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Cycling in Small Town Missouri

Guest post by Jennifer Wassenaar
Growing up in Farmington, Missouri, my older sister and I would ride our bikes up and down the street, to the park that was behind our home and to our grandparents’ houses.  I even remember mastering the art of riding with no hands. As I got older and my parents moved [...]

Biking in Colorado Springs

Small Town Girl on the Pikes Peak Greenway Trail, photo by MilliGFunk

This weekend, I took my mountain bike out for the first time since moving to Colorado Springs, Colorado two weeks ago.
Having just purchased clipless pedals on Saturday, I wanted an easy trail to start with. Still compensating for my foot injury, I was also looking for a long enough trail to get my heart rate [...]

Wordless Wednesday: Sunset in the Florida Keys

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Eagles and geese and snakes, oh my!

When I say I live in small town Missouri, I’m being generous. I actually live in the middle of a massive forest more than ten miles from the nearest small town. As a result, I’m surrounded by wildlife.
On today’s walk, Rosie and I encountered the usual squirrels and birds. When geese began to honk our [...]

Elephant Rocks State Park

On a beautiful February Sunday afternoon, my friend Nick and I took Rosie on her first state parking adventure; to Elephant Rocks State Park in Iron County, Missouri.
Elephant Rocks is notorious for its giant granite boulders – toppled together, seeming to defy gravity as their masses sit precariously on their small, rounded bottoms.
The park covers [...]

The KT Caboose

To date, I’ve not made public mention of my Missouri Bucket List; the list of things I’d like to do and places I’d like to see while I’m living in Missouri.
Today’s the day that I admit to you that I do have a small list of must-dos and must-sees, must-eats and must-drinks while I’m calling [...]

There are Thin People in Missouri, Too

Friends, family members and coworkers warned me when I left New York City not to get fat moving home to the Midwest. I’d like to set the record straight about the Midwest being inactive and overweight.
Day-to-day tasks in New York undoubtedly helped keep me fit and trim, but my lifestyle in Missouri has helped me [...]

Mountain Biking Council Bluff Lake

Who knew that “one of the most beautiful mountain bike trails in the state of Missouri” (source) was right in my backyard in the Mark Twain National Forest?
Council Bluff Lake Recreation Area offers a 440-acre lake – the largest in this particular forest – that’s surrounded by a twelve-mile loop of single track mountain biking [...]

Camping Food

While camping this weekend at Council Bluff Recreation Area in Iron County, Missouri, I noticed something.
When the girls and I sat down for our lunch on Saturday, here’s what was on our side of the table:
By contrast, here’s what was on the men’s side of the table:
Have thoughts? Leave a [...]

Floating and Hiking

I book-ended the summer of 2010 with float trips; one on Memorial Day and one on Labor Day. I used Bass River Resort for both floats, the first of which was along the Courtois Creek from Highway 8 to Bass River, and the second of which was from Bass River to Onandaga State Park.
You may [...]