December 2018

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VOL. 46, NO. 7

DECEMBER 2018

www.riverhillstraveler.com

Jane’s lil’ gatherin’ place

By MATTIE LINK

T It’s just not an adventure without Saddleback Leather Company’s gladstone collection of leather bags.

the River Hills Traveler’s

Holiday Gift Guide W

By Bill Wakefield e’ve been thinking about gifts for weeks now, and it’s finally time to unveil our 2018 Holiday Gift Guide.

Stumped on what to buy the outdoorsman in your life? You know, the guy who has the latest fishing or hunting gear? We’ve got you covered, don’t fret.

From leather bags to portable generators, your outdoors-loving family members or friends are sure to be thrilled with our list.

DeLorme’s!Atlas & Gazetteer of Missouri!

With an incredible wealth of detail, DeLorme’s!Atlas & Gazetteer of Missouri!is the perfect companion for exploring the great Missouri outdoors.

With a total of 58 map pages, the! Atlas & Gazetteer! is your most comprehensive navigational guide to Missouri’s backcountry: •!Full-color topographic maps provide information on everything from cities and towns to historic sites, scenic drives, recreation areas, trailheads,

for adventurers boat ramps , campgrounds and prime fishing spots.

•!Extensively indexed.

•!Handy latitude/longitude overlay grid for each map allows you to navigate with GPS. •! Inset maps provided for major cities as well as all state lands.

•!Shows remote back roads, hidden lakes and streams, hunting lands.

•!Lists state and national parks and forest.

Cost: $16.98 to $21.41; available at Target, Walmart, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and others.

——— Stone Hollow Studio Combine the joys of reading with the pleasure of viewing unique artwork.

Michelle “Mike” Ochonicky is a Missouri artist known for her murals, illustrations, photography and sculp-

ture but is most recognized for her original, hand-etched scrimshaw.

She has developed a special way to show her talented scrimshaw artwork on recycled ivory piano keys. The recycled piano keys have become bookmarks with hand-etched trees, ships, flowers, birds, fishing tackle and many other unique items.

The bookmarks come complete with a leather ribbon and a silver bead. Due to new federal regulations, antique ivory piano keys cannot be sent to addresses outside of the state of Missouri.

If an order is to be shipped outside of Missouri, they offer bookmarks made with old (not yet antique!) synthetic keys. The Stone Hollow Studio will also create a custom-design piece for a special occasion or memory.

Please see GIFTS, 18

mattie@riverhillstraveler.com _____________

he Jane Store is a town jewel in Jane, Mo., with home-cooked meals, spices, and local art, all in one place.

Owners Sam and Gayla Baker have been running the general store for the past seven years.

“Up until two years ago it was me and two church ladies that ran the general store,” said Baker. “They were wanting to retire so my husband bought them out in 2015.”

The building that houses The Jane Store has been a general store since 1925. It was previously owned and operated by the Marrs family, according to Baker.

Before starting The Jane Store, Gayla worked for 13 years at the Walmart home office, and also has experience in children’s daycare.

Sam was involved in commercial construction until he came to work at The Jane Store.

When Sam and Gayla took sole ownership of the store, they added a grill to the mix.

“Sam had always wanted to do a cafe or a bed & breakfast so when the opportunity arose, we took it,” said Baker.

They sell sandwiches, pies, cookies, and have daily specials.

Baker gets to the store at five in the morning to start baking, and they are open from Please see STORE, 17

Page 2 • December 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

A walk in the woods

A visit to Emmenegger Nature Park in West St. Louis County

I

try to walk regularly for exercise.

Most of my walks are in the town where we live.

It is a mile-and-a-half from our home to the city hall and I go there and back for my three-mile walk.

If I feel like a shorter walk, I turn around at the library which is a mile from our home.

This walk that I take in town is on a sidewalk the whole time and its sole purpose is for exercise. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that it’s a boring walk. It’s not that at all. I enjoy it very much.

We live in a very nice town with clean streets and neat, well cared for lawns and friendly people who always meet me with a smile along the Bill Oder way.

———— However, like I said it is a walk on sidewalks with cars passing by and occasional stops to wait on traffic to cross streets and police sirens and other city sounds.

It is nothing, absolutely nothing, like a walk in the woods.

A walk in town is a Ford Escape, a very good vehicle. A walk in the woods is a Ford Lincoln, a considerably better vehicle. It’s as simple as that.

My wife and I recently visited Emmenegger Nature Park in west St. Louis County. This area where this park is situated was once owned by the Lemp family in St. Louis who owned a large brewery around the turn of the 20th Century.

Now it is leased by the Missouri Conservation Department in partnership with the City of Kirkwood. It is situated along the Meramec River and I understand that Bald Eagles are sometimes spotted along the river.

The nature park itself contains 93 acres of magnificent woods. The park is open every day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

There is no hunting allowed. It is strictly a place to enjoy walking or hiking in the woods. There are also places for picnics.

There are two trails. One is a half-

mile paved (notice that I said paved) trail which is level and easily wheelchair accessible. This is the one that my wife and I checked out.

There are benches along the way to sit and admire the scenery and to observe the wildlife. Since it is paved, I think you would probably consider it a walking trail and not a hiking trail.

There is another one, the one-mile Bluff Creek Trail, which is not paved and I understand a little more difficult to navigate. We didn’t try that one but I would probably venture a guess that you could consider it a hiking trail.

These woods are filled with a large variety of trees and I’m sure the area shows off a lot of wildflowers starting in the spring.

Fall is always a good time, I think, to get out into the woods with all the neat colors and the crisp fall air. It just seems that a walk in the woods is all that one needs to clear away some of those cares and worries that are always eating away at us and very often, after a walk in the woods, we find that we have figured out ways to solve those problems.

And believe it or not, most of our problems are not as difficult as we think and usually can be handled with very simple solutions.

Nature has a way of putting all of one’s problems in perspective. Nature can be very soothing to our souls if we can just get out there and let it do its job.

This area is one of many that can get that job done.

We plan to return to this park, probably in the spring. It is easy to find.

From the intersection of I-44 and I-270 in west St. Louis County, take I-44 east to the Watson Road exit. At the first light, turn left onto Geyer Road and then left on Cragwold Road.

Continue past Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center (see the April 2017 issue of the River Hills Traveler for my article about this great area).

You’ll go over I-270 and then turn left, the road dead ends at the nature park.

This time of year, you never know when one of those rare warm and sunny days might come along and you would not be wasting your time at all if you would take advantage of such a day and go for a walk in the woods.

I think you’ll also discover that woods are beautiful year-round.

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

December 2018 • Page 3

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Parker Dietrich: bowhunter

P

arker is my youngest stepson. We have shared each other’s lives for over a quarter of a century.

When we first met he could hardly talk, much less shoot a bow. My how both of those things have changed!

Two of Parker’s older brothers began bowhunting long before the littlest brother was big enough to draw a bow.

I got him started with a youth bow as soon as he was able.

The other brothers still bowhunt, but not with Parker’s passion for the sport. He is a dedicated bowhunter.

The first deer Parker ever launched an arrow at was a nice 8point buck in Pike Mike Roux County. He will not ———— brag on the shot, but it was his first archery kill and he and I were both very proud of it just the same.

Since that day he has easily practiced with a bow many more hours a year than have I. He tweaks and tunes constantly. He matches his arrows to the perfect broadhead and leaves no archery detail unaddressed.

This is not to say there are no misses in the field. None of us are good enough to say that we have never missed a shot with a bow and arrow.

But with every miss, Parker finds a lesson to be learned and a way to improve his odds for his next shot.

His scouting and stand placement programs have also evolved over the years. In the beginning he sat where I told him to sit and stayed there ‘til I said we were done.

Nowadays he picks his spots and he comes and goes as he pleases. And pretty successfully, I might add.

A couple of years ago I was rifle hunting in Missouri with my best friends. The Good Lord blessed me with a really nice buck right off the bat on opening morning.

Parker Dietrich’s first ever archery deer was a nice 8-point buck.

As we loaded my deer into my truck I told my buddies, “If you guys don’t mind, I’m gonna take off. If I leave now I can be back in Illinois in time to bowhunt with two of my boys this evening.”

We said our “goodbyes” and I was off.

I got to Adams County minutes before Parker and his older brother Caleb left for their stands. They were tickled with my buck and happy I had made it back to hunt with them.

As I sat in my stand that evening I thanked God for my blessings. Not only had he given me a fine buck, but here I was bowhunting with two of my boys the same day. Blessed I am.

About an hour before dark I started getting text messages. First from Caleb and then from Parker. They had both hit deer and both were excited beyond belief.

The funny part was that they were in stands only a couple of hundred yards apart.

By the time I got there they had helped each other get their deer out. It was a full meat pole that night.

Just last week Parker and I arranged another hunt together. The forecast was ominous but nothing was going to keep us out of our stands that evening. By 3 p.m. we were set and ready.

I heard from Parker that he had several deer in his field. I had seen no movement at all. The rain was light… but steady. It was just enough to be an-

Parker and his stepdad, Mike, with the results of a successful meat run.

noying.

At about 4:30 a mature doe made her way down my main trail and stopped in the exact right spot. I watched my lighted nock disappear into her chest. I found her a mere 25-yards into the brush and immediately texted Parker about my good luck.

His response was not what I expected, but it was good news.

“I hit one, too,” is all it said.

Now he and I had doubled just like he and Caleb did a couple of years ago.

Of all my boys, Parker is the one that walks the closest to my own outdoor passions.

He is the consummate student both in the field and on the water.

I could not be prouder of him.

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

TravTalk Sign up for the Traveler’s weekly email newsletter on our Facebook page or riverhillstraveler.com Delivered each Tuesday, you will enjoy: • Links to stories not in our monthly issue • Outdoors & travel news in the Ozarks

AROUND the WORLD with the River Hills Traveler

"My husband, Tim Pinson, and I took a trip to Alaska in September 2017. He has been asking each month if I have sent this photo to the Traveler," said Vonita Pinson.

"He and his nephew are both graduates of Central High School in Park Hills, Mo. His nephew, Bob Powers, lives in Anchorage, Alaska, and works for Fish and Game. Tim is pictured here at MacLaren Summit, Alaska. We live in Belleview, Mo., close to Elephant Rocks State Park. After 37 active years at the doe run mines, Tim just retired in March. We enjoy the traveler very much thank you.".

——— If you're going on a trip or vacation, please take the River Hills Traveler with you and have someone photograph you and the magazine in front of a landmark or particular setting. Then email the picture to us at jimmy@riverhillstraveler.com and we will publish it an upcoming issue. You can also text your photos & info to (417) 451-3798 or send them to us via our Facebook page.

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

Page 4 • December 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

MSP increases rate for campsites with electricity

I

n response to campers’ request for more electric sites and more sites with higher amperage, Missouri State Parks is raising its rates for campsites with electricity.

