McLane Park

A paved trail makes a 1.3 mile loop around this small park. The park has picnic tables, restrooms, and ball fields. 

The trail is accessible but completing the loop requires climbing a hill so wheelchair users may need assistance. We circled it twice because it was so easy. 

The parking lot is large enough for any vehicle.  Park  36.80367, -90.43165

 

Patee House Museum

  A lot has happened in the  Patee House which was built in 1858 as a luxury hotel. The short-lived Pony Express established it’s headquarters on the first floor in 1860. Over the next 26 years the building served as a courtroom during the Civil War, housed the Patee Female College, became a hotel again, housed St. Joseph Female College, became a hotel once again, and finally was converted to the R.L. McDonald shirt factory in 1886. The factory closed in the late 1950s. The building was scheduled for demolition but fortunately was saved by the Pony Express Historical Association which owns and operates the museum today.

   The museum occupies three floors and is filled to the brim with artifacts and exhibits. There’s a stagecoach, wagons, cars, a complete train, a city street is lined with shops, a 1050 pound ball of twine, a carousel, a Pony Express office, and many interesting articles to read. The original hotel rooms on the third floor are furnished as they would have been during different periods and include the rooms of Henry Corbett, a night watchmen at the shirt factory, who died in 1897 when he tumbled over the third floor banister.

 

 

    

 

  The museum is accessible. An elevator accesses the second and third floors. The ramps between levels on the first floor are dangerously steep. Certain types of walkers are not permitted, possibly because of the ramps. A loaner wheelchair is available.

      RVs can be parked on the street in front of the museum. Museum  39.75582, -94.84545

Pomme de Terre State Park

   Two campgrounds, separated by water and almost ten miles of road, are located on fingers of land that extend out into Pomme de Terre Lake. We camped at Hermitage campground because it was closer to our travel route. Both campgrounds have accessible sites. Site 316, pictured above, is paved under the table and fire ring. The table has an extended top, the fire ring has high sides, and there’s a low hook on the lantern post. A gravel parking pad is still in place and we weren’t sure whether we should park on that or on the concrete. We ended up on the concrete because it’s level. The only thing missing is a paved path from the concrete to the road.

    Missouri state parks have very reasonable camping fees. They vary a bit from park to park but Pomme de Terre rates are $11.00 for non-hookup and I think $21.00 for water/electric. The park has a marina, boat ramps, camp stores, two beaches, restrooms, showers, laundry facilities, and dump stations.  Park 37.8843, -93.30625

M & T Farms

   A stone house (renovation in progress with a recent log addition) already stood on the 1800s farmstead that Martha and Tom Blatchford bought to establish their cheese making venture so all they needed was a barn.  The post and beam building that they designed is much more than a barn. The top floor B&B has five bedrooms with private baths and a common sitting area. The ground floor houses the cheese tasting counter and a store selling locally handmade food and other products. Milking and cheese making is done on the level under the store.

    This is a fairly rustic Harvest Hosts site.Turn off of Route 19 onto Route 415 ( Tschappler Road). The farm is about 4 miles in along a graded gravel road which is suitable for RV travel. There are other roads that go to the farm but those roads are narrow, washboard in spots, and have narrow bridge crossings. We arrived at the farm and didn’t see a M & T sign so we thought we missed it. Look for the Brinkman Farmstead B&B sign and the Cool Cow sign. The isn’t very much room to park along the road so turn right onto the dirt driveway that goes around the stone house. The large clearing at the top is the Harvest Hosts RV spot which has a great view of the pastures and cows. Although there is enough room for larger RVs the driveway is narrow and falling in on one side. It may not hold the weight of a heavy RV.

   Martha (the M of M&T) is a wonderful host! She greeted us and told us where to park, then showed us around the store, gave us taste samples of the different cheeses, and answered all of our questions about cheese making and farm life. We bought cheese, a jar of preserves and a large bottle of honey.

   Nothing is really accessible. A rough stone walk goes from the road to a step up at the store patio. The interior of the store is fairly accessible but the cheese counter is very high. Visitors who can manage stairs may check out the B&B rooms and the lower level where the magic happens. Farm  38.39596, -91.52401

Missouri Civil War Museum

   Under the Missouri Compromise of 1820 states would be admitted into the Union in pairs – one free and one slave thus both Maine and Missouri got statehood status in 1820. All states above the Mason Dixon line would be free; all states below the line would allow slavery, however, when it came time to make Kansas and Nebraska states both were above the Mason Dixon line. The Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854  repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed the citizens of each state to vote for freedom or slavery. The act further divided the nation and pushed it closer to civil war.

