Back in May, we planned to camp on the Niangua River over Memorial Day weekend but the rain and flooding forced us to cancel. Because I had a deposit at Riverfront Campground and Canoe we decided to try to get on another rafting trip before Savannah started school.
We decided to go down on a Monday instead of a weekend to avoid the party crowds that this river sometimes has. We did not have any issues making the reservations and picked a campsite that looked like we would have good views of the river.
Monday, August 5, 2019
The trip there was uneventful, and the campsite was nice with a concrete pad, but it was a good couple hundred yards from the river. The cartoon picture map that I had looked at on the website did not reflect that. They were also busy mowing the grass which kicked up a lot of bugs that were merciless to us while we set up.
Fantastic Caverns
Since Savannah had never seen a cave, she and Lisa had tried to visit the Fantastic Caverns in the Spring except that it was flooded out. Since they were only about an hour from us, we decided to visit them that afternoon. It was a relatively small cave, that was made even shorter because you did not have to walk any of it. Instead, you are pulled in a trailer by a propane power jeep. Though it had some nice cave formations, most of its popularity stems from its good fortune to be located along Route 66 and a large number of billboards use to advertise it. It was interesting to hear about how it was affected by the flood that Spring.
Lamberts
After the caverns, we decided to eat at Lamberts, the Home of the Throwed Roll. On the weekends, this place is usually packed, but we hoped that since it was a Monday, this place would be less crowded. We guessed right but it took a while to get there as the highway was shut down along the way for construction.
It was late when we got back to the trailer, so we just settled in for the next day of rafting.
Tuesday, August 6, 2019
The float on the Niangua River was great. The weather was perfect and the river was flowing well enough that I had to paddle very little. This river had a lot of turtles so we spent a lot of time trying to sneak up to them for closer looks.
That evening, I bought some firewood from the campground but it ended up being too wet to stay lite so I was unable to get a campfire started. While I played with the fire, we saw some storm clouds rolling in which created a beautiful sunset. After taking some pictures of the sunset at the campsite, Lisa and Savannah wandered down by the river to explore and take some more pictures.
Wednesday, August 7, 2019 – Springfield, MO
The next morning, the weather was forecasted to be stormy at noon with thunderstorms so we decided that we would forgo rafting and do some touring of Springfield.
Springfield 66 Tourist Information Center
This was just a quick stop to visit and hopefully get some information for our fall trip that will follow Route 66. Unfortunately, they did not have much there other than some cute displays. They did give us a good recommendation for lunch and dinner as well as some information about the various roads used by Route 66 through Springfield.
College Street Cafe
Next to a Route 66 Car museum on the original route for 66 was a small 1950’s diner where we decided to eat lunch. We ate up at the counter which added to its novelty.
Johnny Morris Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium
One of the top attractions in Springfield is the Wonders of Wildlife which is a not-for-profit educational conservation-themed attraction located adjacent to the Bass Pro Shops National headquarters and is named for the Bass Pro Shops’ founder. It is divided into two major sections: the aquarium and the wildlife museum.
The aquarium boasts 350,000 square feet filled with over a mile of trail that passes by over 800 species of live fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and more. The Wildlife Galleries contain displays of stuffed animals from all parts of the world as well as some Native Indian and famous hunters. There is even a small display area of the race cars that Bass Pro sponsored. The Aquarium was definitely the favorite, especially when we discover a Manatee petting pool at the end.
Route 66 Steak and Shake
For dinner, we decided to go to Route 66 Steak and Shake. This particular Steak and Shake was built in 1962 along former U.S. Highway 66 and has essentially been unchanged since then. Of course, we had some shakes after our meal!
On our way home we saw a beautiful sunset in our rearview mirror.
Thursday, August 8, 2019 – Trip Home
The trip home was uneventful and we were able to get Savannah back home around 5 pm.