Most of the time Traveler seriously discusses important outdoors issues, how to enjoy the outdoors, true, and sometimes barely believable stories, or just interesting information about the Southeast Missouri outdoors and items related to recreation or the environment in Missouri.
Sometimes we like a good windy, too.
Jo would like to know how the staff [...]

by Jo Schaper
My first grape harvest is in, and I ate the whole thing in one sitting. All five Concord grapes. I couldn’t be more pleased.
By August, serious farmers and side yard gardeners have one thing in common: they talk a lot about the weather and the prospects and results of the harvest.
Talking [...]

Traveler readers have always known the benefits of being outside. Apparently some microbiologists think they have evidence that it can make you smarter as well. Why not try it and see? We’d love to hear your results. – Jo.
Can Playing in the Dirt Make You Smarter?
Linda Buzzell
If you need yet another good reason to convince [...]

Between Emery and Jo, Traveler gets at least a half a dozen news releases a day from which we select items (or not) considering the interests of our online and print readers.
Jo just couldn’t pass up this one from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, since the story managed to combine Jimmy Buffett, Gulf [...]

Hmmph! At least that guy from the Army Corps said we are intelligent, even if they want us to go back to eating uncooked minnows and berries, and not potato chips and powdered donuts. It’s not safe to eat raw crawdads anymore…I read that in the newspaper by the picnic table, too. Lock stuff up [...]

his is a little off-topic, but in the interest of accurately conceptualizing the Gulf oil leak, I thought a few real-world examples of “just how much oil is that?” might help.
To visualize the Gulf oil leak:
1 barrel of oil = 42 gallon milkjugs.
Actual measured crude captured: 648,000 milkjugs per day = 2000 milkjugs [...]

This is a little off the wall for Traveler, but it does happen here and it is outdoors.
What started out as an informal graveling meet called the Trespassers Wil (after the sign in Winnie the Pooh and later upgraded in name to the 100 Acre Wood Road Rally) about twenty five years ago, runs the [...]

by Jo Schaper
Never trust wily raccoons with a digital camera.
The last few weeks have been busy at the Traveler office–processing gift subscriptions, renewals, book orders, and working to organize and produce Missouri Guides and Outfitters for 2010. Office staff have been focused on the nuts and bolts of Traveler business, and we never noticed the [...]

Did your dog use Traveler as a chew toy? Do you need an extra copy for a friend? We’ve just gone through and entirely updated the Traveler online news stand list. If you are anywhere in Traveler Country…southeast, south central or St. Louis metro Missouri… there is bound to be somewhere you can buy a [...]

by Jo Schaper
According to the Wildlife Code, it’s illegal to shoot deer from the road.
Lucky for Eugene and me, that admonition does not include a Canon G9 with a 2-gigabyte card. Saturday November 28, with admirably crisp late fall weather, we went to Salem on business, and unwilling to waste the day, stopped by Maramec [...]