Missouri Vacation, 2016 Day 1

Missouri Vacation...

... awesome!

(created April 4, 2016, updated April 16, 2016)

A couple years ago, we realized that we had taken some great trips out-of-state, but none in-state. So when we learned about the MissouriLife weekend in Boonville, we went. The day started cold and rainy in Ballwin (St. Louis), but was a great spring day by time we arrived. We were there right at 23-24 hours, but that short day left a great impression. Some of those photos are posted to http://vanvooren.us/Missouri/Missouri.html.

As we planned vacations for 2016, we realized that another Missouri trip was overdue, so my wife and I discussed where to go.

We initially wanted to visit:

-Fulton, for Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech, and its piece of the Berlin Wall
-Columbia for the big burr oak tree and Shakespeare’s Pizza
-Boonville for the Budweiser Clydesdales, at Warm Spring Ranch
-and then Jefferson City, at least the Capitol and Penitentiary

but vacation days and schedules did not permit... so those are on the short list for another trip.

With the help of a few issues of MissouriLife magazine,

we planned:

-Eminence, for Zip Lining and some of the several local springs
-Mansfield, for the (Almonzo &) Laura Ingalls-Wilder Home at Rocky Ridge Farm
-Springfield, for the grandaddy of all sports stores, the original Bass Pro Shop

In the end we saw all that and did soooo much more, in four days and three nights. We had a great trip!

Itinerary, and links to other sites, and photos, are below.

Family Vacation 2016, Easter Break

Day 1: Ballwin / St. Louis to Eminence

-Sandy Creek Covered Bridge SHS / State Historic Site
-Elephant Rocks State Park
-Eagle Falls Zip Line
-Round Springs Retreat, where we enjoyed the awesome views (!!!) and had fun cooking as a family!

Sandy Creek Covered Bridge SHS

Sandy Creek Covered Bridge SHS / State Historic Site is in Jefferson County, barely 40 minutes from the house... on Highway 20 (Lemay Ferry)!

The bridge is red and about 75 feet long.

It is a neat truss bridge.

There is sand along the creek and the creek bottom is quite smooth and flat.

We recommend a visit.

Elephant Rocks State Park

We drove on and then stopped at Elephant Rocks State Park for a bit

Matt and I have visited a few times with the Boy Scouts, and were happy to bring the ladies for their first visit.

Matt had a great time riding his Y-carver on the paved trails, then returned it to the van and started climbing.

Abby loved climbing around the rocks for the first time - she spider walked up several of the gaps between the rocks.

Ann Marie also loved seeing these large granite rocks, which we think were created by prehistoric volcanos prevalent in that part of the state, for the first time.

Matt caught up to us and showed us a way under some of the bigger rocks.

This was Abby's favorite part of the day!

Eagle Falls Zip Line / Fly Eagle Falls

We then proceeded south, through Ellington, to Eminence, where we visited Eagle Falls for their awesome, first-in-Missouri zip lines.

It was raining lightly and we may have zipped just a bit quicker thanks to the water. Sure, we got a bit damp, but not wet, and we had a blast. Abby, Matt & I had ridden in Michigan and Virginia, and this was the first time Ann Marie joined us. We had great family fun.

They also had a full-sized horse, and a small Palomino pony on the property.

YouTube Videos of us Zip Lining

Four of us rode the five zip lines.

Our son recorded these on his GoPro HERO 4 Silver.

Our ride order was the same on each of the zip lines: 1) daughter, 2) son, 3) wife/mother, 4) husband/father/me.

We have ~ 45 minutes of video.

Our son’s zip line rides are at the following points in each video:

Eagle Falls Zip Line - 1 of 3 - Eminence, MO

(https://youtu.be/ai03KdTK8q8)

Zip Line 1: ~ 3:30

Zip Line 2: ~ 13:00

Eagle Falls Zip Line - 2 of 3 - Eminence, MO

(https://youtu.be/58fgFh0FhiE)

Zip Line 3: ~ 9:00

Zip Line 4: ~ 16:00

Eagle Falls Zip Line - 3 of 3 - Eminence, MO

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNl2fiaBSks)

Zip Line 5: ~ 6:00

Round Spring Retreat

Ann Marie discovered the awesome Round Springs Retreat, where we stayed two nights. The couple who lives there purchased the land in the late 1970s and built the guest cabin around 12 years ago. It is just the right size for a family of 4-6, with a small kitchen, a nice screened-in porch, and very comfortable beds. Their view of the Current River is BEAUTIFUL! Trees and hillsides all round, and the river flowing from the north, straight toward the bend at the bottom of the hill.

To get to Round Spring Retreat, you turn off Missouri Highway 19 and drive through a small part of the Pioneer Forest.

“Pioneer Forest is located in the heart of the Missouri Ozarks. Forests here are dominated by oak, hickory and pine. Here, our conservative uneven-aged forest management method, known as single-tree selection harvesting, has been used for more than half a century. Our decades long use and research of this successful method strongly indicate it as a truly sustainable forest management practice. Leo Drey began acquisition of lands that are now Pioneer Forest in Marc 1951.

...

For more than half a century, Pioneer Forest has restored more than 153,000 acres of Ozark woodlands across six Missouri counties through conservative, natural forest management. From the beginning, Drey challenged forest owners and managers to think in long-range terms about forests, their management, and the many public benefits forests provide. He recognized that these forested landscapes could be productive while they were managed using a more conservative harvesting technique. Drey's goal was to establish a demonstration method of harvesting trees while retaining the structure and character of the forest across the landscape. The long-range objective for Pioneer Forest is to develop and manage native tree species of large diameter and high quality for wood products while also providing a host of recreational and ecosystem benefits.”

I knew of the Pioneer Forest through the Missouri Department of Conservation. They do great work to rebuild Missouri’s forests, which were so depleted at the turn of the century... that led to the creation of the Conservation department. The Pioneer Forrest is leading the way

Scott and Jodi are very friendly, and shared so many great things for us to see and do while there. Key on the list are Greer Spring, Round Spring, and the wild horses.

Scott also reminded me how the Current River and Jacks Fork River are the first rivers in America protected by the National Park Service, back in the late 1960s, when they created the Ozark National Scenic Riverway. I then remembered reading about this in National Geographic a few years ago.