May 2019

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VOL. 46, NO. 11

MAY 2019

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Hunting turkeys in the soggy bottom

MISSOURI DESTINATIONS

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By Mike Roux f you hunt spring gobblers long enough you will certainly face bad weather at some point.

Spring rains are the most common weather problem this time of year. I have spent many April dawns huddled under a cedar tree or hopefully in a blind.

Some of these mornings ended in success.

Many others just ended with a towel.

On opening day of the 2018 Illinois turkey season the conditions were horrid. It was as bad a morning for turkey hunting as I have ever experienced.

It had rained for the previous 48-hours.

There was 4 inches of sticky gumbo mud to wade through, and the icing on the cake were winds that gusted up to 40 miles per hour.

My Pastor Bob Cowman had agreed to acPlease see TOMS, 19

State park system turns 102

Onondaga Cave

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This breathtaking natural wonder is one of Missouri’s best places to visit

By MATTIE LINK

mattie@riverhillstraveler.com _____________

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nondaga Cave State Park is a National Natural Landmark that offers tours of the cave, another cave, camping with electric/water hookups, basic tent camping, three trails, and two-day use access along the Meramec River.

“We offer tours daily from midApril through mid-October and we

also feature another cave at our park, Cathedral Cave,” said Maria Potter, natural resource manager of Onondaga Cave State Park in Leasburg, Mo. Limited handheld light tours of Cathedral Cave are offered from mid-May through the middle of September on the weekends.

“We have three trails at the main park complex as well as one trail at Vilander Bluff Natural area in Bour-

bon, and our park has two-day use areas along the Meramec River for swimming, boating and general river access,” said Potter.

Please see CAVE, 18

issouri State Parks celebrated its 102nd birthday on April 9.! In honor of its birthday, here is a little history about Missouri State Parks.

One hundred two years ago, the!state park fund was officially created, using revenue from the fish and game department.

With the fund established, the fish and game department became responsible for the parks once they were acquired.

In 1923, the state acquired the historic Arrow Rock Tavern, and 1924, the first state Please see PARKS, 19

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Add this Civil War battle site to your summer travel plans

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By Dennis Bresnahan ne of the most obscure and least-known areas in Missouri is the site of the Civil War Battle of Belmont.!

Fought on Nov. 7, 1861, it could have had a major impact on the outcome of the Civil War.!

Newly-appointed General Ulysses S. Grant, in one of his first battles, was surrounded, trapped and almost captured or killed.! !

He barely escaped after a quick victory in Belmont, Missouri, but had to retreat to Paducah, Kentucky, after the Confederates reorganized and were reinforced.!

The South considered the battle a victory.

I first found out about the Battle of Belmont when visiting Columbus-Belmont State Park in Columbus, Kentucky, which is directly across the Mississippi River from Belmont.!

It was the site of Confederate Fort DeRussey. At this state park you can find out all about this battle and the Civil War in general.!

There is a museum and interpretive center in an antebellum farmhouse that served as a Confederate hospital during

the war.!

Besides the usual cannon that decorates most Civil War sites, there is an unusual attraction.!A section of a huge, giant chain is on display that was more than a mile long with 11-inch links and an anchor weighing between four and six tons.!

It was originally stretched across the Mississippi River from the fort to Belmont, and held up by pontoons.!It was supposed to prevent the passage of Union gunboats but was soon broken.!

It sat at the bottom of the river until 1925 when it was rediscovered.!The

Flowering dogwood

The flowering dogwoods are in bloom and they seem to light up the woods along the Mark Twain National Forest roads. According to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s plant guide, the flowering dogwood is a valuable tree for many reasons. Its bark was used by Native Americans as a pain and fever reducer, skin astringent, and antidiarrheal agent.

It is a valuable food plant for wildlife because high calcium and fat contents make it palatable. Many bird and mammal species consume the seeds, while deer, bear, and rabbits have been known to browse the leaves and sprouts.

Its wood is hard, strong, and shock resistant and has been used to make tool handles and specialty items like golf club heads, roller skate wheels, and knitting needles.

The flowering dogwood is Missouri’s state tree.

Join us on the river!

In June the River Hills Traveler will publish its 10th annual Ozarks Float Trippin’ camping & floating guide reaching over 65,000 people!

If you would like to advertise in it, or submit a story & photos of your floating & camping trips in Missouri, please contact us by May 22!

River Hills Traveler Phone & text: (417) 451-3798 Email: jimmy@riverhillstraveler.com

park also has picnic areas, a campground,!gift shop, and conference center.

The Battle of Belmont site can be found by exiting Interstate 55 at exit 58 and going east on Highway 80 through East Prairie, Missouri, until it crosses Highway 77 and then becomes a gravel road and ends at the Mississippi River.

Just south of here on Highway 77 is Towosahgy State Park, a small park with Indian Mounds, and Big Oak Tree State Park where you can find some of the largest champion trees in Missouri.!Both are worth seeing while you are in the area.

When you get to the Belmont site, don’t expect much.!The town of Belmont was founded in 1853 and was washed away by a flood in 1937.!

All that remains today are some interpretive signs commemorating and explaining both the battle and also the

removal of the Cherokee Indians on the Trail of Tears that passed this way.!Columbus-Belmont State Park can be seen across the river.!!

There may be more people visiting the Battle of Belmont site this year than ever before because Missouri State Parks is participating in a Civil War Passport program beginning this spring where you can purchase a passport book for $10 and then get it stamped at 39 different Civil War battlefields in Missouri.!

This includes the Battle of Belmont along with Civil War-related state parks and other sites.!You will receive a certificate of completion if you get all 39 stamps.!

The program runs from April 1, 2019, until December 31, 2020.

(Dennis Bresnahan can be reached at (314) 868-7297!or dennisbresnahan@ yahoo.com.)

May 2019 • Page 3

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Truly blessed to live where the seasons change

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e all have the tendency to wish our lives away, one way or another.

“I wished I was older so I could drive a car, I wished Christmas would hurry up and get here, but “man am I ready and I wish for this cold to end.”

Well, that’s the last thing I ended with in one of my last articles. I was just tired of the cold and rain and dressing like a wooly worm.

We had a trip planned going south to SW Louisiana and I was ready. As we drove down Hwy. 67 south I didn’t see much of a turn in the tips of the grey limbs hanging as they did all winter.

Then as we crossed over the border into Arkansas, we drove through the agriculBob Brennecke tural flatlands and ———— past a creek — I believe it was the village creek — and the trees broke into a tinge of green growing along its banks.

I felt a warm glow starting even though the temperature hadn’t changed much. The further we drove south, the greener it became.

Springtime flowers were sprouting along the roads and when we got close to the Gulf in Louisiana we were seeing the evergreen live oaks and all of the other beautiful greenery.

We visited a couple of weeks in Louisiana then came back home. The further north we traveled the trees started to get less green, then finally no green at all by the time we reached St. Louis.

Within a week I started seeing signs again of spring. Hallelulah! Fiddle head fern above.

Even though the morning was a frosty 31 degrees by 10 in the morning, all the frost was melted off this fresh May apple sprig pushing out of the leaf

litter on the forest floor.

The morels were sprouting and you can see them sautéed in butter, which really made a good breakfast.

As the sun peeks over the hills it spray paints a fine golden powder of glowing light, enhancing the small green nobs soon to be leaves.

As the woods awaken the pileated woodpeckers start their “Who, Who, Who, Who,” dipping up and down in the cold morning air.

The small birds start their flitting from tree to tree pecking on the new buds, bugs, or sap. The crows awaken and start harassing the turkey who complain back.

The cool woods become more awake and vocal, more interesting. The plants that have been covered with frost now drip with the pure water running from their waxy leaves.

Some of the holdout trees on the tops

of the ridges refuse to show the color of green for fear of possibly being hit with the last killing frost, and waiting for just a few more warm days to tackle the spring start.

Missouri is a beautiful state and I’m glad to share it with nature, but man am I glad this last winter has lost its hold and I have now seen my two spring starts in one year.

I am truly blessed.

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

Share your photos with the Traveler!

Send us your travel, fishing, camping or other outdoors photos and we will publish them in our next issue. Text them to us at (417) 451-3798, along with the pertinent info, or email them to

jimmy@riverhillstraveler.com

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57 73 368-1402

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Page 4 • May 2019

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Bennett Spring offering tours of CC buildings

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ome to Bennett Spring State Park Nature Center and pick up a selfguided tour brochure including a map and description of buildings built by the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC).

The CCC program was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to create manual labor jobs during the Great Depression. Between the years of 19331937 several structures were created at Bennett Spring State Park.

The Bennett Spring State Park Company 1772 of the CCC consisted of over 200 men that served in WWI. Jimmy Sexton This brochure, ———— created by a local Journey On resident and previous park interpreter, Becky Day, will guide you through the park to see these historical structures.

An exhibit display in the nature center gives more information and pictures of that time period and houses historic artifacts.

It is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday, Feb. 27Oct. 31.!

Visitors today cross the historic CCC stone bridge when going to the historic restaurant in Bennett Spring State Park.

The park restaurant is within a CCC structure and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily from 7 a.m. until one hour after fishing for the day ends during the months of March-October.!

Bennett Spring State Park is on 26250 Highway 64A in Lebanon. For more information, call the nature center at (417) 532-3925.

——— On Saturday, May 11, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the public is invited to step back in time at Montauk State Park during the park’s Old Mill Days celebration and explore some of the lost historical skills and traditions from a time many have forgotten.

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The annual celebration will bring the valley to life with historical re-enactors, traditional artisans and other local Ozark crafters to celebrate the historic mill and the region’s rich Ozark heritage.

Montauk State Park is located at 345 county road 6670 in Salem. For more information about the event, call the park at (573) 548-2225.

——— Travelers eager for the end of a long, cold winter will find plenty to do in Missouri this spring. Communities across the Show-Me State are ready to welcome warmer weather with a variety of festivals, events and celebrations.

