Washington County Missouri

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Washington State Park: Petroglyphs

March 10, 2010 in Missouri, Missouri State Parks, Washington County, MO | 1 comment

Small town Missouri simply doesn’t stop surprising me. On a recent visit to Washington State Park in DeSoto, Missouri, I learned that Missouri is home to 500-2,000-year-old petroglyphs created by Native Americans. Washington State Park is one of only two parks in Missouri that holds such carvings. The Missouri State Parks website says that the carvings were likely created at around 1,000 A.D.

I’m no expert on rock carvings or Native American history, so my perspective on these petroglyphs is 100% laymen; these things are rockin’. (I’m so clever, hehe). According to mostateparks.org, Washington State Park is home to the largest group of petroglyphs in Missouri, and helped earn the park a place on the National Register of Historic Places.

I’m accustomed to Missouri’s State Parks having good trails, nice fishing areas, and even camp sites. I truly had no idea that any of our parks had petroglyphs, and I drive past Washington State Park as often as two or three times per week.

If you’re interested in learning more about Missouri State Parks and the petroglyhps in Washington State Park, I recommend taking a look at the Missouri State Parks homepage.

Tags: Desoto, Missouri, Missouri petroglyphs, Missouri State Parks, Petroglyphs, small town girl, small town missouri, Small Town Missouri Girl, smalltowngirl, Washington County, Washington County Missouri, Washington State Park

Good Place for a Cell Phone Tower

March 6, 2010 in Having Fun, Washington County, MO | 2 comments

Tires screeching, I pulled a U-ey on State Highway C in Belgrade, Missouri this afternoon to get a photo of this sign.

Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration, but it’s not far from the truth. When I saw this sign, I immediately found a driveway in which to turn around.

This small town landowner knows how to make light of life in rural Missouri…

Good Place, photo by MilliGFunk

Tags: Belgrade Missouri, Cell Phone Tower, Missouri, small town girl, small town missouri, Small Town Missouri Girl, smalltowngirl, Washington County Missouri

Missouri Winters

January 29, 2010 in Missouri, Washington County, MO | 3 comments

In Southeast Missouri it’s uncommon to get fluffy white snowfall that lasts for days. Instead, it is a wintery mix of snow, sleet, ice and freezing rain that usually falls from Missouri skies in December, January and February.

In the next forty-eight hours, Southern Missouri is anticipating the usually icy winter mix. In honor of Missouri winters, I thought I’d share my favorite Winter 2010 Missouri snow picture.

I took this at Sunnen Lake, outside of Potosi, Missouri in Washington County. Potosi is a town of approximately 2,500 people, and this particular shot was taken at a YMCA of the Ozarks boat dock.

Snowy Lake, photo by MilliGFunk

Tags: Missouri, Potosi, small town missouri, smalltowngirl, Washington County Missouri

Jeepin’

January 14, 2010 in Having Fun, Hiking and the Outdoors, Washington County, MO | 6 comments

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.

Tags: 4WD, Four-Wheeling, Jeepin, Jeeps, Missouri, Off-Roading, small town missouri, Small Town Missouri Girl, smalltowngirl, Washington County Missouri

Washington County Farmers Market

September 30, 2009 in Missouri | 4 comments

On my drive to work each day, I pass a permanent sign in Potosi, Missouri that advertises the county’s seasonal farmer’s market. Though I love farmers markets, I still had not made it to this one until last Saturday.

Farmers Market, photo by smalltowngirl

The vendors had beautiful produce, not limited to squash, zucchini, apples and peppers. I’ve written previously about the Farmington Farmers Market, but I was more impressed by the Washington County market than I was by the Farmington Market.

Washington County Farmers Market, photo by smalltowngirl

My favorite vendor was a Washington County farmer who taught me something I didn’t know; that green peppers eventually turn either red or yellow if left to grow long enough. Who knew?

mulit-colored peppers, photo by smalltowngirl

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The Washington County Farmers Market is held from June through October. On Saturdays, the market is held from 7:30 a.m. to noon at the Washington County Court House, and on Wednesdays the market is held from 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the County Health Department.

Tags: farmers market, Farmington, Farmington Missouri, Food, Missouri, small town missouri, smalltowngirl, washington county farmers market, Washington County Missouri

Serious Corn on the Cob

September 29, 2009 in Missouri | 4 comments

While attending the Moses Austin Festival in Potosi, Missouri, I ate a piece of mouth-watering corn on the cob. This particular piece of corn on the cob was serious in nature, and worth deep contemplation on my part. I was still surprised to find that my corn on the cob and I would make the local news.

