricket frog

• Species: Blanchard’s cricket frog.

• Scientific name: Acris crepitans blanchardi.

• Nicknames: None.

• Claim to fame: The “gick-gick” call of the male Blanchard’s cricket frog is a common sound day or night around bodies of water throughout this area at this time of year. These small frogs are found on muddy edges of streams, ponds and shallow, backwater areas of many lakes.

• Species status: This amphibian’s population appears to be holding steady in Missouri, but this creature is experiencing trouble in a number of other central U.S. states that are part of its range. Biologists believe water pollution played a key role in the creatures declines in these states.

• First discovered: The first scientific description of Blanchard’s cricket was by the American naturalist Francis Harper in 1947.

Harper’s primary claim to fame is his recognition of the biological and cultural uniqueness of the Okefenokee

Swamp in southern Georgia and northern Florida, and the ensuing efforts he made to ensure the swamp gained federal protection.

Blanchard’s cricket frog is named after naturalist Frank N. Blanchard (1888-1937), a University of Michigan professor who had nationwide renown within herpetological circles.

• Family matters: The Blanchard’s cricket frog belong to the amphibian family Hylidae, a group of approximately 740 species that is commonly known as the cricket frogs, tree frogs and chorus frogs.

• Length: Seven-eighths of an inch to one and onefourth inches.

• Diet: Small terrestrial insects.

• Weight: Not available.

• Distinguishing characteristics: The Blanchard’s cricket frog is a small, warty frog. Its base color can be a combination of gray, brown, black, tan and olive green with darkly colored lines encompassing its upper jaw and a very dark triangle between its eyes on top of its head.

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This frog has a bright-colored strip on its back. This strip may be green, red, yellow or orange. During spring and autumn, Blanchard’s cricket frogs are active only during the day, but during the warmer days of summer, they’re active both day and night.

One of the more remarkable characteristics of this tiny frog is its leaping ability. When startled, it can leap more than three feet, which is the equivalent of a six-foot man being able to leap 200 feet. To escape predators, they jump in a series of zig-zag motions.

• Life span: Most live less than a year as a mature adult, but it takes a year for a juvenile to become an adult.

• Habitat: Cricket frogs reside in muddy and sandy banks along streams, ponds and low-water areas of lakes that have low-lying vegetation.

• Life cycle: Breeding occurs from late May into July.

The male begins in a slow-paced “gick-gick” (which sounds like two marbles clicking together), then quickens and stops at around 30 “gicks.”

Females can lay up to 400 eggs in mucus-like packets of

from one to seven per packet. Eggs hatch in a few days.

The cricket frog tadpole is like other tadpoles with the exception of its distinctive black-tipped tail that isn’t found in other frog species.

The young go through several stages of development before reaching adulthood the following year. (source: MDC)

Page 10B • August 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

King rail

MISSOURI ENDANGERED SPECIES OF THE MONTH Characteristics What does it look like?

The king rail is 15-19 inches in length and has a wingspan of 21-25 inches. Like all rails, the king rail’s most noticeable trait is its long bill and stilt-like legs.

The upper parts of its body are mottled brown and rusty. Flanks are barred white and the neck and breast are rust-colored.

M

By Francis Skalicky any people have never heard of a king rail, but making sure this state-endangered bird continues to find suitable wetland habitat in Missouri is a goal that benefits everyone.

When people think of wildlife species that motivate us to do more to save Missouri’s outdoors, it’s doubtful many picture the king rail.

It’s not that anyone dislikes this long-beaked, crow-sized wading bird; it’s just that knowledge of their existence is pretty much limited to birding and biological circles.

Unlike hellbenders, Indiana bats, bald eagles, and other better-known species that are either in population trouble or have recovered from it – “king rail” is a name that isn’t on everyone’s ecological radar.

Their highly secretive nature has always placed king rails on the outskirts of mainstream familiarity.

Even in the 19th and early 20th centuries when their population was greater, king rails were heard far more often than they were seen by bird enthusiasts and hunters who frequented wetland areas.

