July 2018

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Connect with the River Hills Traveler at

(800) 874-8423 or email jimmy@ riverhillstraveler.com or text (417) 451-3798

VOL. 46, NO. 2

JULY 2018

www.riverhillstraveler.com

Shawnee National Forest

RV park selling riverfront property

It’s closer than you think

By MATTIE LINK

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You can fish, hunt, camp, hike & paddle here

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early 1 million people visit Shawnee National Forest each year, which serves as a retreat to Americans living in urban areas.

That’s not a surprise, considering more than 30 U.S. cities are within a six-hour drive.

“We’re nestled in Southern Illinois between the Ohio and Mississippi rivers,” said Brendan Cain, the forest supervisor for Shawnee National Forest.

“Shawnee boasts strikingly beautiful oak-hickory forests, flourishing wetlands, lush canyons, razorback ridges and unique geological features.”

The forest was a mere vision in the 1930s when Illinoisans hatched a plan to restore their lost forest, seeking help from the Forest Service. Early conservationists started with a patchwork of abandoned farmland, logged — and not reforested — lands and

rare, diverse places.

Today’s Shawnee National Forest spans 289,000 acres, features vast blocks of forest and cool geologic features, such as Stone Face, much like Old Man of the Mountain.

Looking to explore its glades, barrens, prairies, streams, lakes, ponds, waterfalls, woodlands and rocky outcrops? You can camp, paddle, hike, horseback ride, photograph, swim,

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Little Sugar Farmhouse is the ‘quiet retreat’ spot ittle Sugar Farmhouse in Jane, Mo., is located in a quiet and peaceful spot just minutes away from Little Sugar Creek.

Jana Latshaw Reishus and her sister,

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urrent River RV Park in Van Buren, Mo., is offering everyone the opportunity to own riverfront property right on the Current River.

Mike and Brenda May, owners of Current River RV Park, have decided to start selling their RV camping sites and have plans to turn the park into a gated community.

“We are currently in the third year of selling lots, and have sold 10 or 11 lots already,” said Brenda. “We have about 90 left to sell, and we offer many differentsized sites.”

The price of the sites range from $30,000-$50,000 depending on the size of the site.

The Mays have tried to keep each site as close to its natural state as possible, so some sites are bigger than others in the way they are shaped.

Please see FOREST, 14A

By MATTIE LINK

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Niki Latshaw Hawkins, inherited a house that was once was the home of their great-great-grandparents, and they’ve since turned it into a vacation rental for families and groups looking for a nice and quiet home away from home.

“It all started with my great-grandparents, then my grandparents, and then we Please see HOUSE, 15A

Page 2A • July 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Just a few words about fly rods

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ne might say that I came to fly fishing through the back door. I started fishing with a fly rod when I was a kid.

Notice that I said fishing and not fly fishing.

Sadly, there were no trout streams near the small town in southeastern Missouri where I grew up. The reason for the early introduction to the fly rod was one of pure economics.

My dad owned three rods — two casting rods and one fly rod. He also had two sons, my brother and I… so you do the math.

There were three fishermen in the family and three rods. No more money was going to be spent on fishing poles. We weren’t poor, but we certainly were a long, long way from being rich.

Bill Oder Somehow, I ended ———— up with the fly rod when the rods were passed out. I can’t remember why or how that happened. It was just one of those things.

Of course, now I’m glad it did happen that way.

Maybe it was fate and meant to be because now I fish with nothing else and declare myself to be a true blue, dyed in the wool fly fisherman but back then, at first, I kind of thought that I had gotten the raw end of the deal but as time went on, I grew to love that old rod.

The fly rod of my youth was a cheap model. I never did know how my dad had it in the first place because he was always a spin cast guy.

It was fiberglass with an old, dented, gray metallic horizontal automatic reel that had a lever you could push and a spring mechanism would zap the line back into the reel so quick that you could get a burn on your hand if you weren’t careful.

At first, this feature was kind of fun and I even tried bringing in a bluegill or two by pushing the lever but that didn’t work too well, as you can imagine.

Of course, after my brother saw me do that neat little trick, he wanted to trade rods but by then I was sold on the fly rod and refused to do so.

I bait-fished with this rod using earth worms, catalpa worms, grasshoppers, minnows and crawdads but nary an ac-

tual fly.

I caught a lot of bluegill, catfish (yes, I said catfish), drum, goggle-eye and a few nice bass on that rod. As a result of this early exposure to the fly rod, my initiation to fly fishing for trout later in my life was made somewhat easier.

At least by then, I already knew what a leader was (though I had never heard of a tapered leader during the days of my youth) and could even make an awkward attempt at a roll cast even though at the time I didn’t know that it was even called a roll cast.

I remember one bluegill fishing trip to Sunnen Lake near Potosi, Mo. At the time, Sunnen Lake was open to the public. Now it’s a YMCA camp requiring membership fees and so forth.

Anyway, there were six of us: my dad, my brother, a couple of cousins and an uncle. We were all wading in the water along the shore up to our waists and each had a burlap bag that we called a “tater sack” tied to our belt loops which we were gradually filling up with fat bluegills.

There was also a small can of worms stuck somehow in our pockets. I don’t remember how we maneuvered that trick.

I was fishing without a sinker; just the weight of the worm-covered hook was sufficient to sink the bait. You just had to cast it out a short distance and let it slowly sink and watch for a twitch of the line and you were on to a fat bluegill.

A bluegill is a worthy opponent on a fly rod. I have heard people say that if they grew to five to six pounds, you would need a winch to bring one in and I don’t doubt that in the least.

Bluegill fishing with a fly rod is a good way for a beginner to practice with the fly rod.

Another place that we fished a lot was the Big River, which was nearby.

My dad and I were fishing this river one day and as we were walking along the bank, he stopped and whispered for me to be real still and look into the water.

He pointed out a largemouth bass in shallow water near the bank, maybe a couple of feet deep in the clear water, just slowly biding his time waiting for something to eat to drift by.

He looked to be a fairly nice one; maybe three to four pounds. My dad handed me a minnow (he always pronounced that word as “minner”) out of his trusty, old minner, I mean minnow bucket, and I stabbed the point of the hook through its lips and then carefully dropped my line into the water about five feet above the location of the bass.

No cast was needed and none could have been accomplished anyway because of the trees and shrubbery along the bank.

The bass didn’t waste any time going after the minnow. My first reaction was to set the hook right away but my dad cautioned me to let him take it a little more first.

It was hard to wait but I did, and it seemed forever but finally my dad said, “Now!” and I set the hook and had quite a fight on my hands with that old fly rod.

We didn’t weigh the fish but the con-

sensus was three pounds. Good eating size.

So you can see how I became such a big fan of the fly rod. As I said, I wasn’t at first when that clumsy-looking thing was handed to me and was told to fish with that or stay home but things always seem to look differently after a little passage of time.

I don’t know what happened to that old fly rod. I wish I had kept closer tabs on it but it disappeared at some time over the years as old things tend to do.

How I wish I could fish with it again.

It was full of history for me.

I believe a fly rod to be one of western civilization’s greatest inventions.

To me, they are crafted works of art not much different from a fine violin or fine woodwork of some sort.

I hold even a modest fly rod to this high esteem and I recommend that you not ignore a five-dollar bargain at a garage sale but jump on it right away and add it to your collection because

you can rest assured that it has a proud history to tell you if it could only talk.

Besides, if you are going to fly fish, you’ll need a collection of fly rods even if the collection consists of only two rods and one of them is a garage sale bargain.

I feel sorry for people who have never stood in a crystal clear, springfed trout stream casting their favorite fly rod and feeling a battling trout at the end of their line.

If you have never fly-fished and have a desire to get started, then, by all means, now is the time to do it. It’s easier than it looks.

All the fishing tackle companies offer quality outfits for the beginner.

Get a good book or some videos or just type “How do you cast a fly rod?” on your computer and watch some of those videos. They’re free.

The main thing is go ahead and try it.

You don’t know what you are missing.

(Bill Oder can be reached at oderbill@yahoo.com.)

July 2018 • Page 3A

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Website offers travelers an outdoor alternative

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n any given night approximately two million people are staying in an Airbnb.

This rapidly growing platform that allows users to stay in anything from a castle to a sailboat has become a mainstay for travelers.

But, what about those of us who like to go camping? That is where hipcamp.com steps in.

So, how does this work for the average user? Bethany Drobeck and her husband found themselves struggling to locate a campsite over Memorial Day weekend.

That’s when hipcamp.com entered their lives.

“My husband found hipcamp.com just googling for camping spots.

Since we were camping Memorial Day weekend and only planning to camp for one night, many places were Michelle Turner already booked or ———— required you to book the entire weekend,” Drobeck shared.

“He just stumbled across it while searching for other options.”

The Drobecks quickly discovered that hipcamp.com is a little more userfriendly than Airbnb.

“It’s similar to Airbnb, but even easier! You don’t have to go through a contract signing process like Airbnb. It just takes a few clicks to reserve a spot.

It’s easy to search options in a particular area and see what’s available,” Drobeck added.

What made the hipcamp.com site interesting to the Drobeck family is the wide variety of camping options.

“You could book camping spots in unique areas and in places other than your typical state park,” Drobeck said.

“I could see some people not wanting to book camping spots on privatelyowned land, but if you don’t mind that aspect, then I think it’s a great option.”

Hipcamp.com’s platform also provides a rundown of each property listing so that future campers are aware of what they are walking into.

“The listings also show what amenities are available, so if you’re used to camping in state parks with certain amenities like showers, then you just search for properties that meet your needs,” Drobeck added.

The Drobecks ended up booking a camping trip via hipcamp.com at The Light Center in Baldwin City, Kan., to celebrate Memorial Day. This privately-owned property has ample space for campers.

“We really liked that we weren’t so close to other campers and had plenty

of shade and space. It felt like we were on our own in nature, and we didn’t have to worry as much about hearing other campers or our kids being too loud for others,” Drobeck said.

“There were lots of areas to explore.

There were people staying in their barn, a yurt, and others tent camping like us. There were hiking areas and you could interact with their farm animals. It was a really neat property.”

However, there was one downside to their hipcamp.com experience. Just like Airbnb, the property owners create each listing.

The amount of detail they include or omit from their listings can lead to some confusion.

Once the Drobeck family arrived, they almost had to turn around and go home because they didn’t understand the lay of the land at The Light Center.

“One thing we didn’t know from our booking experience is that the campsites were quite far from the parking lot,” Drobeck explained. “This wasn’t really mentioned in the site’s listing or as part of the information in booking.

“The campsites were intended for campers hiking in and carrying their supplies. We came with a vanload of supplies and two small children, so that really wasn’t an option.”

Despite this problem, the hosts of the property worked with the family to find a solution so that mom, dad, and both daughters could enjoy their camping experience.

“Thankfully, the hosts were very kind and accommodating and allowed us to pitch our tent in a spot right by the parking area. I don’t think they usually allow campers to use that spot, but they made an exception for us since we weren’t going to make it by hiking in to the other areas,” Drobeck said.

In the end, the only complaint Bethany Drobeck had was resolved, but she told the River Hills Traveler that she now knows exactly what to ask people on hipcamp.com before booking to fit her family’s needs.

“I wish we had known this ahead of time or that the site had listed that the campsites were far from parking,” Drobeck said, “but our experience

ended up working out great because the hosts were so hospitable.”

Want to look into booking your next camping trip on hipcamp.com or list your property as a place for campers to unwind?

Check it out at www.hipcamp.com and enjoy the experience!

(Michelle Turner lives in Union, Mo.)

Page 4A • July 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Stream finally gets a name: Archer Alexander Creek

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issouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft visited St. Charles County in late June to issue a proclamation regarding a formerly unnamed stream that has been officially designated Archer Alexander Creek.

The name recognizes Archer Alexander, who during the Civil War informed Union troops about an incident of local railroad sabotage.

“It’s an honor to help commemorate Archer Alexander Jimmy Sexton with this public me———— morial. He lived in Journey On St. Charles County from 1830 until his death in 1879,” Ashcroft said.

“Alexander’s story is a fascinating and heroic one, and I’m grateful to St. Charles County executive Steve Ehlmann for proposing the designation honoring him.”

The Missouri Board on Geographic Names (MOBGN) recommended the proposal, submitted by Ehlmann, to the

I

U.S. Board on Geographic Names at their May meeting. Final approval of the proposal by the U.S. board occurred on June 21.

“We are honored that Secretary of State Ashcroft can be with us in St. Charles County as the story of Archer Alexander continues,” Ehlmann said.

“We thank him for his interest in our county and its history.!

"Naming this creek after Mr. Alexander reminds us of the rich, diverse history of our county and of the brave men and women who fought on many levels during the Civil War to reunite our nation and make all men free.”

Archer Alexander Creek is 2.5 miles long with its head in the City of O’Fallon.It flows generally south through the City of Cottleville to enter Dardenne Creek 3.9 miles north-northwest of Weldon Spring.

The name recognizes Archer Alexander, a slave who lived in the area in the mid-19th century. Alexander informed Union troops about an incident of local railroad sabotage and weapons hidden on a farm along the creek that now bears his name.

Although suspected by Confederate

sympathizers, he escaped to St. Louis and successfully petitioned the Provost Marshal of Missouri for his freedom.

The MOBGN is responsible for the coordination of place-naming activity between local, state and federal agencies.

The MOBGN governs procedures for naming and renaming geographic features within Missouri, provides uniformity in geographic nomenclature throughout the state and retains the expressed historic and cultural significance of Missouri’s place-names.

The secretary of state chairs the board, with assistance from the staff of the Missouri State Archives.

