Missouri: state park and ACOE

Tues Oct 30: we headed to St Francois State Park south of St Louis.  We stayed here in March 2011 on our way home from our first volunteering gig in South Carolina. We thought the name sounded familiar, then when we drove down the big hill we thought it looked real familiar.  When we finally got to the campground, it was beginning to look more and more like we had been there.  We went hiking and after getting back I finally looked up on the blog and sure enough we did stay here for one night. I keep track of all our campgrounds but only started it after 3 years on the road so its not complete.

We finally got good weather, 76 for the high and a bit of humidity.  Unfortunately its just for one day.  Rain on Halloween with temps back in the 50's for the rest of the week.

Rained off and on all day for Halloween.  We did manage to get out for a few walks in the mist and rain.  Went into town, Bonne Terre for a great buffet lunch at a local restaurant.  They had great catfish along with homemade meatloaf, bread pudding etc...  since it rained all day it was a good day to do laundry and luckily the campground has washers and dryers for $1 each.

Oct bird count still at 611 for life, up a couple to 403 for the year and a whopping 107 for the month.

Thurs Nov 1 today's journey takes us 90 miles south to Redman Creek Rec Area, a ACOA facility.  We were on Hwy 67, a 4 lane road, for 70 of the miles then turned onto Hwy D which is a tight, curvy 2 lane road.  It was a bit tense driving on the skinny road especially when comingn over a hill and seeing a car coming at you at a fast pace.  We did miss our turn to the COE and ended up going an extra 15 miles on a tight road to get back to where we needed to be.  COE's are generally hard to find.  The street address is not always correct, but once you get there they are generally nice parks with full hook ups for $12 a night with the senior pass.

We are in Wappapello MO, a cute little town. Although it was misting and raining all day we managed to find some places to walk.

Friday: We headed to Mingo NWR early this morning.  Some walking trails and a lot of driving roads.  We did manage to get out walking in the refuge but not in the woods as it is hunting season!

Fall colors are at peak here in southern Missouri

We went to Crabb & Company about a mile away from our campsite for Friday Fish.  they had delicious Catfish and shrimp. The sides were OK.  The rain stopped enough so we were able to have a  nice camp fire.

Sat: We went to Lake Wappapello State Park as there is no hunting allowed in the park.  At this time of year we have to be mindful of where we hike.  Nice park with a cemetery from the late 1800's.

Although a foggy cloudy day it turned out to be a nice evening for a fire.  We attempted to stay up late because of time change.  But.... we are not Night people...

tomorrow we are off to Arkansas