Southeast • Dedicated to honoring the memory of America’s soldiers and their families, Missouri's National Veterans Memorial in Perryville will celebrate its grand opening May 18-19.

The memorial’s crowning achievement is a full-scale, exact replica of the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C. (This is something my family is really looking forward to seeing this summer.)

• The French Heritage Festival in Ste. Genevieve is set for June 8-9 in the historic Mississippi river town. The annual festival celebrates 300 years of French culture in North America and recognizes Ste. Genevieve as having the greatest concentration of authentic French Colonial architecture in North America.

The festival will include music, dance, storytelling, French cuisine, reenactments and more.

Southwest • Silver Dollar City's Bluegrass & BBQ Festival, May 2-27, will bring more than 60 bands together for 24 days of music and food at one of the nation's top theme parks.

One of southern Missouri's most popular bluegrass bands, The Baker Family, will be performing at SDC on May 8-10.

Northwest • Celebration at the Station, the Kansas City Symphony’s 17th annual patriotic concert event is the largest, free Memo-

rial Day weekend festival in the Midwest. The May 26 celebration will honor veterans from all generations and include Kansas City’s grandest fireworks display.

The event will offer pre-concert musical acts, food trucks, a Family Zone, the Honeywell Veterans Place with services for veterans, plus activities inside Union Station and the National World War I Museum and Memorial.

Central • The Salute to Veterans Celebration in Columbia, May 25-26, offers a free air show and parade. For 31 years, this annual Memorial Day weekend event has been held to recognize, honor and thank all veterans and active duty members of the Armed Services of the United States and its Allies, past and present.

Northeast • The St. Louis area will play host to several art events during May, including the Art Fair at Laumeier Sculpture Park, May 10-12; the Schlafly Art Outside Festival, May 25-27; and the St. Louis African Arts Festival, May 25-27.

• Mark Twain and some of his most famous characters will be featured at the Twain on Main Festival May 25-26 in Hannibal, the boyhood home of Missouri's most famous author.

The event includes storytellers, street magicians, arts and crafts, and children's games in the historic downtown area on the banks of the Mississippi River during the town’s bicentennial anniversary.

Other events and activities happening around the state: •!May 4 - Truman Day at Harry S Truman Birthplace State Historic Site, 9 a.m.

•!May 4 - Wings Over Weston, Weston Bend State Park, 9 a.m.

•!May 10-11 - Old Mill Days at Montauk State Park.

•! May 11 - Camping and Hiking Safety Demonstration at Annie and Able Van Meter State Park, 2 p.m.

——— The public is invited to!annual informational meetings to share comments

Everyone should read ‘Tom Sawyer’

f you’re feeling particularly Tom Sawyerish this summer, try making and using your own whitewash.!

I recently did this with the youngins’ as a way to keep them busy and to spruce up a garden fence.

It’s extremely simple: All you need is about 6-8 cups of masonry lime, 2-3 cups of salt, and 1 gallon of water.

At first I didn’t think it was going to be enough for the job, but the thing Wes Franklin about whitewash is ———— it is extremely thin.

Native Ozarker It’s not like paint, but more like gray water. In fact, gray is just the color it will be when you mix it, which at first had me wondering if I did it right.

I wondered even more when we applied it to the wood pallet slats that make up my fence. It went on clear. It looked like we were doing nothing more than wetting the posts.

However, by the time we made it all

the way back around to where we started, the whitewash had dried and the wood was a nice pale off-white. I went ahead and applied a few more coats.!

Now, of course, whitewash will last longer if used in interior spaces, such as inside barns and sheds and chicken coops and whatnot.

However, I figured if Tom Sawyer whitewashed a fence – or rather tricked his friends into doing it – I’d whitewash one, too, and see how long it lasted in the elements.

I can testify that after several hard rainstorms, with some warm days in between, it hasn’t faded as yet. I figure it’s probably an annual job – and most likely was in Tom Sawyer’s day, too.!

Most of all, it was a fun outdoor activity for my two boys, and kept them out of trouble for an hour or so, although toward the middle of the job I did find myself alone. Huh. Come to think of it, maybe the boys pulled a Tom Sawyer on their ol’ man. It was supposed to be THEIR project, after all.!

Well, I had fun anyway.!

Speaking of Tom Sawyer, it was the first “real” book I ever truly read as a

young child, after an uncle gave me a copy.

I mean the Samuel Clemens’ (Mark Twain) original, unabridged version, of course. My six-year-old son wants to read it, as a short kids’ version of the same book has hooked his interest.

In fact, when I told him we would be whitewashing a fence, he immediately said, “Just like Tom Sawyer?” What boy wouldn’t love Tom Sawyer and his adventures?

Samuel Clemens really captured that “boy spirit.” I’m glad he remembered it as an adult.

I really recommend reading it even now, if you never have, and passing it along to a boy you know in your family.

The reading level is probably about middle school.!

After that young boy in your life reads “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” he just MIGHT want to help you whitewash a fence someday.

Or trick you into doing it all yourself.

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

about!Missouri!state!parks and state historic sites!and!their operations.

Park and state historic staff will be on hand to provide information and to answer questions.

These informational meetings, which are being held in all state parks and state historic sites, give park staff the opportunity to let people know the current status and future plans for the parks and sites!and they offer visitors the opportunity to comment on the facilities.

Upcoming public meetings: •!May 9 - Bollinger Mill State Historic Site and Trail of Tears State Park, 6:30 p.m.

•!May 16 - Lake of the Ozarks State Park, 6 p.m.

•!May 17 - Bennett Spring State Park, 6 p.m.

•!May 18 - Finger Lakes State Park, noon.

•!May 18 - First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site, 1 p.m.

•!May 18 - Grand Gulf State Park, 10 a.m.

•!May 18 - Montauk State Park, 4 p.m.

•!May 25 - Crowder State Park, 2 p.m.

•!May 31 - Pomme de Terre State Park, 6 p.m.

•!May 31 - Harry S Truman State Park, 8 p.m.

(Jimmy Sexton is owner and publisher of the River Hills Traveler. He can be reached by phone or text at (417) 4513798, or jimmy@riverhillstraveler.com.)

On the Cover Richard Whiteside details his hunt of Phantom Tom. (Story on page 12)

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 Rhonda Sexton 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.

COPYRIGHT © 2019 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.

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Bathing at Camp Clark (Galena)

VINTAGE OZARKS

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e recently acquired this gem of an image of summer play a century ago at Camp Clark in Galena (not the Missouri National Guard base near Nevada).

It is addressed to Miss Nettie M. McComb, Lamar, Mo., who apparently had vacationed the previous year at Camp Clark. Rather than pay for a real photo postcard from George Hall, the owners pasted a snapshot on a blank Postal Card and handwrote their “pitch” to customers from the preceding summer: “Feb 28, 1910. Dear Friend: We remember how well you enjoyed your outing with us last year so we send you this card to remind you of Camp Clark, trusting that it will stimulate you to get up a party of your friends and come down and camp with us again this year. Your friends, Mr. or Mrs. A.L. McQuary.”

A June 1913 newspaper ad for the “well known Camp Clark” assured readers: “Only people of good morals are accepted. It is a beautiful mountain camp on the James river, with pure air, grand scenery and fine spring water. A fine place for ladies to boat, bathe, fish From the May archives of the River Hills Traveler: 5 years ago • The Missouri Conservation Commission approved regulation changes at its meeting in Jefferson City that will reduce the availability of firearm antlerless deer hunting permits from “any number” in most of the state to one in most of the state.

• Al Agnew’s first float fishing craft, back when he was a teenager in the 1960s, was a beat up 12-foot aluminum johnboat. Since then, he has floated and fished out of rafts, drift boats, kayaks, folding canoes, inflatable kayaks, paddle johns, pontoons, and well over a dozen different makes and models of canoes.

He has floated rivers in more than 30 states and has been on nearly every floatable stream in the Ozarks. With all that experience, he has come to plenty of conclusions about the merits of various craft for floating and fishing our Ozark waters.

• The spring turkey season lasts through May 11. Not many hunters will be pursuing them because they have either got their limit of two or given up and went to catch a mess of crappie before squirrel season opens May 24. Or perhaps groundhogs, as the season on them opens May 12. (Bob Todd) 10 years ago • The equivalent of 3,000-plus truckloads of grout — a mixture of cement and water not unlike that between the ceramic tiles in your kitchen, minus the sand — has been injected into the structure of the Clearwater Dam. Part B of Phase 1 nears completion as the installation of grout proceeds both upstream and downstream within the dam. (Rick Mansfield) • The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would dedicate between $10-24 million of the federal Recovery Act funding to clean up

Promotional postcard with handwritten message. Postmarked “Galena Mar 1, 10 AM 1910”

and recreate.” All the Galena resorts pitched the idea that women were welcome — camping, fishing and floating were not male-only, stag affairs.

Dr. A.L. McQuary, former traveling evangelist who also prescribed eyeglasses, owned the resort, consisting of a set of bungalows and tents on a hill overlooking the James.

He had been a farmer, run a saddlery business, and within a few years of moving to Galena in 1908, became the county collector.

REMEMBER WHEN

lead-contaminated properties in the Fredericktown area.

• The weather guy was predicting rain but it hadn’t started yet and the river looked good for an evening of cat fishing. This is the perfect time of year for catching catfish.

The temperature is just right, with no bugs flying around to bother you. The mosquitos are still a few weeks away.

And there is no doubt that catfish seem to bite best during the spring. (Howard Helgenberg) 20 years ago • When you think of invaders, you think of something really foreign. But there is an invader of the Meramec River Basin that is right at home just across the drainage divide to the south.

We’re talking about the spotted bass, a species that is invading the streams of the basin, wreaking havoc on the native smallmouth bass population. (Bob Todd) • Mysterious deaths of bald eagles in Arkansas was not on the news in the past winter. It didn’t happen. But whatever the unknown cause of eagle deaths for the previous years, the cause may just have shifted targets.