——— State health officials are again reminding everyone to take precautions to prevent tick bites.

According to the CDC, tick and mosquito-borne illnesses increased threefold between 2004 and 2016. Nine new diseases spread by ticks and mosquitos have been discovered since 2004, including Zika in mosquitos and Heartland and Bourbon viruses in ticks.

It is very important to seek medical attention if you are bit by a tick and de-

velop flu-like symptoms. Symptoms of tick-borne diseases typically begin within two weeks of a bite by an infected tick and for most people include a sudden fever, body aches and headache.

If you find an attached tick, remove it promptly. The longer it is attached the greater the risk of infection.

Despite the variety of ticks throughout Missouri, everyone can safely enjoy the outdoors by taking two minutes to prevent tick bites: • Use an insect repellent with a minimum of 20 percent DEET, picaridin, or IR3535 on exposed skin and clothing.

Choose a product that lasts several hours whenever you spend time outdoors. DEET products should not be used on infants under two months.

• If you are also using sunscreen, apply it first, let it dry, and then apply repellent. Products that contain both sunscreen and repellent are not recommended.

(Jimmy Sexton is owner and publisher of the River Hills Traveler. He can be reached at (417) 451-3798, or by email at jimmy@riverhillstraveler. com.)

Bluff Dwellers Cave: A tour scientific & historical

f you haven’t been to Bluff Dwellers Cave, just south of Noel, in a while, or ever, it’s time for a visit.

I went there a few times as a kid and just recently went back with my own kids and wife.

Except for a brief three-year period at the start, the show cave has remained in the same family since Arthur Browning discovered (or rediscovered) it in 1925.

According to one story, he was walking atop the bluff, possibly checking traps, when he felt cold air coming out of a limestone outcrop that he may have thought was simply a fox den.

He later did some exploring and boy did he get a surprise. He eventually came back to the Wes Franklin surface more than ———— nine hours past the Native Ozarker time he told people he would return, which I’m sure gave his family a bit of a scare.

The point where Browning entered is actually reverse from where visitors enter today, and is the tour exit. The cave had been hidden and mostly filled in by a landslide some 2,000 to 3,000 years prior.

Unlike visitors today, Browning had to crawl through most of the tunnels when he first entered. At the time, U.S. Highway 71 (now State Highway 59) was being constructed in front of the cave and Browning enlisted the help of some of the highway department men to assist in moving loose rock and debris so he could explore.

For the next two years Browning and his team excavated the cavern by hand, using shovels and picks, and hauling it out by hand and with teams of draft animals.

Interestingly, the hill that the present day gift shop and museum and outbuildings sit on, in front of what is now used as the cave entrance, is simply the

debris that was dug and hauled out of the tunnels.

The cave was opened for public tours in 1927, being leased to J.A. Truitt, who would open another show cave up the highway a few years later.

Truitt had intended on starting a restaurant at the back of the cave, but that didn’t happen and after three years the cave reverted back to the Browning family management, where it has remained ever since.

It’s called Bluff Dwellers Cave because it was first thought that ancient Native American peoples actually lived there on a permanent basis. It was later determined that the nomads really used the cave for things like storage, occasional shelter, rendezvous, and possibly trade as they passed through.

However, skeletal remains were discovered there, as well as grinding stones, and lots of arrowheads, spearheads, and ax heads, which are on display today in the museum.

I toured the cave a few times when I was a kid, and back then the bones were also displayed. However, my understanding is that the Native remains are currently in Jefferson City going through the proper procedural verification and authorization channels, which

I suppose is right. I hope they return to their home, though.

Although Bluff Dweller’s Cave is no doubt a geologist’s heaven, my personal interest is mostly with the historical, and so my favorite part of the cave is the signs of the Native Americans who were there many thousands of years before.

This is partly evidenced by the ancient smoke stains from countless fires left forever imprinted on the stone walls. The ancient artifacts left behind are something to see as well.

One thing that has always fascinated me in these cases is why didn’t the owners return? What happened?

On another historical sidenote, the big room at the front part of the cave, which is now the last stop of the tour, was designated a fallout shelter during the Cold War in the 1950s and ‘60s and the yellow signs with the nuclear symbol are still present.

The guided tour is about an hour long. Since the cave remains a constant temperature, it’s always cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and it’s a relief from the outdoors the moment you walk in.

Although my own interest is mainly historical, you’ll see a lot of cool rock formations and gain a wealth of scientific knowledge about caves in general, and about Bluff Dweller’s Cave in particular, of course.

You rarely have to stoop at all, either.

I stand over six feet tall and can walk perfectly erect through most of the tour.

Perhaps needless to say, it isn’t handicapped accessible.

When planning family day trips this summer, you won’t regret including Bluff Dweller’s Cave on the list of things to do.

They are open seven days a week, all year round. Visit their website at

On the Cover Bob Brennecke discusses the benefits, drawbacks and everything you need to know about “boondock” camping.

bluffdwellerscave.com or call 417-4753666.

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

River Hills Traveler 212 E. Main St., Neosho, MO 64850 Phone & Fax: 800-874-8423

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 Tom Boydston • Judy Smith Michelle Turner • Dana Sturgeon Chuck Smick • 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 at 212 E. Main St., Neosho, MO 64850. 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.

July 2018 • Page 5A

RiverHillsTraveler.com

VINTAGE OZARKS:

The Spring at Reeds Spring T

Real Photo Postcard, circa 1930 — he Stone County Booklet of 1927 describes the small but then-bustling commercial burg of Reeds Spring: "Lying in a nook among the beautiful hills and around a mammoth spring of clear, cold water, where only a few years ago the cattle were want to loiter, lies one of the best trading points in Stone County."

With its railroad connections, Reeds Spring was also a center point of the tomato canning industry, which provided employment and much-needed cash to that rural economy, with 22 canning factories within twelve miles. Highways put Reeds Spring on the route to the Shepherd of the Hills County and Branson. Businesses serving tourists – like souvenir and novelty shops – flourished.

Today, the town has been bypassed by major highways, but has attracted artists and creative types.!The spring is still a focal point of interest, its sheltering roof and shed now painted a warm brick red.

(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 • I’ve been floating the Jacks Fork every summer for longer than I care to admit but only once was I there when the water was high enough to put in at Buck Hollow and float the upper stretch that passes Jam Up Cave.

So when the opportunity came this spring to float from The Peongs to Buck Hollow, and then on to Rymers, I jumped at it.

Well, actually, it was more of a stop and start process. With all the raining and flooding this spring, the trip was on again, off again, until we grabbed a few sunny days between a flash flood and more rain in late April. (Barbara Gibbs Ostmann) • “I’d like to kayak the length of Current River,” said Donna Kipp. That’s not a direct quote, not her exact words. But that’s what she said a few years ago.

Pat Todd agreed with her. Dale and Bob agreed, too, with a measured approach — a day or two on a new stretch each year until the length of the river has been done.

This year, we did Round Spring to Two Rivers, completing what many people consider the Upper Current River.

Jacks Fort River joins the Current at Two Rivers and below there the river is noticeably larger. (Bob Todd) 10 years ago • The steady, baritone “brrhrumph, brrrhumphh, brruuummph” of a grand daddy bullfrog echoed through the thick humidity of a July evening and drifted past the open window of my farmhouse bedroom.

With my head on a goose down pillow propped on the window sill, I read the latest copy of Outdoor Life. Jack O’ Conner was off on one of his dream big horn sheep hunts near Chihuahua, Mex-

REMEMBER WHEN

ico. (Bill Cooper) • I was stuck. I had inched sideways in the cave, finding footholds in the limestone walls on either side of me.

My hands groped for any hold that would keep me upright. Now a large rock protruded from the opposing wall.

“Go down, go down under the rock,” said the Windermere cave guide.

But every time I tried, my short legs failed to find purchase anywhere, and the rock would jab into my ribs.

My legs dangling in mid-air, I hung on to the rock. Being able to explore this vertical mud cave was one reason I had come to the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Discover Nature Women’s Weekend event held June 6-8 at the Windermere Conference Center in Roach, Missouri, on the Lake of the Ozarks. (Josephine Cozean Styron) 15 years ago • Rain, rain and more rain. Not the best time to have a grandson and his friend for a few days. But the time comes when the times comes.

Tuesday, we’d planned to float but we didn’t have to that day, and in view of the weather, we put it off and went in search of a crawfish that is found nowhere else in the world but Big Creek — the Big Creek that runs through Sam A. Baker State Park.

Actually, we didn’t know the crawfish were unusual. But chasing crawfish, minnows and frogs with small hand nets was something Nelson and Justin could do that would be warmer than attempt-

ing to swim on the chilly morning. (Bob Todd) • Basically you can kill all the deer you want in Missouri in many of the state’s deep management units. If success means your legal limit, you have a problem — there is no limit for firearms hunters this year.

There is a daily bag limit of six and a possession limit of 12 for squirrels, but there is no daily or possession limit on deer in much of the state this fall. It is, however, as simple as it sounds. (Bob Todd)

20 years ago • Jerry Conley could have gone into the lure business if he had more than one of those ugly small versions of a Zara Spook.

It was almost fluorescent green on top.

The color of a poisonous tropical tree frog. The bottom was the kind of yellow that makes you squint to look at it.

It wasn’t so good that he caught a fish on every cast, but there were few casts that didn’t elicit a strike Usually several strikes. (Bob Todd) • The big carp circled out into the swift current and all I could do was hang on, listening to the reel scream and hoping the fish would get out of the current before I ran out of line. I had put on a spool of some of the super-tough line and knew better than to grab it to break it — it would just cut my hands.

Roy Halbert laughed as he watched me. He’d warned me. Right here, you could catch anything that swims in the Mississippi River.

Usually all it takes is a jig and a plastic grub. (Bob Todd) 30 years ago • The doe made a noise — I suppose you could call it a bleat — and went

down the steep bank, and seemed to be attacking something with her hooves.

A coyote rose up to do battle on our side, then another on the other side. And after a short scuffle, the doe retreated up the bank. (Bob Todd) • Stream conservation — as a comprehensive program or policy — is beginning to evolve in Missouri as the Conservation Federation’s Streamcare Committee continues meeting.

At a recent meeting, the committee decided on two basic approaches — strategic and tactical, you might say.

In the long run, major legislation is going to be needed to tie together the variety of stream conservation policies presently in operation, and to fill in the gaps. (Bob Todd) 40 years ago • Men fight wars, not generals. So who were these men destined soon to meet in the bloodiest battle ever recorded in Missouri, and one of the bloodiest of the Civil War? At Baton Rouge, La., Ge. Smith had proposed an invasion of Arkansas and Missouri to avoid sending his best infantry units east of the Mississippi River to aid in the defense of Alabama and Georgia. (Bob Todd) • One hundred and eight minutes had transpired. With tongs, the glass jars containing fresh peas were removed from the large pot and the first canned harvest from the garden was ready to be cooled and stored for the long winter ahead.

This was attainment. This was the epitome of accomplishment. This was the partaking in a simple scheme of living. This was my grand moment. This was the beginning of my harvest from my garden. (Jack Leiweke) (compiled by MyraGale Sexton)

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Page 6A • July 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Elk River: Using nature to protect MO streams

By MATTIE LINK

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mattie@sextonmediagroup.com _____________

he Elk River Basin is an ecologically and economically significant drainage in southwest Missouri.

Unfortunately, like other river basins in the state, stream bank erosion impacts its waters, resulting in sedimentation and nutrient pollution, loss of in-stream habitat, and degradation of water quality and recreation opportunities for local communities.

At a site on the lower end of Elk River in Noel, Mo., in McDonald County, stream bank erosion has resulted in around 7.5 acres of land, totaling 170,000 tons of soil lost in the past 20 years.

The Nature Conservancy of Missouri along with several local landowners and support by Tyson Foods Inc., and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, stabilized the 1,650 feet eroding stream bank by implementing sophisticated engineering and nature-based approaches to stream management to stop the erosion, enhance the habitat for fish and wildlife, and improve downstream recreational benefit.

“This is the largest site I’ve worked on

and it has been a real problem here for the past 20 years,” said Steve Herrington, Missouri’s Director of Freshwater Conservation.

Josh Duzan, project manager with Natural State Streams, LLC., built and designed the plan of stabilization for this stream.

“I specialize in stream bank stabilization with natural materials and try to make them look as natural as possibly, which is what we did here,” said Duzan.

According to the landowners in the area, there were no trees on the property and that may have been causing some of the eroding problem.

“Some symptoms of erosion are tall banks with a wall of 90 degrees, lack of vegetation, no surface protection, and a difference in stream bank heights,” said Herrington.

This piece of property fit the bill for all the symptoms and something needed to be done, before it started washing away more land.

“This was definitely a site we thought we could help stabilize,” said Herrington. “We wanted to make sure the engineering replicated places that have stood and thrived.”

To do that, they needed a lot of vegetation. Bio-engineering was a big part in

the stabilization of the stream bank.

“We needed lots of big things and plants to help and we incorporated that into the plan,” said Herrington.

“We moved over 40,000 cubic yards of gravel and installed 6,000 tons of rock and over 120 hardwood trees with root

wads during construction to restore and protect this stream bank,” said Duzan.

“After years of planning it’s exciting to see everything come together.”

The angle of the bank and the bank height was also addressed to lessen the Please see RIVER, 7A

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RIVER from 6A impact of flooding.

Plant-based bioengineering was used to ensure long-term stability and ecological function, including live brush layering on top of the boulder/tree root wad toe with 50,000 native tree live-cuttings for ensuring deep-rooted vegetation in the stream bank itself.

