Taking the Scenic Route — Discovering Missouri One Stop at a Time

The trip started because a group of friends had a bowling tournament.

I am not old enough to compete in the senior division yet, but that doesn’t mean I can’t tag along.

Tournament weekend, the whole group headed to Ha Ha Tonka State Park together — crystal-clear spring water, moss-covered rocks, and a trail climbing up to castle ruins overlooking the lake.

We hiked, we photographed, and we stood at the overlook longer than we probably needed to.

From there, though, most everyone headed home. One friend and I weren’t quite ready to.

Travel looked different in 2020 — instead of always heading farther away, we started paying attention to what was closer to home. That’s how planning for this trip really started.

Route 66 and the Roadside Weird

The trip took us through some classic Route 66 stops — Munger Moss Motel’s sign, the Starlite Lanes marquee lit up at dusk, and eventually, Uranus, Missouri.

Yes, that’s a real place.

And yes, it fully commits to the joke.

There were police cars, alien statues, and plenty of signs that made sure you knew exactly where you were. It was one of those stops that you can’t really explain — you just have to stop because you’re there.

Sometimes those unexpected roadside places end up being the ones you remember most.

A Little History Along the Way

One thing I loved about this trip was how many little pieces of history we found along the way.

Cuba, Missouri surprised us with murals throughout town — including the Battle of Huzzah painted right on a downtown wall. It was the kind of history you could easily drive past if you weren’t willing to slow down and look.

Later, we found the Snelson-Brinker House, once Crawford County’s earliest courthouse, sitting quietly among old wooden buildings and the remains of structures that time had not been kind to.

It reminded me that sometimes the most interesting places are not the ones you plan around. They are the ones you discover because you took the scenic route.

Meramec Spring

Meramec Spring might be my favorite stop of the whole trip.

The water was so clear it barely looked real, flowing under a bridge and down along an old dam, past a moss-covered spring house that looked like it had been there forever.

Bandit spotted a deer in the distance and forgot, for a moment, that he was supposed to be walking calmly beside me.

Even he is discovering that every new trail comes with something interesting to investigate.

Johnson’s Shut-Ins and Taum Sauk

If Meramec Spring was quiet beauty, Johnson’s Shut-Ins and Elephant Rocks were something much wilder.

The rock formations carved by water, the still pools reflecting the cliffs above, and the rugged landscape all felt like a completely different side of Missouri.

And just up the road, after a hot and long hike, we stood at the highest natural point in Missouri at Taum Sauk Mountain.

The trail signs pointed toward Mina Sauk Falls — dry that day — and the Devil’s Toll Gate, reminders that there were still plenty of wild places tucked away throughout the state.

Hawn State Park

We closed out the nature side of the trip at Hawn State Park, following Pickle Creek as it wound through fall color. This might be my favorite trail in Missouri so far!

And because every outdoor adventure seems to come with its own surprise, we also ran into a black snake stretched across the trail. A reminder that “close to home” doesn’t mean predictable.

The Scenic Route

One of my favorite things about this trip has been realizing how much there is to discover without going far.

Places I had driven near before became destinations.

A spring. A trail.

A historic building.

A quirky roadside stop.

A view worth pulling over for.

But somewhere along the way, where we were staying in the RV became part of the adventure.

Continue reading: Waking Up Somewhere New — Discovering a Different Way to Travel