Pathologists from the National Wildlife Health Center have found dead mallards, pigeons, and ring-necked ducks in North Carolina that display the same pathology as the eagles and coots did in Arkansas.

• American Airlines has donated $21,000 for improvements to trails in the vicinity of Big Spring, in Ozark National Scenic Riverways. Work is already underway on something called the Slough Trail, part of the old roadbed that came from Van Buren to Big Spring.

(This feature is courtesy of Leland and Crystal Payton at Lens & Pen Press, publishers of all-color books on the Ozarks. Their next book, Lover’s Leap Legends, was inspired by their discovery that both the Osage and James rivers had Lover’s Leaps. Their most recent book, James Fork of the White, was published in 2017.

Some pages from this book can be seen on www.beautifulozarks.com. Their earlier river book, Damming the Osage, can be at seen www.dammingtheosage.com.)

30 years ago • Ol’ Craz lives! He is the stupidest old gobbler that ever drew breath and was the subject of a slightly exaggerated story in a previous issue of the Traveler.

Neighbor Bob Douglas believed Ol’ Craz must have died during the winter, but that was not the case.

Bob Todd tangled with him on opening day where he came between two men, one of whom was running a chainsaw a quarter-mile away.

He called and Craz answered, then the chainsaw called and Craz answered. He ultimately chose to gobble in the direction of the chainsaw.

• The Conservation Department is entering into an agreement with the City of Poplar Bluff to develop a boat ramp and access to Black River in the city.

The Department also approved the purchase of an 80-acre addition to Big Cane State Forest near Poplar Bluff.

• Persons planning a trip to Clearwater Lake this season to camp in an underdeveloped area of the project are required to obtain a Primitive Camping Permit in

advance of actually camping.

40 years ago • Efforts to restore ruffed grouse to their former range moved into southeast Missouri last fall with a stocking in the Castor River State Forest in Bollinger County, but Bill Hunyadi, a biologist in charge, said it won’t be a rapid program of expansion like the turkey program was.

• The fish kill toll reached 104,000 fish below the new Truman Dam on the Osage River. This was the second year the new dam has produced this kind of massive fish kill, caused by air supersaturation.

Air is trapped in water falling over the high dam and causes something called “fetal embolism” in fish downstream.

• In May and June a wise fisherman looks for mayflies flitting over the water, a sure sign that the fish are feeding.

The gossamer-winged insects are a favorite food of many kinds of fish including bass, trout, bluegills, and even catfish. (Emma Comfort Dunn) (compiled by Laurel Sexton)

Share your trip photos!

If you’re going on vacation in Missouri or anywhere in the world, we’d love to see photos from your journey and publish them in an upcoming issue of the River Hills Traveler. You can send photos to us at jimmy@riverhillstraveler.com or post them on our Facebook page or TEXT them to us at (417) 451-3798.

And don’t forget to take a copy of the Traveler with you and pose in front of a landmark or somewhere of interest on your trip holding the magazine. We look forward to hearing from you!

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Check the water level before you go H ave you ever packed up for a big fishing trip or float trip and then driven three or four hours and then, upon arrival at the river or stream where you had planned to catch a stringer of record-breaking fish or enjoy a nice float trip, discover that the river or stream was flooded or in such bad shape that fishing or canoeing was completely out of the question?

It’s happened to all of us and it is really discouraging after you have thought of nothing else but that big trip all week, thinking that Friday was never going to get here and when Friday finally arrives and then you hit the road and after a long drive, have to undergo a big letdown upon arriving at your destination.

But there is something you can do to keep this frustrating experience from Bill Oder getting you down.

———— Thanks to the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey), who have placed monitoring sites at various locations across our state, we can check the water levels at many of our favorite fishing holes and float streams before you even begin to start backing out of your driveway.

These water levels can be checked any time of the day, even at two o’clock in the morning.

First, go to their website, “USGS Water Data for Missouri.” There you will find a map of Missouri dotted with small squares and circles.

Click on one of these dots until you find the stream or river that you want to investigate and you will go to a screen that shows you all you need to know about your favorite stream or river.

As you scroll down the page, first you’ll see a graph showing water temperatures and precipitation for the past few days, and then discharge in cubic feet per second and finally gauge height… which is the one that I pay most attention to.

It will show the height for the day you are checking plus the figures for the past six days. All of this information is very helpful, and keep in mind that it is available to the public at no cost.

Since I’m a trout fisherman, I check out the trout streams before we leave to go fishing. There is a monitoring site at

Montauk State Park, our favorite spot, so I’m always checking that one even when a fishing trip is not being planned.

There the normal height for good fishing is between 1.5 and 2.0 feet. I should make it clear right away that the monitoring sites do not provide any suggestions as to whether fishing is any good or not, or whether a float trip would be a safe venture.

The 1.5 to 2.0 feet figures for Montauk are what fishermen have learned, from their own experience, provide the most success at catching fish.

If it gets up to around 3 feet, the water could be murky, still fishable, but requiring different types of flies and more weight on the leader to get the fly down deep, so I need to prepare my fly boxes for that particular situation.

I don’t like the murky water because when I’m wading, I want to see the bottom of the stream so I don’t inadvertently step off into a deep hole of water but I usually go anyway, even though I’m not really comfortable.

If the height is in the area of 4 feet or

MOWING AND MAINTENANCE FOR LOST CREEK WATERSHED DAMS The Lost Creek Watershed is seeking bids for the mowing and general maintenance of eight (8) flood control dams located in the Seneca-Racine area. Mowing MUST be done between 1 June to 1 November 2019. A four (4) wheel tractor with either a cab or roll bar and seat belt is required. Liability insurance for $1,000,000.00 as well as a negative drug screen test for all persons working on the dam site is mandatory.

In order to place a bid, it is mandatory that the bidder attend the site showing on Thursday, 23 May 2019 starting at 10:00 am. We will be meeting at the USDA Service Center located at 1900 S. Business 49 (formerly Business 71) Neosho, MO. The Lost Creek Watershed Board of Trustees reserves the right to extend the contract for more than one mowing season.

For more details or a bid packet, contact the Lost Creek Watershed office at 417451-1007 ext. 3 located inside the USDA Service Center at the above address. All bids must be received, in hand, to the Lost Creek Watershed personnel no later than Friday, 24 May 2019 by close of business (4:30pm).

higher, I look for another place to go fishing or stay home until the water goes back down.

Montauk can flood fast and I’ve been there before when that normally crys-

tal-clear trout stream turns into a roaring, muddy river necessitating evacuation of the campgrounds.

Montauk is surrounded by hills and it catches all the runoff from them. It usually doesn’t take long for the water to go back down, maybe 2 to 4 days.

Sometimes not that long.

But I can always check the level in the comfort of our home on our computer before another trip is planned.

At Bennett Spring State Park, the normal height for good fishing is 1.6 to 2.3 feet.

For fishing the Meramec River below Maramec Spring Park (the gauges are at Steelville), the normal height is 1.5 to 2.5 feet.

For the Current River below Montauk State Park (the gauges are at Akers), a good height is between 2 to 3 feet.

I find it convenient to take advantage of these monitoring sites of the USGS. It is also important to consider that all streams and rivers have different characteristics and the suggested heights for the trout fishing areas that I have mentioned above may not apply to your favorite stream or river.

Four feet might not be good for Montauk but it may be ideal for your favorite place.

Like I have said, these suggested heights for good fishing are what trout fishermen, at the areas I have mentioned, have found to be most conducive for a successful fishing trip.

If you have any questions, feel free to send me an e-mail.

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

May 2019 • Page 7

RiverHillsTraveler.com

New gun case pending before the Supreme Court

I

suppose most people who own a gun have at least a passing interest in what might happen over the next few years regarding our constitutional rights to own and use a firearm.

And that would presumably apply to most people who read the River Hills Traveler as well. Recently, we have seen an increase in legislation at both the state and local levels attempting to further regulate gun rights.

In fact, in the states of Washington and Colorado, for example, local law enforcement personnel have publicly announced that they will refuse to enforce some of this new legislation because they believe that this new legislation violates our constitutional rights under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

In short, there is a growing need to clarify Second Amendment rights beyond our basic right to “keep and bear Arms” within the confines of our own homes.

And this need for clarification ultimately falls upon the U.S. Supreme Court to address.

You may not be aware of it, but in the past 75 years, the U.S. Supreme Court has heard only three cases inBill Hoagland volving the Second ———— Amendment; the first case was in 1939 and the last two cases were decided more than eight years ago.

These last two decisions, rendered in 2008 and 2010, respectively, are District of Columbia vs. Heller (holding that we have a basic right under the Second Amendment to have firearms within the confines of our homes) and McDonald vs. City of Chicago (holding that the rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment extend to statutes and regulations enacted by state and local authorities).

After a long wait and numerous conflicting decisions in the lower courts, the U.S. Supreme Court, on January 22, 2019, finally agreed to hear another case involving our rights under the Second Amendment.

This case is “New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. vs. City of New York,” which is scheduled for a hearing during the October 2019-2020 term of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Before we get too far into a discussion about this new case, I should mention that I have been a practicing attorney for more than 50 years.

I am not, by any means, an expert on constitutional law; rather, I am simply a gun owner and hunter who, as with most gun owners, has an interest in what might happen to our gun rights in light of the recent legislative actions at the state and local levels.

I was initially surprised that the U.S. Supreme Court decided to use this particular case to address unresolved issues under the Second Amendment. By that, I mean the facts in this case did not seem to be so outrageous that the situation demands action by the court.

But as it turns out, 22 states have joined together in an amicus curiae brief addressed to the court, asking that the court find in favor of the petitioners, who are challenging specific restrictive regulations enacted by the City of New York on the ownership and usage of handguns by city residents.

The Western States Sheriff Association also filed an amicus curiae brief with the court in support of the petitioners. In other words, there appears to be a nationwide interest in this case that on its face, would seemingly impact only residents of the City of New York.

