Kat's Birthday - Lewis and Clark State Park

After returning from our quick trip to Lake of the Ozarks State Park, we had three short days to unpack, do laundry and repack food and clothing for a trip in the other direction to Lewis and Clark State Park.  Just a little more than an hour from our house, and with five nights/4 days planned, we consider this our "vacation" for the year.  It was a much more relaxed and relaxing trip for us than the previous weekend.

Lewis and Clark SP had suffered severe flooding a couple of years ago, so this was the first season it was re-opened for camping.  We arrived in the late afternoon on Wednesday evening and set up camp on a nice level spot this time.

Thursday was not only Independence Day, but also Kat's birthday.  We ran into town (Atchison, KS) to get a few things we forgot to bring with us, then came back to camp for fun day and evening to celebrate her birthday.  My daughter and son-in-law also joined us.

On Friday morning, Kat and Shane did a little (unsuccessful) fishing, then we drove to nearby St. Joseph, MO, to spend an afternoon at the Pony Express Museum and the Patee House Museum.  The Patee House in particular was filled with many interesting displays.  We returned well into the evening to relax at camp.

On Saturday, we drove to the northern parts of Kansas City to let Kat go with her mom (my daughter) for the rest of her birthday weekend.  Shane and I made our way back to camp to the rest of the day, evening and next morning there.

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Parked at Lewis and Clark State Park
near Rushville, MO
July 3-7, 2013

Our "Big" Vacation - Onondaga Cave State Park

When we can, we try to take a trip each year that's a little longer than just a 2- or 3-day weekend.  This year we took a 6-day trip to Southeast Missouri.

We made Onondaga Cave State Park our home base, arriving around 3 p.m. the afternoon of July 4, which is also Kat's birthday.  This is a beautiful park near Leasburg, MO, that is tucked into a valley on the Meramec River in the St. Francois Mountains (Ozark Plateau) of Missouri.  We were set up in plenty of time to enjoy a swim in the Meramec River adjacent to the park and also have birthday cake with Kat after dinner.

Thursday was a busy day for us.  We ventured southeast from the park through the Arcadia Valley to three more state parks. 

The first was Elephant Rocks State Park near Ironton, MO.  It was a hot, hot day, with temps around 106 degrees, but that didn't keep us from climbing all over these huge granite boulders.

From there we drove to Taum Sauk Mountain State Park, near Black, MO, and took in the view from the highest point in Missouri.

And from there, we beat the heat at Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, also near Black, MO.  We enjoyed playing in the natural water park formation here and stayed until dusk, wishing we had even more time there.

All three of these parks have their own campgrounds, trails and other amenities, and are worth a visit if you find yourself in the area.

On Friday we stayed closer to home base and visited the area towns of Steelville and Cuba, MO.  Steelville is home to many a river rafting business, as was evident by their canoe art throughout the town.  Cuba lies on old Route 66, and boasts some nice Route 66 murals around town.  Just outside of Cuba is Fanning, MO, where we spied the "World's Largest Rocking Chair" and enjoyed a rest in more realistic chairs on the front porch of the Fanning Outpost before heading back to camp.

Saturday we beat the heat again, this time by touring Onondaga Cave, located in the park.  If you enjoy caves, this is an excellent tour.  The cave is home to rare formations, and the tour guides don't follow cheesy scripts.  Our guide was a geology major at nearby University of Missouri in Rolla who had a genuine interest in sharing information about the cave.

We've determined that it rains on 50% of our camping trips, and this trip was no exception.  We were hoping for another swim in the river, but rain kept it from us.  We had wind and heavy rains, and lost our in-park wi-fi for the rest of our stay, but we were luckier than nearby Cuba, where there was a tornado.

Our original plan was to head home on Sunday, but since we'd still not made it back to the river, we decided to extend our vacation by a day.  We spent all day on Sunday in and out of the water.  We headed back home on Monday morning, but it was not because we were ready to leave.

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Parked at Onondaga Cave, Meramec River
near Leasville, MO
July 4-9, 2012

The Food - July 4 through 9

Eating at camp makes a longer trip like this one a lot more affordable.  Since we knew we'd be away from camp at midday many days, we decided to budget for lunch to be eaten out each day of our trip.  As it turned out, we only had three restaurant meals the entire time.  In addition to meals, we had plenty of snacks on hand.

It's so unlike me, but I didn't take food pictures on this trip.  You'll have to take my word that this is what we ate:


Wednesday a.m. - Homemade breakfast burritos at home.

Wednesday noon:  We stopped at Daisy Delight in Jefferson City, MO.  Originally opened in the 50s, it's a good old-fashioned burger and ice cream joint.  I would imagine the once had carhop service, but now they have a spacious, clean dining room where we enjoyed our sandwiches.  Kat, being the birthday girl, also enjoyed a very large ice cream cone.

Wednesday p.m.:  Store-bought pulled pork barbecue on buns, potato salad I made at home, and some chips and dip.  Also, 3-2-1 Cupcakes for Kat's birthday.


Thursday a.m.:  Waffles (storebought, frozen), bacon, fried eggs.

Thursday noon:  Sandwiches and fries and Baylee Joe's Barbecue in Ironton, MO.

Thursday p.m.:  Because we were away well into the evening, we stopped and bought Kat a half sub sandwich.  Shane and I waited and had snacks back at camp.


Friday a.m.:  Waffles, bacon, fried eggs.

Friday noon:  Grilled hot dogs on buns, chips and dips, lettuce salad, hummus

Friday p.m.:   Grilled pork chops, macaroni and cheese (yes, the boxed kind), green beans


Saturday a.m.:  Breakfast casserole, hash browns

Saturday noon:  Grilled hot dogs on buns, chips and dips, lettuce salad, hummus

Saturday p.m.:  Grilled steaks, cowboy potatoes, corn on the cob


Sunday a.m.:  Waffles, hash browns

Sunday noon:  Snacks/miscellaneous

Sunday p.m:.  Used up leftovers that were in the fridge, and still had some to take home with us


Monday a.m. - Kat had the last waffle; Shane and I had coffee, but skipped breakfast.

Monday noon: - On advice of the Osage Bluff Quilter, we stopped at Steve's Family-Style Restaurant just outside of Jefferson City, MO in Lohman, MO.  This was THE meal of the entire trip!  The homestyle fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, slaw and rolls were absolutely delicious.  And the meal stuck with us the rest of the day, meaning I didn't have to cook after our long drive home. 


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Parked at Onondaga Cave State Park
near Leasburg, MO
July 4-9, 2012