Hundreds of pounds of native seed for rapid and long-term herbaceous growth was also planted and 1,250 potted native trees were planted in the constricted floodplain, and heavy fiber-based erosion control blankets for stopping erosion, resisting sheer stress, and facilitating seed growth.

Since February, there have been three floods that the new stream bank has endured.

The trees were planted at the end of February and about 200 of the rooted trees that were planted washed away after the third flood.

“We knew stuff was going to come at us which is why we chose the design we did, so we don’t have to worry as much,” said Herrington.

“We created an area that can flood

over. All the things we planted are already creating root structure, which is key for withstanding floods.”

They laid a foundation first — top soil, live brush, then fabric, more soil, and then more fabric. For now the temporary seed mix that was spread is creating root structure, but after a year the native seeds will take over and really lock in that structure, according to Herrington.

He also said the fabric is supposed to last 3-4 years before degrading. This

process is done nationwide through companies and organizations, as well as by landowners.

“There is funding available for landowners to do something on their own stream bank,” said Herrington.

To do something inside the waterway one would need a permit, and the Department of Natural Resources and the Corps of Engineers, Little Rock District, issue the permits.

According to Herrington, the key to be stable and successful is “rocks for surface protection, and lots of vegetation to provide shielding.”

For this stream bank, it was about $300 per foot with natural materials, and would cost less to do it on a smaller scale.

“You could do this on your own stream bank for way less, at around $50 per foot using natural materials you already have,” said Herrington.

“We were able to harvest several wil-

lows for this project on-site and that helped out.”

The materials bought and used for this stream bank can be bought and used by individuals in addition to using alreadyowned materials.

According to Herrington, this was a very risky site and they wanted to make sure it was done right.

“This was not the first time to stabilize this bank,” said Duzan. “The landowner paid to have some work done and it was wasted with the first flood that came because it just wasn’t enough.”

Overall, for someone to do this to their own stream bank, more vegetation is key.

The total cost for the project was $652,000. The total cost included the design for $89,000, the construction for $542,000, and the five years’ monitoring for $21,000.

The funding support was provided by Tyson Food, Inc., the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and private landowners.

The construction started in December 2017 and ended in February.

“We are very happy with how it turned out and can’t wait to see how well it stands with time,” said Herrington.

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RiverHillsTraveler.com

Greenhorn trailer dry camping

(Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part article about “boondocking.”)

T

he travel trailer industry is growing with leaps and bounds and putting hundreds of thousands of units on the road this year and next.

Unfortunately, the campgrounds are not growing nearly as fast as campers are being built. We will have to find alternative camping areas other than commercial campgrounds.

The following information may help.

What is boondocking?

Boondocking, or dry camping, is a term that means that you will be camping in an area that is off the road and/or being without normal city hookups, like electric, water, sewer or possibly pavement or hard surface.

Getting there There are so many places to travel to in North America, you could go to a new place every two days and never finish your list.

You can travel interstates, state highways, county roads, gravel roads, or dirt roads. The further you get from the unconventional, nontraditional route the more interesting and exciting.

Bob Brennecke Traveling alone ———— does add on a layer of experiences in your life and possible problems, but those are not insurmountable. My intent is to develop more interest among drivers to become competent off-theasphalt drivers. Some travelers just go and stay where they stop and that looks convenient or beautiful.

Where to camp Find travel magazines, talk to fellow campers, contact AAA or travel clubs and find interesting, beautiful places to drive to.

Once you have found a place to travel, plan the route. Depending what type of rig you have is dependent where you go and how you get there.

Know the limits of your rig: the height, width, and length of your rig; traction of your tires and transmission drive; road clearance of your TV (tow vehicle) and trailer; and the shape of your rig (meaning how close do you want to get to the sticks and brush to avoid “cowboy pinstripes.”

You can’t learn all of this in one trip.

There is a learning curve and the lessons should be learned gradually.

Don’t go down a trail that gets narrower the further you go. If you haven’t

been down that road before, hike it and see if you can actually turn around at the end of the road. Is there an end of the road other than a washout or deep mudhole?

You must remember that traveling 7 to 10 miles per hour in a motor vehicle takes you a considerable distance from the main road or your home camp and help.

It is conceivable that in three hours of leisure driving you could put yourself two to three days’ walk away from the main road. If you are injured you might be stuck for a lot longer.

Always set up an itinerary and try to stick with it if possible. If you get into trouble you will want someone to start looking for you where you conceivably could have made it so the rescuers and you have an even chance in finding you.

I remember when I was younger there was no chance that I could get lost or hurt. It is amazing that things could change in 50 years where things were not dangerous then but now they are.

When you go on a trip into the wilderness always try to be safe, make an extra effort! Not only should you not take chances like daredevil things but you should take safety equipment, like helmet, gloves, extra clothes, blankets, and personal protection.

A weapon has always made me feel safe even though I have to retrieve it from a safe, (it is available). A gun might be necessary for a food collection or emergency signaling. I would rather have one than not.

Maps & orienteering A lot of people don’t know exactly where they are going but you should if you get off a main road. Knowing where you are going is imperative when leaving the main road.

To find out where you are, or where you want to be, can be done now even easier than it used to be. Not only can you purchase federal government maps, you can find almost everything you need on the Internet.

If you don’t have a compass, get one even if you have one built into your rig.

Some apps on your phone have compass readings but if you are in an area without cell coverage, maps and a compass are hard to beat.

Orienting a map isn’t difficult, all you need to know is where north, south, east and west are so you can

travel in the correct direction from a known location.

Again, practice and start with the basics. There are even community schools, clubs, or online classes. Do the training or practice before you get lost!

Ask a Boy Scout, they have had training in orienteering.

I haven’t tried it but I bet there is even a YouTube segment on orienteering.

Backing up Backing up can be intimidating to say the least. There have even been

guttural utterances that sounded like foreign words coming from drivers learning to back a trailer.

Backing up your trailer may be more important than driving long distances.

Eventually you will find it necessary to back your trailer. The shorter the trailer, the harder it is to back up but practice will make the job easier.

Remember small changes in your tow vehicle’s front tires creates BIG changes in the direction of the trailer being backed.

At times when you have a totally

Please see BOON, 9A

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BOON from 8A confused angle of trailer, tow vehicle and where you wanted to be, pull forward, straighten out and, repeat, learning from your mistakes.

If there are obstacles or dangers near the trailer it is imperative to have an observer with a 2-way radio to communicate with.

There have been dents, scratches, and bad feelings about damaging your rig while backing. It truly is a pain while backing alone to get out and in the TV to keep checking where the trailer is located while backing alone.

Here’s a learning aid: place your hands on the bottom of the steering wheel and move your hands to the left if you need the rear of the trailer to go to the left, and move your hands right if you need the rear of the trailer to go to the right. PRACTICE is the only way.

I know the pressure will be on you when you pull up to a back-in spot and there is a crowd sitting watching. Inspect the area before starting to back in.

Get back into the rig and “do your best.” You can even ask them to help by watching closer behind the trailer.

Tell them you just need eyes not directions. Handheld radios work out well, also.

Not getting stuck This is probably the most frustrating thing you can get yourself into. A deep hole, muddy rut, or running over something that keeps your drive wheels off the ground will be a problem.

Again, the first thought you should have is to plan ahead. Don’t go off into an area that you have not researched a bit and prepared your food, water and equipment ahead of time. Remember, not getting stuck could mean a bunch of things not just losing traction to impede forward progress, but getting stuck without gas, water, food, and personal protection or first aid supplies.

In the areas you may want to go boondocking you should be aware of dragging your low-hanging gas lines, drain lines from plumbing or wiring over sticks, logs or rutted roads.

The sides of your trailer and the trailer top is a good thing to be aware of, also. Dragging the doors, locks, handles, and air conditioner off your trailer miles off the road is something to keep in mind.

If your trailer has “surge brakes” (the hydraulic brakes that uses the weight of the stopping trailer to help stop your rig), you should be aware of situations that might keep you from physically backing your trailer.

You would know if your trailer has surge brakes by a master cylinder located on the tongue of the trailer and a mechanical hinge setup that allows the trailer to move forward and back enough to actuate and assist the stopping rig.

Backing up a hill with “surge brakes” will push the trailer against the tow vehicle like when stopping. This is only mentioned because of personal experience with a pop-up camper in the wilderness.

Remember, if you have weight distribution bars on your trailer and no fourwheel drive, before you try to get out of a possible low traction situation, loosen or remove the bars. This will put the load on your drive wheels to help you get traction and get out of the low traction situation.

Take it easy, even if you have a Jeep or a four-wheel drive, you can and will

get stuck in the right conditions. Remember, towing a trailer puts a strain on forward motion especially if the ground is soft. The tires sink into the road and will take more TV traction and power to overcome the drag.

If you are going “off road” be prepared with rope, chain, traction mats, leveling blocks, winch, or come-along (lever tool). If you haven’t done anything like this before, use the equipment for practice BEFORE you need it.

You can also get handheld radios to help with the navigation. One person goes ahead on the road and checks out the rout then calls the driver to follow, giving hazard signs ahead.

Fuel/power You should always be aware of the fuel usage wether you are driving, cooking or just enjoying campfires.

It would make you upset running out of fuel for your TV if you were out in the “boonies.” It would also be inconvenient running out of propane to cook or heat your rig, so keep an eye on the weather.

One more thing you should be aware of is the battery usage. Electricity is used by your battery whenever: the lights are used in your trailer; radio or stereo is used; cell phones are charged; furnace is used; refrigerator is turned on; computers are used; or vent fans

are used. Keeping the voltage above 11.9 volts is 50 percent of your battery and when you reach this stage, your battery will sustain some recharging problems.

There is also parasitic (small) drain of the battery from the propane gas detector, CO 2 detector, and monitoring systems. If there is not a volt meter available that can be monitored, get one. A meter is the best way to keep up with your system’s battery condition.

Always check the water level in batteries. Some batteries need to be monitored periodically for the proper depth of electrolyte covering the cells inside.

Always use distilled water to top off your battery.

If you have a generator you should perform maintenance on it as well.

Check and change oil, check air filters, and carry a spare spark plug.

Solar collectors are very useful when camping out of the woods where it is sunny. Portable solar chargers can be moved to track the sun, thus giving an extra amount of volts to charge the battery.

Water No matter where you go it is necessary to be prepared (like a Boy Scout).

Water is the first and most important item to take along.

You can’t go too long without water

and remember the weight in your rig.

Water weighs 8.34 pounds times the number of gallons.

If you know that you will not be using much water while traveling to a remote camping spot. Why carry 35 gallons or 292 extra pounds all the way to your site? Try to find a suitable potable water source close to your camping spot to fill up.

Be careful of the water usage once you have set up camp in a remote site.

Water goes quickly using it for flushing toilets, washing dishes, hands, or cleaning chores.

Don’t let the water run while brushing teeth or rinsing dishes. Try to use all the water as many times as possible.

At the time the dishes are done, use a pan in the sink and use the soapy water for flushing the toilet. Be creative.

Waste/solid-liquid While camping you should be aware of all the trash you generate. Try to remove the cardboard, plastic, and wrapping that you might not use for your fire starting procedures before you leave on your trip.

Crush plastic bottles, aluminum and steel cans to pack out and recycle. Remember, burning plastic forks, bottles, and anything not made from wood may not be good for the environment.

The liquids that are gray water may not be permissible to dump, so check with the authorities. Other types of waste, like human waste, can be taken out in your black tank and dumped in a proper facility.

There are other methods like composting toilets that are also used with great success. Plan ahead!

(Part two of “boondocking” will appear in the August issue of the River Hills Traveler. Bob Brennecke lives in Ballwin, Mo., and can be reached at robertbrennecke@hotmail.com.)

AROUND the WORLD with the River Hills Traveler

"My husband (Chuck) and I have been traveling, recently returning from a trip to New Zealand and Australia," said DiDi Kinnison, of August, Mo. "We took a 10-day cruise through all of New Zealand then spent four, fun-filled amazing days touring the city of Sydney Australia.

We chose the Sydney Opera House for a photo with the River Hills Traveler. It is one of the most recognizable structures in the world and is incredible, something to see if you have an opportunity."

——— 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) 456-3798 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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July 2018 • Page 11A

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Restoring the ecosystem in the St. Francois Mountains

I

By Becky Ewing am not a geologist, but I have become fascinated with the St. Francois Mountains that are found on the Potosi-Fredericktown Ranger District.

This mountain range is relatively small in that it is mostly contained within the counties of Iron, Madison, Reynolds, St. Francois, and Washington.

The St. Francois Mountains were formed by volcanic activity over one billion years ago, making them much older than the Appalachians and Rockies.

They are generally forest-covered with outcrops of rhyolite and granite bedrock.

The tallest peak is 1,772-foot Taum Sauk Mountain, which also happens to be the highest elevation in Missouri.

What I find most interesting about these mountains are the glades that occur as openings within the forest.

Glades are open, rocky, barren areas with shallow soils that support unique communities of drought-adapted plants and animals, including species that are endangered.

These special places often provide scenic, wondrous views of neighboring mountains.

Glades are threatened by red cedar and hardwood invasion that started after overgrazing and fire suppression occurred decades ago.

The growth of trees shade out the rocky areas and negatively affect growing conditions for the plants and animals adapted to glades.

The other threat is the feral hog. The hogs can actually destroy glades when they dig up the shallow soils and sensitive plants looking for food – recovery of the glades may not ever be possible when this happens.

We have been actively working over the last three years to restore glade and open woodland communities on Johnson Mountain, located just east of Council Bluff Lake.