Of course, Missouri had more wetland habitat 150 years ago than today and therein lies concerns for both king rails and people. Before we get to that, here’s more about the bird.

King rails are primarily summer visitors to most of Missouri, the exception being the bootheel region where they are considered year-round residents.

King rails may return to Missouri from their Gulf coast wintering areas as soon as early February and most arrive by mid-May. Upon arriving in the state, males begin calling to attract mates and nesting follows.

Females lay an average of 11 eggs.

Both sexes incubate the eggs and incubation takes 21-23 days. Chicks are fuzzy black balls of down.

King rails eat crayfish and other small aquatic animals. They also, on occasion, consume berries, seeds and other plants.

E

ndangered species are specifically designated in the Wildlife Code of Missouri.

Here’s the text from the code: (2) The exportation, transportation, or sale of any endangered species of plant or parts thereof, or the sale of or possession with intent to sell any product made in whole or in part from any parts of any endangered species of plant is prohibited.

(3) For the purpose of this rule, endangered species of wildlife and plants shall include the following native species designated as endangered in

Railus elegans

The key element of this bird’s life cycle in Missouri and throughout its range is wetland habitat. Many people think of a wetland as being a shallowwater, heavily vegetated area – which is a good description of the king rail’s habitat – but the term “wetlands” actually has several variations.

Vegetation – not water depth – is one of the primary defining elements of a wetland. A wetland is an area that contains enough soil moisture to support a variety of water-tolerant plants.

Coontail, smartweed, duckweed, wild millet and cottonwood trees are just a few of many plants that can grow in standing water or saturated soils.

Vegetation serves many purposes in a wetland. The plants’ seeds, leaves, roots, fruits and nuts provide food for wildlife. The vegetation also provides nesting and brood-rearing protective cover for many birds and mammals.

For millions of migrating waterfowl, wetlands provide autumn and spring stop-over sites as well as habitat for year-round residents.

Wetlands are important for people, too. They play beneficial roles in recharging and stabilizing underground aquifers, moderating flood waters and governing the flow of water.

They can also reduce pollution in area streams. They do this by trapping – and then using – the soluble nutrients, or pollutants, in the water flowing through the system.

It’s estimated that pre-settlement Missouri had approximately 4.6 million acres of wetland habitat. As the state became settled, many people thought wetlands had greater potential as farmland.

Stream channels were straightened

or diverted and swamps were drained and cleared. As a result, the habitat for wildlife disappeared along with the other beneficial functions wetlands provided to the environment.

Today, Missouri has approximately 900,000 acres in wetlands.

And this brings us back to the king rail. Disappearing wetlands is thought to be the primary factor that led to the bird’s downward population spiral in the state and eventual placement on Missouri’s endangered species list.

King rails are still found in many states in the eastern and central U.S., but they’re considered a species of concern throughout much of their range because of declining wetland habitat.

However, the news is not all bad.

Wetlands can be restored and created where favorable conditions exist.

Most wetland areas in Missouri today are man-made.

That means wetland habitat can be made better for the king rail which, in turn, will provide economic and ecological benefits for humans, too.

People interested in improving or creating wetland habitat on their property can get advice at their nearest Missouri Department of Conservation office. Information can also be found at mdc.mo.gov.

(Francis Skalicky works for the Missouri Department of Conservation in southwest Missouri. He can be reached at 417-895-6880.)

Gone from Missouri

While the plight of the king rail in Missouri is precarious, the situation of another bird that liked moist habitats is much worse.

In previous decades, the Bachman’s

The king rail is the largest of North America’s rails. Rails (genus Rallus) are slim, longbilled birds with slender legs.

Their somewhat “flattened” bodies enable them to slip easily through dense semi-aquatic vegetation and are an adaptation to living in marshes and wetlands.

A king rail’s most common call is a low, repeated “kek-kekkek” grunt.

Where is it found?

King rails prefer wetlands with abundant grasses, sedges, rushes and cattails interspersed with water.

Historically, the summer breeding range of king rails included most of the eastern and central U.S. and all of Missouri.