    During the Civil War Missouri was one of the border states- states that condoned slavery but did not leave the Union - and for a while it even had two rival governments.  Anti-slavery "Free-Staters" from Kansas and pro-slavery "Border Ruffians" from Missouri crossed into their neighboring state to raid, fight, and kill each other. The museum gives a broad overview of the buildup to the war and explores different aspects of life during the war for both soldiers and civilians. Short videos fill in the gaps left by the exhibits which contain many artifacts but fall a little short on information.

   The museum is accessible.

   The parking lot is large enough for RVs but has just one entrance/exit. Visitors who are towing may wish to park along one of the side streets. Museum 38.50619, -90.28419

Mingo National Wildlife Refuge

  Twenty-five thousand years ago the Mississippi River meandered across the southeast corner of Missouri. Seven thousand years later the river had shifted 50 miles east leaving behind a fertile swamp where cypress and tupelo trees grew into vast forests. The T.J. Moss Tie Company started cutting the forests in the late 1880s. and by 1935 most of the trees were gone. In an attempt to create farmland from the now barren swamps, drainage canals were constructed. The swamp of the refuge was hard to subdue and remained opened to indiscriminate logging and hunting, and as a pasture for free range cattle and pigs,

  The Fish and Wildlife Service bought 21,676 acres of Mingo Swamp in 1945 and set about repairing the damage. Most of the native plants and animals have been restored. Today the swamp is home to over 38 species of mammals, 23 species of amphibians, 37 species of reptiles and supports over 250 species of birds.

  The refuge has a visitor center with good exhibits and an eight minute video.  A short trail leads to an overlook.  Another trail goes to the 1 mile Swampwalk Nature Trail. The refuge roads can be walked and some are open for auto touring.

       

  The visitor center and the overlook trail are accessible. The trail from the visitor center to the Swampwalk Trail is not accessible. The Swampwalk Trail is part boardwalk, part asphalt and is accessible but steep where the boardwalk meets the asphalt and one end has wooden cleating. We did not walk/roll on any of the refuge roads but I think they may be too rough for comfort.

  The visitor center parking lot is large enough for RVs. The Swampwalk Trail is small but RVs will fit if it’s not busy. The refuge roads are gravel, in good condition, and passable by any RV.  Refuge   36.9693, -90.15022

 

Greer Crossing Recreation Area

    All 19 sites in this small campground feature large areas of mowed grass surrounded by mature trees and low growing vegetation. They’re widely spaced for good privacy. The picnic area provides kayaking, canoeing, and fishing access to the Eleven Point National Scenic River. There’s also a hiking trail along the river that starts in the campground and a trail to Greer Spring from the parking area about 1 mile south on Route 19. A restored mill can be seen from the road but it’s only opened for special occasions.

        

   All of the sites have tables with extended tops, high sided fire rings, and low hooks on the lantern posts. The ground is hard packed so rolling is easy. The trails are not accessible.

  The sites are large enough for any RV. The parking area for the spring trail is large enough for small RVs.  Campground  36.79394, -91.32968

Harlin Museum

   Like most small town museums this one has many old items donated by local families but it also has a wonderful collection of charcoal drawings by Lennis  Broadfoot.

    Lennis Broadfoot roamed the Ozark hills as a child before leaving to pursue a career as an illustrator which eventually took him to California. He returned home in the 1930s to continue his first love – drawing character sketches of his friends and neighbors. As he drew, his subjects talked of their lives which he carefully noted.

   The sketches were published in a book in 1944.  The museum was fortunate to receive all of the originals which were donated by Broadfoot’s family after his death.

   The museum is minimally accessible. The basement level which has an assortment of stuff can be accessed from a door that opens to the parking lot. The first level, where the sketches are displayed has a ramp, but getting to it is difficult. There isn’t a paved walkway so accessing the ramp involves to push up a grassy hill. We were told that it’s okay to drive on the grass to the ramp.

    RVs will fit in the parking lot.  Museum  36.72668, -91.85495