FALL TRIPS

Desirable destinations

STORIES BY AL & CONNYE GRIFFIN PHOTOGRAPHY BY AL GRIFFIN

As summer winds down, many of us are looking for something to do that’s close to home but feels like a getaway. Fall colors will be in full bloom and the weather will be perfect. So what’s holding you back from taking a trip? We’ve cover everything from romantic and historic to family-friendly and outdoorsy.

THE BACKCOUNTRY

Peck Ranch, the Current River, and the Roger Pryor Pioneer Backcountry near Echo Bluff State Park are gateways to Missouri’s natural beauty and openair challenges. Just south of Salem and near Eminence, these three outdoor places will let you lose your daily cellphone cares and find your inner strengths. In something under three hours from Lake of the Ozarks, hikers, bikers, and paddlers will breathe in the scent of oak, hickory, and pine forests.

Peck Ranch and Elk

With more than 23,000 acres, Peck Ranch offers habitat for elk and a variety of terrain for hikers and bikers. Rocky glades, grasslands, and elevations above 1,000 feet challenge outdoorsmen and women. They will almost certainly see wild turkey and songbirds. You might spy shy whitetail deer and majestic elk.

Roger Pryor Pioneer Backcountry

Adjacent to Echo Bluff State Park is the privately owned but state managed Roger Pryor Pioneer Backcountry for hiking and backpacking. The rugged, natural setting carries people into a past when horses and hikers traveled the ground. Today, however, mountain bikers also take advantage of Backcountry’s trails. To date, there are 27 miles of trail in the largely undeveloped 60,000 acres — plenty of space in which to hear birds and breezes instead of road noise. The luckiest hikers will encounter the well-known wild horse herd, descended from early settlers.

The Current River

The Roger Pryor Pioneer Backcountry includes three creeks and 15 miles of Current River frontage where travelers can see trees dating back to the 17th century. The waters of the Current are considered to be among the finest for canoes, kayaks, and rafts. These are available to rent for a day trip or even an overnight with camping spots along the shore.

Lodging for Days on the Ranch or River

If camping under the stars in all kinds of weather isn’t an option, then the Current River and Echo Bluff State parks are good choices. The Current River lodge dates back to the 1930s, providing a glimpse of last-century architecture. Echo Bluff Lodge is new and modern. The cabins and rooms are well-appointed, especially for Autumn temperatures. Rooms have gas fireplaces for warmth and romance.

A Bit of Glamour on the Way to Outdoor Spaces

Routes from the lake will pass through one of Missouri’s wine districts. The city of St. James, home to St. James Winery, will celebrate the grape and fall September 2nd through the 6th. Heinrichshaus Winery’s annual festival featuring wine and food is September 28.

Rolla’s Public House Brewing Company with locations in Rolla and St. James will celebrate Oktoberfest on September 25. On October 9th, Rolla will host homecoming for Missouri University Science and Technology and on the

same day, an Arts and Crafts Festival.

Waterfalls, Springs and Seclusion

Blue Spring, one of Missouri’s deepest springs, is 12 miles east of Eminence under a dolomite bluff. Nine miles southeast of Eminence is Rocky Falls Shut-In, a spectacular example of Missouri’s impressive waterfalls. At both sites, hiking and picnicking are on the menu.

Thirteen miles north of Eminence is Round Spring, a short hike from a parking lot, but the turquoise waters are worth the steps. Characteristic blue stream waters are also just across a quaint bridge on a path to Alley Spring and Grist Mill. This one is 6 miles west of Eminence.

Cellphone signals may be weak or lost entirely near Echo Bluff and Emi-

Union Station from WWI Museum. A KC streetcar stop, Union Station is a one-stop, all-in-one destination for families. The station is home to Science City, a planetarium, model train gallery, live theatrical performances, films, exhibits and restaurants.

nence, but so much natural beauty and soul-satisfying moments are found there, too.