Johnson Mountain is the 10th highest peak in the St. Francois Mountains, at 1,644 feet.

Like other glade communities in this area, those on Johnson Mountain have been negatively affected by an invasion of cedar and other hardwoods.

Mark Twain National Forest’s supervisor, Sherri Schwenke, and her staff recently traveled from the headquarters office in Rolla, Mo., to view the Johnson Mountain restoration work completed by employees from the Potosi and Salem ranger stations.

Restoration strategies have involved the use of prescribed fire; cutting and dropping cedars and hardwoods in and around the glades followed by prescribed fire; or cutting, felling and chipping trees to clear the glades.

The plants responded quickly once the sunlight was restored in the rocky glade areas, but we also found that hardwood trees, especially oaks, resprout quickly.

Our experience leads us to believe frequent use of prescribed fire may be key in restoring the glades once the woody material is thinned and/or removed.

Use of prescribed fire will also help to restore open woodland communities around and between the glades, which are used by various animals to travel between the rocky areas.

Schwenke was impressed with the work so far, and she encouraged the

employees to continue their efforts.

“Restoring glades is incredibly labor intensive because we cannot take machinery into the sensitive, rocky areas,” admitted Schwenke.

“But, this work is important in order for us and our neighbors and partner agencies to restore an unique ecosystem on which so many plants and animals depend.”

(Becky Ewing is the district ranger for the Mark Twain National Forest, Potosi-Fredericktown Ranger District.

She can be reached by email at rewing@fs.fed.us.)

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Who is your hero?

A

bout once a month I read an article about someone who meant the world to the person writing the piece.

All too often these words and sentiments are written and published after the person has passed on.

I would like to take a couple of minutes to recognize a man who shaped my life while he is still around to enjoy it.

My childhood was very near perfect. I tell people I grew up like Beaver Cleaver. Mom and Dad were both college graduates with great jobs.

I mention this because in the late ‘50’s and early ‘60’s Mike Roux that was pretty un———— usual for a small town in SE Missouri.

The man who taught me to deer hunt and fish was very busy raising a family.

But he somehow always found time for us to spend many weekends a year in field and on the stream.

It is important that I bring up streams because fishing for rainbow and brown trout in the crystal clear Ozark Mountain streams was one of our favorite things to do.

State parks like Montauk and Bennett Springs were great weekend camping destinations. We would regularly take our morning’s catch of trout and get them in the smoker so they would be ready and perfect for supper.

This man also taught me the fine art of snagging spoonbill catfish below the dam at Clearwater Lake. They were some of the biggest I had ever seen or

caught at that time.

These prehistoric looking monsters were also extremely tasty the way he prepared them.

Other fishing adventures took us to Courtois Creek. There I learned the very specific ways to catch big smallmouth bass and goggle-eye.

Again, when this gentleman put knife to fish and then fish to pan, the results were amazing.

This very generous man also knew his way around the deer woods. He taught me marksmanship with a .30.30. He taught me to track and read sign. We spent hours scouting and planning for opening day each season.

And, as always, the reward at the end was a great venison meal and even greater fellowship.

But this fella taught me much more than just hooks and bullets. This great man taught me how a real man acts. He not only showed me how to respect nature, but more importantly how to respect and treat my fellow man.

He led by example and stressed respect for women and for my elders.

Time and time again he corrected me when I fell short of his expectations of me. For that, I am very grateful.

One of the most critical lessons I learned from this guy was watching his concern for those less fortunate than us.

His wife was a teacher of mentally handicapped kids and he would welcome them into his home with open arms and a huge heart. He was an awesome friend to them.

Without a doubt the thing I am most grateful to this man for is the love of Jesus Christ that he instilled in me from a very early age.

I can remember when he was Sunday School director at his church and how he encouraged everyone to share in the

Mike and Glen Roux continue to share time together even now that they are both a bit older.

The author’s father, Glen Roux, was instrumental in making his son a professional outdoorsman.

Good News.

His character is above reproach and his compassion for others is second-tonone. He served our country in the Army and continues to be very proud of his service in the 1st Armored Division. He even had a son born at Fort Polk, Louisiana, during his time in the Army.

He served his community in a couple of crucial capacities. For decades he was the chief of his town’s volunteer

fire department. Later he was elected to the county ambulance board and served there for several decades.

With all of this being said about this man who shaped my life, gave to me unselfishly and made sure I grew up to be a man of integrity and character, I have but this to say to him right now: Thank you, Dad. I love you more than you even know.

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

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RiverHillsTraveler.com

A tent-camping Ozark adventure — in a cabin

L

ong before weather apps and smartphones, there were windshields. And when I looked through my windshield it said a chance of rain with cloud cover.

It was one of those rare trips where I had no dog, so it was just me.

Three hours into the trip I began to see bad weather off to the west. Having not much choice I took shelter in an old cabin that I knew about.

The cabin sits up on a hill and in the woods but still overlooked the river and bottoms across the river.

The porch to the Richard old cabin is half Whiteside fallen in and all the ———— windows were gone.

I knew the old cabin was there but had never been in it.

I jumped up on the porch and went inside the old cabin and to my surprise, there was enough room to put my tent.

Having barely enough time to run back down to my canoe and grab my pack before the storm hit, I made a run for it.

Just as the wall of rain hit I threw my pack up on the porch. Satisfied that this would work, I sat back and enjoyed the sound of the rain on the old tin roof and watched the limbs and leaves floating downriver from the bad storm, at the same time being dang glad I was sitting where I was.

I had decided that because I was on the floor of an old cabin with no doors

or windows that it was the same as a tent, so I made the decision to just lay my mat out on the floor in front of the rock fireplace.

Having less camp chores I rested for a couple hours. As I was about to fall asleep for a nap I felt what I could only describe as a hand lay on my shoulder.

I was leaning up against one of the porch poles that supported the roof. I nearly fell off the porch down to the ground.

Not quite understanding what had just happened, I decided to build a fire, only thing was, it was dark, and had just stopped raining.

Twenty minutes later after wallering around in the dark I had an arm-full of wood. I had fire starter but no flashlight.

The entire time I felt like someone was watching me, so I decided to put my tent up on the floor and sleep inside of it for good measure.

The tent I had required staking, or a few rocks, and being on the floor I had no choice but to gather some rocks big enough to cause tension to my tent.

Quickly I went out and gathered some and my tent went up. One last time I went out to get a few more sticks and when I came back in with the last bundle of sticks, I stopped in my tracks.

The rocks I had just gathered were gone and my tent now lay on the floor.

I grabbed my shotgun!

I just stood there in the corner with my back up against the wall holding my gun.

When the sticks that I threw on the fire caught, the room lit up and when it

PARK from 1A “Our prices are priced appropriately seeing as we are the only location that has a full legal sewer system on the Current River,” said Brenda.

“We are the only ones pumped in with the city sewer system and soon that will become a big deal,” said Mike.

After 25 sites have been sold, the campground will shut down and the plans for the gate to be built will begin.

People who purchase sites will have full deeded ownership to put whatever camper, RV, or tents on it that they would like.

“We do not allow any permanent structures to be built on the lots, but we are allowing pavilions to be built if people desire,” said Mike.

There are only four miles of private river access on the Current River and the Mays own half a mile of that, which is about 50 acres.

“The rest of it is owned by the government, so this is really a great opportunity,” said Mike.

The lots are within walking distance and have easy access to the river. Purchasing these lots would be just like purchasing any other property, the Mays said.

Those who buy lots will be responsible for paying property taxes. There is also financing available to those interested.

For more information, call Mike or Brenda at (573) 323-4000 or (573) 778-2551.

did I could see my rocks, stacked by the wall.

I wasn’t liking this at all. In a frenzy I grabbed the rocks and set my tent back up and climbed in with my gun laying beside me.

I finally fell asleep while!listening to the distant rumblings of the storm that was making its way east.

Sometime late in the night I woke up to something. Footsteps! In one of the back rooms I heard what sounded like the door of a cabinet slowly opening and suddenly closed.

I grabbed my shotgun and sat up in the tent. The footsteps came closer to the door of the room I had my tent in, and stopped at the door.

I sat there holding my breath and listened intently. I could hear my heart beat through my open mouth so much that I closed my mouth.

What seemed like close to 10 minutes I sat still as a mouse and all at once the heavy footsteps could be heard walking away and back out of the old cabin and into the woods.

Early the next morning I woke up still holding my shotgun and I noticed the front of my tent had collapsed.!

My tent was a North Face 2-man lenticular which just doesn’t collapse very easily. I knew instantly that my two rocks that created tension for my tent to properly work were gone.

At first light I unzipped the tent and stepped out and sitting neatly by the door were the two rocks that were for my tent.

Room to room, I crept to inspect my surroundings. Feeling like the coast was clear I decided to gather some

limbs to start a fire in the old fireplace.

I walked out back where I had stumbled around the night before and was startled and somewhat shaken at what I found.

Right where I was looking for firewood and rocks for my tent in the middle of the dark night was a hole in the ground.

It was the one spot that I did not walk.

It was the mouth of the cistern. A cistern is a system that homesteaders used to collect rainwater off the root of the cabin.

The rainwater is funneled into a giant hole in the ground that is shaped somewhat like a bowling pin and nearly 20 feet deep.

Years ago it wasn’t an unheard of thing for a story to circulate across the Ozarks of a person that fell to their death in an old well or cistern.

If I had fallen into the old well it would have been a long time before I would have been found, whether dead or alive.

Searches would not have seen my canoe!from the river. My canoe was scotched at the head of the slough safely out of site and far enough up in the woods so as to not wash away from a rising river.

So, there is the story of the cabin in the woods.

You can call that an Ozark adventure but I’ll call it a close one.

(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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FOREST from 1A run, hunt, fish and picnic at Shawnee National Forest.

Check out these five spots, all within a short drive of each other.

Garden of the Gods This is the most Instagrammed spot on the forest.

People flock to Garden of the Gods to see its jawdropping rock formations — such as Camel Rock and Devil’s Smokestack.

Easily the most photographed location on the forest, this is the place to be photographed. Its flagstone trail makes hiking easy. Pack a lunch for the picnic area, or venture into the wilderness.

Its location along the Ohio River National Scenic Byway makes it an ideal stop for those who prefer to explore by car – not foot.

Rim Rock Hike through Fat Man’s Squeeze and a lush, cool canyon.

Hidden below Rim Rock is a canyon that is one of the most interesting places on Shawnee National Forest. Descend from the trail between huge slabs of rock – known as Fat Man’s Squeeze — and reach an enormous rock overhang that forms Ox-lot Cave.

This is where European settlers once sheltered livestock.

The cool canyon offers respite on a hot summer day and sports a diversity of plants and animals.

If a cool dip is what you seek, then this trail ends at Pounds Hollow, No. 3 on our list.

Pounds Hollow Take a refreshing dip. Looking for a basecamp from which to explore Shawnee National Forest?

Pounds Hollow campground may be your spot.

Its campground and lake are tucked among Illinois’ hills, making it an ideal place to relax and get away.

Pounds Hollow swimming beach and picnic destination.

Constructed in the early 1940s, the lake is a popular place to swim, camp, fish and hike. So, after cooling off in the lake, grab a fishing pole and enjoy.

Iron Furnace Get your history on, then snorkel in the stream.

Check out Illinois’ only remaining iron furnace structure, where iron once was manufactured using the charcoal blast method.

Afterward, head to Big Creek. Its clear waters are a great place to snorkel with kids. They will delight in its tiny fish and rocks.

Bell Smith Springs Rocks, water and birds – oh my! Nature geeks should head over to Bell Smith Springs – one of the most biologically diverse places on Shawnee National Forest.

It’s a haven for migrating songbirds, such as scarlet tanager or white-eyed vireo. Visit in the springtime when wildflowers flourish among a backdrop of massive sandstone bluffs.

Bell Smith Springs is beloved for its clear, rocky streams, scenic canyons and sandstone cliffs.

It features strange and wonderful rock formations, such as Devil’s Backbone and Boulder Falls. Hike its eight miles of interconnected trails, and check out its natural rock bridge.

Safety in the Outdoors Planning and being prepared for outdoor activities should be part of getting ready for a trip to the Shawnee National Forest.

Simple tips like obtaining maps, letting someone at home know where you will be, packing proper clothing and footwear and learning potential hazards, are only a few outdoor safety tips to follow.

For details on what you should ‘Know Before You Go’ visit: www.fs.fed.us/visit/know-before-you-go.

Bell Smith Springs

About Shawnee National Forest Shawnee National Forest is one of 155 national forests nationwide. As the only national forest in Illinois, the Shawnee offers numerous avenues for con-

necting with the natural world through its 280,000 acres of varied landscape.

Whether your interests lie more in outdoor recreational activities, such as hiking or camping, or include learning about the unique natural and cultural heritage of southern Illinois, the fields, forests and streams of the Shawnee welcome everyone.

The Last Resort

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

Explore the Ozarks by day and relax in the comfort of a cozy home by night!

July 2018 • Page 15A

RiverHillsTraveler.com

HOUSE from 1A inherited the property from our grandparents in 2006,” said Reishus.

The sisters rented the house out for a year and after that, decided to make it a vacation rental, so they could come and stay there as well.

“We both are from Dallas, so we like to come up here when we can, and with the house being a vacation rental, we are able to stay here,” said Reishus.

Reishus was a flight attendant with American Airlines at the time of inheriting the farmhouse, and now is a realtor in Dallas while Hawkins is a flight attendant with Delta Airlines.

In 2010, the house underwent a total renovation but kept all the old doors and several pieces of furniture that belonged to family members over the years.