Although numerous constitutional issues have been raised in this case, the key issues, boiled down, are whether the rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment to keep and maintain a handgun in one’s own home extend beyond the home and whether a state or city can prevent a resident from transporting a firearm beyond the boundaries of that jurisdiction.

By agreeing to hear this case, it appears that the U.S. Supreme Court is now willing to address one or both of these issues.

Let’s look briefly at the pertinent facts in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. vs City of New York.

By virtue of a variety of city ordinances, and supportive state law, the City of New York requires that all private owners of handguns living within the city be licensed with either a “premises” license or a “carry” license in order to own and maintain a handgun within the city.

The “carry” license is extremely difficult to obtain and is not pertinent to this discussion. As to the “premises” license, there are rigorous requirements for applicants who want to own and maintain a handgun within the city limits.

And if you are lucky enough to acquire a “premises” license to own and maintain a handgun within the city limits, you are not allowed to remove that handgun from your premises except under very limited circumstances.

Generally speaking, the only time you can remove the handgun from your premises is to use it at one of several specific firearm ranges within the city limits. In addition, during the time when the gun is being transported to these firing ranges, it must be encased in a locked container, unloaded, with the ammunition for that gun being stored and transported in a separate container.

In short, if a gun owner with a “premises” license living in the city wanted to carry a handgun for protection outside his home, he could not lawfully do so.

But this law goes beyond that: if you are a premises licensee, you cannot remove that handgun outside the city limits under any circumstance, even if the handgun is in a locked container,

unloaded with the ammunition stored separately.

By the way, this appears to be the only jurisdiction in the U.S. where a local governmental entity prohibits resident gun owners from removing a gun beyond the jurisdiction of the local entity.

The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc., as the lead plaintiff in this case, filed a petition in federal court against the City of New York claiming that the pertinent ordinances, as described above, violate rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment to “own and bear Arms” because handgun owners cannot effectively protect themselves outside the confines of their own home if their handgun is encased in a locked container and unloaded.

They are also challenging the city’s absolute prohibition against removing the registered handgun beyond city limits.

In case you are wondering, the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is pretty brief; it provides, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Obviously, this language is not specific enough, standing alone, to clarify whether this right “to keep and bear Arms” includes the right to have a handgun in your possession outside the home for protection or for any other purpose for that matter.

Nor does it address the question of whether a state or local government can legally prohibit you from removing a gun beyond the jurisdiction of that particular governmental entity.

Generally, most courts have held that the right to possess and use a firearm, including handguns, outside the home is more limited than inside the home; this is because public safety interests are often deemed to outweigh individual interests in protecting one’s self outside the home.

And specifically in the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association case, the appellate court reviewing this case (before the Supreme Court agreed to hear it) held that the ordinances in question are constitutional because they merely “regulate” rather than “restrict” rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment.

Moreover, the appellate court felt these ordinances constitute nothing more than a “minimal” or “modest” burden on rights guaranteed under the Second Amendment.

In other words, rights under the Second Amendment are not absolute. And

in determining whether a particular statute or regulation violates the Second Amendment, those rights allegedly being violated are to be “weighed” or “balanced” by the court against a public interest in maintaining a safe public environment.

Attempting to predict how the Supreme Court will rule on a specific issue is somewhat like attempting to predict the weather.

With the recent Republican appointments to the Supreme Court, however, it is generally anticipated that the majority of the current court will be inclined to declare that the City of New York ordinances in question violate Second Amendment rights and are unconstitutional to some extent.

How far the court will be willing to go in this direction remains to be seen.

Justice Kavanaugh, in particular, has indicated in a prior dissenting opinion that he does not favor the approach used by lower courts in Second Amendment cases to the effect that there should be a “balancing test” between individual rights to protect oneself and the interests of society in maintaining a safe environment.

Rather, he believes that the test as to whether a particular gun law is constitutional should be determined by the issue of whether the rights being restricted are rights that historically have been allowed.

For example, historically, hunters have been allowed to take their guns on hunting trips; this usage would appear to be protected by the Second Amendment under Justice Kavanaugh’s historical test.

On the other hand, fully automatic firearms have not been historically regarded as legal for hunting or any other purposes and would not be entitled to protections under the Second Amendment under Justice Kavanaugh’s test.

It seems to me, in attempting to predict what might happen in this case, that the court would not have agreed to hear this case if they were simply going to affirm the decision of the lower court in holding that the city ordinances in this case are constitutional; that could have been accomplished by simply refusing to hear this case.

Unfortunately, the parties in this case have not yet submitted briefs on the substantive issues in the case; this makes it even more difficult to predict the probable result.

While it is possible that the court is going to hold that the Second Amendment includes the right to protect one’s self beyond the confines of one’s home, that seems unlikely in this particular case.

It seems more likely that the court will hold that the Second Amendment and the constitutional right to travel freely within the United States, construed together, render unconstitutional the City of New York’s ordinance prohibiting a gun owner from taking his gun outside the jurisdictional boundaries of the city.

The case has not yet been assigned a specific hearing date before the U.S. Supreme Court other than to say that it will be held during the October 20192020 term.

After oral argument is held, a decision will not likely be rendered for at least three months and possibly as long as nine months after oral argument.

Stay tuned.

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

Page 8 • May 2019

Great May crappie action

M

ay is when school gets out and lots of vacations start. One of the most popular destinations in the Midwest is Lake Ozark, Missouri.

If you are heading there, plan to fish. Here is why.

All I could do was shake my head. I sat there, with a professional fishing guide, in his boat, knowing we were not going to catch a crappie all day.

I usually have great confidence in a guide’s knowledge and abilities, but this guy was nuts. We were on one of the hottest springtime crappie lakes in America, Lake of the Ozarks, in May and this fellow was putting a red and white plastic bobber on my jigging line. I was confused, to say the least.

I have been jigging for crappie every spring for over 35 years. I know how vertical jigging works. I even believe I am pretty good at it. But now all I could do was sit and watch as my local fishing buddy Rob Shonfelt prepared to waste my afternoon of fishing.

“Cast your jig past that brush pile and wind the bobber right in to it,” my expert companion instructed me.

I did as I was told. My 1/64-ounce gray and red plastic jig hung about 4 feet beneath the colorful bobber. I stopped the retrieve, as instructed, right in the exposed portion of the brush.

The small waves made by the light afternoon breeze made the small bobber raise and lower with rhythmic action.

Within seconds the bobber disappeared into the brush. I immediMike Roux ately retrieved an almost solid ———— black male crappie measuring 14inches.

“See. I told ya,” was all Shonfelt said as he grinned at me. “Just keep goin’ right back there,” he suggested.

A bobber gives you two distinct advantages in the spring. First, it allows you to control your depth, helping you find the day’s strike zone and keep your bait in it.

Second, it lets you move your jig slowly, which can be a key to getting early crappie to bite.

Rob also explained that this technique works best on days with light wind.

“The waves that the wind create on the surface moves the bobber enough to give the jig great action down in the brush pile,” Shonfelt said.

This presentation worked to perfection and Rob Shonfelt is my new crappie hero.

Find the proper depth for crappie fishing should not take you very long. Once you find a brush pile, start with your jig about 4 feet under the bobber. Cast into the cover.

If you are not successful, try varying your depth with each cast until you find fish. In May, you could find them anywhere between one and eight feet, depending upon the clarity of the water.

You may think that finding good, crappie-holding brush piles would be difficult at Lake of the Ozarks because of all of the private and public shoreline development around the Lake.

This is actually a good thing for crappie anglers.

Many private and public boat docks and marinas have sunken cover around them placed there by the owners. These are not hard to find with even simple electronics, and they can all be accessed from a boat.

As the spring spawn begins, look for heavy cover close to the bank. Gravel bottoms are best, especially if there is brush on them.

Start on the deep edge of the brush and work your way in until you find fish. Remember to cast your jig and bobber into the brush from a distance so as not to spook the fish.

May at Lake of the Ozarks can mean warm days and warming water. As this happens, crappie will move further up the creeks. They will now also be attracted closer to the banks.

Cover on shallow banks will now form new hot spots. This time of year, the fish will not all feed at the same time. Therefore, you should be able to find and catch a limit at about any time of day.

The fish Shonfelt and I caught were between 1 and

3 p.m. on an overcast day. He said we could have done that same thing between 8 and 10 a.m. as well.

Other good boat launch locations include the Coffman Beach Public Boat Ramp. This might be your ramp-of-choice if you are coming to the lake from the north.

From Columbia, Jefferson City and St. Louis, take Highway #54 to Eldon, Mo. Then take Route “Y” to Rocky Mount, Mo. This puts you in the North Shore Area. Look for the junction of Routes “Y” and “W,” and follow the signs to the Coffman Beach ramp.

If you are arriving at Lake of the Ozarks from the west or the Kansas City area, take Highway #5 out of Versailles, Mo. Go to Gravois Mills, Mo., and follow the signs to the Missouri Department of Conservation Gravois Arm Public Boat Ramp.

This ramp puts you in the lake right where the May crappie fishing is at its best.

You can begin hitting brush piles without ever starting up your outboard motor.

(Mike Roux can be reached at 217-257-7895.)

RiverHillsTraveler.com

May 2019 • Page 9

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Another example of just how beautiful Missouri is

A

s I travel through Missouri, it still amazes me what you may stumble upon along your journey. I recently came across another beautiful waterway here in Missouri.

Ottery Creek is a stream in Iron and Reynolds counties. It is a tributary to the Middle Fork Black River. It is located south of highway 32 and the stream parallels Highway A. Ottery Creek derives its name from John Autrey, a pioneer citizen. There is a small commuDana nity along Highway Sturgeon A with a church and ———— cemetery. The Bell Eleven Mountain WilderPoint River ness is just east of Highway A. Ottery Creek Trailhead is also located off this section of highway with a parking lot and entrance to the Ozark Trail. Another Trailhead is off Forest Service Road 2228. Mark Twain National Forest manages these areas.