HISTORIC RENDEZVOUS

Some people loom large in imagination. One such person, nicknamed The Roaring Lion, is Sir Winston Churchill who, as Prime Minister, became an architect for Europe’s victory against Nazi Germany. Churchill cultivated a partnership with U. S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Some say these two world leaders saved the future. A short drive northeast from the lake brings visitors to Jefferson City where a full day of food and a deep dive into history awaits. The state’s capitol city makes the most of the past. Classic buildings and artifacts have been preserved, and they are open for the present public to enjoy. Farther away from the Lake, the Land of Lincoln in Springfield, Ill. pays homage to America’s 16th president.

Recent History

As Armistice Day, early in November nears, a trip to Fulton may be in order. There in the 1930s, Westminster College initiated a lecture series. The seventh lecturer was Churchill in 1946. His postWorld War II lecture titled “The Iron Curtain Speech” infused global policies and inspired a local private college to undertake a global mission.

Westminster and its trustees salvaged a bombed-out 17th century church designed by Christopher Wren. Set for destruction after air raids over London, the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, was saved and shipped stone by stone to Fulton where it houses America’s National Churchill Museum. Inside visitors will learn much about the long loving marriage between Churchill and his wife, Churchill’s talent as an artist and writer, his skills and tenacity as Prime Minister, and his vision for a partnership between the U. S. and the U. K.

Windows to the Past

The State Capitol, Governor’s Mansion, and decommissioned penitentiary overlook the Missouri. Landscaping on the capitol and mansion grounds adds color for every season. They are places to enjoy an urban autumn.

The Capitol is home to the Missouri State Museum on the first floor. On the third floor, Thomas Hart Benton’s commissioned murals reveal the economic drivers of this state. History Hall honors Missourians who have shaped history itself. Busts of General Pershing, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Betty Grable recall the impact each had on the world.

Nearby is the Governor’s Mansion, open for public tours. Docents share bits and pieces of the state’s history as they guide guests from room to room.

Another sobering tour is of the Missouri State Penitentiary, decommissioned in 2004, but still vital as an attraction for photographers and anyone who believes in ghosts. It’s a chilling place any time of the year, but a group tour at Halloween may add the thrill people seek.

Blue Spring is one of Missouri’s deepest springs.

The Land of Lincoln

Located in Springfield, Ill., The Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

Thriving once more in Springfield, Askinosie Chocolate is just one of the many family-friendly destinations on the revitalized Commercial Street. Askinosie’s earned national acclaim when it was listed as one of Oprah’s favorite things.

tells Lincoln’s story. Ticket prices are low at $15 for an adult and $6 for children. Exhibits include live actors both in theater settings and of stage in the lobby. Listening to these historical figures answer questions posed by children and adults gives depth to the experience.

Tickets are good all day so stepping out for lunch and strolling downtown is a nice break before returning to learn more about Lincoln’s early law career, immersion in American politics, and his White House years.

See the web site for specific programs and dates as the year progresses. One special program through January 2022 at the Library is “The State of Sound,” highlighting music by Illinois artists including Muddy Waters and Cheap Trick.

Across the street is Union Station where the last train pulled away in 1971. Tickets are required for entry but the Lincoln Library ticket price covers that admission, too. The station has been restored to original condition and appearance and is still undergoing renovations. The surrounding Union Square Park provides a venue for many free performances in Springfield and contains Mary Lincoln’s Flower Garden.

At Lincoln’s tomb, another state historic site history buffs will see scaleddown replicas of larger statuary depicting Lincoln and read excerpts from his famous speeches while walking the halls approaching the burial chamber. The tomb is free to enter.

THE BIG CITY

According to U. S. News and World Report, three Missouri cities are among 100 best American cities, scoring well in desirability, value, job markets, net migration, and quality of life. These three are Kansas City, Springfield, and St. Louis. Each one is just a short drive from Lake of the Ozarks, and each offers great opportunities for Fall travel.

Highest on list of 100 is Kansas City.

Romance

The classic Old Red Bridge near the north entrance of Minor Park carries walkers over the Blue River and gives them a fine view of Fall’s colors. Painted red since first constructed in 1859, the bridge wears Valentine colors yearround and has become a place to celebrate love. Visitors place a lock on the bridge signifying their commitment to one special person, family, and even pets.

