Lens: 24-105 f/4L @ 35mm, f/5.6, ISO 500, 1/10sec.

As it turned out, the fog was so dense that I couldn’t see anything other than this tree until well after 10am, at which point the magical morning light was long gone. I didn’t get the shot I wanted, but I did get a pretty neat photo of something unplanned. That is the way it often works with nature photography. I rarely get what I expect or intend to get. Nature always throws a curve ball, but if I’m lucky I still manage to get something worthwhile. Even when I don’t, I still enjoy the pursuit of captivating images.

The weather was a bit chilly the first few days but that didn’t stop us from getting outside…

Steph and Emma

Eily wore her bear coat when we went for a walk.

Emma rode around on her tricycle. She's getting pretty good at it!

One morning Emma and I went for a hike at a nearby conservation area. Emma hiked 2 miles all on her own! I was so proud! Some stray dogs tagged along.

A small stream near a spring.

Hayes Spring, from which this conservation area gets its name.

One of the dogs jumped into the spring and couldn't get out so I had to extract it. Emma was excited to tell Steph how we saved the doggy.

I asked Emma where she wanted to eat lunch and she said "under the big (pine) tree!". To which I responded, "thats my girl!" Ha!

I have always wanted to check out the historic "Y Bridge" in Galena so we took a quick detour and walked across it.

Nice view of the James River, which is quite clean and clear here.

Eily Beth enjoyed her time at the lakehouse.

Eily snuggling up to daddy before bedtime.

We went to Silver Dollar City on friday. Emma had a good time doing some new rides.

Emma rode the teacups and enjoyed it immensely. She's becoming such a big girl!

I rode the 'big swings' with her.

Nonna and Papa came for a visit at the end of our trip.

A nice sunset over the lake at the end of our vacation! Good times!

I didn’t get any great photos of some of the cool features we saw, mainly due to hazy midday lighting conditions and the fact that I was too tired to go climbing around looking for the best angles. Nevertheless, we saw a lot of great scenery without having to travel very far!

Packed up and ready to head out on the trail. We started at the Powder Mill Trail Head.

We hiked the “Current River Section” of the trail, although aside from this crossing, we really never even saw the Current River. On a side note, I am very fascinated by the beautiful teal colored streams and rivers of the Ozarks. I’ve seen lots of rivers all over the world, some very clear ones, but nothing that compares with the deep teal colored streams so common throughout the Ozarks. I am not sure what causes this, but I like it a lot!

I took entirely too much photography gear and food. Better safe and exhausted than hungry and needing a tripod I guess.

This area is called Klepzig Mill and was one of my favorite spots along the trail.

We enjoyed lunch at this nice overlook of Klepzig Mill.

Here is a clear pool of water below another series of rapids and waterfalls called Buzzard Mountain Shut-Ins.

Buzzard Mountain Shut-Ins

I like this area because it contains a lot of pine forest. Most of the trail was Oak, Hickory, and Pine mix, however this mile or so was mostly just Pine, so it smelled really nice!

We opted not to carry 2 days worth of water and instead got water from this clear creek and purified it. It tasted quite nice, maybe better than the tap water we brought!

Rocky Falls, another cool area along the Ozark Trail. This was actually a spur off the main trail, but well worth the side trip.

The trail started getting steeper as we made our way up Stegall Mountain. A massive t-storm hit us as we were approaching the summit so we were unable to safely explore the area and enjoy the view. Had the weather been more cooperative we would have enjoyed this view…

Thanks to Ozark Bill for allowing me to use his photo from a more successful trip up Stegall.

We hiked back down a ways where lightning would be less of a risk and setup “camp”, which consisted of a couple rainproof hammocks. Actually worked out very nicely and we stayed nice and dry even though it rained non-stop for about 15 hours!

More shut-ins as we made our way back the next morning.

Crossing was a bit more of a challenge on the return trip due to the rains the night before. I hopped across but Ian was a bit nervous at first.

Crossing here Ian almost completely lost it. Somehow we both managed to get to the other side ‘mostly’ dry. From that point on I didn’t really take any photos because I was too tired…

So in summary, while being less exotic than previous trips, it was still a great time and we saw some great scenery here at home!

One item of particular excitement for me was seeing a beaver swimming in the river right beneath us. I tried to take a pic but wasn’t quick enough. All in all it was a really great float and a very pretty river. The only issue was that the water was extremely low in some areas, but that was somewhat expected considering it’s the middle of summer, and a dry summer at that.

PS you can click on any of the images for larger versions.

Here is the rustic store at Camp Tilden where we setup tent.

Crossing over a small bridge on the way to the drop off point. I think this spot may have been where we started on the second day.

We put in below a really pretty bluff area. McDonald county is generally very scenic and rural with a lot of winding dirt roads.

Here is the first day’s group getting ready to set out!

Me playing around with a new waterproof digital camera… and almost running into a tree branch.

Poco and Jimmy borrowed mom and dad’s canoe. I really dig Missouri’s über-clear rivers.

A cool bird that flew alongside us for a bit. Made it easy to get a good pic.

Here is poco trying to reach for a rope swing. Not sure what she was going to do if she reached it. Probably get her paddle stuck and then end up tipping the canoe.

Here is the group… just rollin down the river.

Grant fishing and Matt swimming.

Notice all the small fish swimming around Grant’s lure.

Here is a cool view under the water, showing all the little fish swimming around. Kind of looked like an aquarium. I never could get any pics of video of bigger fish!

Grant caught a fish and tossed it in Poco and Jimmy’s canoe. Then Jimmy pretended to eat the fish. Then he tossed it back in the river.

Here I am with my cool straw hat and green kayak. This river had very few rapids, though it might have more if the water level was higher?

Jimmy posing on a rock as a mer-man. Hawt!

The second day Mom and Dad came and joined us. I like dragging my parents along on things like this. Their canoeing skillz were a bit rusty and they tipped numerous times but still had fun. I’m really glad they came!

A really awesome jumping rock. The second day was sunnier and much hotter.

Here is a crawdad grant caught. Looks like a small lobster to me.

Enjoying a nice lunch under a grove of willow trees.

What a great way to spend a weekend!

Truth be told, I honestly wouldn’t care if they banned alcohol outright because this would leave the river to those who want to actually enjoy the river itself. The rednecks and college kids can party in their trailers or frat houses to their hearts content as far as I’m concerned. Maybe a reasonable compromise where you get a maximum of say, a six pack for every 1 person on the river. It just seems unfortunate to me that the river is more about drinking than it is about the river to so many people.

Realistically I know how Missourians love their cigarettes and beer, so I think it would be unlikely to ever pass such a measure. It’s one of those things where if it hadn’t become such a mainstay for so many people, it may almost seem logical that these types of items and activities would be prohibited on rivers. But try and take it away and I’m sure rednecks will come out in droves in support of “their rights” to be irresponsible and inconsiderate. I’m just thankful that the river I most frequent does not have this problem whatsoever – probably because there are no canoe rental facilities.