'''Missouri''' [http://www.visitmo.com] is a state in the American Midwest and it is known as the ''"Show Me State"''. The name may be pronounced "missouri" or "missouruh", although the latter is very seldom used or heard outside of Missouri.
Regions
Cities
Arrow Rock - Missouri's most historic little town.
Branson - 2nd most visited place in the U.S.
Cape Girardeau
Columbia - College town (Home to MU)
Hannibal - Birthplace of Mark Twain and "The Unsinkable" Molley Brown
Hermann - Wine "capital" of Missouri
Independence - Hometown of Harry S. Truman
Jefferson City – State capital
Joplin
Kansas City – Largest City
Lee's Summit - Where you can't help but smile!
Neosho
St. Joseph - Where the Wild West began
St. Louis - Home to the Arch and so much more!
Sedalia - Scott Joplin's kingdom
Springfield - The "Queen City" of the Ozarks
Washington
Other destinations
'''Mastodon State Historic Site''' Imperial, MO (636) 464-2976 [http://www.mostateparks.com/mastodon.htm]
Ste. Genevieve -- first settlement and oldest brick building still intact today west of the Mississippi River
Lake of the Ozarks [http://www.funlake.com/]
Truman Lake
Table Rock Lake
Wilson's Creek National Battlefield
Ozarks
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail - Between May 1804 and September 1806, 32 men, one woman, and a baby traveled from th[e plains of the Midwest to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. They called themselves the Corps of Discovery
Ozark National Scenic Riverways-- Missouri's only national park consists of the Current, Jack's Fork, and Eleven Point Rivers. This is the best area in the state for an International Backpacker. The park has numerous places to camp. There are many canoe and float trip operators that will provide transportation to and from the river for a reasonable price. While canoeing or floating down the rivers there are many caves that one can explore, but be careful as bats and the occaisional poisionous snake call these home. If you decide to swim in the rivers, be careful and wear some kind of shoe that will stay securely on your feet. The river is full of rocks that are very painful to the feet and the current of the rivers could sweep the shoes right off your feet. It is still a great place to go swimming, especially the Current River. The water on a 6 foot man only rises about neck high in most places and it is spring fed and very cold even on the hottest day. Note: Be prepared if you have an emergency on the river as your cell phone will not work on the river or near it. There are pay phones located at some stores along the river. Bring everything you think you may need. Hospitals are scarce and a good drive to get to in this area.
Montauk State Park - Located approx. 20 miles from either Salem or Licking. The top end of the Current River (not located within the boundaries of the national park). Contains a fish hatchery where you can feed the trout being raised there. Also has a lodge, general store, a full service diner-style reataurant, camping and cabins for rent.
Mark Twain National Forrest - Located in various parts of the state from south central to the east. Features many campgrounds, hiking trails and lakes. Some sites of note: Council Bluffs on Highway DD about 3 miles north of Hwy 32 in Iron County. Features a full campground, beach swimming, boat rentals and concessions. Loggers Lake approx. 10 miles from highway 72 in Bunker, follow signs as this place is not on any kind of paved road. Features everything mentioned above except concessions.
Understand
According to William Least Heat Moon, in ''Blue Highways'', St. Louis is the last Eastern city and Kansas City is the first Western city.
Missouri is known as the ''"Show Me State"''. What that means is a person from Missouri will not believe unless they are shown. The slogan is not an official one, but it does appear on the license plates. It is an endearing statement that people from Missouri say, "I'm from Missouri, you have to Show Me!".
Talk
Most areas of Missouri use the traditional miswestern dialect of english. In the bootheel region, mainly from Sikeston south, the accent of the people has a southern drawl to it.
English is the official language of state business in Missouri by law.
A few town pronunciations:
Rolla (Raw-Luh)
Japan (Jay-Pan)
Hayti (Hay-Tie)
Get in
Many major airlines serve both Kansas City and St. Louis. St. Louis and Kansas city do not offer overseas flights. There are a few flights from these two airports from Mexico and Canada. Springfield, Columbia, Cape Girardeau and Joplin also have airports that provide passenger service. Note: A cab ride from the Kansas City airport to downtown is very expensive, costing 35-40 dollars. There are numerous public busses providing minimal stop service that will take you there for much less. Inquire about schedules before you arrive, it will save you a lot of money. From the St. Louis airport you can take Metrolink trains into downtown for $3.75 and it includes 1 transfer. The metrolink stops at many popular destinations such as the Delmar Loop, Forrest Park (zoo), Union Station shopping center, Busch Stadium, The Gateway Arch, Lacledes Landing, and the Casino Queen which is located in Illinois. This is a very economical way to get around.
Amtrak service is provided to St. Louis and Kansas City from Chicago. Also trains provide service to St. Louis from San Antonio texas via Dallas and Arkansas, and to Kansas city from Los Angeles. St. Louis has a brand new intermodal station for train and bus passengers is easily accessible to public transportation.
Greyhound and Jefferson Lines bus also serve Missouri and provide regular service to and from many destinations. Jefferson Lines serves Kansas City from Fort Smith, Arkansas, Dallas, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Minneapolis, Fargo, and Winnepeg, Manitoba. Greyhound will bring you in from just about everywhere else. St. Louis is also served by Burlington Trailways from Iowa.
Get around
Numerous interstates and highways cross the state.
Interstate 70 connects St. Louis and Kansas City via Columbia.
Interstate 55 runs from St. Louis along the Mississippi River south towards Memphis. It serves the cities of Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, and Hayti located in the bootheel region.
