Riding your horse in the National Forests

Riding your horse in the National Forests

The Mark Twain National Forest has hundreds of miles of trails for horseback riders and hikers.
They are sometimes very rugged, hilly, and rivers to cross. They have nine different units to visit.

Depending on the time of year that you choose to go they have all kinds of things to see and you can pick wild fruit and berries along the way. There is always some wild life to see.

The only rules you have are to stay on the marked trails and the wood roads, do not take short cuts.
There is a fourteen-day limit to camping. You can make campsites in the National Forest if you get at least 200 feet from any water supply.
You are not allowed to build a fire ring. You can use a portable grill if you have one, but be very careful with the fire.

Please keep your campsite clean and leave it cleaner than you found it.

To get more information on the trails and the National Forests visit your closest forest service.
They have maps of the trails and information about weather and any updates. During wet weather some trails are not passable.

One particular trail is the Chadwick motorcycle trail. Getting there- take Hwy 125 south of Chadwick turn west on Hwy H to the Camp Ridge area.
Camp Ridge and Cobb Ridge campgrounds. These two campgrounds have 8 camping spurs with picnic table and in-ground grill. There is a restroom but no water or electric is available.
There is also a picnic ground and day use area parking area at both campgrounds.

These are motorcycle trails, but hiking and horses are allowed if you don’t mind the occasional biker. Your horse must not be afraid of the motorcycles. If you can ride with your horse there is 125 miles of trails. The maps show some trails where the horse can be watered.

So get up and ride. Enjoy the day.

Pot Luck for dinner - Chili

Some times we go on trail rides with a group and we usually have a pot luck dinner one night. Here is a favorite recipe of mine. It usually is all gone at the end of the day.

What you will need:
Hamburger, onion, chopped
Green pepper, chopped, garlic, minced
Chili powder, two big cans of tomatoes
Two big cans of Red Kidney Beans 8 oz. can tomato sauce

Brown the hamburger and break it in very small pieces. Add the onion and green pepper and garlic, let it all brown together.
You can drain the kidney beans but you don't have too. Add the beans and tomatoes and the tomato sauce to the meat. Add chili powder to taste- I usualluy use about 1 1/2 tablespoons. Cover it and let it simmer all day.
This is nice when you use the solar cooker mentioned in an earlier post. Set it in the cooker and it will be nice and hot when dinner is ready.

Slabtown Trail Rides

Slabtown Trail Rides


This is a fairly new campground, only opened in 2008. It is a nicely shaded area.

Gregg Cook is the owner and would like you to come out and enjoy the scenic trails through the National Forest. Gregg’s property joins the Mark Twain National Forest and the Paddy Creek Wilderness area and the Big Piney Trail. There is a total of 50 miles plus trails to ride.

It is recommended to call for a reservation.

They have 20 campsites all with well water and electric, each has a 30-amp service. There are picnic tables and fire pits at each campsite.

They have one cabin for rent and it is in a shaded private area. More cabins are in the future.

There is a centrally located shower house and restrooms. The shower house has a private dressing room, there are mirrors and electric outlets.

campsite

There are 50 stalls each is 10’ X 71/2’ and lighted. Your horses must be kept in the stalls. Bring your own water bucket for your horse. No stallions are allowed. Kicking horses must be marked.

Stalls

Wood for your fire pit and sawdust for your stall is available for a small charge.

Dogs are allowed, they must be kept on a leash and are not allowed on the trails.

I have not included prices here because the book may outlast the prices. But he is very reasonable and you will enjoy the time there. Visit their website www.slabtowntrails.com or
email them at slabtowntrails@gmail.com

The new camper and its problems

The first trip is always the most memorable.


The first trip is always the best one in a new camper. We always end up with some problems.

This time we left on Friday night and headed for Scranton Iowa for a school reunion- as told before.

We stopped at a rest area on our way and we found that the door was not hooked tight enough, some of my things went out the door. I had some potholders and dishcloths on the table and they were not in sight. The food that I had in the refrigerator fell out and on the floor. Nothing broke though.

We got up to Kirksville, MO and it started to rain so bad that Bruce could not see the road. So we tried to find the first place to stop at a campground. The State Park was full and they told us that our rig was too big to stay there anyway. So we found a campground just up the road from the State Park.