For arrivals beginning May 1, 2019, campers will see a $2 per night increase for all onseason campsites with electricity.

Basic campsite rates will remain at $13 per night, and offJimmy Sexton season rates will re———— main the same.

Journey On On-season is generally April through October but varies around the state parks. This is the first rate increase Missouri State Parks has implemented since 2013.

“The rate increase will help fund var-

A

ious electrification projects, including upgrading electrical service to 50 amp and repairing and replacing electrical systems,” said Ben Ellis, director of MoDNR's Division of State Parks.

“We want to address the power issues that have resulted in closure of some campsites and better meet our customers’ needs.”

———!

The National Park Service (NPS), in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), has started a project to replace the vehicle bridge over the spring branch at Alley Spring.!

The bridge is located on Shannon County Road 106-308 and crosses the Alley Spring branch just east of the main parking lot for Alley Mill. The project is now underway and the bridge is closed to all vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

Travelers heading west of Eminence on Shannon County Road 106-308

should be aware that they cannot reach State Highway 106 from the county road during the construction.!

Closure signs have been posted on each side of the construction site. The project is tentatively expected to take several months, depending on weather conditions.!

The bridge replacement project is being managed by FHWA. Robertson Contractors, Inc. from Poplar Bluff, Missouri, is conducting the replacement of the bridge.

Alley Spring and the surrounding area are part of a significant historic and cultural landscape within Ozark National Scenic Riverways. The project will ensure the new bridge fits aesthetically within the natural and cultural surroundings.!!

For more information, contact park headquarters at (573) 323-4236, visit the park’s Facebook page, or website at www.nps.gov/ozar.

———!

I want to thank our very own Bill Wakefield for putting together this year's holiday gift guide items.

While he had some input from our staff and readers, he ultimately chose which items to include in the guide.

And it wasn't an easy task.

Coming up with items that are both practical and useful for a variety of outdoor adventures, suitable for both men and women, could be overwhelming for some but Bill did a great job and already has a head start on next year's gift guide.

Plus, our readers love lists of all kinds, so don't be surprised if we publish a few more different types of lists throughout 2019. (How's that for a teaser?)

(Jimmy Sexton is owner and publisher of the River Hills Traveler. He can be reached at (800) 874-8423, ext.

1, or jimmy@riverhillstraveler.com.)

County, Missouri, we always had a cedar tree for Christmas, cut from our own land, every year. No exception.

For a long time I wasn’t aware there was any other kind of Christmas tree (except for the odd relative or two who put up a “fake” tree, as we called them).

Today, my wife and I alternate years.

On my years, it is Ozark Christmas, which means a live cedar Christmas tree, of course. On her year, we get a live fir or spruce.!

Homes were also decorated with live greenery from outdoors, adding to the Christmas experience. Our sense of smell can be just as important as sight and sound when it comes to awakening the holiday spirit.!

I don’t have to tell you that Christmas used to be considered much more of a religious day. Bringing food and gifts to the poor, in between reading Bible readings of the Christmas story and attending church services, was very common, though many people still do all of those things today.!

Shooting off firearms on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in celebration was a popular activity, at least in many rural areas.

By my experience and observation it still is in some cases, as extended family members hold friendly shooting competitions before or after Christmas dinner, depending on when dinner is served.!

One thing I have never done, however, is blow up an anvil on Christmas Day, which was another popular holiday activity.

The instructions were simple: Turn anvil upside down. Fill hollow base with gunpowder. Carefully turn anvil right side up on ground. Light fuse to the gunpowder. Run. Watch anvil fly into air.!

I haven’t seen any carolers in years – and then only once on an organized occasion – but it wasn’t that long ago that people used to gather outdoors with friends and sing Christmas songs on street corners and in front of homes and businesses.

Does anyone still do that anymore?

Sixteen percent of Americans say yes, by the way, according to a national poll.!

We still hold on to a few longtime traditions, however. As I mentioned,

we still hang stockings (at least I hope most people do).

As a society, we still help the poor and go to church services around the holidays (even if we don’t do either all the rest of the year). !

We still have big Christmas dinners, albeit what is on the table may vary.

Turkey long ago replaced the goose as the traditional Christmas entrée in the United States, but some people today prefer ham or something else entirely on Christmas Day. We still give Christmas cards, which is a tradition that became really popular in the mid to late 1800s, though even that is falling by the wayside these days.

School children still hold Christmas programs. Mistletoe still dangles over many doorways, though people may not follow the “rules” anymore when caught beneath it.

We still drink eggnog (both spiked and virgin) around this time of year. We still set up nativity scenes to remember Christ’s birth.!

To wrap this up, I can’t help but include just a few old Ozark Christmas superstitions that I hope you might remember as we get closer to the special season.!

On Christmas morning, try to be the first to say “Christmas gift!” to anyone you see. This tradition may have originated during hard times in the Ozarks when there wasn’t an actual gift to give.!At exactly 3 a.m. on Christmas morning, listen for the roosters crowing. They only do that at this particular time on this particular day.!

Celebrate “Old Christmas” on Jan. 6 (“New Christmas” is Dec. 25). At midnight on Old Christmas, cows kneel and wild bees hum in a special manner to celebrate Christ. So goes the old belief.!

Pay attention to the weather on Christmas Day. It is supposed to reflect the weather of the following summer (New Year’s Day does too. I don’t

know what happens if they conflict.)

However, a mild Christmas supposedly isn’t good for human life. There is a very old Ozarks saying, which I have read but never heard, that goes “a green Christmas makes a fat graveyard.”

Everyone have a very merry Ozarks Christmas!

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

On the Cover

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.

Christmas traditions at my house & in the Ozarks

merican Christmas traditions have altered in the course of time, though some have remained constant.!

I know a lot of people write about past holiday traditions, but I thought I would still throw my pen scratches onto the published pile.!

I was telling someone the other day how just a handful of decades ago it was common to wait until Christmas Eve to put up the Christmas Tree.

Compare that with today’s “day after Thanksgiving” trend, or even before Thanksgiving now. !

In our house, we don’t put up the tree until mid-December, but I have always ignored trends Wes Franklin and fads. In fact, I’d ———— say I am antiNative Ozarker trendy.!

Of course, before the 1900s most people’s Christmas Tree was small enough to place on a table. Toys were often hung on the tree, as well as placed in the stockings, which gives one an idea of common gift size.

Fruit was also a common item found drooping from the holiday branches.

Today, many people still put fruit in stockings at least, though I don’t think the kids get as excited about it anymore.

Sometimes lighted candles were strung with wire around the tree.

Makes me thankful for LED electric lights.!Gifts were often simple and homemade. Baked goods made with sugar were a special treat. An extra treat was sugar candy.

Many presents were practical as well, such as hand-knitted mittens. We still give practical gifts today, like socks, but that usually isn’t all we receive.

Gift-giving, by the way, didn’t become popular until the mid-1800s, and for some time it was mostly children who were the recipients.!

Needless to say, the Christmas trees weren’t artificial. Cedar trees are “the” traditional Christmas tree of the Ozarks, according to everything I have read, and by my own experience.

Growing up in the hills of McDonald

Every one of us lives in a watershed, so knowing your watershed address is vital to protecting our local waterways.

Please see the story by Todd Wilkinson on page 8 of this issue.

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

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

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

December 2018 • Page 5

RiverHillsTraveler.com

S

eason two of the Netflix streaming series, Ozark, started on August 31. In Season 1, a few establishing shots were grabbed at Lake of the Ozarks, but the series itself was filmed in Georgia thanks to that state’s generous tax credits for filmmakers.

To our utter amazement, the last scene of that first episode showed Marty Byrde’s (Jason Bateman) first sight of the Lake at a spot we recognized as Lover’s Leap, a precipitous bluff near the drowned town of Linn Creek.

J. W. Vincent, editor of the Linn Creek Reveille, included his version of the tale that gave the spot its name in his 1913 booklet, Tales of the Ozarks.

Winona states she “will die rather than be false to her lover” before leaping off the cliff.

Lover’s Leaps on the Osage and the James rivers got us interested in the subject. Then we ran across Mark Twain’s satiric comments on the fate of Winona and the legend of Maiden Rock (Wisconsin).

“There are fifty Lover’s Leaps along the Mississippi from whose summit disappointed Indian girls have jumped but this is the only jump in the lot that turned out the right and satisfactory way.”

That got us working on our new project, Lover’s Leap Legends.

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

5 years ago • This month’s cover subject, Al Agnew, one of the country’s most respected fish and wildlife artists, has supplied many cover illustrations for the Traveler over the past 30 years.

Agnew is a man who is blessed to be able to earn a living doing what he loves to do. Agnew, who was born in Desloge and now lives near Ste. Genevieve, has been interested in the outdoors and art his entire life. He has successfully combined the two in his art career.

• Every aspect of our society has become so pigeonholed, we all have become victims of the cookie-cutter syndrome. If we see it on TV, or in a slick magazine, we copy it. It is called mass merchandising. And it prevails on the masses to relieve us of our hardearned money. (Bill Cooper) 10 years ago • Around the age of six I was confronted with my first formal exposure to the three R’s — readin, ritin’, and ‘rithmetic. The theme was August 1929 at the beginning of what became known as The Great Depression. The place was a one-room county school in the Current River Hills of the Ozarks in Ripley County, Mo. Our Belleview district was the poorest of the poor. The taxpayers in our district wore themselves out trying to wrest a living by farming the poor clay soil, shot though with rocks from the size of marbles to hefty boulders.

Their only fertilizer was the manure from the chickens, cows and horses, scattered scantily on the thin topsoil.

(Jim and Donna Featherston) • The Big River Watershed Group is a group of local citizens, with the cooperation of government agencies, formed to address the pollution in the Big River and its watershed, which spans Washington, St.Francois and Jefferson counties.

VINTAGE OZARKS:

Lake of the Ozarks landmark appears in Netflix series

Linen postcard, Lover’s Leap at Lake of the Ozarks, 1940s.

the Ozarks. Their next book, Lover’s Leap Legends, was inspired by their discovery that both the Osage and James had Lover’s Leaps. Mark Twain’s satiric comments on those leg-

ends added motivation and they have found Lover’s Leaps across the country.

Their most recent book, James Fork of the White, was published in 2017.

Some pages from this book can be seen

REMEMBER WHEN

Formed in January 2007, the group’s goals are to educate the people about the health hazards of living in a lead mining area, inform the public about what is happening with the tailing piles, provide a venue for locals to comment on the alternative solutions, coordinate public opinion and interest in seeking funding, and taking action on clean-up of the river. (Steve Roetto) 15 years ago • This will be the third year of a creel census on Lake Wappapello. And last year’s results may be twisted a bit by extremely high water in the spring. But Conservation Department biologist Mark Boone has some preliminary data.

