Today, I am your travel guide. Don’t worry, it isn’t going to cost you much money or take you very long, so you won’t have to use all of your vacation days or fake an illness. (Though I’ve always thought a mental health day in the fall when the temperature is in the 70s should be allowed.)
First, you are going to watch a new documentary, Rivertowns: 100 miles, 200 years, Countless Stories on the NineNetwork. It premiered Sept. 26, so by the time you read this, it will be in regular rotation. It’s based on the book Growing Up with the River written by my friends Connie and Dan Burkhardt. They have a love of nature that is opposite my view that everything is best viewed behind the safety of bullet-proof glass. Anyway, over the years, because of their encouragement, I’ve taste-tested vodka in New Haven at the Pinckney Bend Distillery, shot a musket at Daniel Boone’s house in Defiance, watched corn-cob pipes being made in Washington, and eaten the best hamburger of my life in Treloar, all a stone’s throw from the Missouri River.
Before, my knowledge of the Missouri River and its towns was miniscule. I am embarrassed to say that before I went to Daniel Boone’s home, I assumed he was a fictional character played by Fess Parker on TV. The truth is, Missouri has a unique and wonderful history, and I’m not lying when I say without this state, no one would be drinking wine.
Once you watch the movie, you will want to visit the towns featured. The best way to do that is via the Katy Trail. I always am surprised when I find people who don’t know about the trail, especially since I have been on it countless times and I don’t particularly like nature (and have to carry an Epipen ‘just in case’ I come into contact with a bee). The Katy Trail is 240 miles, perfect for riding or walking, and in most places, it hugs the Missouri River. Ted and Pat Jones provided the initial funding for the trail
back in the late ‘80s after Ted rode on a similar kind of trail in Wisconsin. I had the good fortune of knowing Ted because I worked for years with him at Edward Jones. Ted was a force, both in the workplace and outside of it, and he loved nature more than anyone I’ve ever known. He lived in Callaway County and commuted to St. Louis every day. Sadly, he passed away far too young, about six months after the trail opened in 1990, but Edward Jones continues to support the trail in his honor.
Now that you are on the trail, I want you to pick any one of the many trail heads to start your journey, but of course, I have one suggestion as a ‘must stop,’ and that is Treloar. Besides having one of the best hamburgers at Treloar Bar & Grill, there is a new photo stop for you and your friends. Connie and Dan recently bought the Treloar Mercantile Building and, sadly, a dead elm tree had to be removed. It has been sculpted into an ear of Missouri field corn as a tribute to the nearby crops. It is one of a kind! (Well, unless you go to Dublin, Ohio, where they have a field of cement corn stalks—yuck!) So take the day off and enjoy a little bit of Missouri. Email me if you need a note for your boss.
Contact Patty at phannum@townandstyle.com.