“We tried to keep several things to show and preserve the history of the house,” said Reishus.

The house is a year-round rental and is listed on several different websites as well as Facebook and its own website — www.littlesugarfarmhouse.com.

“Our busiest time of the year is definitely in the summer. Summers are great, we get a lot of repeat people and we really get to know them,” said Reishus.

The rates to book Little Sugar Farmhouse are $225 per night for four people plus $20 every person after that. There is a $225 deposit fee, a $50 cleaning fee and the rental is a two-night stay minimum.

Little Sugar Farmhouse attracts people from Texas, St. Louis, Kansas City, Tulsa, Fayetteville, as well as locals from Bella Vista, Ark., and the McDonald County (Mo.) area.

“The area is really growing around here and we are really wanting to expand our house rental into the retreats world and offer more than just a rental house,” said Reishus.

The house sits on 376 acres and a cattle rancher leases out part of it, but the acreage is a prime location to host retreats throughout the year.

“We would like to do couples retreats, churches, businesses, girls, arts,

women’s, and spiritual retreats,” said Reishus. “I seem to be drawn more to women in the late 20s to early 50s age, so I think that will be my target area on the retreats.”

Reishus handles the clients and bookings from Dallas while Hawkins handles the housecare billing, also from Dallas.

And since, Reishus and Hawkins do not live in the area, Melissa Nichols is the house caretaker for them.

“Melissa is fabulous, we brought her on earlier this year and she cleans the house, takes care of the customers... she is just amazing,” said Reishus.

The house features 10 beds, which can hold up to 20 people, and is furnished with every amenity needed during the stay.

“I have pots, pans, spices, linens, a washer and dryer, and anything you would need on your stay,” said Reishus.

Reishus is also open to allowing campers, RVs, and tent camping to go on outside the house if a large group wants to stay.

“I am a pretty flexible person and will work with people as the situation comes up,” said Reishus. “I tweak things as they come along, but that’s just how it is.”

The house also includes a large custom-built fire pit, free WiFi, and private creek access.

Pets, however, are not allowed at the house because of the cleaning fee.

“If I allowed pets, I would have to charge more for pet cleaning and I don’t want to do that, I don’t want to raise my prices,” said Reishus.

“Most of the money made on the rental goes right back into the house through repairs, bills, re-stocking and things like that.”

Little Sugar Farmhouse is a very family-oriented business and has several families that stay with them throughout the year.

“We are trying to uphold the reputation that our grandparents had in the community,” said Reishus.

In addition to expanding into retreats, Nichols has a friend, Katherine O’Leary-

Cole, that is a chef and owns The Natural Table, creating campfire dinner experiences while cooking over an open fire.

“We would love to bring her here to do something like that at one of our retreats.

We think that would be very neat for people,” said Reishus.

Reishus’s favorite thing about what she does with the Little Sugar Farmhouse is that she can preserve her heritage and history.

“I can come here and experience all the history and keep what our ancestors had alive,” said Reishus.

Her hardest thing is the distance, and not being able to do the things she needs to do there.

“I am planning on moving closer next year, but there are things I need to stay in Dallas to finish right now,” said Reishus. “I want to develop this a lot more and have several plans right now, and am hoping to get rolling on them next year.”

Nichols’ presence, though, has allowed Reishus and Hawkins to be in Dallas.

“I feel like me being here has helped with them not being able to,” said Nichols.

In addition to being the caretaker, Nichols also owns her own guide and shuttle service for Little Sugar Creek.

“I do guided fishing tours, as well as offer a shuttle service for kayakers,” said

Nichols. “We have blue ribbon quality fishing here in Little Sugar Creek with awesome smallmouth bass.”

Little Sugar Creek is catch-and-release only, and Nichols does several smallmouth and fly fishing tours as well.

“It is a great destination for fishing,” said Nichols.

To get more information about guides and the shuttle service Nichols offers, check out her Facebook page. Search Sugar Creek Kayak Bass Fishing Guide & Shuttle.

For more information about Little Sugar Farmhouse, or to book a trip there, check our their Facebook page, Little Sugar Farmhouse, or website at littlesugarfarmhouse.com.

“We are very proud and fond of our little farmhouse of history, and hope you come stay and enjoy it, too,” said Reishus.

Enjoy the Ozarks!

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Page 2B • July 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Bohigian Conservation Area: a unique gem in the Ozarks

T

he Missouri Department of Conservation has hundreds of designated conservation areas that it administers throughout the state.

The administrative responsibilities for these areas are divided into eight regions. One of those regions is the “Ozark Region” and within that region alone are 104 conservation areas.

Some are well-known; others, not so much. One little-known conservation area that is a unique gem and that deserves special mention is the Bohigian Conservation Area, located in south-central Missouri near the town of Newburg in Phelps County.

This conservation area is located in the Mill Creek drainage that ultimately flows into Little Piney Creek. I have been told that there may be as many as five “Mill Creeks” in Missouri but this one is much different than the oth- Bill Hoagland ———— ers.

This Mill Creek is a spring-fed “Blue Ribbon” trout stream and is one of the few streams in Missouri that has wild, self-sustaining rainbow trout rather than hatchery trout.

The story of how Mill Creek got these trout in the first place is a story in itself. These trout in Mill Creek are believed to be descendants of “McCloud River redband trout.”

In the 1870s, the U.S. government initiated a program to introduce trout from the West Coast to various streams in the Midwest and East Coast.

To do this, so-called “aqua trains” were commissioned to transport fertilized fish eggs extracted from trout caught in the upper reaches of the McCloud River in California to various locations in the Midwest and East Coast.

These trains wold be loaded with fertilized fish eggs placed in wooden barrels, milk jugs and other containers and kept alive until reaching their destination, whereupon the eggs and hatched fry would be released in the designated stream.

Obviously, the streams that were to receive these eggs and fry had to be located near railroad tracks.

Fortunately for us, the confluence of Mill Creek and Little Piney Creek is adjacent to a major railroad

line running between St. Louis and Springfield and that is why Mill Creek was one of about four Missouri streams seeded with McCloud River redband trout.

This seeding occurred sometime between 1890 and 1930, although the exact dates are not clear. The important thing is that the trout placed in Mill Creek survived the trip, they became self-sustaining and they are still there to this day. (More about the trout in Mill Creek later.)

The history of how the Mill Creek valley became settled is another interesting story. It was first populated with Native Americans and later by settlers moving west.

Many of the settlers in the Mill Creek valley arrived shortly after the Civil War and they appear to

Please see GEM, 3B

July 2018 • Page 3B

RiverHillsTraveler.com

GEM from 2B have come primarily from Kentucky and Tennessee.

One such family was the Yelton family, who set up a homestead on the banks of Mill Creek and began farming. In 1869, they built a log cabin on the property that they were homesteading. This log cabin was unique for several reasons. First of all, it had a second story, which was most unusual in those days.

Secondly, it was positioned so that it would receive rays from the morning sun to warm it up and it was cooled by the mist of a nearby spring in the evening.

Members of the Yelton family or their descendants lived in this cabin for the next one hundred years. They did not have electricity in the Mill Creek valley until 1947 and life in the valley was hard, particularly during the depression. The cabin held a lot of people from time to time, including many displaced non-family members whom the Yeltons allowed to stay with them during the hard times.

In 1981, the property, cabin and an adjoining 120 acres were put up for sale. This acreage included three spring-fed ponds that by that time were stocked with bass and bluegill, plus one of the largest fens in Missouri and over one mile of frontage on Mill Creek.

Fortunately for everyone concerned, the property was purchased by Dr. George Bohigian, a board-certified ophthalmologist practicing in the St. Louis area.

Dr. Bohigian is a unique individual.

He is exceedingly modest and personable, but despite his easygoing demeanor, he has been very focused for more than 50 years on his profession and his patients.

Among other accomplishments, Dr. Bohigian has consistently been listed in various publications as one of the best ophthalmologists in the St. Louis area for years and he has authored or co-authored more than 60 articles in various medical publications regarding diseases of the eye.

Today, he is professor of clinical ophthalmology in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the Washington University School of Medicine.

Dr. Bohigian is also an avid outdoorsman and nature lover. Back when he was looking for a place to buy in the Ozarks, he just wanted a place off the beaten track where he and his family could go to enjoy nature and spend quiet time together in the outdoors.

Among other interests, he enjoyed

fishing for trout with a fly rod and was intrigued by the fact that if he bought the Yelton property, he could have three stocked ponds and private trout water at his back door.

He also had a deep appreciation for the history of the Mill Creek valley and for that reason, he and his family decided to leave the Yelton cabin intact and to use it as their home away from home.

As time went on, Dr. Bohigian acquired more property that adjoined the original 120 acres that he had purchased in 1981. Improvements were made to the cabin by adding a garage and living quarters at the south end of the cabin for a caretaker.

By 2000, Dr. Bohigian owned approximately 440 contiguous acres. But time moves on, and in Dr. Bohigian’s case, his children were graduated from college so he, his wife and children decided they would try to find an entity to take over the property to keep the historic log cabin and the pristine property intact.

After a lot of thought, and deciding in part that they wanted the public to enjoy what they had enjoyed for the past 25 years, rather than selling the property to someone who would keep that part of Mill Creek for themselves, the Bohigians decided in 2007 to enter into a donation/sale arrangement with the Missouri Department of Conservation.

This, of course, included what had been more than a mile of “private water” on Mill Creek. Those of us who have spent time trout fishing in Montana know that “private water” on a trout stream is a coveted trophy. (In

Montana, Ted Turner on the Ruby River and Tom Brokaw on the West Fork of the Boulder River guard their “private water” like a dog with a bone.)

That is why we trout fishermen can particularly appreciate the significance of donating “private water” so that the pubic can enjoy it.

And that is exactly what Dr. Bohigian did.

But there is another unique aspect to Dr. Bohigian’s donation and this relates to the fact that before he want to medical school, he was a school teacher.

It is often said that ”once a teacher, always a teacher,” and that certainly applies to Dr. Bohigian.

Under his agreement with the Department of Conservation, he and his family retained the right to use the cabin and an adjoining ten acres (including the three ponds) for an additional ten years.

But beginning in 2017, these ten acres, including the cabin, were transferred to the Department of Conservation on the express condition that these ten acres and cabin would be for the exclusive use of the Missouri University of Science and Technology (MS&T) as a biological research center and field station.

It was the vision of Chris Bohigian,

Dr. Bohigian’s wife, that this could be the platform for longterm education and research in the area of environmental sciences.

According to Dr. Stephen Roberts, dean of the College of Arts, Sciences and Business at Missouri S&T, the school has already hired the founding director for the field station, they have already won a planning grant from the National Science Foundation and they have become a member institution of the Organization of Biological Field Stations. The subjects that will be taught at the field station will include biology, geology, hydrology, engineering and chemistry.

If you want to see the Bohigian Conservation Area for yourself, it is located on Forest Service Road #7550, just off of County Road P, southwest of Newburg. There are two parking lots for fly fishermen at each end of the property and these lots allow for easy access to Mill Creek.

There are also hiking trails on the property with plenty of opportunity for birdwatching and other outdoor activities. If you are planning on wading in the creek, remember that felt soles are prohibited.

And as for the trout in Mill Creek, this is a “Blue Ribbon” trout stream, and under the applicable rules, you can only keep one fish over 18 inches.

Most of the trout in Mill Creek are generally in the five- to nine-inch range but occasionally someone will catch a trout in excess of 18 inches. Catching an 18-inch trout in Mill Creek will definitely be a rare moment.

Our thanks go to Dr. Bohigian and his family for sharing this interesting property with the rest of us.

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

Page 4B • July 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Highway made of wood

T

he River Hills Traveler readers who will use Highway 32 this year to travel from Ste. Genevieve to Farmington will be traveling on a section of highway whose history had a direct effect on the growth of the surrounding towns and the mining industry which contributed to the growth of Missouri. This stretch of highway is just one section of the famous plank road that ran from the riverfront town of Ste. Genevieve to the mining community of Pilot Knob, Missouri.

The transportation of the lead ore from the mines, along with agriculture products that the farms produced, were hauled by mule, horse or ox carts and wagons.

At this time the roads were dirt and every time it rained it created a muddy mess which slowed deliveries and also created a hazard for the teamsters.

To solve this problem a group of citizens from the Bill Wakefield counties of St. ———— Genevieve, Madison, St. Francois and Perry had a meeting in April of 1851 for the purpose of taking into consideration the advantages!and practicability of constructing a plank road from St. Mary, on the Mississippi River, to the towns of Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob.

Plank roads are usually constructed of oak or pine timbers which are approximately 8 feet long and 2 inches thick and placed a few inches apart.

In 1851 construction began on a plank road between Iron Mountain and Ste. Genevieve and it would take two years to complete at a total cost of $200,000.

To help pay for the new plank road a toll was established. Round trips cost 25 cents per wagonload, or 10 cents for a person on horseback at each of five tolls.

Two toll booths were in Farmington and two more located in Doe Run. An interesting story was published in the “Putnam’s Monthly, Volume 3” in January to June, 1854.

Part of the article describes the author’s travel on the plank road: “In the first twenty miles, we met more than fifty teams, loaded with pig and bloom iron, after which we ceased to count them, though they continued as abundant to the end of our journey.

“The wagons are generally drawn by four or six mules, though sometimes by oxen, and they had an average of 1,000 pounds to each mule, though often much more.

“The wagoners are allowed twenty cents per hundred for hauling to Ste. Genevieve, and they accomplish the journey there and back in three days.”

