You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘simple pleasures’ category.
Wikipedia lists Richwoods, Missouri as an “unincorporated community”, not a town. Richwoods was my Friday night destination of choice, and surprisingly, exploring it was a nice distraction from how much I miss my Friday nights in New York City.
Richwoods is in northern Washington County, Missouri. I would tell you what the population of Richwoods is, but “unincorporated communities” are not listed in the US Census.
Seriously though, who cares about population when the town has something much groovier to boast. Richwoods, Missouri is home to a slew of old, run-down, beaten-up fire engines.
Every field in town (yes, every field in town, bizarre as that sounds to my NYC friends) seems to have at least one old fire engine parked in it. My favorite is this Cadillac ambulance, which looks to me like a red version of the Ghostbusters car.
Richwoods Caddy, photo by smalltowngirl
Resuscitator Equipped, photo by smalltowngirl
Richwoods Cadillac, photo by smalltowngirl
****
Richwoods, Missouri is located between Sullivan and Hillsboro, Missouri, in Washington County, on Highway A/Y, off of Missouri Highway 47.
On Sunday afternoon, I took a walk through downtown Farmington, Missouri. There was practically no automobile traffic, and there was even less pedestrian traffic.
Downtown Small Town, Missouri still shuts down on Sundays.
As I walked down Main Street, the occassional driver passing by in their truck or car craned their necks to stare…
What is that woman taking pictures of? I imagined them wondering as they gazed through their windsheild at me with my digital SLR.
If only they’d get out of their cars and take a walk, maybe they’d begin to discover the beauty in their own small Missouri town. Until then, this smalltowngirl is trying to capture it for them, one black and white photo and one Small Town, Missouri blog at a time.
I posted photos earlier this summer of my fledgling garden:
May Garden, photo by smalltowngirl
The garden now bears little resemblance to that tiny garden I started with in May. The tomato plants and berry bushes are as tall as I am, which isn’t saying much, of course.
The trellice you see in the photo is for the zuccini, squash and cucmber, all of which grew very quickly at first, before falling victim to an unidentified bug infestation.
Harvest, photo by smalltowngirl
I’m harvesting 5-6 good-sized tomatoes each day, and have made both homemade salsa and homemade tomatoe sauce this weekend as a result. This bowl of tomatoes is two days’ harvest:
Harvest, photo by smalltowngirl
My salsa was lovely, and my pizza wasn’t bad, either. I used a pre-made whole wheat crust, with garden tomatoes, mushrooms, seasonings, and cheese (I didn’t have mozerella, so this I used what I had, which was cheddar jack).
Homemade Pizza, photo by smalltowngirl
I can say with all honesty that planting a garden was one of the best things I did for myself all summer. I’ve loved watching the garden grow throughout the summer, from several tiny plants to huge plants standing taller than my 5’4″ head.
Harvesting vegetables from the garden brings such satisfaction, and eating what I harvest is the best part! There’s nothing like cooking a meal based on what my garden gives me each day. Life is good, friendly readers. Life is good.
One of the best parts of living back in Small Town, Missouri is having a dog again. I love New York City, but a 200 square-foot apartment is no place for a dog to live.
Today was my family dog’s monthly grooming appointment. Each time she’s groomed, she comes home in a new bandana with bows in her ears. Today’s bandana and bows make her look like a living, breathing, weiner dog candy cane.
She’s not a girly dog, and I think this month’s candy cane doggy ‘do has her bummed out.
Poor pupster…
Candy Cane Dog, photo by smalltowngirl
On Friday night, I went to my first Relay for Life in ten years or so.
My week was lousy. Work was indescribably stressful, and by Friday night I was ready for a stiff drink or a little bit of self-pity. When my friend Mandi called to invite me to Relay, I have to admit, it wasn’t at the top of my list of things I was dying to do.
However…The Relay for Life put my “lousy” week in perspective.
I was humbled by the cancer survivors as they walked the first lap of the night, many of them likely still under treamtment. I was also reminded of the years before we lost my grandma to cancer.
It was a great reminder of my family’s strength during my grandma’s fight with lung cancer. It made me thankful for my healthy family, and it reminded me that life’s too short not to have a little fun….Even on Friday night after the week from h e double hockey sticks.
So on that note, I present you with smalltowngirl, having a little fun at her small town’s annual Relay for Life:
Posing with KISS for Fifty Cents, photo by Mandi
Luckily for Missourians, one of the world’s tallest rocking chairs calls our fair state its home.
Do Not Climb, photo by smalltowngirl
This 42′ 4″ rocker sits only a few miles off of I-44 in Cuba, Missouri, so I made a small detour yesterday on my way home from Jefferson City to check it out.
