If small town life were like the Girl Scouts, this small town girl would be boasting a Jeepin’ badge after [...]]]> A small town man who drives a great big Jeep has recently made repeat appearances in the life of this small town girl, and there’s little that’s more authentically Small Town Missouri than off-roading in jacked-up trucks.

If small town life were like the Girl Scouts, this small town girl would be boasting a Jeepin’ badge after her adventures last weekend with said small town man in his big yellow Jeep.

4WD, photo by smalltowngirl

What started out as a scenic drive down county roads turned into a drive straight down this steep, snowy hill and onto an embankment in the middle of the lake, below.

The white that you see in the picture below is ice on the lake, not snow on the ground.

On the Lake, photo by smalltowngirl

The lake was only the beginning of the adventure. My pictures may not do justice to the jaunts we took into the woods, where small town man called “roads” things that looked to me like narrow walking paths.

Tree limbs scraped down the sides of the Jeep’s body and across its soft top as we eased our way through the trees.

"My iPhone says there's a road here", photo by smalltowngirl

As we tried to find our way out of the woods, the small town man used the GPS on his iPhone to lead the way while this small town girl used her small town country girl instinct.

“My iPhone says that Highway C is straight ahead,” said the small town man.

Moments later, the small town couple came to a locked gate and a “No Trespassing” sign, and this girl teased the small town man relentlessly as she munched the deer sausage and cheese her small town, deer-huntin’ dad had shared with them.

A Small Town Snack, photo by smalltowngirl

The grit and the bright lights of New York City are still in this small town girl’s heart, but days like this one are like an anthropological expedition into this small town girl’s roots in Small Town Missouri.

There’s a time for high heels and sushi, and there’s a time for deer sausage and Jeepin’. Thank goodness there have been enough days in this small town girl’s life to experience some of both.