We’ve now got the Mingo Swamp Friends 2012 Photo Contest Winners online. Many good photos this year. Jo’s favorite is the one of the bald eagle and the eaglets. Congratulations to all the winners.

By Jo Schaper
There are two kinds of autumn days; the brilliant, almost garish sunny days when the sunlight pouring down out of a glassy blue sky about blinds the senses. The fall trees, with leaves already thinning and turning loose, break out in a sheer riot of clashing color
We’ve had enough of those this fall. [...]

Traveler just recently received word that one of our featured photographers, Harry Bertrand, Jr., passed away on May 1st. Bertrand, 59, was a lifelong horticulture instructor at Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center, a military veteran, and active in the Boy Scouts of America, the FFA, and the American Nurserymen.
Bertrand’s photography so impressed [...]

If you are a Missouri angler, this is a quick reminder that fishing permit and small game permits will expire February 29th. Yes, you get a whole extra day to renew your permit, a process better explained at the MDC site. You may buy a new permit online or in person from one of the [...]

Call it an accident, a quick stop in the road, or our messed up compass, but a few weeks back Ryan and I discovered Thompson Ford Access.

Just west of Fredericktown, Mo on County Road 503 sets another one of those hidden treasures in Missouri. I am absolutely disgusted with myself! I know I [...]

Both Emery and Jo spend a fair amount of time on the road, covering stories and meeting with advertisers in our region. We see our share of deliberate and unintended roadside humor.
Today, Jo was coming back from Steelville, passing through the town of Sullivan on I-44, when she did a doubletake, then had to [...]

Jo would like you all to look at this picture and tell her how this happened.
I know, it’s a mutation. I’ve seen enough brown eyed Susans to know what they’re supposed to look like. But…how does this happen? Please let Traveler know by commenting online, or via Facebook post.
The flower is growing in [...]

UPDATED: The 2011 Mingo Swamp Photo Contest entry deadline has been moved to AUGUST 1.
The deadline, usually in July, has been moved back a month because of flooding in April and May. Contest co-chair Aaron Horrell said they decision was made because the park had been off limits due to flooding which prevented [...]

UPDATED: The Traveler Outdoor Photo Contest entry deadline has been extended to Labor Day.
It’s been raining a lot around here. A lot of our people have been dealing with various aspects of inclement weather, and the resulting cleanup. It’s hard to think about photo contests under those circumstances. When we set the date in early [...]

Local Automotive Technician and Engine Machinist
Receive Recognition
Eminence, MO – Park Superintendent Reed E. Detring recognized Jeff and Karen Wade, owners of Elm Street Garage in Mountain View, Missouri for their dedicated efforts to restore the mill in operating condition during the Alley Mill Grand Opening Event on Friday, May 6, 2011.

L to R: [...]