Interstate 44 runs from St. Louis to Springfield, Joplin, and on into Oklahoma. Most of the route parallels Historic Route 66. It also serves the cities of St. Clair, Sullivan, Rolla, Waynesville/St. Robert/Fort Leonard Wood, and Lebanon.
Interstate 35 runs from Kansas City to the northeast towards Des Moines and to the southwest towards the Kansas suburbs of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area and later on into Wichita, Kansas.
Interstate 29 runs from Kansas City to the northwest towards Omaha/Council Bluffs. The route begins in Downtown Kansas City and parallels US Highway 71 to the north.
Interstate 57 runs a short 20 miles and serves Sikeston and Charleston, then onward to Chicago.
Interstate 64 runs through the St. Louis metro area and ends at I-70.
US Highway 50 runs east-west through the middle of the state. Cities along include: Lee's Summit, Warrensburg, Knob Noster, Sedalia, Jefferson City, and St. Louis. The portion from Sedalia to Lee's Summit is all freeway. There is new freeway being built West of Jefferson City.
US Highway 71 runs north-along the western part of the state from Iowa to Arkansas, and connects Kansas City and Joplin on a 4 lane expressway.
US Highway 60 runs along the southern portion of the state running from Kentucky to Oklahoma. Between Sikeston and Springfield, all but 60 miles is divided highway. West of Springfield, a short connector route (Missouri Highway 360) connects the road with Interstate 44.
US Highway 61 north of the St. Louis area (wentzville)is a four lane highway that is called Avenue of the Saints. It is a combination of highways linked together that will take you to St. Paul Minnesota. Most of this route is open expressway, except for Hannibal. It serves Troy, Bowling Green, and Hannibal.
Other notable well traveled highways include:
US 54 which will take you from I-70 to Jefferson City via an expressway and to the Lake of the Ozarks tourist destination via a four lane highway from there. This is the fastest way to get to these popular destinations from the east (St. Louis, Chicago, Indianapolis).
US 63 is being upgraded in many sections. It cuts pretty much through the middle of the state, north to south. It has a considerable amount of freeway. It serves Kirksville, Macon, Columbia, Jefferson City (all of the aforementioned are on a expressway) Rolla, Houston, Cabool, and West Plains.
US 67 will take you from St. Louis to Poplar Bluff and then onward to Little Rock. This is expressway from Fredricktown to Interstate 55, just south of St. Louis.
US 65 serves as an expressway from Interstate 44 at Springfield to Branson.
MO 7 and 13 provide expressway service from Kansas city to Springfield via Us 71 at Harrisonville.
By train
There is twice daily Amtrak service from St. Louis to Kansas city. Stops include Kirkwood, Washington, Hermann, Jeferson City, Sedalia, Warrensburg, Lee's Summit, and Independence. These trains are tax subsidized with state funds and fares are reasonable. The on-time performance of these trains has improved greatly recently with the building of new sidings as this line has heavy freight traffic. Amtrak Operates 2 other lines, The BNSF line which carries the Southwest Chief only stops in La Plata near Kirksville and then to Kansas City, and the UP line which stops in Poplar Bluff after departing St. Louis. Both of these lines run daily.
By bus
Greyhound runs Interstate 44 from St. Louis to Joplin with stops at Rolla, Fort Leonard Wood/St. Robert, Lebanon, Springfield, and Joplin. They run Interstate 70 from St. Louis to Kansas City, stopping in Columbia and Boonville along with other intermediate stops. Both of these lines stop at the St. Louis airport going either way. They also run Interstate 55 south of St. Louis stopping in Cape Girardeau and Sikeston. Jefferson Lines runs from Kansas City to Joplin and Kansas City to points north. Please check schedules as not all busses stop at all intermediate destinations. Bus travel can be expensive within the state with a ticket from St. Louis to Rolla running $31-$37 dollars for the 1 1/2 hour trip.
See
Do
Hiking, Horseback riding, and floating (canoeing or kayaking) are all popular activities in the Ozarks region whenever the weather is pleasant.
Eat
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Kansas City is known for it's barbeque and it has many different places to choose from. Don't pass this up!!!
St. Louis has a neighborhood known as "The Hill". There are many authentic Italian restaurants to chose from. The Hill is located south of Highway 40 (Interatate 64) and north of Interstate 44 in west St. Louis.
For the rest of the state, expect your typical midwestern fare. Burgers, Steaks, Pork.
Drink
Missouri has some of the most permissive alcohol laws in the country. All types of alcohol are available virtually everywhere including grocery stores, gas stations and even drive up liquor stores are common as Missouri law does not permit dry towns or counties. Open container alcohol in plastic glasses is permitted in the Power and Light district of Kansas City. The Delmar Loop in St. Louis has many bars of many different types and live music is common, especially on the weekends. St. James is home to the St. James Winery. They offer free tours and samples. That area also has various other wineries and they are easily accessible from Interstate 44.
Be sure to visit the Anheuser Busch plant in south St. Louis, they offer tours and free samples. It is very easy to get to from Interstate 55.
Stay safe
Missouri is generally a safe state. However here are a couple of notes:
Follow the guidelines you would normally follow for city safety.
If you are visiting the rivers in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Salem (population 5,000) is the city that most people have to travel through on the way to the rivers and they have 3 lodging facilities, including 1 major national chain. Lock your doors and take anything, and I mean anything you don't want to have stolen from your car inside your room with you. This city has a very high theft rate, especially from automobiles parked in the hotel parking lots. Chances are your stuff will be missing if you leave it in your car overnight. Also lock your car tight and make sure that if you have an alarm it is turned on as a few vehicles have been stolen in the past year.
Get out