My happy posture in the following photo is evidence of my excitement over the gigantic rocker (and of the immense pleasure I find in ridulously simple things):
Itsy Bitsy smalltowngirl, photo by Saca
On August 1st, the Cuba, Missouri Fire Department will bring a bucket truck to the giant rocker so that tourists can sit upon it. I may have to go back again on the 1st to take advantage of this quintessential small town girl photo opp.
The Route 66 Rocker is located on ZZ Highway, just west of Cuba, Missouri. The Rocker can be accessed by taking Exit 203 from Interstate 44.
I’ve lived in New York City, so it should go without saying that I’m hurting for good food in St. Louis.
Or should it?
At Friday night’s #stl #tweet-up, @Tojosan and @MattHomann, determined to convince me that St. Louis isn’t just BBQ and steak, drafted a list for me of the best restaurants and bars in St. Louis. Here’s what they came up with: (note: their original list has been extended to include more recommendations from friends reading this blog and following me on twitter).
33 (wine bar)
Absolulty Goosed
Bailey’s Chocolate Bar
The Bleeding Deacon (for good bar food)
Boogaloo’s (Maplewood)
Farotto’s (great lasagna!)
Franco
Frazier’s Brown Bag
Grazzi’s (The Hill)
Hodak’s (for fried chicken)
Iron Barley
La Vellasana
Niche
Olympia (Greek – try the flaming cheese!)
Pi
Porch (store)
Ravanelli’s (Collinsville, IL)
Red Sea (Ethiopian)
Venice Cafe
Do you think my twitter friends have omitted great St. Louis restaurants? Leave me a comment, and I’ll add your suggestion to my list!
Yesterday, I went for a hike in St. Charles County, Missouri. I usually hike in Washington, St. Francois and Ste. Genevieve Counties, so hiking futher north was a fun change of pace.
The landscape in the St. Louis area is generally flatter than it is even sixty or seventy miles further south, making this Southeast Missouri girl qualify this “hike” as a scenic walk in the woods.
There were a few hills and rocky places, but for the most part, the trail was flat and even. Much of the nine miles of trail is lined with gravel and clear of overgrowth. Other segments of the trail are covered in thick, low-lying weeds, though, so be sure and use tick repellant if you plan to walk this trail.
This would be a great trail for walking dogs, or for exercise if you live in the St. Charles area. Much of the trail would even be nice for trail running. Based on my experience researching the trail and hiking it yesterday, it seems that Lost Valley is geared (haha, I crack myself up) primarily for mountain biking.
Photo credit: Gateway Off-Road Cyclists
The Lost Valley Trail is a 9-mile hiking and mountain biking loop inside Weldon Springs Conservation Area on Route 94, south of US 40/I-64.
The parking lot and trail head are easy to miss. Use the St. Charles County Police Training Area as your point of reference; the Lost Valley Trail is the next turn-off on the right.
For more information on Lost Valley and other St. Louis area mountain biking trails, visit Gateway Off-Road Cyclists.
I visited Caledonia, Missouri, population 158, this afternoon.
The weather, a muggy 113 degree heat index, was stereotypical of a Missouri summer afternoon. I parked my car along the side of the road and stepped out into a blanket of heat.
My first stop was Old Village Mercantile. Dated “Post-1909″, the Mercantile building is among the many in Caledonia on the National Register of Historic Places.
I’ll do another post about the store itself, but this post is all about the fun discovery I made on the second floor of the mercantile; a room filled with old hats, gloves, purses, antique wedding gowns, and more. In short, this room was like a giant, antique, little girl’s stage for playing dress up.
So what did this big girl do?
Funny Blue Hat, photo by and of smalltowngirl
Funny Peach Hat, photo by and of smalltowngirl
Funny Yellow Bonnet, photo by and of smalltowngirl
Life’s short, and you’ve gotta have some fun. There’s plenty of amazing history in Caledonia, and I’m planning to tell you more about that history another day.
For tonight, I encourage you to take time to try on silly hats.
If all goes as planned, I will leave my office at 1:30 tomorrow afternoon and drive to Caledonia, Missouri, a village of less than 200 people, located on Hwy 21 south of Potosi, Missouri.
In researching Caledonia tonight, it seems like I’ll find more to explore and photograph than I’d originally expected.
Turns out, Caledonia, celebrating its 190th anniversary in 2009, is home to the oldest continually operating church and cemetery west of the Mississippi River.
I’m looking forward to checking out the town’s Greek Revival Architecture; to getting ice cream at the old mercantile; walking the tiny community; and exploring the cemetery.
Did I mention that my day will end with a glass of wine in Caledonia’s “Wine Cottage”?
Check back tomorrow night!
