Trans-Missouri Trail S Ride Report

11 Jun Trans-Missouri Trail S Ride Report

Day 2

By 6:32am, we were loaded back up and ready to roll.. it was cloudy with no raining but we decided to keep the rain gear so we wouldn’t have to stop if it started. Just a few miles later.. looky here.. the sun came out!!!!!

Oh.. no.. wait, my bad. That’s just Aaron… I think he took a bug square in the face shield, seems those things would dodge me, then look back to see what the heck I was, then splat… Aaron would cream ’em good.

To make up some time we hit some country tarmac, the fun twisty kind.. I chased Mr. Sunshine for a while too..

The route takes you on some great country highways that are beautiful and enjoyable to ride. Then there’s the really good stuff! Just south of Bunker, MO the country roads are amazing, winding through the national forest area with lots of creek crossings… well just watch this video recap of this area. This footage is along the Mash Creek & Big Creek area, which joins the Current River. While riding here we ran into a woman and park ranger who were looking for a lost hiker.  From the looks of it, it could of been her husband. Listen closely as Aaron talks with the ranger… I know I’d be pretty scared if I were lost out in this area.

Video Recap #2 : Big Creek

Eminence, MO.

After taking a little “detour” in the Big Creek area, Aaron was getting low on gas so we needed get to Eminence, MO to re-fuel.  We had a MSR bottle for emergency gas & a siphon hose so we weren’t too worried about it. Actually just as we hit Hwy 19, Aaron had to switch to reserve. But we made it, maybe with 1 mile to spare.. haha! 

Eminence was originally founded as a frontier town nestled next to Round Spring but was burned by Union Soldiers during the Civil War in 1863.  Locals believe that it was then moved to the current location after the wagon carrying materials broke down in the spot where the current courthouse stands today. In fact, the town was placed in this position for two reasons. The first is this is the central location in respect to Shannon County. The second reason is this was the only land with a clear deed available at the time and was purchased from Thomas Chilton. (Source)

The area around Eminence is absolutely beautiful! In the heart of the Ozark Scenic River ways, with clear water rivers and creeks like the Jack’s Fork River. One historic site to stop at on this route is Alley Springs Mill, a 100 year old grist mill. This mill used water power to convert wheat into flour. My family camps every year down here and visit the mill. Here’s a couple photos of the mill Aaron and I took on a previous visit.

It’s time to get moving.. but not before crossing this old bridge…

Heading southwest of Eminence, we run Hwy 60 through Mountain View and then to Willow Springs where we stop for gas and food. Aaron and I agreed to not eat any fast food or big chain restaurants on this trip.. so small towns like this brings interesting cafe’s and.. interesting people!

Here in Willow Springs we at at this little cafe…Main Street Cafe.  I got the fried chicken sandwich and Aaron got the grilled version.. along with a huge helping of waffle fries that were awesome!  A few minutes later this older fella comes up to us talking about our bikes and how they are so different nowadays.  We continue to talk with him and sure learned a lot about this fella.. he lived in Colorado for years, was a police officer there and also flew planes. He had dirt bikes up there and rode all over. Living here in Missouri, we learned he has a bus he uses to camp out off and this really old little dirt bike. It was a beauty, wouldn’t you agree! I’m not sure the year but it looks like an old TS-185 from the late ’70s?! If anyone knows more about this little bike, please comment below. It sounded great and he rides it all over the place down here.. It was great talking to this fella, he was very interested in our ride and sure made the visit to Willow Springs memorable.

Just a short few miles southwest of Willow Springs we enter back into the Mark Twain National Forest… and by this time we were ready! We noticed greater elevation changes down here compared to up north. More rocks, clay and high peaks with low hollars.. (they call ’em). The riding was just getting better and better. As I watched us getting closer and closer, I was getting very excited for our next stop. But first we had a few more creek crossings and one that got me a bit scared.. I’ll admit it.. haha!  See for your self…

Video Recap #3 : Up A Creek