This plank road also played a major role during the Civil War. In the Morning Report of Company C, 31st Missouri Infantry Regiment, it states “November 27th; Marched from Camp at Pilot Knob to Camp Simpson on the road to Sainte Genevieve. Distance 9 miles.”

They marched upon the plank road until they arrived in Ste. Genevieve, where they boarded the Steamboat

Northerner at the Ste. Genevieve landing on December 1, 1862.

Early in the Civil War, the troops were sent to Pilot Knob via the St. Louis Iron Mountain Railroad, where they were stationed for a period of time.

Pilot Knob was the end of the line of the railroad. In 1862, Fort Davidson was built and was situated to guard the railroad hub located in Pilot Knob.

Fort Davidson soon became the 3rd Military District headquarters. Ste. Genevieve was located in the 3rd Military District.

Throughout the war, many regiments would travel the plank road from Pilot Knob to Ste. Genevieve and board the boats on their way south.

When the railroad finally came to the area the plank road became obsolete. In 1902 Farmington bought out its section of the road and made it toll-free. Two years later, it was closed and replaced with a crushed rock road.

Today, State Route 32 runs where the old plank road was located. Each day hundreds of automobiles with thousands of passengers travel between Iron Mountain and Ste. Genevieve using the

same route that the wood plank road followed.

In order to preserve the history of the plank road, the Daughters of the American Revolution, along with the Daughters of American Colonists, erected a marker along the route through Farmington on Highway 32 noting the location of a toll gate along the plank road.

The marker is located at Long Park off Ste. Genevieve Avenue in Farmington. During the presentation, Deedra Von Fange gave a history of the plank road, noting it was one the longest and

most famous of the wooden plank roads built in the nation.

“The most famous plank road ever built in the entire nation was hammered down right here in this part of the country,” Jon Cozean said during a presentation to the Farmington City Council. “The plank road is well remembered and never forgotten.”

He also mentioned that it was one of the longest and most successful plank roads built. It ran through the center of town and played a major role in the growth of the Mineral Area, particularly in Farmington.

“At some point, a portion of the sidewalk in the area of the marker in Farmington will be recreated to look like the plank road,” said Cozean.

On display at the Ste. Genevieve Museum is a piece of the original plank road and the Seal Press of the Sainte Genevieve Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob Plank Road Company.

Information and historical background for the plank road was furnished by Deedra Von Fange and Nancy Cozean of Farmington, and Shawnna Robinson, managing editor of the Farmington Press.

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

July 2018 • Page 5B

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Huzzah Creek Valley from Pines Overlook, Red Bluff area

H

By Becky Ewing ere is an update on the Red Bluff Campground Road relocation project.!The Forest Service contracting officer uploaded a pre-solicitation notice into the Federal Business Opportunities website May 10.!

This is a website that announces contract opportunities with the federal government.!Mark Twain National Forest engineers believe the contract will be officially opened to bids in June.!

Breaking ground to construct the new campground loop roads could begin as early as late-summer or fall.

Constructing the new campground loop roads is the first phase of the project.!When the Forest Service obtains funding for the new camping spurs and amenities, such as shower buildings and electric, then that work will begin in earnest.!

The Lower and Upper campground loops will remain open to camping until the new camping loops are ready for use.!This will be a multiple-year project.!

The Forest Service still intends to reach out to campers and other visitors to discuss plans for floodplain restoration and day use activities where the Upper and Lower loops are located.!

Once the engineers have completed the flood inundation map, outreach will begin on this secondary phase of the project.

My mother was definitely not a camper, but we tried

W

orld War II was over. Rationing of gas was over.

Nothing was more appealing than the open road and getting out of town.

My baby brother was two, I was six, Mother and Daddy were about 32 which struck me as the age people were just before they died.

I had already decided I would probably die at 36.

It seemed they thought it was time to take a vacation so Daddy came home with a cute little thing he called a “camper.”

Jeff and I loved it Judy Smith as it was the perfect ———— playhouse. Its covering was a dark blue faux leather with a chrome strip half-way up on which mother painted a thin red racing stripe.

We were allowed to play in it while mother ironed and packed and ironed and packed. Wrinkle-free clothes had not been invented.

On the decided day, and after a big struggle with something called the trailer hitch, the four of us set out riding in the car and pulling the camper.

Mother told Jeff and me to tear up bits of paper to throw out the window like Hansel and Gretel had done so we could find our way home. (Now, you know there was no climate control to

the car and nothing high tech to entertain the children.)

We stopped somewhere for the night as we were en route to Florida touring antebellum homes of Civil War plantations along the way.

There was a great struggle parking the car and “leveling” the trailer. It was very dark and Jeff and I were soon asleep.

Next morning, Mother woke us very early to get back into the car, and we left this place before breakfast. Daddy had parked us in a gypsy camp and Mom was scared to death of gypsies.

(Now I am wondering what happened to all the gypsies because I remember them being around when I was little and we lived in the country.)

Anyway, the next night and the rest of the trip, we checked into motels and read comic books after supper in the trailer but slept in the motel cabins.

Now such places are hard to find and

are “historic” when you do. I think “motel” is a contraction of Motor and Hotel.

When we got to Florida, little brother came down with the measles and we had to stay at the motel a few days.

Daddy was not one to sit in a motel and TV had not been invented, so Daddy took the car with the trailer hooked on and went out for the day.

When he returned he had a different “camper,” a shiny silver one.

Jeff got well enough to travel and we set out for Kentucky to visit people who had lived with us while the gentleman was stationed at Camp Crowder.

He had offered Mother that if his wife and he could live with us, his wife would help Mother with the housework. Mother had visions of having a maid.

But when the tall blond wife arrived in a white linen dress and high heels, Mother was pretty sure the wife wasn’t used to housework. Mother said I swept the kitchen better.

When we got to Kentucky, Daddy opened the new “camper” to get out Jeff’s bottle and by golly, all the cabinets had come loose from the camper walls and had all fallen forward, leaning on each other.

Now we had to stay in these people’s house, which I doubt they had planned on. But they had a party for Mother and Daddy to meet their friends, and Daddy was not too well the next morning.

Sometime, and somehow, we got home and we had our “playhouse”

back until the next summer when they decided to go to California.

Again, Mother was ironing and packing and I think it was two outfits a day for two weeks because there was no such thing as laundromats, etc.

It took four days to get where we were going, and Jeff and I again threw out the bits of paper because we really liked being home and wanted to get back.

This trip was just in the car, I think.

We stayed in a big California hotel. I remember I thought we must be in Hollywood because there was a purple satin (of taffeta) comforter on the bed.

I thought surely we were in the movies and I was a princess or maybe a very young queen.

Daddy called home to see how things were at the office, Neosho Ice Company. Well, a frog had got caught in the city water system and all the ice was ruined and only Daddy could fill the contracts for ice by buying ice from a plant in Carthage.

Therefore, we had to drive four days to get back to Neosho... and unpack all the ironed clothes.

You will not be surprised to read that we NEVER went on another vacation.

A week in summer in a cabin on Grand Lake was the furthest we ever went.

Daddy went to work all day and joined us at night.

Nope, Mother was not a camper... and actually, neither was Daddy.

(Judy Haas Smith lives in Neosho, Mo.)

Page 6B • July 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

To contemplate Aldo

I

was given this book by a dear friend as a gift. The note inside reads, “You may keep this copy if you share it.”

The book is basically the thoughts of a man. An ordinary man with an extraordinary set of eyes that he viewed the world we all live in — Doctor Aldo Leopold, “A Sand County Almanac.”

So far I must have read the book a hundred Richard times it seems.

With giddiness Whiteside I turn each ———— page as if it were the first.

I’ve come to expect my eyes to be opened further with each turn of the page, each time I pick up this book titled, “A Sand County Almanac.”

Each time I read his writings I try my best to allow my mind to go where Dr. Leopold’s mind was at the time of it’s writing.

Within the covers of this Almanac is, in my opinion, the feelings of a man that must have felt he had been born 200 years too late.

I find a familiar emotion that is hidden within each stroke of the pen. How could his heart not have been broken? How could he ever

have acquired hope before his death? If he were alive today, how would his writings read now?

To preserve and conserve seems so much more logical than to restore. I do not hold a degree in ecology, nor do I profess any advanced understanding of ecology.

I am but a child in an ever-changing environment.

My grasp at times is not firm but rather loose as the next person and yet still I feel alone in my desire to gain further understanding.

Although I feel Ill equipped to ever utter the name Leopold, I somehow feel this connection I can hardly describe.

His writings take my mind to a prairie untouched. Untouched by

the mighty hand of man. Where before advancement their was only life and death. Land management and conservation has taken me to a disappointing conclusion.

Definition of these two practices is subject to interpretation no doubt. But not among the Buffalo or the chickadee.

Watching the water flow by I see something else. Within it is land. Land that hurries its way to the ocean. I wonder as those in leadership positions with the name conservation stamped on their name tag, and as they seek out ways best to honor themselves, I wonder about Leopold.

I wonder what the man would say as he looked upon the Current River, its sediment count in the thousands, its veins clogged with gravel.

With admiration and love for the land this man wrote. He expressed through penmanship and with an articulated style of writing, what the earth would say if it could speak.

One can have little hope of fully grasping his feelings with just one read through. To understand the philosophical value of the land that he had takes time. A lot of time.

It would be nice to sit and talk with Doctor Aldo Leopold. Maybe walk with him, in Sand County.

(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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July 2018 • Page 7B

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Outdoor activities during summer’s ‘dog days’

A

hh, the dreaded month of July, the beginning of the Dog Days of Summer, days hot enough to fry an egg on the hood of your car, the month that seems to linger for eternity to the outdoorsman.

The flurry of the springtime feeding frenzy of fish is over, the morels all dried up, and fishing has slowed due to a lack of oxygen in the water from the decreased rainfall.

A lot of fish are bedding and fall hunting season seems a lifetime away.

If you’re a serious camper and you have an RV or camper set up with A/C, then camping still fulfills that longing to be out in nature, but if you’re not an avid camper the thought of a night spent sweating away in a tent full of mosquitoes doesn’t seem that appealing.

So, over many years I looked for ways to adapt and still be outside instead of propped up in my recliner, the A/C humming away Roger Smith ———— and watching outdoor channels.

I’ve spent many an evening with good friends sharpening our archery skills, as the heat doesn’t seem so hot when you’re having fun.

I picked up a few ways to occupy myself and most of them consisted of being drawn to the river, for one reason or another.

I still waded and occasionally would hook a good smallmouth or a few goggle-eye, or a mess of perch, but fishing was much slower when I started noticing other things.

As I would wander across a now above the water line gravel bar, I started seeing numerous deer tracks.

Hey I just found another method of scouting for deer season.

The trails they used to come drink

were very obvious. I started following some of the trails back to see where they led from but between the snakes, ticks and chiggers I decided to make a mental note of these trails for later.

A few hot evenings, as I was wading along hoping for that tug on the line, I noticed a lot of movement in the trees.

It seemed squirrels were also drawn to the water’s edge, perhaps the seeds and food supply was more abundant there.

So, some evenings, instead of the fishing pole, I opted for a .22 rifle and a lawn chair. You would be surprised at how many squirrels you can take via that method.

The only drawback was once you dropped a few, you got to wade across the stream, claw your way up a bank and stomp around the brush looking for your quarry while attempting to avoid the cottonmouths.

But hey, we all need a little adventure from time to time and nothing like a fresh pot of squirrel and dumplings.

I also noticed right at dark a lot of top water splashes, so I would show up 30 minutes before dark with a floating Rapala and found that to be very rewarding.

Some evenings were a bust but as they say, “Any day fishing beats a day at work.”

And, of course, there’s just something about a hot July night, spent on a gravel bar with a bucket of night crawlers.

Catfishing seems to continue on, and sometimes they would bite right at dark but other times you may sit there until midnight before they began to stir.

But you can spend that down time fighting off the water snakes that insist on coming after the bugs drawn to your lantern. Of course, if you’re a frogger they are in season and make for some

fine table fare.

I’ve spent a lot of nights fishing alone, listening to the bullfrogs, staring at the vivid constellations and finding self peace.

You hear strange crashes and splashes in the water at night that are out of view, and sometimes that 12year-old imagination kicks in and you start to envision all these creatures, then logic takes over and you realize it’s the splash of beavers, animals coming to the water’s edge to drink and your heart rate goes back to normal.

I have to tell of one particular outing.

My Uncle Bo called me and suggested we wade upstream to a gravel bar that bordered a deep hole of water, so that we did.

We waded chest deep water, making our way upstream loaded down with

our gear and trying to not drown the lantern.

We reached our destination and settled in. Fishing was sporadic but enough to keep us put.

What wasn’t sporadic were the mosquitoes, they were relentless. Well, I always kept a bottle of Avon Skin so Soft in my tackle box, as it seemed to hold them at bay pretty well.

So, I would periodically douse myself with a fresh spray down. I asked Bo if he’d like some but he replied, “No I’m not wearing women’s perfume.”

So we fished and chatted, fished and chatted, the whole while Bo was slapping, mumbling and scratching.

It had been silent a few minutes when he spoke up.

“Hey Rog, you have anymore of that bug stuff?”

I said, “You mean my perfume?”

A moment of silence, then he burst into laughter.

“Yes, I give! These things are carrying me away! Give me that perfume!”

So you see, even the worse month still offers us the ability to get out and enjoy nature.

If nature is truly calling, you can always find an excuse to get out there, or you could spend the time shopping the malls with the wife.

As for me, I attempt at all costs to avoid the latter.

In memory of Michael “Bo” Black.