When we pulled into the campground no one was around so we just took the first open spot we could find. It was a very nice place except that it was raining so badly. We hurried to get into the camper we did not even level it out. The rain was coming in one window- it was raining inside as bad as it was outside. So I put down a pot to catch the water and towels to dry the floor.

We managed to get into bed with no further problem. Not being level we were sleeping a little up hill but it was fine.

The next morning we got up and on our way with no new problems. Still, no one was around so we had to pay the “box” for our night of camping. They had an honor system if you come in late and leave early.

We did not cook in the camper until we stopped Saturday night at the campground in Iowa. The stove and everything works just fine. The water has a leak near the water tank and we will have to have it fixed.

The air conditioner and all other things work good. So we did not make to bad a deal. It is worth fixing up.


This is the kitchen table, it has a booth type setting.  It is really cute.

Visiting the fair

Visiting the fair


The week of the fourth we attended the Laclede County Fair on three different nights. The fair is always an interesting place to visit. I went into the Mills center to see the displays and entries for judging. It is always nice to see the amount of time and effort children and people spend in making different items. It is also interesting to see the different ways to make use of some items. The quilts were beautiful this year.

Then we went to the cattle-judging event. One boy talks to his steer to keep it quiet and they all scratch the belly of the animals.

On another night the truck and tractor pull is a big event. Some small and some huge tractors pull the weight wagon to see who can pull the most the farthest.

And one new event this year was a cannonlady being shot out of a cannon mounted on a truck. This was fun and interesting to watch. The woman is Jennifer, she is 34 years old and has been doing this since she was 14.  She has been flying for 19 years.
Her father holds the Guinness World record for distance in the same event. Her father built the cannon for her and one for her sister. The cannon is 28 feet long and she flies about 45 feet high and about 65 feet out into a net.
She moved here from Salem Oregon to be more centrally located to travel the US to do her shows.
It was nice to watch but I don’t think I would like to even try it. The noise of the cannon is loud. Here are some pictures of her and the truck and net.

the truck

Jennifer going to get inside the cannon.

after the flight.

Going camping with your horse

Getting ready to go camping with your horse can be quite a chore.


We have a camping quarters trailer and so it is usually already loaded with the basic needs of the camp. It can hold the water for the horses and for our use. We have a port a potty not a regular toilet in the trailer and we have a cowboy shower in the back of the horse trailer. We have a chuck wagon style kitchen for our cooking and it makes it a lot of fun except when it’s raining.

You have to know how long you may be gone and plan from there. You will need feed and hay for the horses, and most places don’t want you to bring in weeds in your hay. Either make sure it is clean hay or that it is all cleaned up when you leave. The hay and grain take up more room than all of our gear.

We always make sure we have vet wrap and fly spray in the tack room along with a variety of cut and heal products for any wounds that might occur. We carry the new rubber shoes for a lost steel shoe. The saddles and saddle blankets, saddle pads and all the reins and bits and bridles are all checked before we leave on a trip, and we usually take an extra one in case one gets broken.

Now, when you get all the horse items done check for your weekend clothes and food for yourselves.
It may rain so you must plan on extra clothes and shoes or boots in case you get wet. Also you might take a sweater or light jacket for cool nights. If you are taking children check for toys and games to help them enjoy the time.

One more thing that we carry is fuel for our generator.  We do not always use the generator but if we are gone for a week or so we will use it.
Whew! Now you can go and hopefully enjoy the weekend or the week’s vacation ahead of you.

God Bless and stay in the saddle.

Roaring River State Park

Roaring River State Park

Roaring River does not have horse trails. It has hiking and biking trails only. There are seven trails with about 10 miles in length. There are 184 campsites. The campsites are from basic to electric. Some of the campsites can be reserved in advance. For more information call 417-847-2539.

There is a park store, ten cabins to rent, and a restaurant and gift shop.

There is also the very nice Emery Melton Inn and Conference Center with 26 guestrooms and meeting rooms. There are duplex and fourplex units also available.

There are covered picnic shelters, shower rooms and a swimming pool. You can enjoy the nature center and programs that they offer.

As with most of Missouri’s state parks this is a very nice and clean park. There are fishermen in the streams and people on the trails and just walking around the fish pools. It is spread out along the stream.

This is another trout raising hatchery. They have several pools of different size trout. The spring behind the hatchery supplies the water.
This park is down in the southwest part of Missouri near Cassville. It is just off Hwy 76 that goes into Branson. It is rugged, hilly country.