Though still found in most of these areas, the king rail’s abundance in these areas have declined, primarily due to a decline of wetland habitat.. (source: MDC) warbler (Vermivora bachmanii) was known in birding circles as the “rarest songbird in North America.”

Although still listed as a federally endangered species, many experts believe this small yellow-and-gray bird is now extinct globally.

Primarily a resident of the southeastern U.S., the range of the Bachman’s warbler once extended into Missouri. Historic records indicate this bird preferred nesting in low, wet, forested areas containing variable amounts of water.

Biologists believe the decline of this bird’s population began in the early 1900s and is due to loss of habitat in the United States and Cuba.

The last recorded sighting of a Bachman’s warbler in Missouri was in 1948. The last report of this bird in North America was an unconfirmed sighting in Louisiana in 1988.

WILDLIFE CODE OF MISSOURI Missouri: (A) Mammals: Gray bat, Ozark big-eared bat, Indiana bat, northern long-eared bat, black-tailed jackrabbit, spotted skunk.

(B) Birds: Northern harrier, interior least tern, Swainson’s warbler, snowy egret, king rail, Bachman’s sparrow, peregrine falcon, American bittern, greater prairie-chicken.

(C) Reptiles: Western chicken turtle, Blanding’s turtle, Illinois mud turtle, yellow mud turtle, Mississippi green water snake, massasauga rattlesnake. (D) Amphibians: eastern hell-

bender, Ozark hellbender.

(E) Fishes: Lake sturgeon, pallid sturgeon, taillight shiner, Neosho madtom, spring cavefish, harlequin darter, goldstripe darter, cypress minnow, central mudminnow, crystal darter, swamp darter, Ozark cavefish, Niangua darter, Sabine shiner, mountain madtom, redfin darter, longnose darter, flathead chub, Topeka shiner, grotto sculpin.

(F) Mussels: Curtis pearlymussel, Higgins’ eye, pink mucket, fat pocketbook, ebonyshell, elephant ear, winged mapleleaf, sheepnose, snuffbox,

scaleshell, spectaclecase, Neosho mucket, rabbitsfoot, salamander mussel, slippershell mussel.

(G) Other Invertebrates: American burying beetle, Hine’s emerald dragonfly, Tumbling Creek cavesnail.

(H) Plants: Small whorled pogonia, Mead’s milkweed, decurrent false aster, Missouri bladderpod, geocarpon, running buffalo clover, pondberry, eastern prairie fringed orchid, western prairie fringed orchid, Virginia sneezeweed. (source: MDC)

August 2018 • Page 11B

RiverHillsTraveler.com

10 tips before you go camping

B

eyond freelance writing and photography, I am starting year 23 of teaching. Many of my former students are now my neighbors and coworkers.

They have become adults I love visiting with. Watching them become parents is something I really enjoy!

Recently, a former student (a mom of two young ones) was prepping for her first camping trip.

Our discussion focused on the topic of “camping with toddlers.”

I immediately jumped into listingmode and told her to take the following items: sidewalk chalk, bubbles, Michelle Turner bucket, net, and ———— shovel.

Her comeback was stronger! She had already packed water balloons, corn hole, had premade a scavenger hunt, and planned to make leaf rub art.

Shortly after our discussion, I saw photos and videos of their first family camping trip to Onondaga State Park.

The kids were sweaty and happy, while mom and dad shared a look that landed somewhere between content and tired.

I ran into her the other night at Petco.

I joked, “Looks like you survived your first camping trip!”

Her reply was not one of, “I’ll never do that again.” Instead, I got a huge smile as she explained how it was hot during the day, but the river was

nearby, and it was great at night.

Her face said it all. I do believe they will be back in that tent again sooner than later!

Are you interested in making camping memories with your children or grandchildren?

Here are a few tips I have for you before trekking out for your camping trip: #1. If you haven’t set up a tent before, do a practice run in your backyard. #2. With small children, select a site that you can pull up to and not have to walk far in. I also suggest a site near a restroom. #3. Campsites can fill up quickly. Try making reservations in advance. #4. Try private campgrounds in addition to state and national parks. My daughter and I have enjoyed some of

the private camping options like KOA because of the activities they have for kids. #5. If you are new to camping, consider borrowing a tent and gear from a friend before making that commitment to purchasing. #6. Prepare “pre-made camping meals” before packing the cooler!