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

Page 8B • July 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

July 2018 • Page 9B

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Eleven Point Canoe Rental under new ownership

By MATTIE LINK

M

mattie@sextonmediagroup.com _____________

ike and Wendy Jones, owners of Hufstedler’s Canoe Rental, recently purchased Eleven Point Canoe

Rental.

Both businesses are located in Alton, Mo. Brian Sloss, the previous owner of Eleven Point, decided to offer guide trips full-time, and the Joneses heard about his intentions before he was able to put it on the market.

“We thought it was a great idea to buy it, as they were our only real competition,” said Wendy Jones.

The Joneses have been in the canoe rental business for 20 years when they bought Hufstedler’s. According to Jones, they fell into the canoe rental business by accident.

“I had a new baby and we needed a place because we had sold our property, so we moved into a house we started renting here on Hufst-

edler’s,” said Jones. “One thing lead to another and we bought it.”

The previous owner was open year-round at the time and Mike and Wendy took over a few months after purchasing it, and once summer rolled around it was all them.

“As far as the canoeing went, we knew how to do that, and I grew up going to Circle B so I kind of knew how they picked people up and took them to the river,” said Jones.

“But we worked with the previous owner and learned everything we needed to know.”

They are technically open year-round still, but between October and March, they only do things by appointment.

Hufstedler’s currently has eight acres of primitive tent camping, three 30-amp 110-volt electric sites, houses, and a trailer house for rent, and a couple of cabins as well.

“We also have shower houses and a restaurant, and we rent kayaks, canoes, rafts, and tubes,” said Jones.

As for Eleven Point, Jones intends to keep the same name and offer the same things it always has.

“We are going to do the best we can. Still offering the same thing, canoes, kayaks, rafts, and we will also have a sleeping cabin we just finished and another house rental,” said Jones.

“We are also trying to do three or four 30amp electric sites and 20 or 30 tent sites.”

Eleven Point also came with its own parttime employee that wanted to stay, and Jones will be adding a few more part-time employees and family members to work there.

Critter of the Month: Dragonfly

• Species: Dragonfly.

• Scientific name: Order Odonata.

• Nicknames: Darners, skimmers.

• Claim to fame: Dragonflies are familiar sights to Ozarkers throughout the summer. Though they look like creatures that could sting and/or bite, they do neither to humans. On the contrary, these large-winged insects perform a beneficial service to people by preying on mosquitoes and other flying insects. (Dragonfly larvae also eat mosquito larvae.)

• Species status: The status of Missouri’s dragonfly species vary greatly, ranging from commonly sighted species like the widow skimmer to the state-endangered Hine’s emerald dragonfly.

• First discovered: The first scientific descriptions of many of the world’s dragonfly species was written by Edmond de Selys Longchamps (1813-1900).

In his day, this Belgian politician and scientist was considered the world’s premier expert on dragonflies.

• Family matters: Dragonflies are members of the in-

sect order Odonata. Entomologists divide this order into two groupings: members of the infra-order Zygoptera, commonly called damselflies, hold their wings above their bodies when resting. Members of the infra-order Anisoptera, known as the “true” dragonflies, spread their wings flat when at rest.

At least 65 species of dragonflies live in Missouri – and probably more are yet to be discovered. Insect experts estimate there are approximately 5,500 dragonfly species worldwide.

• Length: The size of dragonflies vary from one species to the next, but in Missouri, the majority of dragonflies are between one and three inches long and have wingspans of similar dimensions.

• Diet: Adult dragonflies eat mosquitoes, midges, flies, bees, and sometimes moths and butterflies.

• Weight: Not available.

• Distinguishing characteristics: Dragonflies come in an assortment of colors and patterns, but all have some common characteristics. One of these is four long, multi-

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veined and usually transparent wings. These wings can give them a flight speed of up to 60 mph, making them the fastest insects in the world. These wings, which can operate independently of each other if necessary, allow the insect to hover, fly backwards and execute rolls and tight turns.

They also allow dragonflies to accelerate to top speed in a fraction of a second. Another noticeable feature is two large compound eyes. Dragonflies have up to 30,000 facets in each large bulging “eye” – each facet being a separate light-sensing organ.

Because of their size and composition, a dragonfly’s field of vision is nearly 360 degrees. Dragonflies have slender bodies which are divided into three parts; head, thorax and abdomen.

• Life span: Most of the dragonflies found in Missouri complete their life cycle in one year.

In other regions, some dragonflies remain in the larval stage for several years. As adults, most dragonflies – regardless of region – live only a few weeks.

“We are very excited about this new adventure. They only give out so many permits to be an outfitter, so if you want anymore land or want to be an outfitter, you have to buy a business that is selling,” said Jones.

According to Jones, with the addition of Eleven Point, campers and floaters will have more options for floating.

She also said that with the purchase of Eleven Point, she is able to do the thing she loves most about owning a campground — meeting new people.

“We have met really interesting and amazing people and I can’t wait to meet all the people who love coming to visit Eleven Point as well,” said Jones.

“Every day is a new adventure and you never know what is going to happen when you wake up in the morning.”

For those wanting more information about Eleven Point, it is best to call by phone.

“We are changing some things on the website, so keep in touch with the new changes,” said Jones.

To reach Eleven Point or Hufstedler’s, call (417) 778-6497 or (417) 778-1605 or (417) 778-6116.

• Habitat: Habitat has some variances among species, but all rely on wetland/aquatic areas.

• Life cycle: Though the lifespans vary from several months to several years, the life cycle is similar for all species: females lay eggs in or near water (often on floating or emergent plants).

Most of the life cycle is spent in the larval (nymph) form beneath the water where gills are used to breathe.

Immature dragonflies shed their skin as they grow.

When they are ready to transform into adults, they climb above the water to perform their final act of skinshedding. Newly emerged adults need a short period to inflate their wings so they can harden and fly. (source: MDC)

Page 10B • July 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

MISSOURI ENDANGERED SPECIES OF THE MONTH

Mead’s milkweed

Characteristics What does it look like?

Mead’s milkweed has a slender, un-branched stalk, 8-16 inches high without hairs but with a whitish waxy covering.

The hairless leaves also have a whitish waxy covering, are opposite, narrow to broadly ovate, are 2-3 inches long and up to two inches wide. A solitary umbrella-like cluster of flowers (called an umbel) at the top of the stalk has 6-15 greenish, cream-colored flowers.

T

By Francis Skalicky he importance of Mead’s milkweed to Missouri’s outdoors can be summed up in one word – diversity.

An abundant mix of native plants on the landscape provides the foundation for a rich mosaic of other species (insect, mammal, reptile, etc.).

Although it’s a rare plant, Mead’s milkweed is a great example of how variety is important.

Finding this plant in Missouri today is more difficult than it was in presettlement days. Now one of the state’s endangered species, this wildflower once grew on tallgrass prairies across much of Missouri and throughout the central U.S. Most of Missouri’s native prairies have disappeared due to agriculture, urbanization, and other changes in land-use practices.

Descending in downward population spirals, along with Missouri’s declining acres of prairie, are a number of plant and animal species that call this unique native grassland habitat “home,” one of those being Mead’s milkweed.

“Milkweed” is an umbrella term for a number of plants in the Asclepias genus. Sixteen species of milkweed are native to Missouri. Much of the publicity surrounding the planting of milkweed plants has to do with providing food for caterpillars of monarch butterflies.

Monarch caterpillars feed on the leaves of milkweed plants. This not only provides nutrition for the developing caterpillars, but the ingestion of the plant’s toxic juices makes monarch caterpillars and the ensuing butterflies unpalatable to birds.

As a result, monarchs are able complete their pollination activities and migration without fear of predation from birds, which instinctually avoid them.

Like its Asclepias cousins, Mead’s milkweed is a food source for monarch caterpillars, but the plant’s benefits don’t end there. It also serves as a pollen source for native bee species that pollinate these and other milkweed plants.

There is differentiation regarding which bees pollinate which species of milkweed. In the case of Mead’s milkweed, the primary pollinators of Mead’s milkweed are small bumble bees and digger bees.

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

“Bumble bee” and “digger bee” are both collective names encompassing a number of species. There are 46 species of bumble bees (genus Bombus) in North America – several of which can be found in Missouri.

There are also more than one genus of digger bees, which are thus named because they nest underground. Most bumble bee species also nest in the ground.

Subterranean nesting is more common in the bee world than people realize. Approximately 70 percent of the world’s estimated 20,000 bee species nest underground. Groundnesting bees may not get the hype that colony-nesting honey bees receive, but their pollinating efforts provide valuable benefits to wildlife and humans.

Having a diversity of bees has advantages over relying on a single species (such as the honey bee) to provide stable pollination. And the best way to have diverse bee populations is to have a diverse mix of flowering plants.

And that brings us back to the value of Mead’s milkweed.

But sustaining Mead’s milkweed in Missouri isn’t just about helping bees that live in the ground. Maintaining – and, in some cases, improving – greater plant diversity goes hand-inhand with improving wildlife diversity.

The end result is a Missouri outdoors rich with nature-viewing and recreational opportunities.

Part of Mead’s milkweed troubles stem from the plant’s slow development. Like many milkweed plants, Mead’s milkweed doesn’t flower until at least its third year.

Also, in areas where Mead’s milkweed has diminished, the plant’s problems can become twofold: the plant’s low numbers brings about a

loss of genetic diversity and this, in turn, causes the plant to produce seed that’s not viable (a botanical version of in-breeding).

Delayed haying, eliminating the use of pesticides and employing prescribed fire are among the things people can do to keep Mead’s milkweed hanging on in Missouri.

Landowners who find Mead’s milkweed on their property may be able to get federal financial assistance to help sustain the plant.

Information about how to identify the plant and keep it growing can be found at your nearest Missouri Department of Conservation office or at mdc.mo.gov. (source: MDC)

Gone from Missouri

Mead’s milkweed is still hanging on in Missouri, but it’s suspected that a plant once found in some wetlands in the state hasn’t fared as well.

Awned sedge (Carex atherodes) is still considered common in some parts of North America, but no plants have been identified in Missouri in 25 years.

This plant, which is also called “wheat sedge” or “slough sedge,” grows in moist and wet habitat such as marshes and moist prairie areas. It grows 30-120 centimeters tall, the leaves are hairy, especially on the lower parts, and the leaf sheath is tinted reddish purple.

Prior to 2018, this plant had carried an S1 level of endangerment – which means it’s critically imperiled. This year, its status was changed to SH, which means it’s possible extirpated from the state.

Changing land-use practices and development of wetland areas were very likely factors in this plant’s demise in Missouri.

Asclepias meadii

Mead’s milkweed, like other species of milkweed, belongs to the Apocynaceae family of plants – a grouping of flowering plants commonly known as the dogbane family. Many plants in this family produce a milky latex.

Historically, Mead’s milkweed occurred across much of Missouri and throughout the eastern tallgrass prairie region of the central U.S. Changing land-use practices and urban development have caused the plant to disappear from much of its native range.

In Missouri, Mead’s milkweed is found only in the Osage Plains Region (west-central) and the St. Francois Mountains region (southeast). It is classified as “endangered” in Missouri and “threatened” on the federal level.

Where is it found?

Preferred habitats for Mead’s milkweed include tallgrass prairies with sandstone, limestone/dolomite, or chert bedrock, prairie remnants, virgin mesic silt loam prairies, igneous glades, old railroad right-ofways, and prairie hay meadows. (source: MDC)

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)

July 2018 • Page 11B

RiverHillsTraveler.com

&%#@* gnats!!!

L

ast week I was fishing a cousin’s pond and was driven out of my mind by a swarm of buzzing, biting bugs.

I killed many of them in the battle but they ultimately won the war.

I took hits on both sides of my throat and by the time I got home I was so swollen it looked like I had a tennis ball under my chin.

The bite on the back of my neck was not quite that bad.

These were not mosquitoes… they were gnats. Some call them black gnats while others know them as buffalo gnats. I call them the devil’s spawn.

Buffalo gnats are small, humpbacked Mike Roux biting flies. They ———— are persistent bitters and even crawl into your hair to bite your scalp.

Bites from them are generally worse than mosquito bites and the bite can bleed long after the gnat has left.

They are a nuisance and sometimes a serious pest of humans, pets, and livestock.

The larvae are found in flowing water where they attach to rocks, sticks, and other structures and sift food from the water as it floats by.

Adults are strong fliers so they can be found long distances from water.

Although new in many parts of the upper Midwest, buffalo gnats have been common in some areas of the north for a couple of decades.

They are small, 1/16th- to 1/8th-inch long, humpbacked black flies. They bite exposed skin, typically leaving a

The Buffalo gnat has become a true nuisance in the Midwest.

small red welt. When the gnats are numerous, the toxins from their bites can kill poultry.

Adult buffalo gnats can fly from 7 to 15 miles from their source; but generally, Midwest residents that are bothered live within a half-mile of the stream producing the flies.

Although there are reports of DEETcontaining insect repellents of not being effective, scientific literature reports that DEET repellents provide the most effective protection.

Some formulas containing vanilla scent also have been proven to work.

In areas with high populations of buffalo gnats, people commonly wear head nets; hats with insect protective netting that covers the head down to the shoulders. These are sold in sporting goods stores.

Unlike mosquitoes, buffalo gnats do not bite through clothing, so only exposed skin is susceptible to attack.

They also do not enter buildings.

Controlling the buffalo gnats as larvae is generally not an option.

Bacillus thuringiensis israeliensis (Bti) is effective against the larvae but is covered by extensive regulation before it can be applied to running water.

