Missouri Vacation, 2016
Day 4
(created April 4, 2016, updated April 16, 2016)
Day 4: Bass Pro Shop, Cars - Alfa Romeo C4, Dodge Charger Hellcat, BMW i8 & Audi R8... and driving home
-
-Alfa Romeo & Dodge Hellcat, at Corwin Auto
-
-Drive home
Bass Pro Shop, in Springfield, MO
Ann Marie used to work for ITT Finance, who helped Bass Pro Shops fund the sale of Tracker boats. She would periodically need to perform a physical inventory of the boats and trailers. She was excited to share the awesome store with all of us (I had visited with buddy Tim a long time ago).
Corwin Auto - Alfa Romeo and Dodge Charger Hellcat
On the way to the Bass Pro Shop Matt saw the Alfa Romeo shop, so we visited, and learned about the Alfa Romeo 4C and the Dodge Charger Hellcat:
They had four Alfa Romeo 4Cs - red, grey, black and yellow
The salesman talked a lot about how neat they are:
-
-Carbon fiber monocoque shell - strong body
-
-0-60 in 4.1 seconds - fastest under $250,000
-
-Paddle shifters
-
-Also two clutches - not officially automatic as the computer determines when to shift if not automatic
-
-Two seater
-
-Small trunk with just enough room for a briefcase or roll-on bag
-
-Exceptional handling
They also had a Dodge Charger Hellcat, a limited color purple that just arrived the night before.
They have:
-
-One red key to unlock all 700 HP
-
-One black key limited to only 500 HP
-
-One valet key limited to 25 mph
-
-Geofencing so if the car goes past an area it slows it to 5 mph and tells the driver to return
Vacation Haikus:
As we drove closer to home, Ann Marie and I realized that, given the time of night and lack of food ready to cook at home, we should just eat at a restaurant on the way home.
We picked Candicci’s.
We had a great dinner and wrote our first vacation haikus:
The wild horses
Drank from the Jack's Fork River
They were beautiful
The Round Springs Retreat
Such a pretty river view
Let's go back again
Coyotes howling
While we walked the trial
We made it home safe
A slow steady rain
The fog rolled over the hills
Could not see river
Zip lining is fun
I rode across the treetops
Very fast I flew
O, Highway 19
It is hilly and windy
Uh oh, our tummies
Oh flowing water
It made the long hike worth while
Greer Springs is awesome
In Shannon County
Lots of springs, lots of water
So very pretty
Water so blue green
Flowing out from under cave
Beautiful Round Spring
Her favorite thing
Abby spider walked up them
Oh, elephant rocks
Driving Directions / Route:
Day 1: Ballwin / St. Louis to Eminence
We took Highway 141 south to Highway 21 South, which passed Sandy Creek Covered Bridge and Elephant Rocks.
Just past Elephant Rocks, turn right onto Highway N, passing Johnson’s Shut-ins.
Follow that until it re-meets Highway 21, then follow that to Ellington, MO.
At Ellington, MO, turn right / west onto the beautiful, and twisty/hilly Highway 106.
Highway 106 meets Highway 19 at Eminence.
Day 2: Eminence to Greer Springs and Grand Gulf State Park
South on Highway 19, then back north
This is a short video of our drive through the wooded Mark Twain National Forest, heading north on Missouri Highway 19 toward Eminence.
“Missouri Highway 19, northbound passing through Mark Twain National Forest”
Yes, this was the end of March, and the oak trees
had not yet started to bloom, so their branches
are still bare.
Day 3: Eminence to Wild Horses, to Mansfield, to Springfield
South on Highway 19, east 1-2 miles on Highway 106 to Shawnee Creek
West on 106, further south on Highway 19, west on Highway 60
Day 4: Springfield to home / St. Louis / Ballwin
I-44 East
All of our trip YouTube videos... in one place
YouTube Videos of us Zip Lining
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
Greer Spring
Matt’s GoPro videos
“Greer Spring, Video 1 - Under Water”
“Greer Spring, Video 2 - Under Water”
Abby’s GoPro videos
“Greer Spring, Video 3 - Under Water”
“Greer Spring, Video 4 - Under Water”
“Greer Spring, Video 5 - Walking Tour Showing Both Outflows”
And one additional video of the flowing water
“Greer Spring, Video 6 - Flowing Water”
Missouri Highway 19, northbound passing through Mark Twain National Forest
CREDITS, and THANKS
Most of the information needed to plan this trip was learned from various articles in MissouriLife magazine, in particular, these:
-
-September, 2000 issue, with “12 Beautiful Springs” on the cover
-
-April, 2003 issue, with Grand Gulf State Park on the cover
-
-April, 2010 issue, with “Rocky Falls & the 7 Wonders of Shannon County” on the cover
-
-the just-published:
“Mother Nature’s Marvels - Missouri’s 16 National Natural Landmarks”
Thank you, MissouriLife!
APPS AND GEAR
Photos - see http://vanvooren.us/photography for more information
Most of the still photos were captured using:
-
-either our iPhone 6 or iPhone 6+
-
-the ProCamera app, from CoCoLogic
-
-and most also incorporated an Olloclip lens.
The blurred effect seen in the Greer Spring photos was made possible by the Slow Shutter Cam app. The iPhone’s longest exposure is 30 seconds. Slow Shutter Cam supports .5, 1, 2, 4, & 8 second exposures.
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/slow-shutter-cam/id357404131?mt=8
&
http://www.cogitap.com/slowshutter/instructions.htm
The videos were captured with a GoPro HERO 4 Silver - awesome!
Links to the rest of this travel journal:
Ozark Fun - Day 1 Ozark Fun - Day 2 Ozark Fun - Day 3