Since you’ll be with children, you don’t have a ton of time to cook.

Plus, the whole point is to experience this WITH your kids; not be fixated on other things. Keep it simple! #7. Yes, pack some toys and create activities, but realize that most children can entertain themselves.

They can find hours of joy in swinging on the playground swing (if your campground has one), staring at a lizard, or catching lightening bugs.

Have toys and activities as a backup, but be flexible. #8. Be prepared for changes in the temperature and weather. I pack a rain jacket, a T-shirt, and a sweatshirt.

Sometimes we use all three in less than

12 hours! #9. If you are with a little one who wants to be “helpful,” let them! Give them small jobs to build their confidence. Maybe you need them to find rocks to weigh down the corners of a tarp so it doesn’t blow away. Perhaps they can help you select a level spot for tent placement. The list of jobs you can give to children who desire that satisfaction of a job well done is endless! #10. At this point, I am sure you may be wondering when I will list things like sunscreen and bug repellant. While those are important to pack, I think what’s even more important is your enthusiasm.

Having a joyful outlook on the experience and talking it up to your little ones often results in their joy! If you act nervous or like this will be a chore, the kids will catch on.

That is what I saw with my former student. She was honestly excited to take her two little ones on their first camping trip. Her joy was contagious!

(Michelle Turner lives in Union, Mo.)

Page 12B • August 2018

Camping jokes

Two new deer hunters decided to separate to increase their chances.

“What if we get lost?” says one of them.

“Fire three shots up in the air, every hour on the hour” says the other. “I saw it on TV.” Sure enough, one of the hunters!gets!lost, so he fires three shots up into the air every hour on the hour.

The next day the other hunter finds his friend with the help of the Forest Ranger.

“Why didn’t you do what I said?” asked the hunter.

“I did! I fired three shots up into the air every hour on the hour, until I ran out of arrows.”

——— A child goes to his father and asks, “Father, how do parents think of names for their children?”

The father answers, “Well, son, the night before the mother gives birth, the father goes into the woods and camps for the night.

“When he wakes the following morning, the first thing he sees is what he names his child, which is why your sister is named Soaring Eagle.

RiverHillsTraveler.com

CATCH A SMILE

“Why do you ask, Bear Poop?”

——— Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip. After a good meal and a bottle of wine, they laid down for the night, and went to sleep.

Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful friend.

“Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see.”

Watson replied, “I see millions and millions of stars.”

“What does that tell you?”

Watson pondered for a minute.

“Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, I can see that God is all powerful and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you?”

Holmes was silent for a minute as he looked around, then spoke.

“It tells me that someone has stolen our tent.”

——— One Boy Scout!was on one side of the river and there was another Boy Scout on the other side of the river.

One Boy Scout yells to the other Boy Scout, “How do you get to the other

side?” and the other Boy Scout yells back, “You are on the other side!”

——— There was an elderly couple who in their old age noticed that they were getting a lot more forgetful, so they decided to go to the doctor. The doctor told them that they should start writing things down so they don’t forget.

A couple days later they went camping and the old lady told her husband to make her a cup of coffee.

“You might want to write it down,” she said.

The husband said, “No, I can remember that you want a cup of coffee.”

She then told her husband she wanted a cup of coffee!with cream.

“Write it down,” she told him, and again he said, “No, no, I can remember: you want a cup of coffee!with cream.”

Then the old lady said she wants a cup of coffee!with cream and sugar.

“Write it down,” she told her husband and again he said, “No, I got it. You want a cup of coffee!with cream and sugar.”

So he goes to get the coffee!and spends an unusually long time outside of the tent, over 30 minutes. He comes back in!to his wife and hands her a plate of eggs and bacon.

The old wife stares at the plate for a

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moment, then looks at her husband and asks, “Where’s the toast?”