The creel survey is being carried out by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Cooperation with MDC. (Bob Todd) • “The best time to catch big smallmouth on the Meramec River is right in the middle of the firearms deer season,” said Tom Gallagher, of Sullivan.

“Well, I am off work that week. I should kill a deer over the weekend,” I replied.

“Doe deal,” Gallagher quipped. “You and Charlene meet me at my place at 7 a.m. sharp on Monday morning. And bring your favorite river rods.” (Bill Cooper)

range — much like the wild horses in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways.

But recently, wild boar stock has been added to the mix and now there is a hog out there that is much more capable of survival in the wild. (Bob Todd) • An example of the half-full cup that represents most conservation areas is Castor River Conservation Area, mainly in Bollinger County.

We say half-full because the 9,000acre area is unquestionably a valuable asset to Missourians and few would argue that the Conservation Department should not have acquired it. (Bob Todd) 30 years ago • It was the kind of day when there was no discussion about which way to begin the hunt — we got the wind to our backs and ducked in a draw to escape the cold.

It had been clear right at sunrise, but now, as the gods determined our direction and fanned out ahead, the overcast sky showed no hope of sunshine.

We’d driven quite some distance to this Perry County quail haven, and though toasty in the truck, excess heat was whipped away immediately outside.

And there was the clumsiness of walking on frozen ground to be overcome, too.

(Bob Todd) • The state parks and soil conservation sales tax was passed by Missouri voters for another 10 years. Originally authorized five years ago, the 1/10th cent tax is divided between parks and soil conservation practices.

The basic idea is a good one, but exe-

on www.beautifulozarks.com. Their earlier river book, Damming the Osage, can be at seen online at www.dammingtheosage.com.)

cution of the idea has lagged. Now, hopefully, park watchers will see a little steam generated.

The Traveler began a monthly series in 1985 featuring the parks in our region.

First, using the 1985 state budget, we toured the parks, showing what is there and what was to be done. (Bob Todd) 40 years ago • The first weekend of the deer season was enlightening. Not very productive, but enlightening.

I and my son witnessed what must be described as a slaughter of deer. We camped on the same ridge where we stayed last deer season and it was just a short walk from camp down either side of the ridge to a good deer stand.

I’d killed a deer at the stand on the north side of the ridge last year and offered that stand to my son, but he still had faith in the stand on the south side of the ridge, so he went there. (Bob Todd) • The fires released by a large earthquake are of such a magnitude that it is difficult to imagine so much energy being released at once.

It is also extremely difficult to measure these forces and describe them in terms that have some meaning.

Today, earthquakes are measured on the Richter Scale. Because the forces of an earthquake are so great, it has been found to be useful. On the Richter Scale, a change of one number means an increase or decrease of about 10 times in force. (Bob Todd) (compiled by MyraGale Sexton)

20 years ago • Missouri is going to try and head off a problem that has reached major proportions in some states — the spread of wild hogs.

Apparently, a few wild hogs have persisted in Missouri since the days of open

— Share your camping, fishing, kayaking, hunting, outdoors & travel photos with Traveler readers by texting them to (417) 451-3798 —

Page 6 • December 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

I love reading hunting stories; here’s some of mine

W

ell, the cold is here. Didn’t used to bother me much, but as I get older it starts to creep in on me.

It will not stop me from doing the things that I enjoy outdoors, but unfortunately it will slow me down.

I look back on so many past times and I wonder why I can’t do that now. Well, it is pretty obvious.

I remember one hunt, way back when, I had gotten to my hunting area late on a Friday night. I always left after work on Fridays.

From where I left my car, I hiked about half-way around this lake toward where I wanted to camp. It was already dark so I wasn’t real sure where I was.

So, I decided to put my sleeping bag down on a spot which was mostly clear. I put down a plastic cloth, layered down on my sleeping bag, leaned my bow against a bush, got into my sleeping bag and pulled the plastic sheet over Tom me.

Boydston It was very cold outside, but I ———— was quite comfortable and snug.

Well, morning came without me knowing it until I was awakened by some commotion. I threw back my bag and the sheet, and there stood a nice six-point buck pawing and stomping the ground.

My bow was too far to reach so I had to get up.

Of course, he was gone. Well, not only was it cold there but there was one inch of snow on the ground, so I jumped back into my bag for a few minutes.

It was already late. I sat up to put my boots on and there on the other side of me stood that very same deer. I got up and started looking around, and discovered I had camped in a well-defined deer run.

I guess Mr. Deer did not approve. I tracked him for some time which did me no good. The snow was gone an hour later, so I packed up my gear and moved to another spot.

On another hunt years ago in a different area, I had hiked way back in an area that I was not familiar with. I don’t think many others had been back this far.

I found an excellent tree which was easy to shoot

from and comfortable sitting in. Just before sundown along comes a monster buck. I had never seen a deer with so many points.

I was so excited I forgot to count them. He walked into some tall brush about forty yards from my tree and laid down.

Okay, he will soon get up and move on when he rests a bit. Well, it was getting late and the legal hunting hours were drawing close. The buck got up and walked away in the opposite direction.

So, since it was getting late and the buck didn’t cooperate, I started to climb down from the tree. Before I could even start lowering my equipment, here came a whole bunch of coyotes.

I counted twelve. Most of them were young pups, but there were three adults with them. Being young and no experience with them, I stayed in the tree.

Thinking they won’t be there for long, I just settled back for awhile. It was getting later and later, and I didn’t want to lose my way back to my camp since I was in an unfamiliar area.

So, I thought I might shoot a couple of them and they might run off. They were moving around a lot, and I didn’t hit a single one. And it did not seem to bother them at all.

So I sat there and waited. Finally they did leave. It took me some time to find my way back to camp. I had no light with me, so i just had to hope I could find my way.

On another hunt, many years ago, I was in a familiar area which I had hunted a few times before. I climbed into a tree I had used before and waited.

Around 10 a.m. a nice six-point came by. He was about 45 yards out, and I shouldn’t have taken a shot, but it had been so long since I had seen one that I decided to take a chance.

I watched where he went so as to track him after awhile. He ran into an open field about 200 yards from where I shot him. That should make it pretty easy to track since the ground was wet from rain a short time before.

I still wasn’t sure if I had hit the deer or not. After a reasonable wait, I climbed out of the tree and walked to the last place he was seen. From that point I followed his trail into that open field.

In that field was one lone tree right in the middle.

Well, the tracks led right to that tree, and then no more tracks.

I searched and searched but found no more tracks. I did my best to figure out where he could have gone.

Finally I gave up, but after looking around to be sure no one else was in site, I just had to look up in the tree.

That was dumb. Must have been aliens that took the deer! Well, I guess I can laugh at myself, cause someone else will laugh at me at that way I can laugh with them.

I found the arrow, and it was a total miss. Enough said.

Just a few memories that came to mind. I’m sure most of you have similar stories.

I enjoy hearing such stories. Share your stories with others.

(Tom Boydston lives in Neosho, Mo., and can be reached by text at 417-439-6048.)

Mom learned what not to do while traveling home

M

y mother was in her 80’s and traveled by herself after my father passed away. The trailer she traveled in was a 34-foot Air Stream #11773 and the tow vehicle was a one-ton van.

Mom had no qualms towing that big rig that was as long as an 18wheeler from one part of the country to another by herself.

Bob Brennecke When she was ———— traveling home from a trip to Florida, she became tired and decided to pull into a “once professionally operated” camp for the night.

Now when mom came home from

Florida she always filled the bathroom shower with as much fresh fruits and vegetables she could carry back to Missouri.

When she pulled in all the spots close to the facilities and the shady spots were taken. The campers who were there looked like the Grapes of Wrath camping set-ups.

The clotheslines were full of drying clothes, kids running all over, and trash lying about. Since she was tired and the tub was filled, she decided she would clean up at the shower house and leave in the morning early.

She wore her brightly colored moo moo, took her towel, shower clogs, soap and wash cloth and keys and started her walked a good distance to the shower house from her parking spot. When she was done showering, she reached for her towel on the out-

side of the shower door and it was gone. She then fumbled for her moo moo, which she found was gone, also.

The only thing she had to cover up with from the shower house to the trailer was a wash cloth, soap and keys.

What to do? She was always tenderfooted and didn’t know if she could negotiate the gravel path to the trailer.

Well, she didn’t have much of a choice, so she covered up the best she could with the wash cloth, soap and

keys and walked “briskly” down the road back to her trailer.

Now, mom was never a slight woman and didn’t move quickly under the best conditions but she made it and said she was glad to have her keys in hand.

She stated later that she learned what not to do when showering at a bath house.

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

December 2018 • Page 7

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Hall’s art appeals to the outdoorsman in all of us

T

By Judy Haas Smith here is one rule of being a columnist which I try to follow: Do not begin a column with the personal pronoun, “I”.

However, this month’s column just has to begin with “I am an overeducated, well-traveled woman who has led an average life,” but nothing has been so very wonderful and inspiring as seeing all the people come to the unveiling of Doug Hall’s painting and mural titled “Neosho Big Spring Bluff” at the Neosho Newton County Library on Thursday, Sept. 13.

I want to encourage all people to stop by and enjoy it, then walk down the street to the Big Spring Park, waterfall and trout pond to see the 2018 version of what artist Doug Hall saw as a 1700’s scene with Indians traveling through what was the edge of a wetland swamp.

How did this come about? Neosho is the hometown of Doug Hall and myself. We refer to this joint effort as a “collaboration.”

I am part of his team as collaborator and writer when text is needed.

Doug is not the first nationally-recognized artist to come out of Neosho, but he is the only one who has not run off to Paris or New York to seek his inspiration or lessons.

He was reared here, schooled here, sold his early works here and is still here. He has traveled for training, but he began at Crowder College under the name of his grandmother who was the one old enough to enroll.

He sold his first painting at an Art in

the Park Festival at about age 10. Doug Hall admires the frontiersmen who met up with the first Americans, the Eastern Woodland Indians.

That is his historical study and they are whom and what he paints.

He is a bit of a frontiersman himself.

At the unveiling I shared his first leather fringed coat which his mother, Rebecca Hall, bought on layaway when he was six years old. I then showed the leather leggings and fringed jacked he made from four does he had shot himself some 20 years ago.

I believe there is much truth in the words of poet William Wordsworth who wrote, “The child is father of the Man.” Doug had fine parental attention but since childhood he pretty much insisted on walking his own path.

Now he lives in a log cabin, rides his Missouri Fox Trotters and shoots black powder on Sundays.

I recently checked in with him to see if he was on schedule for a painting deadline and he said, “Well, I have just finished putting two front shoes on Sammy and I hope to get the two back ones done this afternoon, and I need to make some bullets.”