The headwaters of Ottery Creek arise in Iron County just south of Johnson Mountain. It flows south-southwest passing under Highway 32, parallels Highway A, passing under Highway 49 (south of Edgehill) and then joins the Middle Fork.

I encourage everyone to travel around the state and find out what you

may come across on your journey! You never know what you may find in our beautiful state of Missouri!

(Dana Sturgeon lives in southern Missouri. She can be reached at mo_dana@hotmail.com.)

AROUND the WORLD with the River Hills Traveler

(Above) (L-r) A few months ago HaiLeigh Pittman, Maggie Culbertson, Makaya Culbertson, Chelsea Long, MyraGale Sexton, Carlee Patterson, Holliday Newman, and Hadyn Russow enjoyed some shopping at Branson Landing before their Christian concert! They took a friend along with them.

(Left) Jaclyn Link, of Diamond, Mo., spends a few days every summer soaking up everything the Eminence area has to offer.

She is shown here on her first trip to Current River State Park.

——— If you're going on a trip or vacation, please take the River Hills Traveler with you and have someone photograph you and the magazine in front of a landmark or particular setting. Then email the picture to us at jimmy@riverhillstraveler.com and we will publish it an upcoming issue. You can also text your photos & info to (417) 456-3798 or send them to us via our Facebook page.

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

Page 10 • May 2019

RiverHillsTraveler.com

RiverHillsTraveler.com

HOM ME OF SUMMER FUN!!

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Locatted on the Upper Meramec River in Bourbon, Misssouri

CAMPING • CABINS • TRAIL T RIDES • ZIP LINE • FLOAATT TRRIPS

Swarm season is here

H

By Sandy McMurry-Richey oneybees swarm during the spring as a natural means of reproduction.

They are usually not aggressive during this time as they are just “shopping for a new home.”!

They will stay a short amount of time in a temporary location as the scouts look for a suitable new home for the 60 percent or so who have left the original nest.!

This swarm could be on a car bumper or at the top of a giant Oak.!If you see a swarm of honeybees please call your local beekeeper and do not harm them as they pollinate 30 percent of the food we eat.!

The survival rate of these clusters is only about 25 percent so they need the help you can give them.!You can find a listing of local

MSBA member beekeepers on the Missouri State Beekeepers Association website at www.mostatebeekeepers.org/bee-swarms.!

You should also be able to reach out to your local beekeeping club or even call 911.!Any beekeeper who would like to be on the MSBA swarm catcher list can join MSBA for just $10 a year.!Visit the site listed above for more information.

Quoting from the MSBA website, here is what you need to be prepared to tell an interested swarm catcher: • Are the insects definitely honeybees?

This is very important. If you’re not sure and you have a cell phone with a camera, try to take a photo of the swarm or be able to describe the swarm and the insects in detail for the beekeeper.

• How high up is the swarm?

• What is the swarm hanging from?

• Is the swarm easily accessible?

• How large is the swarm?

• How long has the swarm been there?

Some have been known to confuse yellow jackets with honeybees.!There is a big difference in the two.!

Yellow jackets live in the ground and are

Critter of the Month: Speckled kingsnake • Species: Speckled kingsnake.

• Scientific name: Lampropeltis getula holbrooki.

• Nicknames: Salt-and-pepper snake.

• Claim to fame: This non-venomous reptile is popular among people who like snakes because of its distinct coloration and because of the help it provides in controlling venomous snake populations.

When alarmed, speckled kingsnakes often vibrate their tails in dry vegetation (imitating a rattlesnake) or produce a foul-smelling musk. Speckled kingsnakes (and other species of kingsnakes, as well) are noted for their ability to kill other venomous snake species.

They can do this because they are immune to the venom of pit vipers native to Missouri such as copperheads, cottonmouths and rattlesnakes.

Kingsnakes can also be very important to controlling the populations of rodents.

• Species status: Speckled kingsnakes

occur throughout Missouri and surrounding states.

• First discovered: The speckled kingsnake was first described by Norwegian naturalist Leonhard Hess Stejneger in 1902.

Kingsnakes are thus named because of their ability to kill other snakes.

• Family matters: The speckled kingsnake belongs to the family Colubridae. This family contains about 1,800 species worldwide, 31 of which reside in Missouri. All members of the Colubridae family are non-venomous.

• Length: Adults average 30 to 42 inches in length (and are occasionally longer).

• Diet: Speckled kingsnakes live on a diet of rodents, bird eggs, small birds, lizards and other snakes. Kingsnakes kill their prey by constriction: first they grasp the prey in their mouths, then they wrap their bodies around the prey in tight coils until it can no longer breathe. One the prey animal dies, it is swallowed.

• Distinguishing characteristics: Speck-

led kingsnakes have a shiny black base color that is covered with small yellowish-white spots.

Each dorsal scale has a single spot on it, which creates a speckled look.

Their bellies are yellow with a series of large black rectangular markings. The species is most active between April and October and are primarily active at night during hot summer months. In spring and fall, they will be more active during the day.

• Life span: 20-25 years.

• Habitat: Speckled kingsnakes can be found in a variety of habitats including forest edges, prairies, rocky glades, wooded hillsides, or along the edges of marshy areas.

• Life cycle: Courtship and mating occurs in late April or May. The female lays a single clutch of six to 14 eggs under or around rotting logs or stumps.

Young kingsnakes hatch in late summer and are usually 20 cm to 30 cm in length. (source: MDC)

Washington State Park Thunderbird Lodge 13041 St. Hwy. 104 (south of DeSoto on MO 21)

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aggressive.!Honeybees live in hives or trees and are not usually aggressive.!

This is why it is best to locate a beekeeper who knows the difference and has the proper equipment to deal with them.!The bees are given a new home and continue to do what they do best – pollinate.

People often ask what they can do to save these beneficial and beautiful insects, and the answer is simple — cut back on poisons, herbicides, fungicides, etc. and plant native plants.!

Look at “weeds” as pollinator food.!If it blooms, then consider it pollinator food rather than a “weed.”!

Let the fence lines and roadsides go wild between April and October.!The profusion of color from wildflowers is much more beautiful than the boring expanse of grass.

(Sandy McMurry-Richey is chairperson of the Communications Committee of the Missouri State Beekeepers Association.)

May 2019 • Page 11

Page 12 • May 2019

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Me & ol’ Phantom Tom meet for the first time

M

e and the old Tom became acquainted with each other by pure luck and accident.

The squirrels were cutting hickory nuts late that summer something fierce and combining a late season top-water trip with a little squirrel hunting with my 22 seemed appropriate.

Little did I know that it would be the trip that I saw the Phantom Tom of Greer Spring Knob for the first time.!

Phantom Tom was no ordinary Tom. He was a true Richard monarch of the timWhiteside ber, he was a ———— Mavrick Tom. Not the kind of Maverick Tom that cuts out cross country with no desire to come to one sweetsounding hen.

No, ol' Phantom Tom was a ghost maverick. He would not leave his knob. He was the king of Greer Spring Knob and every shelf on the sides of the big Ozark Knob over the Eleven Point River.

Many young Toms tried to take over the territory, but none succeeded.

We were destined for each other. I was at the time!thinking highly of myself as a turkey hunter. The ol Phantom Tom was to be the Tom that humbled my ego as a turkey hunter and filled

my many nights with dreams and visions of all sorts of ol' Phantom Toms pulling the wool over me.

I was sitting high above the Eleven Point River on a shelf late one afternoon with my .22. The shelf I was on was the one on the river side of the Knob about 400 yards from my camp on the gravel bar.

With nearly a stringer full of squirrels I was contemplating!hustling down the hill to my camp and getting in my empty canoe in order to catch one more lunker smallmouth in the solitude of the big eddy as the sun set, when all at once a commotion up the ridge erupted and there he was.!

The old Tom had made the mistake of choosing the roosting trees on that particular shelf to roost on that night.

He should have picked another shelf, and maybe I should have also picked another shelf to squirrel hunt on.

But fate wouldn't have it that way.!

As his toes wrapped around the limb of the big roosting tree above me, I could see his giant spurs protruding from his legs. He was enormous.

In the coming years I would learn that the very tree I had my back on was his most favorite tree to roost in. What are the odds? It was fate.

He had me pinned and I was forced to sit until total darkness so as to not spook the ol' Tom as I made my way off the shelf and back down to camp.

As I made my way down the ridge in the darkness I wasn't thinking about

squirrels or smallmouth anymore. I was already making plans to come back in six more weeks in the fall and killing that big ol' Tom. But ol' Phantom Tom had some plans of his own. Toms in the Ozarks don't get big and old by being dumb.

That fall I had my second encounter with the big Tom that would soon earn the name Phantom Tom of Greer Spring Knob.

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

F a

Repor o t hogs to md c.mo.g ov/f ov/feralho og

May 2019 • Page 13

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Sanctuary works to preserve, protect birds

W

hen I first moved to the St. Louis side of Missouri over two decades ago, I thought it was interesting that local schoolchildren were often treated to educational programs through the World Bird Sanctuary.

I didn’t know just how important their work was until I saw their educational presentation firsthand at Robertsville State Park.

That moment inspired me to visit their facilities at 125 Bald Eagle Ridge Road in Valley Michelle Turner Park.

———— Since then, I have become a fan of this non-profit group that works to preserve and protect birds.

I found myself yet again watching their presentation at the Washington River Festival and Missouri River Clean-Up last month. Yes, it is THAT good, my friends!

If you can’t catch the crew from World Bird Sanctuary out and about, then take the time to visit their headquarters.

It’s located on 305 acres of Missouri hardwood forest and has many avian exhibits, along with five hiking trails.

Thanks to a sponsorship by AmerenUE, visitors can not only park and tour the grounds for free, but they can also experience the “Amazing Ani-

mal Encounters” presentation for free, too.

