It’s time for another adventure!

My friends, Dave and Lori, and I have been trying to get out for a weekender for a few weeks now. This past week the weekend’s weather has not looked conducive to camping. Wednesday the forecast took a turn for the better so after a consult a last-minute “go!” was in order. Still some rain and storms, but much less rain and we can deal with it.

I came up on Thursday to beat some winds forecast for Friday, but also just to get away. It was a windy drive up here, with a crosswind and some showers as I drove east towards I-35. Heading north on I-35 it became a tailwind and boosted my gas mileage. Overall, it was a decent drive and the equalizer hitch really makes a huge difference towing in the winds. I did not have that when I had my Scotty and when the trailer starts swaying it will certainly scare you.

This is my second trip to this park. After a stop last summer for a night in Wallace State Park I came here on the inaugural journey for my then-new trailer. The weather was certainly better that weekend! The forecast is for some unsettled weather all weekend, but we are making a go of it. It’s just how we roll.

Crowder State Park is in the north-central part of Missouri, just south of the Iowa border. It’s a very rural area. The town of Jamesport nearby to the west is a typical small, Midwest town that has a large Amish presence. There are some Amish bakeries that sell amazing baked goods. Apparently they don’t see many guys with 10 earrings and a ponytail in these here parts, as I am watched when I go into stores.

Just to the east is Trenton, which is a bigger town with a Hy-Vee grocery store and where you find booze as there is none in Jamesport. Dispensaries are not common around here either, so to get your supply of Devil’s Lettuce plan accordingly.

As with all Missouri State Parks, this is a beautiful, well-maintained facility. Like most other Missouri State Parks there are a variety of spaces and combinations to choose from; 50-amp, 30-amp, a few with full hookups, some with only electricity, and some primitive sites. You can find pretty much any type of site to fit your needs. I think that the camping rates are very reasonable and the campgrounds are safe at night since the gates are locked.

I personally do not like the limitations that reservations bring, but with so many people traveling, especially in summer, it is getting to the point of you have to make them, especially if you are on a strict schedule due to time off constraints. I prefer to have little or no itinerary but when traveling you do have to have flexibility no matter your style of travel.

It’s maintenance time of the year so they are doing some work around the campground, cutting some trees and grinding some stumps down. I remember those days of trying to get campgrounds and vault toilets ready for the season and the masses of visitors. Things have to be fixed, updated and painted, no matter when it is…as long as it is not in the middle of summer!

There’s no TV reception here so it’s DVDs, digital content, or a book. I plugged my iPad into my TV and am able to watch some movies and TV shows I have bought. It makes it nice to have stuff available to you that you WANT to watch if you want to kick back on a rainy day or a late night.

So I am working on my blog, doing a few rounds of a word game on my iPad, and will probably be looking at a few books. They will get here tonight so we will be busy talking and drinking wine. Probably not two bottles apiece this time!

The rain subsided and things started to dry out a bit (thanks to nonstop 35 mph winds…) so the dogs and I have made a few laps around the campground. Boy, they were sure all that…strutting around like they were the only two dogs on the planet. Between laps we have been hanging around out by the picnic table just watching whatever needs watched.

As you can see, this park has some decent trail miles for a weekend trip out in the woods. There’s lots to do here and it’s all on the link above. A few things I saw this morning on a dog walk:

As is ALWAYS the case, make damn sure you know what you are touching or eating! For example, the Mayapple (top left) has a food-sounding name, however the entire plant is poisonous. Of course, poison ivy needs no introduction.

The “pawpaw” (top center) I believe really IS a pawpaw, but the “lookup” function in my iPhone Photos app said it could be a pawpaw…or a rhododendron. This shows two issues. First – you cannot trust technology to identify things correctly, especially if it can kill you. And second – some parts of rhodies are poisonous.

Many years ago my friend Dave and I were backpack camping in Indian Cave State Park in Nebraska one Fall. We had been there several times, eventually bagging every mile of every trail. There are pawpaw trees all over the park, but we had never seen them before. For some reason we picked several and took them to work to ask around. One lady who had 40-50 years on us told us what they were. She grew up in the Arkansas hills and had eaten them many times growing up. She took them home and used them in a bread recipe instead of bananas. I remember the bread itself was good. Except for those damn black walnuts. Might as well have had mayo on it too.🤮

You could also hunt for mushrooms as well but, again, you have to know what you’re doing. For one thing many are deadly to eat, or you could be surprised by a trip to space after eating certain ones you picked which, by the way, is a felony. Common in the Midwest is the morel, which looks like a sponge. I have had those before, but a little mushroom goes a long way for me.

And I know that southern Missouri has scorpions and poisonous snakes plus any other noxious things that are there. Not sure about those up here, but I imagine there might be some cats and of course the usual suspects – deer, raccoons, skunks, coyotes and the like.

The amphitheater brought back a ton of childhood memories of family trips. The National Parks and National Forests used to have these amphitheaters and would have ranger talks for people to learn about different things in history and nature of the area. If you are ever in a park or campground that offers these programs I encourage you to go and check it out if it is even somewhat interesting to you. It’s great for kids but adults can learn so much too.

So here’s to a start to this trip! 🍷 Don’t know what we’ll do with the weather not cooperating much, but we will make the best of it. If nothing else, it’s always good to catch up with friends and break bread (and seals on wine bottles) with friends.

See you tomorrow!

Shawn