He meant balls for the black powder musket. But this illustrates that he lives the frontier life, loves America and freedom, friends and family and has not veered off his path.

This child who is now a man wanted to be a frontiersman and a certain stubborn streak has developed him into the frontier painter who lives among us and gives us back a history we never got to see for ourselves.

He has made art a career. It is not a hobby with him. It is serious “work” and as he says, “It pays the light bill.”

Thomas Hart Benton is the earlier recognized professional artist to come out of Neosho but Neosho never really recognized him nor bought his work.

He only returned here at the urging of LIFE magazine creator and founder, Daniel Longwell.

Longwell loved Neosho and art. He promoted the idea of a THB day and when it happened in 1962, 26,000 people showed up including Harry S Truman.

Benton then gave Neosho some lithographs now hanging at City Hall and we have what the Longwells gave us at the Longwell Museum at Crowder College.

Doug Hall does not do much commissioned work, but he agreed to do this painting which is now also a mural

in tile. It was nearly 2017 when I asked him, saying that I wanted something Neosho could recognize and remember as part of our lives here.

He agreed because, “Neosho is my hometown too.” The park has been the venue of weddings, picnics, dances, musicals, festivals… even some Civil War fighting, and probably much romance by moonlight.

The creation of a mural of the bluff in tile from the original oil was a later idea and we are both really happy with the results, and so was everyone else at the unveiling.

It is a six foot by eight mural at the south entry to the library next to the community room.

With so many fresh disasters reported every day, the unveiling evening was full of friends seeing friends, laughing, enjoying the buffet and bursting with pride at our gorgeous library.

Doug said later, “Who would have thought the library was a happening place?”

The new library is an art piece in itself. I encourage everyone to visit the Big Spring Park, visit the Neosho Newton County Library, and build some memories as the rest of us have.

Besides the mural, two more Doug Hall giclee prints hang in the Jack and Rita Wood Genealogy Room and the Community Room.

The bluff and the library are only a block apart. Neosho is a lovely small town and it is full of happy people.

We love visitors and especially those who love reading and art.

(Judy Haas Smith lives in Neosho.)

the state’s fledgling economy got off to a strong start. Though the beaver’s heyday in Missouri is history, the animal is still an interesting member of the state’s wildlife world.

Their wood-chewing habits are the beaver traits that are familiar to many people. In winter, woody vegetation comprises nearly 100 percent of a beaver’s food intake. (At other times of year, plants, leaves and grains comprise part of their food intake.).

Their wood ingestion is linked to another well-known beaver characteristic – the construction of large lodges used for brood-rearing. Many people refer to these lodges as “dams” because of their penchant for restricting waterflow.

Missouri beavers don’t build lodges as

often as beavers residing elsewhere on the continent. Most beavers in Missouri build their homes in stream banks, presumably because they instinctually know the fluctuating water levels of many area waterways make lodges impractical.

The typical Missouri beaver bank den consists of a chamber between two feet and three feet across and one to two feet high, and situated above normal water level. It is reached through a tunnel 12 inches to 18 inches in diameter and 12 to 50 feet in length. The tunnel’s entrance is usually below water level.

Where beavers build lodges, those structures may be up to seven feet high and 40 feet in diameter. There is a single chamber inside that’s four feet to five feet wide and approximately three feet high.

There may be one or two passages to the outside; the entrances to both of which are under water.

Beavers are occasionally problematic.

However, for most of us, beavers are either a valuable fur-bearer or merely an interesting mammal that we seldom see.

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

Beavers are an interesting animal that most of us rarely see

T

By Francis Skalicky he animal that once could have made a strong case for being Missouri’s most important mammal is now one of the state’s seldom-mentioned creatures.

Today, in terms of human consideration, Missouri’s beavers live their lives in relative obscurity. They’re still considered a game animal; beavers are a furbearer and are part of Missouri’s trapping season. Missouri’s trapping season for beaver runs from Nov. 15 through March 31. However, beavers’ primarily nocturnal routines keep them out of most people’s views and concerns.

The only time beavers are usually noticed is when the two most obvious signs of their existence – dams and tree-chewing – cause problems for humans.

However, a look at the history books will show beavers didn’t always have such a low profile. Deer may be the primo mammal for today’s Missourians, but their significance in the state today isn’t anywhere near the stature once held by beavers.

It could be argued very easily that beavers literally put Missouri on the map as a state. At this time of year, as some Ozarkers switch their outdoors interests from hunting to trapping, it’s a good

time to take a closer look at the animal which was once Missouri’s most prestigious furbearer.

In the 1700s, it was an interest in beaver pelts that lured the first explorers and settlers to the land that would become Missouri.

In 1763, a desire to control the beaver pelt trade led Pierre Laclede and Auguste Choteau to found the trading post of St. Louis at the strategically located convergence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. In less than 100 years, the beaver pelt trade had transformed the small fort of St. Louis into the fur-trading capital of the world.

In the early years of statehood, the trade in beaver pelts pumped millions of dollars into Missouri, thus ensuring that

Page 8 • December 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Protecting our vital waterways for future generations

D

o you know your watershed address? Everyone has a watershed address, because we all live in a watershed.

And what exactly is a watershed, anyway?

The simplest definition of a watershed is “the region or area which drains into a river, stream or lake.”

Every time it rains what doesn’t soak in or evaporate will eventually flow downhill to outflow points such as reservoirs (like Table Rock Lake), bays and oceans.

The James River watershed can be further narrowed down to sub-watersheds centered on a particular creek or stream.!

For example, the Finley River’s headwaters are in Webster County, and Todd then flows from east Wilkinson to west some 53 ———— miles through Christian County through a largely open grassland and forested area and past the city of Ozark, until it reaches its confluence with the James River in Stone County.

The James then flows into Table Rock Lake, which was created when the White River was dammed in the 1950s. The White River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico.

Most people are surprised to learn that local water like the Finley has a direct connection to the Gulf.

The size of a watershed can vary — the Mississippi River watershed, for example, is the largest in the United States and drains 1.15 million square miles from all or parts of 31 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, from the Rockies to the Appalachians.

The size of a watershed is measured based on its geography and is known as a Hydrologic Unit Code, or “HUC.”!

The James River is classified as a HUC 8 watershed, or a medium-sized river basin, stretching almost 100 miles from its headwaters in Webster County to where it enters Table Rock Lake.

Our watershed is also a part of the larger Mississippi River watershed.

As water travels throughout a water-

shed, it often picks up pollutants – while most people tend to think of point-source pollution, or pollutants that go directly into the stream from a permitted source or sometimes a spill, a majority of pollutants in our watershed today come from non-point source pollution.

This non-point source pollution is just that, hard to pinpoint. It can come in the form of many things from a leaky septic tank to stormwater runoff, which can include everything from oil and fluids on city streets to lawn care chemicals.

Much of this runoff comes from impervious surfaces like parking lots, roads and other structures that creates a “fast lane” into our local waterways.!

Algae blooms are largely the result of excess nutrients such as phosphorous or nitrogen from urban lawn runoff, sediment erosion, agriculture, or leaky sewer systems.!

The James River Basin Partnership (JRBP) was formed in 1997 in response to a 14-mile long algae bloom in the James River arm of Table Rock Lake, and since our formation, we have been involved in many grants and projects to protect our local water.

These include the Lawn Steward Soil Testing Program and the Rain Barrel Rebate, both of which can assist in reducing the amount of nutrients (such as phosphorous and nitrogen) in area waters.

The Lawn Steward Program offers residents of portions of the Wilson’s Creek watershed and the city of Springfield a free soil test, analysis and a 3-year suggested maintenance plan tailored to their lawn’s specific needs.

While “manicured” lawns might make a good first impression, many times they are maintained with chemical fertilizers and pesticides, many of which can end up in downstream thanks to runoff.!

Healthy lawns and soil will allow plants to thrive, holding soil in place and allowing water to soak in, rather than creating excess stormwater runoff.

Our “Right as Rain” Rain Barrel Rebate program allows you to capture and store rainwater from your rooftop, thereby reducing runoff and conserving drinking water while using the captured water for non-potable uses like watering your lawn.

In addition, rain barrel captures help minimize erosion in local streams and rivers.!Residents of Greene and Christian County are eligible to receive the one-time rebate at a rate of $0.50 a gallon, based on your system’s capacity.

For example, a 200-gallon system would yield a $100 one-time rebate.

Residents outside of the James River basin should contact their county government or the University of Missouri Extension to see what programs are available to them.

In addition to these two programs, the partnership also offers volunteer opportunities to help with everything from stream clean-ups, to tree planting events, water quality monitoring efforts, and more.

For example, since 2005, JRBP members and volunteers have helped to remove over 83,250 pounds of trash and more than 700 tires from the James and Finley rivers.

Every one of us lives in a watershed, so knowing your watershed address is vital to protecting our local waterways for future generations for a variety of uses, from drinking water to economic benefits such as tourism and our cultural heritage.

If you would like to learn more about the James River Basin Partnership, please visit our website, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter or Instagram – or better yet, consider joining us as a member or volunteering at one of our many events.!

We’ll see you downstream!

(Todd Wilkinson can be reached at 417-836-3756 or toddwilkinson@missouristate.edu.)

December 2018 • Page 9

RiverHillsTraveler.com

This is where I feel completely calm T here are places that I feel completely at ease. One such place is Sutton Bluff Recreation Area.

It is located in the Mark Twain National Forest between Centerville and Lesterville, Mo., off of Highway 72.

The namesake of this spot is the beautiful Sutton Bluff. This impressive bluff is just upstream from the campground.

It was named after R.G. Sutton who settled in this area of Reynolds County in 1888. Three generations of the Sutton family worked the farm before it became part of the Mark Twain National Forest.

Fast forward to 2018 and Sutton Bluff Recreation Area is a location where I can quiet my mind and simply listen to the wind in the trees alongside the clear flowing waters of the West Fork of the Michelle Turner Black River.

———— This past October I once again did exactly that. I completely lost track of time, doing what some people call nothing and I call living.

Sutton Bluff Recreation Area appeals to a variety of outdoor enthusiasts. Hiking, picnicking, mountain biking, swimming, fishing, camping, scenic drives, nature walks, off-roading, or simply hanging out are just a few of the many activities one can partake in at Sutton Bluff.

Within the campground there are vault and flush toilets, as well as a shower house. There are standard electric sites and non-electric sites.

The campground is typically open March 23 through November 4. Reservations can be made on Recreation.gov or if you want to leave it to chance, you can try to see if a spot is available when you arrive.

The last time I checked, if the campground is full or if you want to save money, you can go primitive. There are a few free campsites across the river from the campground. Granted, there are no facilities, but most often you can use the campground’s facilities if you pay the day-use fee.

If you are an ATV enthusiast there is a 25-mile off-road vehicle trail you can access (with a permit) from the campground. I’ve heard people say that by using some of the forest roads as connectors you can split up the ride into a variety of loops.