It takes every Saturday and Sunday from Memorial Day to Labor Day at 11a.m. and 3 p.m. You will be treated to a family-friendly environmental education program presented by naturalists.

The presentations last 25 minutes and feature several of the World Bird Sanctuary’s animal residents.

Yes, the World Bird Sanctuary works to heal birds and release them back into the wild, but that isn’t always possible.

There are approximately 200 birds in their care that, due to a variety of rea-

sons, are non-releasable.

Walter Crawford, who at the time was employed by the St. Louis Zoo, founded the World Bird Sanctuary in 1977. Thanks to support from Marlin Perkins, Crawford made his vision a reality.

By 1982, Crawford left his work at the St. Louis Zoo to focus purely on saving birds all over the world. The legacy Crawford left behind is one of great successes.

The World Bird Sanctuary contributed to bringing the Bald Eagle, Peregrine Falcon and American Barn Owl back from near extinction. Thanks

to breeding efforts and education, those birds are not things of the past. They have made an incredible comeback.

While your visit to the World Bird Sanctuary will be an educational and enjoyable experience, remember that while they do not charge admission or parking fees, they could use your support.

They do not receive local, county, state or federal funding. Donations are always welcome and there are opportunities to “Adopt-A-Bird” and visit their wishlists of items they need donated via their website.

You can visit them online at ; like their Facebook page @WorldBirdSanctuary; call them at (636) 225-4390; or email them at info@worldbirdsanctuary.org for more information.

Their headquarters in Valley Park is 29 miles west of St. Louis and 90 miles east of Rolla off of I-44.

They are open daily 8 a.m.-5 p.m. but it’s encouraged you call ahead or visit their Facebook page for any possible closings.

(Michelle Turner lives in Union, Mo.)

Know which morels are toxic before going on the hunt

T

o the uninitiated, a morel does not have the most appetizing appearance. Its brain-like form looks like something out of a campy horror movie, and a morel’s neutral, earthy color doesn’t command much attention.

From about late March to early May, however, foraging for these small mushrooms is serious business — a business so serious that many folks refuse to reveal their morel spots even to their closest friends and family. The question many people ask this time of year is, “How can I find morels?” Well, morels are finicky fungal organisms.

The underground portion of the fungus only produces mushrooms in some years — mostly based on soil temperature and moisture availability (but other factors play a role, too). Ultimately, most of what people know about finding morels is anecdotal and widely variable, but here are a few tips to help you narrow down good places to look for morels: • Morels commonly appear after warm, moist spring weather with daytime temperatures in the low 70s and nighttime temperatures in the 50s.

• South and west facing slopes are good sites to look

Three common edible species of morels found in Missouri. (L-r): The half-free morel (Morchella punctipes); black morel (Morchella angusticeps); and yellow morel (Morchella esculentoides).

for morels early in the season, with north and east slopes being better for later-season morel hunting.

• Morels tend to favor tree species such as elms, ashes, cottonwoods, and even domesticated apples.

Look around recently dead trees but beware of falling

branches.

• Areas disturbed by flooding, fire, or logging often produce loads of morels.

• Morels peak when lilacs bloom.

• Most public lands in Missouri allow the collecting of mushrooms for personal use, but always check the regulations before you collect to be sure.

Remember, these are just general guidelines – morels have been found growing in all sorts of locations and conditions. Before setting off into the forest, make sure you know how to correctly identify morels. Misidentifying and consuming toxic mushrooms can cause anything from mild stomach issues to organ failure or even death.

There are several mushroom species in Missouri, including the big red false morel, which are considered toxic and not recommended for consumption. Consult with field guides or a professional mycologist to be completely confident in species identification before consuming any mushrooms. Browse the Missouri Department of Conservation’s mushroom field guide for photos of the more common and noticeable fungal species in Missouri.

Page 14 • May 2019

RiverHillsTraveler.com

The bucks stop here: When deer love your plants

D

eer might be lovely animals, but not when grazing on freshly sprung tulips or hostas. And tree lovers fear antler rubs on trees and shrubs.

“Unfortunately, there are few simple solutions to prevent deer damage without eliminating deer completely,” said University of Missouri Extension horticulturist Jennifer Schutter.

But take heart, deer and plant lovers. The two can coexist with an integrated pest management approach.

This includes monitoring deer pressure and using fencing, repellents and deer-resistant plants.

Deer seek plants rich in protein, especially in spring and summer, to help them recover from winter. They like moist, tender plant parts such as buds, new leaves and immature stems.

Schutter offers these tips to avoid deer in your landscape: • Be flexible when choosing plants. Like people, deer have different tastes in food. Look for plants labeled as “deer-resistant.”

• Choose plants with rough textures. Deer do not like the texture of rough, hairy, prickly and spiny plants.

Deer also dislike the texture of some viburnums, oakleaf hydrangea, lamb’s ear, prickly leaves or stems like hollies or barberries.

• Choose plants with strong scents. Deer also turn up their noses at heavily-scented plants. Their stems or leaves contain aromatic compounds. Lavender, boxwood and marigold are considered aromatic plants.

• Choose bitter-tasting plants. Plants with a bitter or alkaloid taste include yarrow.

• Interplant deer favorites with undesirables. (See sidebar for a detailed list.)

The MU Extension publication “Controlling Deer

CATCH A SMILE Did you know: • The first successful parachute jump to be made from a moving airplane was made by Captain Berry at St. Louis, in 1912.

• Warsaw, Mo., holds the state record for the lowest temperature of minus 40 degrees on February 13, 1905.

• Warsaw also holds the state record for the highest temperature recorded, 118 degrees on July 14, 1954.

• Kansas City has more miles of boulevards than Paris and more fountains than any city except Rome.

• Saint Louis University received a formal charter from the state of Missouri in 1832, making it the oldest University west of the Mississippi.

• During Abraham Lincoln’s campaign for the presidency, a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat named Valentine Tapley from Pike County, Mo., swore that he would never shave again if Abe was elected.

Tapley kept his word and his chin whiskers went unshorn from November 1860 until he died in 1910, attaining a length of twelve feet six inches.

• Missouri’s oldest community, Saint Genevieve, was founded as early as 1735.

• Blue Springs, Mo., is home to the world’s shortest St. Patrick’s Day parade, which only goes across the street.

• Missourian Susan Elizabeth Blow started America’s first kindergarten.

• There’s a 12-foot-long pecan in Brunswick, Mo., making it the world’s largest pecan.

• Kidnapping a white squirrel from Marionville, Mo., will land you a $500 fine.

• Chillicothe, Mo., was home to the first bread slicing machine.

Man’s best friend If a dog was a teacher, you would learn things like:!

• When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.!

• Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.!

• Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure!ecstasy.!

• Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.!

• On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.!

• On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.!

• Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.!

(If you have an amusing story, a funny joke or a quotation or saying that you have enjoyed and would like to share, please send it to: Bill Wakefield, Traveler St. Louis Branch, 9707 Pauline Place, Affton MO 63123; or email me at w3@charter.net.)

Damage in Missouri” (MP685) is available online at extension.missouri.edu/p/mp685. For more information about deer from MU Extension, visit bit.ly/2YKqjht.

Deer deterrence No plant is guaranteed to deter deer, but gardeners report success with the following species: • Perennials — Astilbe, bee balm, bleeding heart, columbine, coralbells, evergreen candytuft, forget-menot, foxglove, hardy geranium, hellebore, hibiscus, iris, monkshood, oriental poppy, peony, perennial alyssum, perennial flax, pinks, salvia, yarrow, and yucca.

• Annuals and biennials — Ageratum, dusty miller, French marigold, lantana, larkspur, lobelia, morning glory, moonflower, nasturtium ornamental pepper, snapdragon, stock, wax begonia, and zinnia.

• Groundcovers — Bugleweed (ajuga), bearberry,

bergenia, dead nettle, ferns, Indian strawberry, junipers, lady’s mantle, lily of the valley, mosses, pachysandra, potentilla, sedum, snow-in-summer, and vinca minor.

• Herbs — Observers rate many herbs as deer-resistant because of their strong aromas and flavors: Angelica, anise hyssop, basil, catmint, chamomile, chives, comfrey, dill, fennel, lamb’s ears, lavender, lavender cotton, lemon balm, mint, mullein, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, and thyme.

• Bulbs — Autumn crocus, crocus, daffodil, jonquil, narcissus, crown imperial, glory-of-the-snow, grape hyacinth, Siberian squill, snowdrop, snowflake, striped squill, surprise lily, various flowering onions, and winter aconite.

• Perennial vines — Akebia, bittersweet, grape, honeysuckle, and silver lace vine.

• Trees — These trees appear to be rarely damaged, seldom severely damaged or deer-resistant. Protect small seedlings with tree shelters: American holly, beech, birch (European, white, paper), catalpa, corkscrew willow, dogwood (red osier, kousa), eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), English hawthorn, ginkgo, hickory, Japanese flowering cherry, locust (black, honey), mimosa, pine (Austrian, mugo, red, Scots, shortleaf for southern Missouri only), common sassafras, smoketree, sourwood, spruce: (Colorado blue, Norway, white), sweetgum, sycamore, and tulip tree.

• Shrubs — Barberry, bayberry, beautybush, butterfly bush, Chinese holly, Chinese junipers (blue and green), common boxwood, common lilac, drooping leucothoe, forsythia, inkberry, Japanese kerria, and Oregon grape holly.

May 2019 • Page 15

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Are you looking for maximum accuracy downrange?

I

n my over 60 years on this earth I have learned many valuable lessons. They are way too extensive to list.

But one of these life lessons is that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in America.

There are countless products today being used by millions of us that began with the following thought; “I’m sure I can build a better one than I can buy.”

So it was with Adam Busse. Busse loves long-distance shooting. He loves the rifle range and really loves hunting that requires longer-than-usual shots.

One thing Adam Busse hates is missing a shot.

That disgust is what prompted him to start building his own custom rifles.

