Road Trip! The Cordrays Leave Memphis, Briefly
Missouri Showed Us Plenty
Howdy, friends!
I will state for the record that this post was supposed to be a podcast. I wrote a few notes and parked my behind in the closet and tried to make a recording. Tried. Unfortunately, at that time, the apartment above us was being vacated, refurbished, and then reinhabited. Between the knocking in of the carpet, the dudes hollering to their co-workers in the stairwell, the clatter and rattle of one moving out and the next one moving in, and the endless reporting from the Cordray pups, it just didn’t happen. Instead, I offer this report and wonder where in the heck I will squeeze in the pictures with all of these words.
I have been encased in my shell here in Memphis working on creative projects and serving as backup support for my man Dan, who is temporarily doing the 9 to 5 grind on our behalf, as you well know if you have been following our story. Our rolling chariot, Erik Van Home, has traveled more than 303,000 glorious miles back and forth, and back and forth, across this country an uncounted number of times over the past 8 years and 9 months. Erik had 149,000 miles on the odometer when Dan bought it, if that gives you a reference point. Oh, how we love our van home.
However, in the past month, Erik has developed an oil leak that we don’t intend to chase, so we have for the most part PARKED that fine gentleman next to our cargo trailer and are thanking the Great Spirit that we have options. We are actively pursuing purchase and dreaming up the buildout of a NEW chariot. The original is a hard act to follow. It has been perfect for us, but it’s time, and that’s a fact.
In the meantime, we have rented a Volkswagen Tiguan so Dan can get safely across that bridge between Tennessee and Arkansas to go to work. Renting a get-around car has made it possible to plan trips within a COUPLE FEW hours of here, as Dan would say.
With that idea in mind, we recently took a trip to the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. We left on Thursday and came back Sunday afternoon. As navigator, I chose this area for a few reasons. Lake Wappapello is not far from Doniphan, Missouri, where my Dad was born and raised, and Poplar Bluff is a town I can recall from visits to the area as a child. Dan and I have some history in Doniphan as well.
We spent what ended up being a miserable honeymoon in Doniphan, although we were just happy to be together. You can read all about that experience in my Our Hammock Hangin’ Honeymoon post, which includes our experiences at the Midwest Vanlife Gathering in Mark Twain National Forest, as well as being interviewed as newlyweds for an article that was published in the local Houston Herald, and also for a vandwelling piece that aired on CBS Sunday Morning. Our CBS Sunday Morning interview was cut, but we learned how to be sick together on our honeymoon. This has served us well over the years. If you want to see how we did, start here to read my four-part series about that bumpy stretch when we cycled through Covid together.
So yes, we spent our honeymoon in a small town that was sentimental to me, when we could have chosen ANYWHERE on the map, although we MIGHT have already been there. I loved that area of Southern Missouri as a child on vacation. I wanted to see if it was anything like I remembered. It was. I looked forward to coming back when we were both healthy and could do some exploring.
For our long weekend leapity-leap, we wanted to see more of the Mark Twain National Forest, and also the Mingo National Wildlife Refuge. I chose a VRBO cabin near Lake Wappapello for the first two nights, and the dog-friendly Drury Inn and Suites in Poplar Bluff for our third night stay. The cabin idea worked out really well, allowing us a cool, safe place for the dogs to relax while we had some amazing local fare at The Camp at Lake Wappapello, which was walking distance from our cabin.
The Camp at Lake Wappapello is set on 160 acres and offers everything from primitive camping to RV sites to cabins, plus a band stand with local live entertainment, carriage rides, bounce house, playground, and more. You can rent golf carts, canoes, and kayaks. We didn’t do a ton of exploring there but feel like it would be a great local base camp for many who would like to see this area.
The Camp has shuttle services and tons more amenities, but we really just wanted the Mexican food from the restaurant that is only open on Friday and Saturday. Teresita’s did not disappoint. The décor, the ambiance, the service, the food, all excellent. We had leftovers for two days even though we waddled out of there, stuffed like chiles rellenos. Also of note for you foodies, do not miss El Acapulco Authentic Mexican Restaurant and Cantina right next to the Drury Inn. The super thin, super crispy homemade tortilla chips, the signature blanco cheese sauce…yuummm…everything we tasted was juuust right. We loved finding really high quality Mexican food in Southern Missouri. Who knew?
I also love that we had a few home-cooked staples to carry along. Dan grilled some boneless pork ribs, and I made homemade meatballs and a stacked and condensed salami/cheese tray before we left. We can always count on eating well if we are doing the cooking.
We had the usual collection of mixed nuts, applesauce cups, and other grab-and-go items for quick meals and snacks. Having the option of either eating out, or eating in, helped us avoid last second fast food impulse buying. We saved our calories for the good stuff. We froze water bottles at home and at the cabin to keep the cooler on chill for leftovers, and drank them as needed.
It was a whole different experience traveling in a car instead of the van, let me tell you, but we figured it out and made it work. We took the dogs on a short leap along the river two days before we left so they would start to become accustomed to riding in the car. When we headed out on our trip, they were confused and struggled a bit but eventually settled in and became car nappers and snoozed unless the car stopped or the blinker came on. We landed, got ourselves settled in, and the next morning went for an excursion to The Mingo, which is located near Puxico, Missouri.
