I got to head off into a section of Missouri I rarely get to go to anymore these days. The land South of the Missouri river in between Jefferson City and Washington, Missouri that sits North of Hwy 50. It's some amazingly beautiful country. Rugged hills and impassable ridges full of small hay fields tucked in here and there and lots of cattle. Every so often as you get close to one of the small rivers or large creeks that meander through the area and the hills will push away and show you a large old flood plain filled with dried corn stalks or stubble this time of year. The small lettered highways all showed signs of spilled corn kernels scattered across them like pea gravel.
Like the rest of the Ozark Highlands South of this area those hills would prove impenetrable to refugees and foot traffic. While it would take someone with a courageous heart to head off walking down these back roads with no knowledge of where you will end up.
The small towns you come across have names like Frankenstein or Hermann attesting to the German stock that settled this area in the early 1800's.
While I am well acquainted with the land just across the river from this area it's been several years since I bothered to roam on the South side. Things have changed a bit on one hand but then not so much on the other.
Still as I eye the area from the viewpoint of a prepper I have to admit it would be a perfect place to ride out our never ending slow decline. Rugged country easily defended. Small towns with a lot of history and intermarriage with limited access along narrow roads. Certainly no shortage of wood for fuel and enough open land for agriculture as well. Wide streams and rivers for boat transportation and easy trade if it ever got re-established and a good supply of fish.
My Grandfather used to prospect for clay deposits through out this area when I was a child. He worked for a brick company back then and used to take me with him sometimes during his trips. Many of the little small ponds you see all over started out as clay deposits which were mined back then.
Of course it is downwind and downstream from a Nuke plant.
Otherwise it would be perfect.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!
such beautiful country. I bet the people are just as rugged as the land. Have a safe trip, and enjoy the scenery.
ReplyDeleteJuGM - They certainly seem resilient. Many of them travel long distances for jobs in nearby larger cities which means they will go through some changes as things decline more I imagine.
DeleteLooks good country, reminds me a bit of Herefordshire.
ReplyDeleteKev - I am amazed at how much like Europe in general some of these areas are becoming too. I lived in Germany for a while and traveled around Europe but back then Missouri was just wild compared to the European countryside. After another 30 years of grooming however many places are starting to get that more ordered and pastoral look. The main difference I see is that the heavily forested areas seem to be larger here but they are working on that too.
DeleteYeah patches of woodland can be quite small but there's no shortage of them around here - shooting is big business and pheasants need cover so no chance of loosing the little coppices just yet on the big estates.
DeleteKev - I don't know about Great Britain but in Germany the forests they had were almost exclusively Pines and well could only be described as orderly. Even the trees in the supposed forests looked positively lined up and planted in rows. There were a few hardwoods here and there that looked wild but certainly nothing like the miles and miles of just trees and underbrush you would see here.
DeleteUnderbrush is another thing. I never saw such out of control underbrush in Europe like I see here. I always assumed it was because it was cleared out but these days I think in Europe they run more Sheep and other livestock that just eat it all. After letting my sheep have some wild areas they cleaned it out pretty good.
These days there are so many more views like the one in the pic and they show dozens of small houses and farms all over. It really is starting to look more and more European.
My wife's from Washington, MO, and we lived there for a few years. Her mother still lives there, too. It's a beautiful area.
ReplyDeleteRP - I used to have a client in Washington and would travel up Hwy 94 along the North shore of the river constantly. Not since my teens have I roamed the South side much. Back in those days I used to say I could talk to a girl from down there a few minutes and then tell you which town she lived near. I had a high rate of accuracy too. Used to impress em :)
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ReplyDeleteSorry about the test post, I bought a new iPad and I was having trouble signing in to comment. Anyway, my thinking on the lack of underbrush in Europe is because there have been large numbers of people living there for centuries. When one needed a small amount of wood for cooking or heat, it would often be easier to just pick up small limbs and branches off of the ground rather than taking an axe or crosscut saw and taking down an entire tree. No chainsaws or tractors remember!
ReplyDeleteSD - I used to kinda think that might be it. I certainly would say that is why there was little dead wood laying around on the forest floor but around there it was like they didn't get any nettles, large stuff like ragweed and crap like that either.
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