Missouri Travel

Located right in the heart of America, Missouri is a state that is a mix of both southern and mid-western cultures. Missouri has a pretty big population, with most people living in the famous cities of St. Louis and Kansas City. In the 19th century Missouri became the gateway to the west, where most settlers began their journeys to head to other states such as Oklahoma, Oregon, California etc. Today Missouri if famous for the start of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, its many civil war battles, and its great cities.

Missouri Links	Above are two photos from Missouri's capital of Jefferson City. The photo directly above is of course the capitol building, and on the upper right is a law enforcement memorial. Jefferson was built right along the Missouri River which is what helped early settlers survive.

	I've never heard much of Kansas City, but I was pretty impressed with the place. Above is a photo of the downtown area and then on the right is the Liberty Memorial. The Liberty Memorial is dedicated to World War I veterans, and is also the site of the official World War I museum. It was dedicated in the 1920s by President Calvin Coolidge.


Another famous museum is the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum which is just a few miles south of the Liberty Memorial. The Nelson-Atkins Museum is considered one of the best art museums in the United States. The strange headless people on the left and the large steel shuttlecock on the right are on the Museum's front lawn. In addition to its great museums, Kansas City is also number two in the world for having the most boulevards second to Paris and most fountains in the world second to Rome. I would have never imagined Kansas city of all places to hold these titles! Below are random fountains that I photographed, but by no means the most impressive in the city. All types of fountains can be found throughout Kansas City, and some of the most beautiful ones should be seen at night.


A popular place to visit in Kansas City is the Country Club Plaza. The plaza was built in 1923, and was the first in the world to be built for visitors arriving in automobiles. The plaza is filled with expensive upscale restaurants and exclusive stores that take over some 55 acres. In the center of the plaza flys the Spanish flag, as everything here was modeled after Seville, Spain, especially the architecture of Spanish cathedrals.

Above is the famous Gateway Arch in St. Louis Missouri. The Lewis & Clark Expedition, which was the first American expedition to reach the Pacific Ocean and return, began right here in St. Louis Missouri. After that many settlers also began their journey west from St. Louis, so the city became known as the gateway to the west. On the right is the old courthouse in St. Louis, the place where the Dred Vs. Scott case was held.

On the left is the popular strip known as the Riverfront in St. Louis. I came here to have a late lunch once, and there seemed to be a lot of guys grabbing drinks and watching sports. Riverfront goes on for several blocks and looks like it can be pretty lively at night when a big sports game is going on. For those who are too young to grab a cold one on a hot day, there's always an option to play in the fountains!

Founded in 1765, St. Charles was Missouri's first capital, and is also America's second oldest city founded west of the Mississippi. When the Lewis & Clark Expedition headed out west, St. Charles was their last stop in civilization, afterwards it was nothing but the great outdoors until they reached the Pacific. Today St. Charles still has that old town atmosphere, and is the location of many large festivals, including one of the largest Christmas festivals in the United States. Right outside the city is one of Missouri's largest casinos, the Las Vegas owned Ameristar. The surrounding four photos are all from Old St Charles.



	With St. Louis and Kansas City being the main population centers, the rest of Missouri is mostly made up of small cities and farmlands. Above are pictures from the small town of St. James. They happened to be having a small festival and parade the day I was passing through. The following day I was driving near a tiny town known as Patton Missouri when I pulled off the side of the road not paying attention to the deep mud. There was no hope of getting my car out, and I was pretty depressed and figured I'd have to wait hours and spend a lot of money to hire a wrecker. Before long just about everyone and their mother came out and I had several people get chains and ropes and pull my car out. Experiences like that are what make traveling worth it.

Since Missouri hasn't even been a state for 200 years, its history focuses around the Lewis & Clark Expeditions and the civil war. Surprisingly, the state of Missouri was the location of almost 1,000 battles, coming in third after Tennessee and Virginia. When the civil war skirmishes first started out east, to Missouri these incidences were a long way from home and had little effect on daily life. It was only a matter of time however, until the war reached the midwest. In 1861 a small Confederate army left the city of Lexington because of an advancing Union army. The Confederates fled south and after regrouping, they marched back to Lexington with an 18,000 strong force. The battle of Lexington lasted a few days with a Confederate victory, but it was only the first of many major battles to come. Below is a church and a memorial that was dedicated to all the Confederates who lost their lives in the Civil War.


Most of Missouri is made up of the great plains, but the southern area is known as the Ozarks. The Ozarks are a large forested plateau with lots of hiking and camping. Above are the Lakes of the Ozarks, on the left are some mansions along the lakes, to the right is the sun setting.

The lake of the Ozarks have both rural areas and developed cities and beaches. The two photos above are from one of the beach like business areas. Bumper cars, tattoo parlors, arcades and other places usually seen at beaches are all here. Lake Ozark actually does have a beach known as Osage beach, but it was raining heavily so it was deserted.

As I headed farther south into the Ozarks the landscape became more interesting and cliffs and small mountains began to appear. On the left is a railway carved out of some small mountains. On the right and below is a forest in the Ozarks that is deeply covered in moss and lichen.


Unfortunately there was rain and an overcast when I visited Elephant Rock state park, but this was by far the most scenic part of Missouri I visited. Some of the giant elephant rocks weigh hundreds of tons and stand out from the rest of Missouri's natural beauty. Both photos above are from the top of the park, with the largest rock on the left named Dumbo. Aside from the scenic parts of Elephant Rocks, the area also comes with some history because it was a 19th century rock quarry. The pond of water on the lower left is a result of rainwater filling the quarried areas. Most of the red granite rock was used in St. Louis, but some of it made it as far as California or Massachusetts.


Both these lizards above where seen in Elephant Rock state park. On the left is my favorite lizard, the blue tailed skink. I have seen some growing up in Virginia, but its been probably 10 years since I last saw one. On the right is a lizard that is nicely camouflaged with his background.


	Hiking in the Ozarks was very rewarding. The only drawback was the constant rain and extreme humidity. On a clear day it would be must more enjoyable, but still I came across some wildlife and met some very scenic views. Above is a katydid which was eating something off a piece of bark on the forest floor. To the upper right is some type of box turtle. The birds you see on the right are large hawks that were circling around during the sunset. The photo to the right was actually taken near Lakes of the Ozarks, not when I was hiking.

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Missouri Travel

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