——— A husband and wife were driving through the mountains. As they approached their campsite, they started arguing about the pronunciation of the town.

They argued back and forth, then they stopped for lunch. At the counter, the husband asked the blonde waitress, “Before we order, could you please settle an argument for us? Would you please pronounce where we are very slowly?”

She leaned over the counter and said, “Burrr-gerrr Kiiing.”

——— While sitting around a campfire, a boy asks his father, “Dad, are bugs good to eat?”

“That’s disgusting. Don’t talk about things like that over dinner,” the dad replies.

After dinner the father asks, “Now, son, what did you want to ask me?”

“Oh, nothing,” the boy says. “There was a bug in your soup, but now it’s gone.”

(Send your joke to: Bill Wakefield, Traveler St. Louis Branch, 9707 Pauline Place, Affton MO 63123; or email me at w3@charter.net.)

August 2018 • Page 13B

RiverHillsTraveler.com

The ‘Soft-Hackled Fly’ is deadly when fished right

W

ay back in the ‘70s I bought a paperback book entitled “The Soft-Hackled Fly,” written by a gentleman by the name of Sylvester Nemes.

At the time I had never heard of a Soft Hackle and had never heard of Sylvester Nemes, either, but the book looked to be interesting, had some great photography in it and the back cover said it would help me catch fish.

So I was naturally sold and, believe me, it was money well spent.

Since that first purchase, I have acquired a few more books by this author and even have some flies that he tied which I keep in a safe place and have never gotten them wet.

He didn’t invent the Soft Hackle.

The fly has been around for years and years but had been Bill Oder forgotten. He ———— merely brought it back to everyone’s attention with his book.

He has written several more books since then but I find his first one to be the most helpful and has led me to become an ardent fan of the Soft Hackle.

Simple to tie, pleasing to the eye of the angler and deadly when fished right; that is to say, fished across the stream and down instead of upstream.

This system was in direct conflict with the way I had been fishing my nymphs by casting upstream and letting the fly dead drift and usually getting a strike way before the line would straighten out below me.

This new way didn’t seem right at first, and I had a hard time getting used to it but I eventually came around and have been very well pleased with the results.

The correct way to fish it is to cast it straight across and let it drift downstream, mending your line as needed, and strikes will occur at any time during this drift but you will experience a lot of strikes as the fly is drifting to your side of the stream and directly below you.

These are not normally light hits. You will see your line shoot out and feel a

Cumberland

March Brown

strong tug. It seems like the trout is not taking any chances on this emerger flying away, so he makes a ravenous run for it.

It is important to not forget the mending procedure when fishing this fly.

This is also a good time to occasionally employ what is known as the Leisenring Lift, which is a tactic accredited to a famous fly fisherman by the name of James Leisenring.

Before starting a new cast after the fly has finished its drift, slowly lift your rod which brings the fly to the surface in the same manner that a natural behaves.

This, too, can be very effective.

Some say the fly is effective only in fast water but I have had luck in both slow and fast water.

Mr. Nemes, in his book, states that he believes the fly imitates a mayfly nymph or a caddisfly larva when they are on their way to the surface to emerge as an adult and fly away.

This emerging process is what gets the trout’s attention. When you hear the term “emerger” it simply means that short period of time when the insect is no longer a mayfly nymph or caddisfly larva, and is emerging into an adult and getting ready to fly away.

It is not a nymph or larva during this short period of time, nor is it an adult yet; it is simply an emerger. That is what the Soft Hackle imitates.

I was glad he spelled all that out for me because I am an overly curious and inquisitive person and the big question that immediately came up in my mind

as I read the book was what does this fly represent to the fish?

If I’m catching fish, I want to know why. When I used to bass fish, I couldn’t understand why a bass would hit a big, cigar-looking top water plug with propellers at each end or a spinner bait that looked like nothing that lives underwater but still were able to fool those bass.

I’m still wondering about that.

The Soft Hackle isn’t designed to sink very deep nor should it ride on the surface. It should ride a few inches to a foot or so beneath the surface. Sometimes when I first cast one, it will want to float, so I hold it underwater for a few seconds to get it water logged so it will sink.

