Ozark Mountain Daredevils

While drifting off to sleep at Lake Wappapello State Park in southeastern Missouri we started to hear banjo picking in the distance. We slept well, despite the memories of ‘Deliverance’ flooding into our heads.

 

Our intention the next morning was to make our big drive across the prairie. We made it about sixty miles when we noticed a sign for the Ozark National Scenic River. It sounded enticing, so we stepped inside and inquired about what to do in the area. Once the ranger told us that we could rent a tube and float down the river, we were sold since it sounded better than spending the day in the car!

We drove to Eminence and found an outfitter with a double tube, packed some snacks and hopped aboard a school bus with twenty-seven other rafters, all from Memphis. It was mostly a relaxing float in between some problematic sections of the river that combined rapids with downed trees. There is really no mechanism to effectively steer a tube so we went with flailing. 

Bluffs along Jack's Fork River

Lisa, lounging with a snack

After our lazy day, we grabbed lunch in Eminence where we each ordered burritos. To our surprise they came deep fat fried, as would be the custom in the mid-west…

Tonight, we are staying at a hotel in Springfield due to inclement weather overnight. Tomorrow will be our drive across Kansas…unless we get distracted again.