Do a YouTube search for “Sutton Bluff ATV Trails” and you can view MANY videos uploaded by those who love to document their rides.

The Ozark Trail is accessible in this area, too. The Karkaghne section is well-known among backpackers, hikers, and mountain bikers for its beauty and rigor. However, I am more drawn to the history behind the name!

Apparently the Karkaghne beast once roamed the forests of Missouri. Witnesses described it as covered in fur, scales, and feathers with an armor plate. Some sources claimed it was “dragon-like” and tended to walk backward because it preferred where it had been to where it was going.

This was a shy beast that was rarely seen, but rumor has it that people can catch a glimpse of it to this day if you are looking through the bottom of an emptied moonshine jar.

Let’s hope that the next time I am at Sutton Bluff killing a little time that I don’t decide to go looking for a Karkaghne (or a moonshine still for that matter, either).

Folktales aside, this area is simply beautiful and I only have one complaint about it that I must share with my River Hills Traveler friends: litter.

This past October when my daughter and I were enjoying a Saturday afternoon in this beautiful spot, our joy came to a screeching halt on a few occasions.

At several of the pullouts we saw

EXCESSIVE litter; dumping of old TVs, full trash bags, and more. It simply disgusts me that people abuse our national lands like this.

I encourage any and all of you to remember this motto of the forest, “Leave it better than you found it.”

I picked up a few pieces of trash while I was there; perhaps when you visit Sutton Bluff (or any other location like it) you can do the same?

Myself and many other nature lovers would really appreciate it!

(Michelle Turner lives in Union, Mo.)

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Page 10 • December 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Misouri’s red cedar trees popular with humans, animals

I

By Dana Sturgeon n Missouri you will find a lot of different species of plants, shrubs and trees. One of these species is called the Eastern Red Cedar. It is from the family Cupressaceae (cypresses).

Numerous members of the cypress family (often called junipers) are grown in Missouri as landscaping plants, also.

The Juniperus virginiana (Eastern red cedar) are native to Missouri. Another native is the Ashe’s juniper (Juniperus ashei), which are found mostly in the northeastern portion of the state.

The Eastern Eed Cedar is a small- to medium-sized tree (able to grow close to 50 feet in size), aromatic, evergreen, with a dense, pyramidal (sometimes cylindrical) crown.

Leaves, usually at the end of twigs, are either scalelike or needlelike, olive green to yellowish-green, turning bronze after the

first frost and staying somewhat reddish through winter.

Bark is light reddish brown, shredding into long, thin, flat strips, with the trunk tapering toward the top and spreading at the base.

Twigs are flexible, green the first year, reddish brown the second year, aromatic.

Conifers don’t “flower” but pollen is shed

March-May. Fruits come on between August-September.

The female cones become fleshy, berrylike, about a quarter-inch long, dark blue, and covered with a white, wax coating.

These cedars grow on glades, bluffs, in open rocky woods, pastures and old fields.

Also, they are located along roadsides and

Critter of the Month: Bobcat

• Species: Bobcat.

• Scientific name: Lynx rufus.

• Nicknames: None.

• Claim to fame: Bobcats are one of the animals included in the state’s trapping season (also known as furbearer season). This season runs from November 15 through Jan. 31 for most species (see Wildlife Code of Missouri for details). As predators and scavengers, bobcats play an important role in the wildlife community.

• Species status: Bobcats are found throughout Missouri and in most parts of the United States. In 1977, the Missouri Department of Conservation closed hunting and trapping of bobcats due to a heavy harvest of the species.

In 1980, bobcats were once again included in the state’s trapping season and have been ever since.

Recent surveys indicate bobcat populations are either stable or increasing throughout much of Missouri and most other regions of their North American range.

• First discovered: The first scientific description of the bobcat was written by the German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel Schreber in 1777.

• Family matters: The bobcat belongs to the mammal family Felidae, which includes all wild and domestic cats.

• Length: Up to 50 inches.

• Diet: Studies have shown rabbits are one of the main food items for bobcats (67 percent of their diet). Small mammals, birds and reptiles make up most of the remainder of the animal’s diet.

Bobcats are sometimes portrayed as killers of poultry and other domestic animals (calves, foals, etc.), but studies indicate livestock and poultry comprise a relatively small part of a bobcat’s diet.

• Weight: Up to 50 pounds.

• Distinguishing characteristics: Bobcats are yellowish to reddish-brown and streaked and/or spotted with black. Two of a bobcat’s most distinguishing characteristics are its namesake trait – a short “bobbed” tail – and the tufts of hair that top the ears.

Bobcats are relatively common throughout southwest Missouri, but are not frequently seen because they are nocturnal and secretive. Outside of mating season in

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December 2018 • Page 11

RiverHillsTraveler.com

fencerows.

Some gnarled cedars on Ozark bluffs are over 1,000 years old. When you float a river in Missouri, you may see some of these old cedars on bluffs.

I wonder what they would have to say?

After all, a lot of history has passed them by in 1,000 years.

These junipers are also used to make chests, closets, interior finish, posts, pencils and other objects. Some people use it for a Christmas tree.

An oil from the resin is used for ointments, soaps and to flavor gin. Native Americans made a tea from these branches and berries for various ailments.

This tree also provides cover and food for many wildlife species such as the cedar waxwing who love to eat the berries. Other birds make their nest in the branches and deer use it for cover.

Sometimes they tend to invade prairies and

winter and spring, there is little social interaction between individual bobcats.

This lack of contact is apparently achieved by marking home ranges with solid fecal material and urine. These scents serve to prevent encounters of resident individuals and to notify transient bobcats that the range is occupied.

• Life span: In captivity, bobcats have been known to live up to 25 years. However, in the wild, about half of that age (around 12 years) is probably a more accurate life span.

• Habitat: Bobcats live in heavy forest cover, preferring timber that has much underbrush and areas where there are clearings or rocky outcrops.

• Life cycle: Bobcat kittens are born from May to midJune. At birth, they have spotted fur and sharp claws.

Their eyes open at nine to 11 days. Weaning occurs around two months. Young bobcats stay with their mothers until fall or even later. Females mate when they are one or two years of age, but males do not breed until they are two years of age. (source: MDC)

glades, though. But through the practice of prescribed burning and cutting of these woody species, it helps to keep the survival of our prairie plants and glades.

When you drive around Missouri, you will easily find the Eastern Red Cedar growing about anywhere.

Last month, I was deer hunting in the woods. I was surrounded by oaks and junipers.

One day, snow fell on the forest. It was like a winter wonderland. It was beautiful.

(Dana Sturgeon lives in southern Missouri.

She can be reached at mo_dana@hotmail. com.)

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2 heads are not always better than 1

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wo heads are better than one — at least, that is an old adage that still usually makes sense. But not always.

Consider the plight of a two-headed copperhead snake found this past September in Virginia; its picture appears with this article.

This snake when found was approximately one month old. It was six inches long. Although it obviously had two heads and therefore two nervous systems, there was only one body.

Shortly after it was found and turned over to a trained herpetologist for care, tests were conducted to determine its chances for survival.

It was determined that this snake would not likely survive for long on its own for the simple reaBill Hoagland son these two nervous systems ———— would be competing to serve the same body.

So an attempt was made to save the snake under controlled conditions.

An examination of the snake revealed it had two heads and two throats but one set of lungs and one heart. Both heads were equipped with fangs and venom sacks, so each head was capable of envenoming prey.

The right throat was more developed and could better accommodate prey but the left head was more dominant and this is where life for this snake would become problematic.

Because the left head was dominant, it was predicted that this head would fight with the right head to swallow the prey that the right head had envenomed and was attempting to swallow.

Eventually, the two heads would fight to the death for the same meal. Videos of the snake demonstrate that it even had issues deciding which way to crawl;

Two-head venomous Virginia copperhead snake.

each head wanted to go in a different direction.

After two days in captivity, the snake died.

At about the same time as the Virginia copperhead was found, another two-headed copperhead was found in Kentucky. Its picture also appears with this article.

Although it is not clear to what extent the Kentucky snake has been examined by a herpetologist, the same problem will undoubtedly exist for this snake as well.

We know of this potential because there is a herpetologist who, believe it or not, has studied more than 950 snakes with two heads and he states that without some sort of supervision, two-headed snakes almost always fight to the death over food.

Some two-headed snakes do survive in captivity if there is supervision over their eating habits; one twoheaded king snake in captivity, for example, lived for

17 years.

The St. Louis Zoo also had a two-headed snake (named “We”) that survived for a long time. If they do survive, two-headed snakes have been in great demand as pets.

So if your head is not already spinning, this will do it; here is a partial list of persons who have owned two-headed snakes: Ben Franklin, Thomas Edison, Thomas Jefferson and Ellen DeGeneres.

Finally, we should mention an interesting issue about two-headed snakes that is being addressed by Enrique Font, a herpetologist at the University of Valencia in Spain.

He has a male two-headed ladder snake that is now a mature snake. This year he is going to attempt to mate the snake with a female; the issue will be whether the two heads will have conflicting ideas about courtship and mating or whether they can agree on “taking care of business” with a specific lady friend.

I am betting that they will be able to agree at least on this issue.

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

Two-head venomous Kentucky copperhead snake.

BeCoMe BeC oMe HuNtEr Hu uNtEr cErT cErTiFiEd iFiEd OnLiNe On LiNe tOdA tOdA Ay y y!

Missouri adults 16 and older can comple l te hunter education training all online. ! Flexibilit y to learn at your own w pace ! Access 24/7 ! No in-perso s n skills session required The all-online course includ es engaging vid eo and animation on hunter safet y, fireearm safet y, ethic s, regulations, and wild life management.

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December 2018 • Page 13

RiverHillsTraveler.com

A deer season homecoming

I

grew-up in S.E. Missouri, about an hour south of St. Louis. I have killed deer in a half-dozen counties down there… but not for a long, long time.

I moved to N.E. Missouri in 1981 and began hunting up there. A few years later I crossed the Great River and began deer hunting in Illinois. File that info as we will come to it later.

My dad stopped deer hunting about a decade ago due to age and failing health. He still lives in St. Francois County. My best friend Roger Lewis also still lives down home. He and his boys have come north to hunt with me on many occaMike Roux sions.

———— Now let me put this info together for you. Last summer Roger bought over 200 acres of big timber near where we grew up.

He was excited a couple of months ago as he gave the tour. He was also very excited when I accepted his invitation for me to come in November to deer hunt with him and his boys. I was excited, as well.

Roger is working on getting his lodge constructed so I took the opportunity to spend a couple of nights with my dad on this trip. Seeing my father fellowship with the Lewis gang and deer hunting in S.E. Missouri made this a true homecoming deer hunt.