However, and this is a big however, it doesn’t hurt to fish it dry for a few casts until it gets wet enough to sink on its own. I’ve had some very strong strikes at times while it was resting on the surface.

The flies can be tied on wet fly hooks in sizes 12, 14 or 16 or even smaller if you so desire. There is no set rule. I’ve even tied them on dry fly hooks. I like size 16 best but it is sometimes difficult to find hackle that small.

Normally silk floss is used for the body but I find on the size 16 or smaller just using the tying thread for the body will suffice. On the larger hooks, 12 or 14, I use the floss.

There have been a lot of variations of this fly tied since Mr. Nemes’ first book, such as using bead heads and lead wire to make them sink deeper.

He said if you do that to a Soft

Hackle, then it is no longer a soft hackle. What you then have is a jig. He was a purist in that respect and only tied and fished the Soft Hackles like they had been tied for years before.

I have had good luck with the Olive and Partridge and the Orange and Partridge. My all-time favorite is the March Brown Spider. It is tied with Hare’s Ear fur on the body, ribbed with gold tinsel or wire and then a light-colored partridge feather for hackle.

The tying thread is orange, so you end up with a neat-looking orange head. I tend to fish those flies that I think are pleasing not only to the fish’s eyes but my eyes as well.

These were some of the first flies that I learned how to tie and found that they were relatively easy to tie for a rookie, which I certainly was.

At the time, all I had was the book, but Mr. Nemes gives very clear and thorough instructions with a lot of stepby-step photos.

Today, there are a lot of good videos on YouTube showing how to tie these flies but of course, way back in the ‘70s I didn’t have that luxury.

All in all, the Soft Hackle is an excellent fly. A truly beautiful fly. I highly recommend you getting a copy of Mr. Nemes’ first book — “The Soft-Hackled Fly” — and tie some of your own.

I guarantee it won’t be wasted time or money and there’s not too many things about fishing that a person can actually guarantee.

You’ll also discover that there are many more different types of the Soft Hackle than I have mentioned, and you’ll also discover the fun and satisfaction achieved by tying and fishing a truly classic fly.

(Bill Oder can be reached at oderbill@yahoo.com.)

Orange Fish Hawk

August, to me, means dancing that ‘Popr’ back to the canoe

E

ach month is a new adventure waiting here in the Ozarks. For those of us that are in tune with the seasonal changes and what that offers us outdoorsmen, the month of August is a hot month in more ways than one.

April is the month of box calls.

October is the month for grunt calls. November is the month for duck calls and August, for me, is the month for PopRs. Each year when August comes around my mind is always on a stream somewhere in the Ozarks.

Constantly dreaming of dancing that Popr back to the canoe.

Chugging and plugging and Richard twitching and popping. Long casts Whiteside and covering territory. All while ———— anticipating the explosion.

Smallmouth fishing is at it’s best in the month of August. No other time of year will the smallmouth fully commit to a plug like in the month of August.

My favorite Popr is the biggest chugger made. If you want to catch big fish, then you have to fish for big fish.

Big fish eat big meals. Little kids don’t eat Big Macs and big bass don’t eat kiddy meals.

Nothing rings the dinner bell to a big smallmouth like the action of a big topwater plug worked properly.

Sometimes I will have two rigs, one for topwater and one for midwater. Any structure will work. Both ends of the eddy should be plugged.

Many have their own methods and, for me, I like to fish fast and furious with a topwater covering territory as I go. No need to cast a topwater to the same place twice.

Many people new to Ozarks river fishing will hang up in an eddy and before they realize it, two hours

have passed by.

That leaves them having to paddle in order to make it to the take-out in time and by doing that a person has to pass up a lot of good opportunities.

Keep moving. Plenty of fishable water around the next bend. Besides, any big smallmouth in the mood to eat will be jumping on that plug on the first cast.

When I am serious topwater fishing for trophy smallies I use no less then 10-pound test line.