After locking in love at the Old Red

America’s National Churchill Museum is open daily from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Docents at the Governor's Mansion wear period clothing when giving tours. Here a docent stands near a sideboard used by a governor to feed his horse — indoors!

bridge, couples can stroll beautiful gardens in autumn’s colors at the Overland Park Arboretum. On September 24-26 and October 1-3, the arboretum will spring to life with music and lightshows after dark during the annual Quixotic Terra Luna show, so popular that it was given Silicon Valley recognition in 2012. The Starlight outdoor theater is another romantic option, and in September and October, performances include music, comedians, and the Broadway show, Escape to Margaritaville.

Romantic fine dining choices in the Kansas City metro are endless. They include luncheons at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and the Nelson-Atkins after a hand-in-hand walk through the galleries as well as dinners at restaurants with romantic ambiance. Late in October and continuing through December 31, the Nelson Atkins will be home to the Van Gogh Alive exhibit, a rare, interactive experience for the Dutch artist’s works.

Couples may prefer food, wine, or brew tasting tours in historic places such as the Stockyards district of West Bottoms. There Amigoni Urban Winery has restored the Daily Drover Telegram newspaper building to elegance.

Family-friendly

Fall brings pumpkin patches to life. One opening in the fall is the KC Pumpkin Patch in Olathe. The Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead adds pumpkin picking to its farm-themed playground featuring pony rides, feeding baby goats, and fishing.

The KC Royals and KC Chiefs are on their home fields during September and October. Those games are perfect choices for families who love sports. Thrills of another kind are available at Worlds of Fun or the Candy Wizard, on the River Market’s shops.

Parents will find STEM lessons at Union Station. Inside is Science City, an interactive educational playground. Another educational opportunity at the station is a planetarium where families can explore earth’s sky. It is also a streetcar stop for those who want to take advantage of special dates when Kansas City streetcar stops include special art exhibits and musical performances.

More Kansas City family-fun centers are Legoland and Sea Life in Crown Center. History buffs will like the World War I Museum and Memorial across from Union Station and the Arabia Steamboat Museum at City Market. For minigolf fans, Nelson-Atkins Museum is home to an art-themed course. More STEM learning is in the Red Bridge neighborhood where young children will love the interactive Regnier Family Wonderscope Children’s Museum.

Return trips to Kansas City may be required to see it all.

Trails, Hikes, and Open Air

Swope Park, Overland Park Arboretum, and Powell Gardens offer scenic, perfumed short trails with seasonal beauty on all sides. At Powell in the fall, visitors will enjoy workshops about grape cultivation, native prairie restoration, and even a day on September 11 when owners can walk with their dogs. One long trail carries travelers along 15 miles featuring the beauty of two rivers, historical signage, a sculpture garden honoring Underground Railroad figures, and the Kansas-Missouri boundary. While hiking trails measuring 0.4 to 1.7 miles at the Ernie Miller Park and Nature Center in Olathe, families can pick up or download a scavenger hunt to help children look closely at what nature has on hand. The Owl Prowl, scheduled for November, suggests close examination of the trees may show owls close by. Missouri Town 1855 offers a very different hike across low, rolling hills to 25

One of the oldest botanical gardens in the U. S., Missouri’s is alive and beautiful in all seasons, even the winter when the gardens are full of huge Christmas ornaments, the scent of pine, and millions of lights. In the fall, as blossoms fall and fade, Autumn’s glory is on view.

buildings representing life and culture in the 19th century.

Springfield took second-place in Missouri’s best cities, according to U. S. News and World’s Report. Home to Missouri State and Ozarks Technical Community College plus five private colleges, entertainment and food choices are abundant in Springfield.

Romance

Springfield’s Botanical Gardens, one feature of Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park, is one of the more romantic spots in town. Blossoms scent the air and colorful plantings change with the seasons. Another part of the same park is the Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden, complete with a koi pool and tea house. Both are favorite places for quiet contemplation and romance.