Other insecticide application would not only be in violation of federal and state laws, but would likely kill fish

Roux lost a good fight with Buffalo gnats during a recent turkey hunt.

and other wildlife. Running water is extensively protected by law because most running water eventually is used as human drinking water. The buffalo gnats should be a problem for only 2 to 3 weeks and are not likely to return until next year.

The insects that we commonly refer to as “gnats” come in many varieties.

Some gnats do not bite humans. Others bite and suck our blood.

These biting gnats, also known as black flies and midges, have anticoagulants in their saliva that stop our blood from clotting.

For some individuals, these gnat bites are only mildly irritating. Others, however, experience severe swelling and itching.

Gnat-proof your skin. Most gnats

cannot bite through fabric, so keep your arms and legs covered, if possible.

Gnats love to go for the face, neck, hands, wrists and ankles. Use insect repellent containing DEET on those areas if you’ll be outdoors during gnat biting hours.

Petroleum jelly, especially the mentholated kind, can create an effective barrier that keeps gnats from landing and biting your skin.

I hate annoying bugs. Most of the time it is mosquitoes but this year it is the gnat. Do what you can to protect yourself.

And if the bites are numerous or in very sensitive spots, you may want to contact your doctor for a steroid shot.’

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

Page 12B • July 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

USFS seeks info about this newly-revealed trestle from Lost Lake

I

By David Massengale f you have been reading or hearing information being put out by the Forest Service over the last 2 years or so around Salem, you might have heard about the issues with Lost Lake.

Lost Lake is an accidental lake on Forest Service land which was created when the Sligo and Eastern Railroad had to cross over James Branch on its way to the town of Dillard and beyond.

The accidental lake appeared when the culvert pipes under this large earthen rail bed got clogged up and water began to pool behind it. And pool it did to the likes of about a 2-acre lake.

Over the years it has been stocked with fish and kept hidden by locals as a secret fishing hole.

Well, skip forward to 2016 when it was noted that since it really isn’t an engineered dam and there are people living downstream of it, something should be done to alleviate any dangers associated with a collapse of the earthen structure.

The Forest Service had a contractor come in and lower the center of the

“dam” to lessen the amount of water being held back. There was only so much money to spend and this would help alleviate any disastrous flooding should the “dam” break.

Now skip forward to 2017 when we had record rainfall and flooding affecting most of the Ozarks. A lot of water went down James Branch and filled up behind the modified “dam.”

This huge influx of water proceeded to overtop the earthworks and washed the soil away all the way down to the old culverts.

While the incident basically put an end to Lost Lake as a pool of water, it did uncover an interesting mystery.

Hidden away inside the earthen rail bed is the remains of an old wooden trestle which once carried the tracks across James Branch. The trestle appears to have been burned off at the top. We could only speculate that the trestle burned and they just started dumping soil down on top of it and adding culverts to create an earthen structure to keep the Sligo and Eastern Railroad operating.

Which brings me to my point of giving this background story. The Forest Service is now reaching out to see if anyone has any knowledge about the old trestle.

Did you have family which worked

on the train or tracks? Do you have an old article which talks about the trestle burning? Any information about the train and trestle would be greatly appreciated.

Please contact us at the U.S. Forest Service in Salem at (417) 729-6656, or by email at tehaines@fs.fed.us.

(David Massengale is a forester with the Mark Twain National Forest, Salem Ranger District.)

Special use permit required to cross land

O

By Thomas Haines ne of the hardest parts of my job is explaining to neighbors of the forest why they need to obtain a special use permit to cross Forest Service land to access their private land.

This situation arises when a long time ago the Forest Service purchased private lands that laid in front of another parcel of private land, or surrounded the other private piece of land, and there were no easements created or recorded within deed to ensure the neighboring private landowner has a right to cross the land that was sold.

Why this happened, I’m not sure. It may have been that there were negotia-

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tions to purchase neighboring tracts of land and the negotiations fell through, or maybe the access to the land was once a County Road that was latter abandoned by the county.

In any case this leaves us with the situation we have today.

The second part of this dilemma is it is not the Forest Service’s policy to grant easements for access to private lands. It can only grant access to a private landowner through the authorization of a special use road permit.

The special use permit is a legal document that grants the private landowner the right to legally cross the National Forest for ingress and egress to their property. People need to obtain a special use permit to have legal access to their private land when: • They just purchased the land and need legal access.

• They cannot secure a loan from the bank because there is no deeded (legal) access to their land.

• We learn that they are using a nonsystem “woods” road to cross Forest Service land to access their property without a permit or easement.

(Thomas Haines is the district ranger for the Mark Twain National Forest, Salem Ranger District. He can be reached at 573-729-6656 or tehaines@fs.fed.us.)

July 2018 • Page 13B

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Dentistry allows SWMO man to pursue his passion

He enjoys fly fishing and creek fishing, and has fished in Canada several times.

“We are going to fish in Alaska this summer and we are pretty excited about that,” said Burch.

Burch has also been to South America to fish for peacock bass in the Amazon River.

“My favorite thing to fish for is the northern pike in Canada,” said Burch.

In addition to hunting and fishing, Burch also enjoys floating. He has a cabin on Elk River and goes on several canoe trips.

“I was a very enthusiastic Eagle Scout and I learned a lot about hunting and fishing,” he said.

Burch has been in dentistry for 40 years and is still going strong.

“When I started I bought Dr. Kohler’s practice on the northeast corner of the square in Neosho, and then we built an office on the Boulevard and were there from 1988-2008,” said Burch.

Burch then semi-retired, sold his practice, and did fill-in dentistry for other area dentists before deciding he wanted to get back into his own practice.

Burch opened his new practice, Downtown Dental, on the Neosho square back in the early spring.

For those wanting to make a dental appointment, please call Downtown Dental at (417) 456-5111.

By MATTIE LINK

mattie@sextonmediagroup.com _____________

D

r. William (Doug) Burch, of Neosho, is not your average everyday dentist. He is so much

more.

Like schoolteachers, one would think that dentists don’t do anything other than dentistry, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

For Burch, dentistry has allowed him to do the things he really enjoys — hunting and fishing.

“I grew up on a farm in Butler, Missouri. I’ve always been an outdoorsman and started hunting when I was old enough to hang on to my dad’s coat to keep up,” said Burch.

Burch shot his first rabbit around the age of seven, and shot his first deer at 17.

“Deer hunting was not widespread then, they didn’t have as many processing places, so when I shot my deer we ate him and I hung his head and antlers in a tree outside my house. Later some neighbor dog jumped up and stole it,” said Burch.

Although Burch likes to hunt deer, hunting turkey is his passion.

“I didn’t know anything about turkeys until after I finished dental school and opened my first practice in Neosho,” said Burch. “The father of my first assistant took me out to Crowder to hunt turkeys and I loved it.

“There are six subspecies of turkeys in the world — four in the U.S., one along the Mexico border, and one that can be found in the Yucatan peninsula, Belize, or northern Guatemala — and I have one of each.”

Burch is currently approaching a record of 200 turkeys and also does some guided hunting trips for turkey and pheasant.

“My passion for quail and pheasant hunting is almost the same as turkey,” said Burch.

There are several pieces of taxidermy displayed in Burch’s downtown Neosho dentist office of his hunting adventures.

“I have a mule deer I shot in Wyoming, a whitetail deer from Missouri, and an American pronghorn antelope also from Wyoming,” said Burch.

Burch shot an 800-900 pound elk in Colorado that he has on display in his office waiting room. His elk made the Pope and Young Record Book in 1997.

“I got him with one shot with my bow and arrow from 25 yards away,” said Burch.

In 1999, Burch shot a caribou in Alaska and crossed the Arctic Circle four times. Four people went on the hunting trip and they had to float on the river for 20 miles to get to the caribou.

“We shot five caribou that day and we

had to take them with us on the river.

That was fun,” said Burch.

The caribou is also on display in Burch’s office.

Later in 2008, Burch and his family took a vacation to South Africa and while they were there, Burch took eight animals with eight shots.

“I don’t have them here at the office, but at my house I have an Africa corner full of memories from the trip,” said Burch.

While in Africa, Burch was able to get six different species of animals there, with three of the six being the same species. Five of the six species qualified for the Safari Club record book.

In addition to all his trophies, Burch was also on the board of directors for Ducks Unlimited for 10 years.

“I helped develop volunteer organizations and I used my knowledge to help them preserve wildlife,” said Burch.

Burch said being in dentistry, and being his own boss, has allowed him to do all of his hunting.

“My wife often goes turkey hunting with me and we get to spend time to-

gether. I think I have helped her get about 20 turkeys now,” said Burch.

When it comes to fishing, Burch has done that longer than hunting.

Page 14B â&#x20AC;¢ July 2018

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4 ways to enjoy your summer W ith May and June having come and gone, there is no doubt that summer is upon

us.

Warm weather, high humidity, swimming, fishing, boating, vacations, mowing the grass, sunburn, thunderstorms and cookouts are all icons of this outdoor oriented season.

Mostly though, I am a cool weather person. Fall and winter far outrank the sweaty time of year for me.

But, I appreciate the fact that most of you look forward to hot weather as much as my wife, Nancy, does.

Today I am going to pass along some tips I have learned on how to make your summer better... more enjoyable. These tips apply to every one of you who is reading this column.

Male or female, young adult or senior citizen, it won’t matter. If you pick one or two of the Mike Roux following activities ———— this summer, and really put your heart into it, you will find satisfaction, fulfillment and maybe even a blessing or two.

Now do not get me wrong. I know each and every one of you have your favorite summertime activities and probably even already have them planned.

But take a look at these ideas to see if there is something new here that catches your eye.

Give them a try and have a great summer, even if you are like me and already looking forward to the first frost.

1) PLANT A GARDEN. I grew up helping my dad tend a vegetable garden that seemed to be five acres big.

Actually it was only about 500 square feet, but that was still big enough.

Little did I realize as we played in the dirt and I assisted my father’s grooming of his green thumb, that I was learning enough to raise my own garden someday.

I now truly enjoy working the soil, planting, cultivating, tending, caring for and harvesting from my modest little patch in the backyard.

My kids, too, like to occasionally pitch in and help ol’ dad in the dirt. The boys love the radishes. Nancy and Katie are big lettuce fans and the green onions and tomatoes make my day.

Recently I met a couple of folks who

Kevin and Anne Marie Bridges work very well together making a garden and sharing hundreds of hours together each season.

take their gardening to incredible levels. Anne Marie Bridges’ garden is nothing short of amazing. The TLC she gives her soil and plants is second to none.

With husband, Kevin, doing the labor, Anne Marie is free to use her imagination to produce a massive amount of fresh veggies each summer.

Do not hesitate to do your gardening with flowers and shrubs if veggies are not to your liking. Nancy spends her time tending her blooms and greenery and gleans just as much enjoyment from them as I do my garden.

Her gardening skills also keep our yard looking “top-notch” all year. Summer is for gardens... have one!

2) TAKE A KID FISHIN’. Notice I said “fishin’”, not “fishing.” There is a difference and kids like fishin’ better.

With fishin’ there is more fun and less work.

If a butterfly flitters by, you can chase it. If there is a frog on the bank, you can catch it. If it is hot, you can sit in the shade. That’s fishin’.

Not many things will bring a smile to your face or a warm feeling to your heart as fast as spending a few hours with a child watching a bobber.

To be quite honest, fishin’ is just a very good excuse to make this time happen. It doesn’t matter if they are girls or boys, a well-planned morning trip to the pond or creek will help create bonds that otherwise may not have happened.

Many kids nowadays do not get the adult attention they want, need and deserve. Parents just sometimes get too busy to be everywhere they need to be and unfortunately their kids often suffer.

I am certainly not pointing fingers or making accusations. I am merely saying that a bucket of worms, a couple of

hooks and bobbers and a few hours with your child or children can pay off for all of you much more than you might think.

This is one way to improve your summer and have a positive affect on someone else’s summer as well. If you take this advice and end up with a hug, you will thank me.

3) TAKE YOUR SPOUSE ON A ROAD TRIP. First, let’s define “road trip.” From my experience, a road trip is neither planned nor expected. It is totally spontaneous and is put together on the spur of the moment.

Now you may think I have gone completely nuts. I am telling you to “plan” something that is supposed to be spontaneous.

Well, I am not telling you to plan a road trip. I am just suggesting that you file the idea for future use.

Road trips can be both great fun and a perfect way to rekindle fires that may have flickered out due to hectic schedules and busy lifestyles.

A combination of adventure and romance is sure to improve your summer and possibly your entire existence.

Go someplace you and your spouse have never been together. It can be a place that one of you knows and wishes to share with the other, or it can be someplace neither of you know.

Exploration is fun and Nancy and I do our share. We recommend it.

4) TIME TO YOURSELF. We have discussed how to make gardening a family affair. We have covered taking kids fishin’. We have even talked about getting away with your spouse.

July 2018 • Page 15B

There is not much that is more fun in the summer than taking kids fishing.

There is one more tip I would like to pass along to maybe help you enjoy summertime a bit more.

Spending some time with your own thoughts is often the most relaxing thing one can do, especially if your schedule does not allow you that luxury very often.

And the good part of this idea that it does not require a large chunk of your time. If all you can manage is an afternoon in the hammock, take it.

Your whole summer can improve by taking the time to do an evaluation of your self-worth. Introspection is a behavioral characteristic that often lends therapeutic results when properly approached. You may find out you still like yourself after all.

This is also a good time to renew your relationship with your Creator.

Seeing the miracles that surround us in nature in the summertime should cause us to reflect upon not only why we are here, but who put us here as well.

Put yourself in touch with the Lord and watch your outlook on summer, and all the seasons, improve.

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

Page 16B â&#x20AC;˘ July 2018

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