Line thickness means everything when a big one gets on. Clarity will hold no bearing due to the strike being a reaction strike.

Usually on Ozark streams clear, small line is essential but here we are aggressively working a plug on the surface to create a reaction. It’s usually a very fast and furious strike at the surface.

World-class smallmouth fishing awaits you in the Ozarks.

Always remember to release your smallmouth back into the water after you have admired it, always.

Don’t let this August pass you up Till next time.

(Richard Whiteside lives in Doniphan, Mo., and can be reached at rlwhiteside72@gmail.com. His blog can be followed at www.ozarkriverman.wordpress. com.)

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RiverHillsTraveler.com

Fishing isn’t just a club for guys

W

By Mike Roux omen and girls like to fish, too.

Sometimes even more than their male counterparts.

There are, however, keys to success to get and keep your gals excited about going fishing.

Whether it is your wife, girlfriend or fiancé or perhaps your daughter or granddaughter, having a well thought-out plan will help you allow them to have more fun.

Here are some things to consider: • Watch the weather — Uncomfortable weather will likely make your gal miserable. Too hot and too cold are common complaints to avoid. Also avoid rain, as well.

• No bugs — This one is easy. Be fully prepared to protect them from mosquitoes and gnats. Nothing can bring an evening fishing trip to a halt quicker than buffalo gnats.

• Combination trip — This idea works well most of the time. Either before or after you fish with your favorite girl, take her out to eat.

Remember, this meal is not designed to be a formal anniversary dinner. But a stop for her favorite burger will go a long way to increasing her fun.

• Lastly, no blood or guts — Do whatever it takes to keep this trip, and especially her, clean and tidy. And most important of all, you are finished as soon as she is. This trip should be about enjoying the experience. Keep your angling females happy and they will want to go more often than you think. Good luck.

(Mike Roux can be reached at 217-2577895.)

Nancy Roux is the example the rest of the family’s girls look up to.

Makenzie Dietrich is Mike Roux’s oldest granddaughter and never wants to quit fishing.

Katie Cernea is the daughter of the author.

August 2018 • Page 15B

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Pulltite to Round Springs is full of local history

R

ecently, I went on a float trip on the Current River in southern Missouri. I floated from Pulltite to Round Spring.

It was about 10 miles and took almost four hours. It was a beautiful float.

My favorite floating river is the Eleven Point River, but this was a beautiful part of the Current River.

On the journey I got to see a few birds, turtles and several people enjoying a day on the river. Just down from the Pulltite Access, there is a nice spring called Pulltite Spring.

It is located across the river from the Pulltite Campground about 14 miles north of Eminence, off of Hwy. EE. There is a 0.3-mile trail that leads back to Pulltite Spring and the old Pulltite Cabin. The spring’s branch daily flow into the river is between 20-30 million gallons.

John P. Patton owned this piece of Dana ground with the Sturgeon spring. In 1889 he ———— petitioned and received a post office.

The spring was named “Pulltight” after the tight pull on the team of horses that hauled the grain up out of the steep hill from the mill.

The name was shortened and renamed to “Pulltite.” The mill was named the Watson mill. There were actually three mills that were built at the spring between the Civil War and 1911.

The first mill was turbine-powered and located near the present cabin. The second one replaced the first mill. The third mill was powered by an overshot wheel and was built close to the point at which the spring empties into the river.

Six businessmen from Saint Louis, Missouri, took a float trip down the Current River and ended up buying this property with the spring. They called themselves the “Pulltight Corporation” and wanted a vacation lodge by the river.

The cabin was built in the French style in which the logs are placed upright so as not to have to notch them.

The cabin was completed a day before Thanksgiving in 1913. In 1967, it was purchased by the National Park Service.

Today, the cabin is open to the public for exploration. Come out for a float trip along the Current River to enjoy

some history, and some more of Missouri’s natural treasures.

For more information, you can contact the National Park Service at (573) 323-4236 or www.nps.gov.

(Dana Sturgeon lives in southern Missouri. She can be reached at mo_dana@hotmail.com.)

Page 16B â&#x20AC;˘ August 2018

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