And when he achieved remarkable success with his personal guns, Gunware, LLC. was spawned.

I have known Adam for a couple of years now and have been to his shop several times. I have also had the opportunity to visit other “custom” gun manufacturing facilities.

I promise you, the words “Custom Made” when applied to high-power rifles is very commonly misused.

All too often the Mike Roux assembly line ———— process is used and the finished products are called “custom.”

To me the term custom, when it comes to rifles, means they are built to the customer’s specifications and they are assembled by hand.

So for the rest of this article we will be referring to my definition of the word “custom.”

The process Adam Busse goes through to produce his rifles borders on exhausting. He is extremely meticulous about the components he uses and the materials of which those components are made.

His attention to detail and his non-acceptance of anything less than perfect tolerance is proven on the range and in the field each season.

Let’s take a look at some of his components to see what it takes to produce some of the most accurate long-range target and hunting rifles in the world.

Barrels — Adam Busse uses only Single Point Cut barrels. These barrels are the most accurate and are winning major competitions across the country consistently.

He uses predominately stainless steel barrels which are the industry standard.

The barrels are machined with rifling’s cut in a stress-free environment. This is

Roux was very fortunate to get firsthand experience with a Gunware rifle in the field.

Adam Busse puts the final touches on a totally custom Gunware rifle chambered in 6.5-Creedmoor.

a superior process to button barrels.

Adam uses a lot of carbon fiber Proof Research and Bartlein barrels. He had just come from a visit to the Bartlein facility when I was there and he had brought home over 150 of their barrels.

Bartlein are strictly stainless steel barrels while Proof Research provides carbon-wrapped barrels.

Action — Gunware rifles use either Borden, Stiller, Defiance or Curtis actions. Again, matching these components to the rest of the rifle is what makes them truly custom guns.

Adam is also in the process of manufacturing his own actions. These will be as good as or better than what is currently available. He reminded me that the action is a very crucial part of the gun, but it has no effect on accuracy.

Stock — Busse was very excited when he told me about his custom stocks. Using his design, layout and mold, the new Gunware carbon-fiber stocks are amazing.

They are great for prone shooting, as well as off-hand, standing rest and bench shooting. The ability of these stocks to manage recoil and get back on the scope is second-to-none.

When Gunware does purchase a stock for a rifle they order them without stock pillars. Bedding and pillars are key stock characteristics that have profound effects on downrange accuracy.

Busse mills out inside the stock to get the perfect bedding material and installs the pillars at the exact correct height for strength and no stress.

Trigger Assembly — Gunware rifles use Trigger Tech assemblies out of Canada. They can be set from 4 ounces to 3 pounds of pressure. They are really crisp with no creep.

Optics — Adam prefers one of three scope manufacturers. He uses Nightforce, Swarovski and Kahles. Adam then told me something that really caught me off guard.

He told me that in most cases you should spend more on your scope than on the rifle itself. He says there is no reason to buy a high-end rifle, like a Gunware, and mount inferior optics on it.

A high-end rifle deserves a high-end scope. Do not skimp on your scope.

He also mentioned that the rings and bases that hold your scope should also be of high quality. They should be solid and strong. They must handle the abuse of in-the-field conditions without coming off center.

Tolerance — According to Busse, tolerance is the number one key to a custom rifle. In the assembly process nothing takes precedence over the tol-

erance measurements.

Gunware tolerance specs are proprietary. There is X-tolerance between the bolt nose and bolt nose recess. There is X-tolerance on thread fit and head space.

The most important tolerance factor in Adam Busse’s Gunware rifles is that the tolerances DO NOT vary from one gun to another. He measures each action at several points and mates the perfect barrel to that action.

He has a proprietary lathe holding that allows him to machine his barrels in a stress-free environment.

On my last visit to the Gunware shop Adam surprised me by handing me a slick 6mm that he had just finished. It was topped with Nightforce optics.

He asked me to handle it and then asked if I would like to shoot it? It was dark, but I said yes. He cased the gun, handed me the case and a box of handloaded shells.

He then said, “Mike take this gun and get used to it. Keep it and hunt with it during the Missouri deer season.”

He smiled widely as he offered me the chance to actually take a Gunware rifle into the field.

I did as he asked and I am happy to report that I put a nice Southeast Missouri doe in my freezer with the 6mm at 202 yards on my rangefinder. She was dead before she hit the ground.

If you enjoy long-range shooting and/or long-range hunting, and you demand quality and accuracy in your guns, please contact Adam Busse at Gunware, LLC at info@gunware.net, or call him at (573) 218-4888. His we site is also www.gunware.net.

Tell him I sent you.

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

The inventory of specialized custom rifle components at the Gunware shop is both impressive and extensive.

Page 16 • May 2019

RiverHillsTraveler.com

Animals such as giant ground sloths once roamed the Midwest

T

By Bill Wakefield he mission statement for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources reads, “The mission of the state park system is to preserve and interpret the state’s most outstanding natural landscapes and cultural landmarks, and to provide outstanding recreational opportunities compatible with those resources.”

The men and women of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) follow this mission statement by managing and maintaining 56 state parks, 35 state historic sites

and 3 other facilities.

One of the most interesting and educational sites is Mastodon State Historic Site, which is located at 1050 Charles J. Becker Drive, Imperial, Mo. This historic site is divided into two areas. Located down Seckman Road is an area that offers all of the amenities of a state park except camping.

There are scattered picnic tables, a picnic shelter, restrooms, water, a well-maintained and modern playground for children, and a paved parking lot with accessible parking.

This area also is the trailhead for the Spring Branch Trail.

The trail is a packed gravel surface that is manageable for both wheelchairs and strollers. The trail will take you past the remains of an old springhouse, through woodlands of hackberry, box elder, sycamores and cottonwood trees.

If it’s warm enough you might enjoy wading in Rock Creek and maybe find and study some of the aquatic wildlife that make this creek their home.

The main entrance to this historic Please see SLOTH, 17

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May 2019 • Page 17

RiverHillsTraveler.com

SLOTH from 1 site is on Museum Drive. The park office and visitor center are located here along with a very informative museum, and there are two very different types of trailheads which are located here.

The Limestone Hill trail is rated as a rugged walk with challenging slopes and terrain that pass by limestone bluffs, through a hardwood forest, over protruding boulders and there are several places with a view that overlooks Seckman Valley.

The Wildflower Trail is rated as a moderate walk down a series of stairs to the Kimmswick Bone Bed, over a footbridge that crosses a spring, passes through a dense oak woodland and limestone bluffs and ends up at the museum or the Callison Memorial Bird Sanctuary.

The one thing that everyone must see is the museum. The museum displays the archaeological and paleontological discoveries that were found in Kimmswick Bone Bed. The Kimmswick Bone Bed is important in the history of archaeological discovery as a rare example of a stratified ice age Paleo-Indian Clovis culture hunting activity. It is one of the oldest known archaeological sites in Missouri (over 10,000 years ago).

Presently, the Clovis culture is the earliest well-documented Native American occupation for North America. Here, scientists discovered the first solid evidence of the coexistence of humans and the American mastodon in eastern North America.

Animals such as giant ground sloths, peccaries and hairy elephant-like mastodons roamed the Midwest. Paleontologists theorize that the area was once swampy and contained mineral springs.

Animals that came to the springs may have become trapped in the mud, which helped preserve their bones. Early American Indians also had reached presentday Missouri by at least 12,000 years ago.

For a brief period at the end of the Pleistocene epoch, the lives of humans and mastodons intertwined.

Due to its archaeological and paleontological significance, the Kimmswick Bone Bed was placed in the National Register of Historic Places on April 14, 1987.

There is a small fee to tour the museum but the displays and information are well worth the cost of admission.

The first thing a visitor should do is to watch the informative video that outlines the archaeological history of the area and the importance of this historic site.

One of the first things a person sees as they enter the museum is a full-size skeleton of a mastodon in a setting that

would have taken place as it walked on earth.

Included in this display is a Clovis hunter’s camp, a giant ground sloth, a family of peccaries, woodpecker, butterflies, squirrels and other animals that were in existence during this time period.

There are many displays and exhibits throughout the museum that explain the early Clovis humans and the animals that shared their environment.

A wall display showcases some of the tools that men and women used over 10,000 to 14,000 years ago, such as spear points, a knife, antler harpoon, bone fishhooks, and even some artwork.

There are several displays and information on where and how the various excavations took place.

Touch a real mastodon tooth. Feel a piece of leather hide similar to what the Clovis people used to make clothing.

View the display of two beaver skulls and compare their incisors. The size difference between pre-historic and present day beavers is amazing.

There are displays throughout the museum that feature tusks, bones, tools and

skeletons of animals found during the many excavations of the area. Visitors will find a small gift shop and there is also a library and conference room for research and study.

The entire historic site is known for its wildflowers and bird population. There have been over 125 different species of birds recorded in the Mastodon Historic Site. The website — www.mostateparks. com/park/mastodon-state-historic-site — has a list of the birds that a person can use to mark the various birds spotted during their visit.

This is a great place to bring your dogs for exercise. All of the dogs seem eager to run down the established trails with their nose to the ground absorbing the unlimited smells of wildlife, other dogs and the smells of nature itself.

When a person rests on one of the many benches scattered throughout the site they may see as many different dog breeds as there are bird species.

Another sound a person hears when visiting this site is the children... the laughter and screams of joy as they play on the playground equipment and run down the trails. This is a great place for a family to spend a day to learn something and have fun doing it.

HOURS: March 16 through Nov. 14,!9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday; noon4:30 p.m. Sunday (closed Easter Day).

Admission fees • Adult/teen (ages 13 and up): $4 • Youth (ages 12 and under): Free • Museum admission and programs are free to student groups and their teachers/leaders (including homeschoolers) if they call in advance, (636) 4642976.

For general questions or requests for brochures, please email ; call (800) 3346946; or visit the Missouri Department of Natural Resources online at .