When I was with Roger on his property I took the opportunity to scout and pick out my spot for opening day. Even with that it would be hit-and-miss hunting a new property for the first time.

But we were all in the same boat.

Going home to Missouri to deer hunt also allowed me the chance to shoot a very special rifle. Another great friend from Farmington is Adam Busse.

Adam is a custom gunmaker and owner of Gunware, LLC. (gunware.net). He had recently completed building a sweet little .6mm bolt action and said I could use it for opening weekend.

This just added more pleasure to my return to S.E. Missouri deer hunting.

The spot I picked out to start my season was on the edge of a small pasture adjacent to many hundreds of acres of big timber. I found two good trails entering and leaving the field about 200 yards apart.

I set up right between them hoping for a rut chase to enter the field. As the sun rose it was 18 degrees and I was tickled.

I recall thinking there was not much shooting for an opening day. I can remember opening days in Washington and Ste. Genevieve counties that sounded like a young war. I hardly moved a muscle for 3 hours but saw no deer movement at all.

After 3 hours of sitting in the cold air, Mother Nature called. As I reached for my pee bottle in my pack I remembered that there was a good-sized creek at the foot of the hill.

My decision was to go to the creek to relieve myself. I slipped down the field edge and into the creek to “git ‘er dun.”

As I stepped out of the creek bed a breeze hit me right in the face. Years of memories began flooding my thoughts.

“I have to hunt into this breeze,” was ringing in my ears.

I love to still-hunt and it had been way too long since my last still-hunt in actual timber. I began “slipping” down the stream.

My normal pace for this type of hunting is about 100 yards an hour. There is no such thing as “too slow” when you are trying to move and see deer before they see you. My heart was full and my smile was wide as I dissolved back into my youth in the woods.

I had been on the stalk for about an hour. My creek bottom was running out and I had to make my way back up the hill toward another pasture.

As I reached the top I stopped to glass the field. In the pasture south of me 4 deer were feeding. It appeared to be a doe and 3 yearlings.

I ranged the bigger deer at 202 yards.

Knowing the flat-shooting Gunware .6mm would be dead-on at that distance, I steadied the crosshairs on my target. She was dead before she hit the ground.

The Gunware custom .6mm used by the author made quick work of this S.E. Missouri doe.

As my dad and I visited that night I told him about the day’s hunt and we got together to do some math. By our calculations the deer I killed that day was the first one for me in S.E. Missouri since 1981. That is 37 years since I last came here to hunt. It was great!

I took my deer to Walker Meat Pro-

cessing to get some great summer sausage and venison bologna. Contact them for your S.E. Missouri deer processing and other custom meats at walkermeatprocessing.com or call them at (573) 366-6372.

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

Page 14 • December 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

What is considered a trophy buck?

T

By John Sloan he term “trophy buck” has been around about as long as black powder. Or maybe a lot longer, since big antlers have been found in prehistoric campsites.!

So what is a trophy deer, really?

Without question, it can be a deer of many characteristics or even of either sex.

Sure, there are trophy does. Ask any kid whose first deer is a fat doe. You think that isn’t a trophy to that kid?

But what do veteran hunters call a trophy. To most, it is probably a deer with antlers that score over a certain minimum.

Three major scoring groups — Pope and Young Club for archery, Boone and Crocket for deer taken with any equipment that score over a higher minimum, and the Safari Club International for African or exotic game — all have different minimum scores.

What do we mean by “scores”? Score is basically the number of inches a buck’s rack totals – length of each point on each antler beam, circumference of antlers between points on each antler beam, and inches of inside spread between antler beams.

All are totaled and then the difference in measurement between left and right beams and point totals is subtracted to get a net score. The minimum typical, net score for P&Y is 125 inches; for Boone and Crockett, it is 160.

So... what?!Is that what a trophy is?

Is a trophy nothing more than a bunch of numbers? For some hunters, yes.!For others, a trophy is in the age of the animal, not the antlers.

If you subscribe to the thinking that the older a buck gets, the more difficult it is to kill, then yes, age is the measure of a trophy.

How about the smart old Madame Doe? Put as much pressure on a doe as on a big-antlered buck and she becomes every bit as hard to kill as an old buck. Maybe harder.

Now, let’s add another factor. How about success? Give some thought to the hunter who has spent three or for autumns trying to kill one particular deer. !

To the veteran with scores of bucks to his credit, a 110-pound forkie may not be a trophy. But it sure is to the 12year-old kid when it is his first or even fourth deer. To the bowhunter, a 120inch eight-pointer may be a trophy, but perhaps not to the veteran rifle hunter.

There’s a related aspect here regarding beginning hunters.!So often they hear the “big antlers are a trophy” concept that they decide they won’t shoot a deer unless it is a big-antlered trophy.!

In so doing, unless they are extremely lucky they fail to gain the necessary experience involved in Doesn’t matter whether it is a big buck, medium buck, doe, whatever. Finally, he is successful. You think that deer isn’t a trophy?

I once heard a biologist say, “If squirrels had antlers, there would not be one left in the woods.” I think he was probably right.

Go back to cave paintings and what is always accentuated in the drawings of animals? The antlers or horns. And so it is with every antlered or horned animal hunted. Why? Why do those growths define “trophy”?

Well, it doesn’t always. At least, it hasn’t always. Current television outdoor programming has begun to change, for the poorer, how a trophy is defined.

Products are developed just to grow trophy animals. Trail cameras help hunters evaluate a buck months before the antler velvet is shed.

Hunting in general and deer hunting in particular have become trophy hunting. It has reached the point that a hunter desiring a trophy, and with enough money, can buy one of just about any size.

This has hurt hunting. Too much emphasis has been placed on the total number of inches and as a result, the true sport of hunting has been wounded.

A trophy is whatever the hunter desires it to be. It is an animal fairly taken, perhaps one long hunted or outsmarted, or one killed due to some exceptional woodsmanship on the hunter’s part.

SOMETHING WE FIND INTERESTING

Hognose snake full of surprises

T

he eastern hognose snake is not poisonous!! It is a thick-bodied snake, with an upturned nose.!Coloration can be extremely variable between individuals, but there are generally some blotches along the back and sides.!

It can be found in places where different habitats meet, such as forest and open lands.!Toads are its favorite meal.

This snake deserves an Academy Award for its acting abilities.!When it becomes scared, it will take in air to inflate its body to look bigger.!

It will also spread the skin on its neck, making people think it might be a viper.

The hognose will hiss loudly and perform lunges and mock strikes at the object or source of consternation.!

If all that fails to impress you, then the hognose will roll over and play dead with its mouth open and tongue hanging out.!If you pick it up and place it right-

side up, it will roll back over and continue to play dead.!After a bit, it will take a look around and go on its way.

(Source: USDA Forest Service; Chris Sack, photographer)

successfully handling the moment of truth.!They don’t learn what to do and what not to do, and when to do it or not do it.!

They don’t give themselves a chance to settle their nerves, to say “been there, done that.”!You can guess how tight that hunter’s mainspring will be wound when he or she finally does get a chance for a good shot at a bigantlered buck.!

Nerves that taut may cause the hunter to come unglued at the moment of truth.!As well as, over the years, depriving him or her and the family of some fine eating.!

Venison is, after all, an original natural food.

December 2018 • Page 15

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Eagle watch events scheduled throughout Missouri

F

rom December through February, Missouri’s winter eagle watching is spectacular. Discover nature with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) through Eagle Days events around the state, or enjoy eagle viewing on your own.

Because of the state’s big rivers, many lakes, and abundant wetlands, Missouri is one of the leading lower 48 states for bald eagle viewing.

Each fall, thousands of these great birds migrate south from their nesting range in Canada and the Great Lakes states to hunt in the Show-Me State.

Eagles take up residence wherever they find open water and plentiful food.

More than 2,000 bald eagles are typically reported in Missouri during winter.

When water sources freeze in the north, bald eagles migrate south to find food and water.

Roaring River State Park officials will hold a special watch party for bald eagles along Roaring River at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15. Watch a movie about America’s national symbol and participate in eagle-themed activities.

Bring your binoculars and spotting

scopes to get a closer look at these magnificent birds. This event is free and open to the public. Dress appropriately for the weather and bring water and snacks.

Roaring River State Park is located seven miles south of Cassville on Highway 112 in Barry County, southwest Missouri.

For more information about the event, contact the Ozark Chinquapin Nature Center at (417) 847-3742 or the park office at (417) 847-2539.

Eagle Days events MDC Eagle Days events are listed below. They include live captive-eagle programs, exhibits, activities, videos,

and guides with spotting scopes.

Watch for eagles perched in large trees along the water’s edge. View them early in the morning to see eagles flying and fishing.

Be sure to dress for winter weather and don’t forget cameras and binoculars.

• St. LOUIS — Jan. 19 and 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge south of I-270 off Riverview Drive in St. Louis. Call (314) 301-1500 for more information.

• SPRINGFIELD — Jan. 19 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Jan. 20 from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the MDC Springfield Conservation Nature Center. Call (417) 8884237 for more information • CLARKSVILLE: Jan. 26 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Jan. 27 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Lock and Dam 24 and Apple Shed Theater in Clarksville. Call (660) 785-2424 for more information.

• PUXICO — Feb. 2 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, Puxico. Call (573) 222-3589 for more information.

Eagle Watching on Your Own Can’t make an Eagle Days event?

Other hot spots for winter eagle viewing include: • Lake of the Ozarks at Bagnell Dam Access, east of Bagnell.

• Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area on Route K, southwest of Columbia.

• Lock & Dam 20, Canton.

• Lock & Dam 24 at Clarksville.

• Lock & Dam 25 east of Winfield.

• Mingo National Wildlife Refuge northwest of Puxico.

• Old Chain of Rocks Bridge south of I-270, off of Riverview Drive, St. Louis.

• Riverlands Environmental Demonstration Area east of West Alton.

• Schell-Osage Conservation Area north of El Dorado Springs.

• Smithville Lake north of Kansas City.

• Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge south of Mound City.

• Stella at Moses Eagle Park.

• Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge south of Sumner.

• Table Rock Lake and Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery southwest of Branson.

• Truman Reservoir west of Warsaw.

The burdens of being an outdoors writer in the Ozarks

B

eing a person who writes has turned out to be much more difficult then I imagined it would

be.

Initially it was fun writing about past experiences of fishing and hunting.

Over time a burden began to build upon my heart.

Having a platform such as magazines and newspapers seems to have changed things for me.

As we go through life there are certain things that changes a person. Experiences and situations give a person perspective they otherwise would not have had.!

The subject of the future condition of our rivers convicts me the most.!

I would love to Richard write about lots of Whiteside fun stuff but the ———— subject of the future of our Ozarks streams haunts me. Always looming in the back of my head.

I can continue to ignore this message, acting like it isn’t so. Ignoring the facts.!