September 10-12, the Japanese Fall Festival will take place at the Mizumoto garden. It honors Springfield’s Japanese sister city, established in 1986. Annually, representatives from Isesaki, Japan visit to share their culture through demonstrations and interaction.

On September 18 & 19, Springfield hosts Cider Days on historic Walnut Street, home to two overnight places for romance. The Hotel Vandivort and Walnut Street Inn provide rooms with romantic amenities, including whirlpool tubs, warm hearths, or city vistas. A short walk from the inn is the Juanita K. Hammons Hall for music, Broadway shows, and celebrity. The Vandivort is in the heart of downtown Springfield serving various cuisines, craft cocktails, and brewing fine beers.

Alley Spring is located six miles west of Eminence.

No one of any age leaves City Museum without good memories. It’s a place of adventure, a place that amazes, and a place that changes so go once and again. It will still please.

Above: Kansas City even provides trout fishing in an urban setting. Just minutes outside the greater KC metro in Lee’s Summit are small lakes well stocked by MDC — ideal for an urban fishing vacation.

Right: Young Abe studies by firelight in an incredibly detailed log cabin.

Family-friendly

Springfield’s AA Cardinals offer family fun September 7-12 with home games against Arkansas. On September 18, Springfield is home to the annual Missouri Food Truck Fest at the Ozark Empire fairgrounds. Families can find something for every age and even the pickiest eaters. Another family food tour is Askinosie Chocolate, once listed on Oprah’s list of favorite things. For a modest fee, people can book a tour that ends with a chocolate tasting.

A spectacular family option is Johnny Morris’s Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium. Exhibits include the Westward expansion and global climates, including arctic and tropic regions where the temperature of the room and scents recreate the experience of being on ice or desert ground.

Springfield is also home to a STEM interactive center, Discovery, and a farmthemed venue, the Rutledge-Wilson Farm Park where children can see farm animals, explore a butterfly garden, and enjoy a playground. Dickerson Park Zoo is another open-air venue where families can learn about animals of the world.

A short distance from Springfield is Branson, chock full of kid-friendly places. Between Springfield and Branson is Bonniebrook, local artist Rosie O’Neill’s beloved Missouri home. Trails, Hikes, and Open Air

Springfield’s Ozark Greenways has blazed more than 75 miles of a 140-mile trail network for biking, hiking, and kayaking. The overall mission is to connect businesses to parks, enhance tourism, and provide for recreation.

Springfield also boasts two caves, Fantastic Caverns and Smallin. Fantastic, a showcase for columns, soda straws, and sparkling mineral waters, offers tours by tram whereas Smallin is a walking tour, but Smallin packs a lot of history inside. Some Cherokee tribe

members escaped the Trail of Tears in the cave, both sides of the Civil War conflict bivouacked there, and early settlers used the waters for laundry.

St. Louis ranks third of three Missouri cities labeled “best” by U. S. News and World Reports. It is one of the original cities, the gateway for Westward expansion and home to top-ranked Washington University near Forest Park.

Romance

St. Louis is home to fine hotels, cozy bed and breakfasts, and numerous VRBOs. These provide elegant spaces for romantic getaways. More romance awaits on the quaint streets of St. Charles, a suburb of St. Louis. Both cities boast casinos where Fortune may smile on couples who enjoy a wager.

Long walks through Forest Park after dinner at one of the many classic restaurants in The Hill district and a performance at the MUNY will stimulate appetites for rich desserts. One may be chocolate, a favorite romantic gift, from acclaimed chocolatier Brian Pelletier, owner of Kakao Chocolate in Maplewood. Rivaling chocolate would be ice cream, and Clementine’s Naughty and Nice selections are perfect.

Couples fond of beer, ale, and stouts will find plenty to enjoy date nights in St. Louis. Craft breweries such as 4 Hands and corporate operations such as Anheuser-Busch St. Louis provide a wide range of taste and satisfaction. On October 16, the St. Louis Beer Fest will feature 40 breweries.