MilliGFunkyCorn, photo by the Independent Journal

You’ll note that I’m in good company with my corn on the cob. (Willie Nelson Dude’s braids were fake, by the way. They were attached to the bandanna. I was disappointed.)

Photo scanned from the Independent Journal, Washington County Missouri’s local paper.

Tags: Corn on the Cob, Moses Austin Festival, Potosi, small town missouri, smalltowngirl, The Independent Journal, Washington County Missouri

Cross Dressing Puppies: A Political Commentary

September 27, 2009 in Having Fun, Missouri, NYC | 3 comments

Last Saturday I was at the Moses Austin Festival in Potosi, Missouri, and yesterday I was at the Fall Festival in Farmington, Missouri. On both occasions, I witnessed dogs wearing skirts.

Why dress a dog in a skirt? Because it’s hiLARious.

Dogs in dresses, photo by smalltowngirl

The only thing funnier than a dog in a skirt is a male dog dressed in pink sparkles:

Cross-dressing puppy, photo by smalltowngirl

And the only thing funnier than a boy dog in pink sparkles is a boy dog in a pink skirt.

These first two pictures were from the Moses Austin Festival, but I also saw dressed up dogs yesterday at the Fall Festival in Farmington. One of those dogs was, in fact, a boy dog in a pink, sparkly dress.

Unfortunately, I missed that photo opportunity. To compensate, here’s a dog dressed as the Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz:

Scarecrow dog, photo by smalltowngirl

I used to think that New York City was more liberal than rural Missouri. Now I think Missourians are just taking their closet-liberal leanings out on their unsuspecting canine pals.

Tags: boy dogs in skirts, cross dressed dogs, dogs in dresses, Farmington, Farmington Activities, Farmington Fall Festival, Farmington Missouri, Moses Austin Festival, Potosi, Potosi Missouri, Washington County Missouri

St. Stephen Roman Catholic Church

September 26, 2009 in Missouri | 2 comments

I’ve really become awestruck by the beauty of small town Missouri churches. Each new town I explore in rural Missouri boasts several churches, at least. The smaller and quainter the church, the better, in my opinion.

Upon embarkation of my Richwoods, Missouri fire engine expedition, I would never have expected to feel my breath catch in my throat at anything architectural in this unincorporated community. At the end of my self-tour of Richwoods, however, I happened upon St. Stephen Roman Catholic Church.

St. Stephen Roman Catholic, photo by smalltowngirl

There was something about this white frame church, in Richwoods since 1841, that simply took my breath away. Some combination of the completely blank hillside behind the church, the single large tree in the yard, and the stone pillars on either side of the main sidewalk added an historic and almost ghostly air to the church, and I found myself treading lightly on the grass as I took my photographs.

Entrance, photo by smalltowngirl

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Richwoods, Missouri is located between Sullivan and Hillsboro, Missouri, in Washington County, on Highway A/Y, off of Missouri Highway 47.

Richwoods, MO Ford F750 Fire Engine

Richwoods, MO Ford 850 Fire Engine

Richwoods, MO Cadillac Ambulance (Ghostbusters car style)

Richwoods, MO Yellow and Orange Fire Trucks

Fire Engine Self Portraits

Richwoods, MO Mack Truck Fire Engine

Richwood, MO Playing with Shadows

Tags: Church, Church Richwoods, Historic Church, Richwoods, richwoods missouri, small town missouri, smalltowngirl, St. Stephen Roman Catholic Church, Washington County Missouri

A Different Kind of Fire Engine

September 21, 2009 in Having Fun, Missouri | 2 comments

This weekend was the Moses Austin Festival in Potosi, Missouri. I spent part of my day on Saturday wandering the streets of downtown Potosi (Population 2,500 or so), trying to snag some good photos, and trying to learn more about the town.

Though I didn’t learn much about the town, I did score an awesome picture of a whole different kind of fire engine:

Fire Truck Slide, photo by smalltowngirl

A parking lot had been converted into a bouncy-tent mini-park, with five or six large inflatable bouncy tents and slides for kids. $10 bought an unlimited pass on all the bouncy and slidey inflatables. You know I was tempted.

Tags: Missouri, Moses Austin Festival, Potosi, Potosi Missouri, small town missouri, smalltowngirl, Washington County, Washington County Missouri

Playing with Shadows

September 20, 2009 in Missouri | 5 comments

When I explored the fire engine graveyards in Richwoods, Missouri, it was nearly the end of the day, and the sun cast long shadows everywhere I walked.

After an hour or more of trespassing on private property, being eaten alive by chiggars, and praying to God that some country bumpkin didn’t chase me off with a shotgun, I closed my adventure out with a few fun shadow shots, taken against the bright reds, yellows, and oranges of Richwood’s amazing old fire engines.