Ignoring the scum accumulating at an alarming rate.!

Ignoring how warm Current River now feels to the touch at Doniphan.!

Ignoring how all the feeder streams are being choked with gravel.

I can continue ignoring how those that claim they love our streams continue to ignore and turn a blind eye to this subject due to the controversy within.

I absolutely love writing about a fun day spent smallmouth fishing on a small, intimate Ozark stream.

The truth is all this fun stuff will one day come to an end if this subject is not brought to light and resolved.

This platform is useless without a message, and vice versa. This message is useless without a platform.!

It seems to me that as much as we love to read about the fun stuff in the

Ozarks, my true purpose is Ozark watershed advocacy.

Taking a stand for water quality in the Ozarks is not a popular position to be in.!

That being said, water quality programs here in Missouri lead the nation.!We are a model state, but still in our rural areas preservation is not a common subject.

Despite the unpopularity in river advocacy in the Ozarks, it’s something that has to be done.

You may be from Springfield and enjoy floating streams of the Ozarks.

You may be from West Plains and you enjoy smallmouth fishing the North Fork.

You may be from Eminence and running a guiding service along the Current River.

No matter your location, this subject should be important to you.

At the end of the day it all boils down to water quality. None of us would have our dreams fulfilled here if it were not for the fine quality of water the Ozarks offers you and I. This subject should concern us all.

Preservation of our streams should be at the top of all our lists.!

As I age I! will find a balance be-

tween river advocacy and fun stuff.!

In the meantime, get out and walk a ridge.

Watch a leaf fall to the water’s edge.

Take a kid with you and introduce someone to the outdoors.

You never know, the kid may be the

next Aldo Leopold or Mark Twain, or Henry David Thoreau.

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

Page 16 • December 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

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December 2018 • Page 17

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Making holiday ornaments with nature’s treasures

By MATTIE LINK

T

mattie@riverhillstraveler.com _____________

win Pines Conservation Education Center hosted its annual Nature’s Ornaments class on Nov.

24.

Instead of hosting the one class, there were actually two classes — one from 10:30 a.m. to noon, and another from 12:30 p.m.

“We did several things with tree cookies this year, like painting foxes on them and bears, as well as making a bear ornament out of tree cookies,” said Reva Dow, naturalist at Twin Pines Conservation Education Center.

“We also made Christmas trees with twigs and greenery and made things with homespun fabric.”

This is Dow’s second year teaching the class and according to her, the first year they have offered more than one class.

“We usually get so many people signed up for this class that we decided to offer two classes this year to accom-

A wreath made of natural items including grapevine, mistletoe, pine cones, cedar, and seed pods.

Ornaments made using twigs, tree cookies, and naturally-stained fabric (lighter material).

modate people wanting to take the class,” said Dow. In the past, during this class they would also work on wreath-making, but

this year Twin Pines decided to make that its own class as well.

“We actually made wreath-making a whole separate class and we have three

the students could display their art here if they wanted.

“The kids love to bring their parents in to show the projects they have been working on and it just livens the place up. We love having it,” said Baker.

Sam’s sister is also an artist and she has artwork for sale in the store.

The best thing, according to Baker, about running The Jane Store is the people.

“I love meeting people and serving them and getting to know them, said Baker.

The hardest thing for them are the hours spent.

“We spend a lot of hours here and sometimes it feels like we live here,” said Baker.

Sam and Gayla both grew up in the Jane area and several people come into the store to get genealogy information.

“There is so much history here and I love to talk about that with people that come in asking,” said Baker.

To get ahold of The Jane Store, check out their Facebook page or give them a call at (417) 226-1234.

STORE from 1 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. The store is located at 2890 Rains Road in Jane.

“Our most-ordered items are the Reuben and breakfast. We make it all from scratch and I think a lot of people like that,” said Baker.

There are several people, according to the Bakers, that come into the store for breakfast and lunch every day.

“We have one guy that comes in from Nebraska once a year and buys our peanut butter cookies,” said Baker. “And if there aren’t any left, he will wait until I have made him more.”

They get customers from Bella Vista, Ark., Monett, Cassville, the Neosho area, and a few from Joplin — all in SWMO. “We get the majority of our people from a 50-mile radius,” said Baker.

Sam and Gayla love having people over at their home and that love carries over to The Jane Store, as well.

“We want everyone to be comfortable here. If you don’t have a friend when you come in, you will when you leave,” said Baker.

“Since there is limited seating, several people sit with strangers and leave as friends.”

In addition to serving food, they also sell spices, homemade soap, jam, noodles, dishware, and art.

“We buy our spices and seasoning in bulk, repackage it and sell it here in our store,” said Baker.

They also sell popcorn, candies, noodles, soups, and powdered cappuccino.

“We also have locals that make their own honey, soap, and jam and sell them here,” said Baker.

Taylor Targets, a local business in Jane that sells targets, also has a display at The Jane Store.

“We sell a lot of cookbooks, we’ve noticed, so we make sure we always have them in stock,” said Baker.

In addition to selling spices and food, The Jane Store also displays artwork from White Rock School in Jane for grades preschool through eighth grade.

“We are basically the Jane equivalent of Crystal Bridges (art gallery in Arkansas),” said Baker.

Baker knows the art teacher at the school and told her a few years back that

class times for it,” said Dow. Dec. 13 is the wreath-making class and the times are 10:30 a.m.-noon, 12:30 p.m., and 5-6:30 p.m. There is a class limit of 20 for each session, and reservations are required.

“We have so many that are interested in this and the multiple class times make it to where we can offer it to the people who work during the day,” said Dow. The items that they use in the classes are all nature’s items, with a few other items intermixed, including twigs, pine needles, acorns, buckeyes and seed pods can all be used.

“These things can be found in your backyard and you can absolutely make these at home with what you find in your backyard,” said Dow. “People love taking these classes and we love teaching them and showing them just how cool nature is.”

To register for the wreath-making class or to get further information, call (573) 325-1381. Reservations can also be made online at www.mdc.mo.gov\ twinpines or by calling (888) 283-0364.

Page 18 • December 2018

RiverHillsTraveler.com

GIFTS from 1 Bookmarks cost $22. The studio is located at 31 High Trail, Eureka, MO 63025. Phone: (636) 938-9570; available at www.stonehollowstudio.com.

——— Missouri Department of Conservation Calendar for 2019 The ever-popular calendar will keep you in touch with the year’s seasonal changes. Thanks to the splendid talents of contributing nature photographers, you’ll be able to enjoy wild Missouri indoors when you can’t get outdoors.

You’ll find monthly reminders of the state’s natural treasures. Daily notes keep you posted on what’s blooming or nesting as well as a myriad other natural phenomena.

The calendar measures 10x14 inches closed and 20x14 inches when opened.

Cost is $9 and they’re available online at www.mdcnatureshop.com.

——— Browning Strike Force Extreme Trail Camera The camera continues to work in motion-detection mode 24 hours a day while time-lapse mode is selected, ensuring that you don’t miss opportunities for image capture between time-lapse intervals.

The 2018 Strike Force Extreme cameras feature an incredible 0.4 second trigger speed and 0.6 second recovery time between pictures. Experience high-end performance with 16MP picture quality, and a new video processor that produces incredible quality 1280x720 HD video clips with sound.!

The Strike Force Extreme camera also takes night pictures using our “Zero Blur” technology which eliminates motion blur from game in your pictures at a range of 100 feet at night.!

Other features include SD card management options, and Smart IR video which continues to record video during the day when game is present.!The new adjustable trigger speed feature allows you to select the trigger speed that is right for your camera location.!

The Strike Force Extreme is also compatible with up to 512GB SDXC memory cards.

Prices start at $139. Available at many outdoors stores as well as online at www.browningtrailcameras.com.

——— Saddleback Leather Company Most outdoorsmen travel a lot for hunting, fishing, camping, you name it.

And the Traveler staff is no different.

We could be in Eminence one morning eating at Ruby’s, Springfield later in the afternoon, and over to Piedmont the next morning.

We’ve discovered a lot of things that work for us along the way — such as where the “good” restrooms are, what gas stations to avoid, and perhaps most important, what luggage works best for our travels.

And that’s where Saddleback Leather Company comes into play. Like the atlas mentioned earlier, we’ve used their products extensively over the years and this holiday gift guide wouldn’t be complete without mentioning SLC’s gladstone collection.

A gladstone-style bag features a metal

frame wrapped with leather and hinged with a solid brass rivet. Gladstone-style refers to the opening of the bag, which keeps it open wide until you use both hands to close it.

Remember the “doctor’s bag” from long ago, with the wide opening that stayed open and gave the doctor easy, full access to his entire bag? Well, that’s it.

SLC’s gladstone collection includes a doctor’s duffle bag, flight bag, and toiletry bag. Each is made of cow leather, which is thicker than full grain boot leather, with strong pigskin lining and marine-grade polyester thread.

The doctor’s bag is great for packing clothing and shoes for overnight trips, while the flight bag serves as a great daily briefcase or EDC bag. And the toiletry bag is just that.

Here’s a little info about each one: • Doctor’s duffle bag — Includes detachable outer side straps that can be used as a belt or tourniquet when things go sideways. There’s an exterior pocket on each end of the bag and the back, as well as a shoulder strap and top grab handles.

Cost is $549, and the bag measures 10.5” tall by 16” wide by 9.5” deep.

• Flight bag — Has a shoulder strap and top grab handles, plus a back outside pocket for magazines or whatnot, but the best and most practical feature of this bag is its two outside front pockets.

Not only do they have a buckle closure, but there’s also an open pocket behind each one. Pretty neat, eh?

Same tough leather as the doctor’s and toiletry bags, the flight bag costs $549 and measures 15” wide by 11” tall by 5” deep. Oh, there’s also an inside pocket large enough to fit a 15-inch laptop.

• Big mouth toiletry bag — Opens wide and stays open so you spend less time looking for that razor or toothpaste.

Simple design is stitched from a single piece of leather. Features two interior pockets to help keep things organized.

Cost is $189. Dimensions are 10.25” wide by 5.25” tall by 5” deep.

All Saddleback products, including these three bags, come with a 100-year warranty and the company’s famous motto, “They’ll fight over it when you’re dead.”

All three bags are available in three colors: tobacco, dark coffee brown, and chestnut. Order online at www.saddlebackleather.com (free shipping is included on all orders) or stop by their showroom in Fort Worth.

——— Crazy Creek!Canoe Chair Paddle all day in comfort! This canoe chair provides back support and seat comfort every time you venture out.

It works great outside the boat, too, when you’re on the beach or in camp.

The chair features: • Speciallydesigned to fit most canoe seats.

• Straps with quick-release buckles secure the chair to your seat and detach easily for use at camp.

• Hook-and-loop strap holds chair closed during portaging.