Family-friendly

Once home to the Busch family, Grant’s Farm is one of the top family-fun attractions in St. Louis. Feeding goats and riding carousels will please the kids. For more intense thrills, St. Louis hosts a Six Flags amusement park with the Fireball looping and twisting riders upside down.

St. Louis is also home to the Cardinals who will be on the field at Busch Stadium in September and October. Nearby Ballpark Village provides restaurant choices and tours of the Cardinals Nation and Hall of Fame & Museum. It is also within walking distance of the Gateway Arch and Riverfront Park overlooking the Mississippi River and the Lewis and Clark museum.

One of the most challenging kidfriendly attractions is City Museum where tunnels lead to unexpected places and a Ferris wheel spins on the roof of the 10-story, 600,000 square foot playground enjoyed by adults and kids of all ages. It’s a place that dazzles, exercising legs and minds.

Forest Park is home to many familyfriendly activities. On September 17 & 18, the Great Forest Park Balloon Race will include the Balloon Glow. Forest Park is also the site for the St. Louis Zoo, tennis courts, golf, and a skating rink.

Younger children enjoy the Magic House St. Louis Children’s Museum and the World Aquarium at Union Station, home to a classic carousel and enclosed Ferris wheel like the one used for the St. Louis World’s Fair, 1904. Tourists still enjoy the history museum built for that fair and located on the fairgrounds, now known as Forest Park. Trails, Hikes, and Open Air

The Riverfront Park leading to the Gateway Arch and Forest Park give busy, metropolitan St. Louis open air venues. The city’s park system provides for exercise as well. From Grant’s Trail, offering more than 10 miles for hiking and biking, to a trail less than 1.5 miles in Laumeier Sculpture Park and the 2.5 mile flat, asphalt Mississippi’s River Greenway, St. Louis has challenging as well as accessible paths.

About 30 minutes from St. Louis are the August A. Busch lake and Howell Island. Anglers catch bass, bluegill, catfish, and crappie. MDC also makes urban fishing available by stocking St. Louis lakes just as the department does for Columbia and Kansas City.

A mannequin as Mary Todd Lincoln being fitted for a gown.

Lu xuryIN T H E C O U N T R Y

STORY BY CHARIS PATIRES PHOTOGRAPHY BY THOMAS CONSTRUCTION

The 1,250 square foot home has two bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a mudroom, living room, dining room and kitchen.

Big doesn’t always mean beautiful, especially when it comes to designing a home. What makes a house a home is often its history. h When Thomas Construction was asked to renovate a 100-year old farm house, it was a unique project to undertake. The house, located on a farm in Richland, was made of large stones and the homeowner wanted to keep it that way. But how do you completely remodel a farmhouse, bring it up to date and give it a modern look? That was the challenge presented to Thomas Construction architect Matt Stephens. h “It was definitely a fun and challenging project,” he said. “Being so small and unique, it was one of my favorites.”

A fireplace separating the kitchen and living room dominates the space. While it provides some warmth, it creates ambience and visual appeal.

Putting this television on a stone wall was tricky so workers had to get creative. Wires and conduit were embedded into the grout.

High-sheen custom cabinets were made by Classic Industries in Lebanon. This modern/European design called for a white, clean look. Color was brought in by the homeowner with the furnishings.

The homeowners wanted to take advantage of the amazing views of the property. Large sliding doors and windows were strategically placed with that in mind.

The renovation was completed in 2000. Luxury vinyl plank flooring is found throughout the home. Pictured here is the master bedroom.

The master bathroom is wrapped in stone. It is equipped with double vanities, a tub in the shower and white and black tile. The small windows were built in so you can still get a look at the view.

Before the renovation

Above: “The challenging part was how to use that existing stone,” Matt said. Using the original footprint of the home, Matt had to design something simple and modern. A patio and firepit offers a spot to relax while keeping an eye on the livestock.

Above: The exterior of the home saw a major facelift with metal panel siding and a metal roof in a color that creates a great contrast with the light stone.