The Mingo National Wildlife Refuge is a resting and watering area for waterfowl and other migratory birds. The refuge stretches over twenty-one thousand acres and lies in a basin formed in an ancient, abandoned channel of the Mississippi River. Also included is a seven thousand seven hundred acre wilderness area that has upland, bottomland, hardwood forest, swamp, and marsh areas that provide refuge for over 240 species of birds.
We saw egrets of several varieties, a hawk that was too far away to identify, plenty of crows, flocks of Eastern bluebirds, cardinals, woodpeckers, or as my Papa would call them, peckerwoods. We saw a field full of feasting turkey vultures, and a pair of them near the road sharing a smashed armadillo appetizer (possum on the halfshell). We took the 17 mile Ozark Highlands Auto Tour, although as usual, we did our own thing and didn’t listen to the recorded prompts.
We were lucky to have the road to ourselves for most of the journey, making it easier to slow down and back up to try to see that gorgeous doe one more time or get a shot of that cool wildflower. We loved this part of our trip.
Dan practiced a bit of flint and steel primitive fire starting beside May Pond. Someone at work asked him why one would do such a thing. Practice, practice, practice, he said. Sometimes you need to make your own Bic lighter because you may not always have one available.
It was here that Layla hatched a plan to slink down to the pond and jump in instead of jumping up in the car as she was asked to do.
Dan was right on her tail, and actually had to PULL her tail to keep her from jumping in that boggy pond. He just barely won that battle.
I took lots of nature pics at this pond with its mass of ghostly white swamp rose mallow (hibiscus moscheutos) blooms, the bees and dragonflies buzzing around them.
Even though the entire area is loaded with dragonflies, I did not get one decent picture of a dragonfly. I do not feel cheated, though. I have dozens and dozens of excellent close ups of dragonflies taken at our friend Patrick’s hunt camp, Camp Misery, in Perry, Florida.
Did I ever tell y’all about the time we were locked in at Patrick’s property for a solid week but didn’t realize it? The caretaker came and went, and locked the gate behind him like he usually did, forgetting at that moment that we were staying. We didn’t realize it until a nomadic friend stopped by on their way to someplace else and we couldn’t let them in the gate. That goes to show that we boondock well and can live abundantly anywhere we find ourselves. We had everything we needed right there and had no need to leave. Besides, we had camped there many times. Even with Wally the resident alligator in the pond and the rotating javelina and wild turkey tribes, we fit right in.
So back to the Mingo. The absolute star of this birdy world experience for us was the Great Blue Herons that swooped overhead like giant pterodactyls. With each pass we drew in our collective breath and held it but failed to get the shot. Every dang TIME we failed to get the shot. We stopped the car and watched in complete awe of the SIZE of those birds, and the shadows they created. I mean, we have seen Great Blue Herons elsewhere, especially when we took the boat tour at Wakulla Springs in Florida, but these flew low over us from behind so the shadow on the windshield was huuuge. It felt like dinosaurs were about to rise up out of the swamp. It is really hard to describe the moments out in nature that take your breath away, and we have had many. On this trip, we were adventuring between raindrops and thundersqualls and had limited time, but we are both glad we chose to see the Mingo National Wildlife Refuge and have added it to our must-return list.
Dan was ready for some geocaching, so we spent some time at McLane Park in Poplar Bluff. What a gorgeous place!! The walking track is paved and winds its way around a pond full of lilypads, frogs, and turtles, as well as other perfectly manicured and peaceful areas to sit and contemplate. Layla contemplated jumping in, but Dan stood firmly on her lead while we were seated at the picnic table. No go, Miss Fluff. There were dragonflies everywhere. I found the 3rd, 4th, and 5th of 6 blue jay feathers that have crossed my path in the past two weeks. Two were standing straight up in the dewy grass with the sun shining right on them. I would say that blue jay spirit is checking in. Blue jay are symbols of communication, curiosity, confidence, creativity. Yes! I accept a double helping of all of those and send blessings back your way, Jaybird. Many butterflies crossed our path as we were walking and also as we drove down the road on this trip. I stopped counting at twenty! Butterfly spirit has been with me my entire life, so I was not surprised but I was certainly tickled at their en masse appearance.
All and all, our show-me Missouri adventure was a great little getaway, a short three-hour backroads ride from Memphis. All four of us road dawgs needed to get out and reconnect with nature and to feel the breeze in our hair (and fur). Layla Jean ended up dropping her hind end in a teeny winding muddy stream as we jumped over it, on our way back from finding two out of three geocaches there at McLane Park. Of course she did. That last geocache evaded us, so there’s one more reason to go back to that area.
That’s all I have for today, friends. As Dan always says, get out, be safe, GO ADVENTURE! And consider going somewhere fairly close to home if you can’t make a big pilgrimage. Next time we come to visit, you can tell us about the cool places you have been near home, although we might have already been there or may have them pinned on the map. Lawdy, do I miss the road.
Dooooooo it sooner rather than later,
Brenda Cordray
The Desert Rose
Great story! I love your way with words. <3
What a fun trip! Great catch keeping Miss Layla outta the swamp. Now that would have been a fun cleanup had she succeeded. Yowzers!