• Memory foam and closed-cell foam construction.

• Mesh pocket on seat back.

The dimensions are 26x15.5 inches and it weighs 1 pound, 6 ounces. Cost is $44.95 and you can find it at www.rei.com.

——— Rio Brands Wonder Wheeler Wide Gear Cart Make it even easier to bring along gear for a day of fun in the sun with the Rio Brands Wonder Wheeler Wide Gear Cart.

Extra-wide back wheels make moving this handy gear hauler over any surface even easier. Tote features a large open mesh storage compartment, back pouch, and front bar to stack chairs on.

A durable steel frame provides plenty of strength, handling up to a 48-quart cooler. Folding design for easy storage.

Dimensions: 41” long by 24.5” wide by 32” tall.

Cost is $59.99 and it’s available at www.basspro.com.

——— Ozark Trail Big Boy Director Chair Lounge in comfort with the Ozark Trail Big Boy Director Chair. This chair features an extra-wide steel frame that is sturdy and comfortably supports up to 600 pounds.

It features a padded seat and armrest for enhanced seated comfort, and the foldable table comes with a cup holder so you can keep your drink and other items within easy reach.

The chair is easy to sit down in and get up from, unlike those fold-up canvas chairs which feel like you are sitting in a hammock.

The blue director chair folds down for space-saving storage and has convenient portability. Take it along on your next camping trip, to outdoor concerts and more.

Available at Walmart or Amazon for $52.97.

——— Magnetic Chess Set Need entertainment on a road trip or in camp? Pull out the Magnetic Chess Game from Outside Inside.

This is a game that both adults and children would find challenging and entertaining. The set consists of: • The plastic folding board and pieces come in a polyester-and-mesh carry bag with carabiner.

• Magnetic pieces stay put even when played on uneven or jostled surfaces.

• Folded board measures 6.5” by 3.25” by 1”.

• Instructions are included in the Outside Inside Magnetic Chess Game.

Cost is $11.95 and it’s available at www.rei.com as well as Amazon.

——— Persimmon Hill Farm On a cold winter morning nothing will taste or smell as good as a fresh-brewed pot of coffee to be shared with fresh homemade bread and jam.

Persimmon Hill Farms has put to-

gether a special “Incredible Spreads Gift Crate” for just such an occasion.

There are standard flavors such as Strawberry Jam and Apple Butter but also some interesting flavors such as Persimmon Butter and Gooseberry Black Walnut Jam. There are also two bags of Buttermilk Biscuit Mix, all packaged in an attractive wooden gift crate, and all the measured ingredients are there for a flavorful spreads spectacular.

The Incredible Spreads Gift Crate costs $45.45. Persimmon Hill Farm is located at 367 Persimmon Hill Lane, Lampe, MO 65681.

They can be reached at (417) 7795443 or online at www.persimmonhill. com.

———

Original Hawken Kits Own a piece of Missouri history. In the early 1800s Jake and Sam Hawken formed a family partnership as gunmakers in St. Louis and began producing their soon-to-be-famous “Hawken Rifle.”

The Hawken Rifle is sometimes referred to as “The gun that settled the west.” It is reported that many famous people carried these handmade guns of choice, including Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Kit Carson, Jim Bridger, Jeremiah Johnson, Joseph Meek, John Fremont and Teddy Roosevelt.

The original Hawken kits require only minimal hand tools and patience to do the!final fitting. Detailed instructions are furnished with each rifle to aid you in matching original wood and metal finish. (With patience you can produce a Hawken that you can be justifiably proud of.)

Complete wood and metal finishing kits are available to assist you. Hawken plans are available for those who would like to try their skill at building a Hawken from the ground up. These plans were completed by Don Lauer of St. Louis and are life-size.

They now offer finished completed Hawken rifles from their kits. Kit cost is $1,400.

The Hawken Shop can be reached at (360) 679-4657 and online at www.thehawkenshop.com.

——— Dog Vest The “Bottomland” Neoprene Dog Vest keeps a dog warm and protects its chest.

The “boat handles” make getting a retriever back in the boat easier!

Reach down, pull your swimming dog over the side of the boat, and pick him up.

Works great out of the boat as well.

The vest was originally designed to maintain body heat when he’s out working in the cold and wet. Sometimes you send a dog into the water, and he doesn’t know what’s underwater in front of him.

The vest has several features including grab handles, a sewn-in webbing harness, and D-rings for maximum versatility. For durability, it is constructed of Please see GIFTS, 19

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GIFTS from 18

moisture resistance. The Gravitas fabric will stay cool when it’s warm and avoid Avery’s “DuraStretch” material with condensation when it’s cold. Breathabildouble bar tacked seams, #10 molded ity means faster drying.

The exclusive crinkle treatment enzipper with neoprene zipper protector, sures out-of-the-package softness and and a cold weather pull tab. exceptional silky soft and packability.

Cost is $44.99 and it’s available at At only 10 ounces, the Roo Single alwww.gundogsupply.com. lows you to travel lightly and set up ——— camp anywhere.

With a generous footYamaha Generator print of 4.2 feet by 8.4 feet, the!Roo SinThe Yamaha Generator is designed gle is incredibly lightweight for its size. and engineered to bring reliable power Cost is $69 and it’s available at to the outdoors at an affordable price. www.kammok.com.

The 44.1-pound unit delivers up to ——— 2,000 watts of clean, sine-wave power to Daiwa Lure Catcher handle heaters, fish house lighting, miSave money on your precious baits by crowaves, and more. getting them back from where they are Its inverter is lodged underneath so you can cast once also equipped with more using your favorite tackle.

Yamaha’s adTo simplify lure recovery the Daiwa vanced noise block DLC-100G retriever comes with a 45technology, resultfoot cord that facilitates the process of ing in noise reducgetting back a snagged bait underwater. tion to 51.5 to 61 To hold the supplied cord neatly, the decibels. It runs for up to 10.5 hours on unit ships with a storage reel, which ena gallon of gas, with a smart throttle sures compact storage as well. This function that senses load and automatimodel features an anchor weight, catcher cally adjusts RPM control. chains and catcher arms to work nicely It also includes an electric overload with hooks and provide a secure hold on breaker and oil watch warning system to the lure. prevent potential generator damage.

You will love what this lure retriever The Yamaha EF2000iSv2 also has an can do and how easily it does the job. auto warm-up feature that helps coldCost is $21.95, available at Amazon, starting and an independent fuel petcock, Bass Pro and many others. which allows users to shut off the gas to ——— run the carburetor dry, preventing stale Micro Drop Pinpoint Oiler gas problems and costly carburetor A handy tool for those precision maincleaning and repair. tenance requirements for firearms, fishIt also easily hooks up to a second ing reels boating, chainsaws and more.

EF2000iSv2 for a combined 30 amps of The 3-piece design has an easy pushlightweight, portable power. Comes button micro drop tip for control delivstandard with a 3-year factory warranty.! ery for hard to reach places.

Leakproof Cost is $899 and it’s available at with rubber O-ring seals that is easily www.yamahamotorsports.com. carried in your shirt pocket.

——— It has a large oil capacity. At 5.6” long Hammock and under 5/8” in diameter, the Micro Roo packable hammocks! are lightDrop Pinpoint Oiler will easily fit just weight, strong, and make it easy to sneak about anywhere. Cost is $19.95, availin a nap during an afternoon of hunting, able at www.deutscheoptik.com. fishing or a ——— hiking.

Coleman Stove Gravitas Take camp cooking to the next level ripstop with the Coleman Triton Propane Stove. nylon fabJust light it up and dial in your heat with ric provides reinforcement to protect the two independently adjustable burnagainst tearing and ripping. The Roo ers and you can be cooking over 22,000 Single holds up to 400 pounds.

BTUs of power in no time.

The material is treated with a DWR The cooking surface offers plenty of premium water repellent for maximum

room to fit a 12-inch and 10-inch pan simultaneously. Meanwhile, the PerfectFlow pressure control technology keeps the heat steady, even in extreme conditions.

WindBlock panels help shield your flame from wind, and they adjust if you need to fit a larger pan. When the meal is over, the chrome-plated grate removes for simple and quick cleanup, and the heavy-duty latch will keep the lid secure until you whip up your next family dinner.

Large enough for two pans plus room to stow the griddle. The griddle is sold separately.

Cost is $84.99, available at www.coleman.com.

——— Floating Shades!

These sunglasses would be a great benefit to any fisherman, canoeist or kayaker. They are lightweight, comfortable, and durable shades that also floats.

All Rheos sunglasses feature polarized UV protected and dual-sided anti-fog coating lenses that automatically clear the lenses so you do not need to remove them and do it yourself.!

The Rheos lens also includes a specialty Hydrophobic coating, which acts like RainX for a windshield helping water to bead off the lens without settling in and covering your view.

Cost is $50, available at www.rheosgear.com.

——— Survival Gear Emergency Kit Everyone should have several emergency survival kits. There should be one for each car or truck, ATV, boat, fishing and hunting gear and camping supplies.

Global Tactical Gear’s kit is constructed with durable materials.

The kit is stored in a compact, water resistant case. The kit includes a sturdy, sharp, 3.5-inch serrated survival knife with a seat belt cutter and bottle opener, Tungsten steel tactical pen, luminous display waterproof compass, stainless

steel saber card, aluminum alloy whistle, paracord bracelet, LED flashlight, thermal blanket, and ferro rod fire starter.

Cost is $29.99, available at www.globaltacticalsupply.com.

——— Coleman Large Watertight Container Whether you’re on the boat or getting through a rainstorm, important gear like matches, boat licenses and camping permits will stay dry inside the Coleman Large Watertight Container.

This canister includes a sealing ring to keep water out and a lid latch to keep it shut tight. It also comes with a carabiner to hook the container to the outside of a backpack.

The watertight design keeps important items safe and dry. It also features a silicone sealing ring for protection from the water.! Dimensions are 7.7” by 7.2” by 4.4”. Cost is $17.99, available at www.coleman.com.

——— Wildflower Seeds Support the pollinators of your area and also improve the looks of your property by planting native wildflowers.

The Midwest Wildflower Seed Mix is comprised of 28 different wildflower species, all perfect for planting in the Heartland of the USA. Designed to provide nonstop seasonlong color, annuals like Plains Coreopsis and Sulphur Cosmos burst into bloom their very first summer, while perennial varieties like Purple Prairie Clover and Black Eyed Susan deliver color for many years, starting in their second season.

This premium mixture has been used by homeowners and commercial planters all over the Midwest for over 20 years. Expect a burst of annual color just a few weeks after seeding, plus increased bloom year after year from a great group of perennials. Plant spring or late fall.

This mixture contains 14 annuals for first-year color, plus 14 perennials or biennials for second and successive years’ bloom.

Cost is $9.95, available at www.americanmeadows.com.

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