This is the heart of summer, the time to get in your floating, boating, fishing, frogging, hiking, camping and other outdoor excursions, before the unexpected interferes. The July issue of Traveler will inspire you to get outdoors now.
The cover photograph and accompanying essay, both by Greg “Rudi” Rudroff of Farmington, MO, highlight the magic of summer in the outdoors for children. Rudi describes the satisfaction of a frog-gigging expedition with two youngsters on a dark, rainy July night, topped off by an eggs ‘n’ legs breakfast the next morning. Young frogger Patrick Rudroff is depicted on the cover with gig and flashlight at the ready.
Veteran contributor Bill Cooper also weighs in on frogging, contrasting his boyhood frog-hunting experiences in the Bootheel swamps with the Ozark stream-frogging method, involving a canoe poler, a light holder and gigger. Bill also contributes a timely story reminding us ofwatercraft laws enacted for our own safety.
Johnson Shut-Ins, one of Missouri’s top cooling off spots, is finally open for swimming this year, Jo Schaper reports. Johnson Shut-Ins State Park suffered massive damage in the December 2005 Taum Sauk dam disaster and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources does not expect the rebuilt park to be fully open until 2009, but the shut-ins themselves have been cleared of debris and are ready for public use. Look for further details in future issues of Traveler.
Canoe poling is a traditional river skill, but there can be a competitive aspect as well. The American Canoe Association-sanctioned National Canoe Poling Championships returned to the event’s birthplace on the Meramec River near Eureka in late May, attracting competitors from nine states. The Beletz brothers, Sy, Frank and Al, of St. Louis, started the event at the former resort town of Times Beach in 1965. The event returned to the site, now Route 66 State Park, for the first time this year.
Some women don’t enjoy taking instruction in outdoor skills from impatient, overbearing males, and who can blame them? The Missouri Department has instructors who will teach women to shoot, fish, pitch a tent, back up a boat trailer, etc. in a supportive environment. Branson-based writer Jody Cozean Styron attended the Discover Nature-Women’s Weekend in early June on Lake of the Ozarks and reports the participants bonded with each other as well as honing their outdoors skills.
If your notion of exploring the Ozarks’ wonders does not require a concrete parking slab and a 50 amp hookup, you may be interested in reading about the Off Road Camping Club, a group started last year by Alan and Christine Young of Fenton to bring together people interested in canoeing, hiking, backpacking, hiking and related pursuits. Alan Young read Traveler’s story on the renewal of the Markham Springs Campground and called us for more details. That call resulted in a story by Editor Emery Styron on the club.
Longtime fishing buddies Bob Todd and Dale Kipp got outfished by a couple of relative youngsters, Dale’s sons-in-law, John Conner and Merlin Pirtle, in the second annual Dale’s Birthday Goggle-Eye Tourney. Bob can’t figure out how they did it and the winners aren’t telling.
Bob also updates us on the near-term and not-so-near-term hunting seasons (deer season has been set out through 2009) and writes about the paddlefish common on the Current River. this summer.
There’s plenty of fishing lore in this issue of Traveler. St. Louis Countian Howard Helgenberg kayaked down the Bourbuese for a piece on that lesser used stream west of St. Louis that is relatively undeveloped and holds a good number of smallmouth. Georgia-based native Missourian Charlie Slovensky offers tips on outfitting the amphibious angler. When you need to wade into less fished waters, it helps to have the right gear and apparel. Ken Keiser of Olathe, KS, recalls fondly his boyhood encounters with an old grouch who taught him a lot about fishing and life.
Herbalists, historians and all-around writers Jim and Donna Featherston capture the glory of wildflowers in full summer bloom with color photos and history on the medicinal uses of many of them. Read the story and enjoy the lovely photos, but don’t experiment with herbs internally or externally without discussing the matter with your physician.
Our resident rock expert Jo Schaper takes us on a verbal and visual tour of Jefferson County’s Valley View Glades, where two types of rock, Jefferson City-Cotter dolomite, and Roubidoux sandstone, make contact. Understanding the geology tells you what type of plants to expect.
In a search for the origins of the town name, Cherokee Pass, Kathleen Brotherton of Hillsboro was reminded of what a sad chapter the Trail of Tears forms in Missouri’s history, Farmington writer Doug Preston gives an overview of the unusual options available at St. Joe State Park near Park Hills. The park is a mecca for riders of all-terrain vehicles, but also offers camping, fishing and swimming.
It’s too hot to slave over an oven. Pat Todd’s Iron Kettle column offers some cooling summer recipes.
The July issue also includes travel maps for the Upper and Lower Current, Jacks Fork and Meramec and Black Rivers, Clearwater and Wappapello Lakes and the Parkland and Traveler regions.
Pick up a copy on the newsstand today or order Traveler mailed to your home.
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