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

Page 18 • May 2019

RiverHillsTraveler.com

CAVE from 1 Onondaga Cave State Park recently upgraded the Blue Heron Trail as a multi-use surface feature at their site.

“The trail is now ADA accessible with a concrete path that goes to the natural entrance of Onondaga Cave and along the oxbow lake,” said Potter.

The trail will eventually be a complete loop with multiple trail heads, a floating fishing dock and access to restrooms along the trail path.

The park also added combo pricing this year so guests could receive a discount for touring both caves on the same day.

“Our visitation continues to increase each year through the use of social media, TripAdvisor, media advertising and word of mouth,” said Potter. “Visitation and revenue were good for the entire season last year, mainly because we managed to avoid a flood for one year.”

The Onondaga Friends Association plays an important part in the ability to offer additional interpretive services at the facility.

“The association offers several photo tours of both Onondaga and Cathedral caves throughout the season, Cathedral Cave nighttime tours, historical lantern tours, hot August night cool cave music in the big room of Onondaga Cave the first Saturday in August, and a limited number of wild off-trail caving opportunities,” said Potter.

To get more information on all the events the Park has going on, check out the website www.onondagafriends.org.

Onondaga Cave State Park has also upgraded the lighting system in Onondaga Cave with an energy efficient LED system.

Over the years, Onondaga has received several awards and special recognitions, such as winning the 2015 Missouri State Agency Recycling Award out of all state agencies and universities.

“Onondaga Cave was recognized by the Top 10 Collection as one of the top 10 caves in the world via their website.

We were number five and the only cave recognized in the United States,” said Potter.

They were also recognized as a top five state park to visit by RV Travel and as a top 10 park to visit in Missouri by the website onlyinyourstate.com.

“We also have a five-star rating on TripAdvisor - 2018 Award of Excellence,” said Potter.

“Onondaga Cave Stage Park also received an Outstanding Facility in Solid Waste Management Award from the Ozark Rivers Solid Waste Management District. The award encompasses recognition for raising awareness and educating the public on a broad spectrum of environmental issues through special events and festivals,” said Potter.

Onondaga Cave State Park is located at 7556 Highway H in Leasburg, Mo., and can be reached at (573) 245-6576 or by email at onondaga.cave.state.park@ dnr.mo.gov; or online at www.mostate parks.com/park/onondaga-cave-statepark.

“Our website is always up to date with the most current information about our

park and guests can get all the information they need to plan a visit to the park,” said Potter.

“We would love for people who visit by telling others about us, whether that be by their camping experiences, cave tour, trail hikes, or whatever.”

Photo tours Are you an avid and artistic photographer looking for a new and unique canvas? Then look no further than Onondaga Cave State Park.

Join a member of the Onondaga Friends Association with a passion for photography as she leads tours through two great caves for hours of photographic possibilities on Saturday, May 18.

The Cathedral Cave tour is from 9 a.m.-noon and the Onondaga Cave tour is from 1-4 p.m. There is a fee associated with the event; fee and registration information can be found at www.onondagafriends.org. Guests have the option to tour one or the other, or both caves on these adventures.

Participants should bring their own equipment and tripods on this photographic adventure as no equipment will be provided by the park.!

Conditions in the cave include limited lighting, concrete walkways, metal handrails, cool temperature (57 degrees F) and high humidity (nearing 100%).

Participants are encouraged to dress in

layers of warm clothing and wear sturdy, closed-toe shoes or boots.

Future tour dates are June 23, July 27, Aug. 18, Sept. 21, and Oct. 6.

With a little help The Onondaga Friends Association originally commenced in the mid-1990s and was resurrected in 2005. The mission of the! association is to! enhance Onondaga Cave State Park by raising awareness, providing education and increasing appreciation for the unique, ecological environment associated with the park.

Volunteers from the association plan and coordinate after-hours events on-site and assist in a variety of ways with the interpretation of the facility.!

The association! members contribute through special events, provide cave tours, conduct wildflower hikes, conduct photo tours of both Onondaga and Cathedral caves, and even lend a hand with park projects when needed.

Onondaga Friends Association is a 501(c)(3) corporation. All donations made to! the association! are tax-deductible. The organization generates revenue that assists the park in purchasing supplies, small items that!strengthen the naturalist program and fund grant opportunities for short-term projects.

In addition, they assist and fund education opportunities for youth during the Cave Conservation Day Camp held each year in July. The association also provides funding for educational resources for research, advertising and marketing, and supplies for park sponsored events.

For more information,!visit their website at www.onondagafriends.org.

May 2019 • Page 19

RiverHillsTraveler.com

TOMS from 1 company me that morning to be my videographer. Our 300-yard slippery, sludgy trudge across the freshly-planted field seemed more like 3 miles.

Bob made a comment as we placed the decoys that he felt as though he had been on a treadmill. I was sweating as I agreed. We sat up in the corner of the same field that has been so good to me for the past two seasons. This corner has a blind made of bales of straw.

In November this spot belongs to my great friend Steven Lewis for deer hunting. I honestly cannot say how many deer he has taken from these bales in the last two years but it is at least a halfdozen.

In the spring I take over this hot corner as a gobbler honey-hole. I have called in big toms the past two youth seasons for turkey buddy Drew Hamski.

Drew has yet to score but his turn is coming. I took a great gobbler from the bale-blind last season.

I told Bob I would pick him up extra early. Two weeks earlier in the youth season, birds had been roosted within sight of the blind. Drew had spotted two or three birds on their limbs just after daylight.

Assuming the same would hold true I wanted my decoys placed and the video camera ready well before first light.

The plan worked great and just as suspected there was a tom roosted in plain sight of us. His gobble rattled as we had

not seen him until he sounded off. And with the wind that day we were lucky to hear any gobblers at all.

With rain for 48 hours straight and wind gusts exceeding 40 miles per hour, this day had all the makings for a total bust.

We could see the one tom and because he was so close, he was the only bird we could hear. The wind was coming directly from our backs so the bales were blocking most of it.

Bob and I agreed that grabbing heavy jackets at the last minute at the truck was a great idea. It was a brutal morning.

The first two birds in the field were hens and they walked out. I am sure they were on nests near the creek. The tom above us pitched off and joined them.

I called loudly as they made their way across the field to the northwest corner.

Shortly after they got there I saw that they had been joined by another gobbler.

As we stayed put in the blind I continued to call about 5 minutes. I was rotating between the two turkey calls, a box and a diaphragm.

At about 7:15 one of my loud run of cutting on the box calls coaxed a gobble from the ridge above us and a bit upwind. If had come from just about any other direction we would likely have not heard it.

I waited a few minutes and called again and was cut off by another gobble.

I told Bob to start the camera. This bird was coming.

Within 5 minutes three mature toms

stepped out the brush along the creek and approached my decoys.

As my regular readers know I use two hens and one jake decoy with a real fan.

I place the jake directly over one of the hens and it drives adult gobblers crazy.

They were about 15 yards in front of my gun and camera when the wind caused my jake to move suddenly and it spooked the gobblers.

I took one’s head off with a load of Federal #7’s from my Thompson/Center 12-gauge Encore. He weighed 26 pounds.

As soon as he hit the ground one of his buddies immediately came over and began to flog and hook him with his spurs. This went on for several minutes, making for some great video.

Finally the two remaining toms wandered off only to be called back to their dead companion for more flogging.

By the time I got to my bird he was covered with mud. I had to take him to the creek to clean him up before photos could be taken.

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

Under some very difficult conditions this huge Illinois gobbler ended up in the fryer instead of on a limb.

Fish, float, hunt & explore the Ozarks!

PARKS from 1 park tracts were secured. Big Spring State Park became the first Missouri state park on Oct. 17, 1924.

That park, Alley Spring State Park and Round Spring State Park later were recognized as being nationally significant and became part of the National Park Service’s Ozark National Scenic Riverways.

By 1932, Missouri had a total of 18 state parks. Missourians showed their endorsements of the state park system through donations of Roaring River, Van Meter and Washington state parks.

The management of state parks was separated from the state fish and game department and was placed under the supervision of a new Missouri State Park Board in 1937.

In 1974, with the reorganization of nearly all state government, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources was created and assumed the state park board’s responsibilities for the administration of the state park system.

The size of the system continued to grow and represent the major natural and cultural heritage themes of Missouri while providing Missourians with plenty of recreational opportunities.!!

Missouri voters again showed their support by approving a sales tax to be used for state parks and soil and water conservation efforts in Missouri in 1984.

Funds from the one-tenth-of-one-percent sales tax are divided equally between the two programs, both of which are administered by the Missouri De-

Sam A. Baker State Park (above) and Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park (below).

partment of Natural Resources.

In 1988, 1996, 2006 and 2016, the tax was renewed by more than two-thirds majority of Missouri voters.

Today, the state park system includes 91 state parks and historic sites and more than 150,000 acres of land available to the public. The system includes homes of famous Missourians, Civil War battlefields, and reminders of yesterday such as gristmills and covered bridges.

The state’s most outstanding landscapes are preserved for everyone’s enjoyment — deep forests, glades, prairies, and blue streams and lakes. To help visitors enjoy their stay, the system offers more than 2,000 structures, 3,600 campsites, 194 cabins, almost 2,000 picnic sites, and more than 1,000 miles of trails.

These trails include opportunities for hikers, backpackers, bicycle riders, offroad vehicle users and horseback riders.

The system boasts the longest developed rails-to-trail project in the nation – the 240-mile Katy Trail State Park.

Millions of people visit the system annually to hike, camp, fish, discover the past and explore nature.

Convenient home delivery!

FISHING • HUNTING FLOATING • TRAVELING CAMPING • GUNS • HIKING

❏ $22 for 1 year • ❏ $42 for 2 years TO SUBSCRIBE: please fill out this form & mail it to:

River Hills Traveler

212 E. Main St., Neosho, MO 64850 or call us with credit card information at

(417) 451-3798

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We look forward to hearing from you!