Southern Missouri Vacation, Part I

We have returned from an extended family vacation with Becky's side of the family from Southern Missouri, where we stayed in Saint Louis, MO at a hotel one night, and then traveled on to Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park.

Our first full day, we visited the St. Louis Zoo, a free exhibit for our families, but a hot, hot day.  We had to walk a ways to the entrance.  I loved the zoo, and would love to go back with Brian and I's family again someday.  St. Louis is a beautiful city with lots of history, architecture, and family activities.  Brian would have liked to attended a Cardinals game, but hopefully someday we can go back again.

Brian was a trooper, carrying hot little boys through the exhibits.  The penguin exhibit, at 45 degrees, was the best.

Ezra has an obsession with navigation, needing to know where we are at at all times.  He held onto the map a good part of the time.  I'm not really sure it made any sense to him, so I'm puzzled as to why he needed it.

It didn't take long for the kids to lose the shirts.  It was HOT.

Here he is trying to convince John about our location.  John would rather look at the elephants.

Ezra tries to be more convincing.  Cousin John is thinking about how itchy his poison ivy is in this heat.

Ezra doesn't get the hint.  John itches his nose.

John leaves to see the animals.  Ezra contemplates his location in the zoo.

An orange IOWA water hydrant, usually seen on farm yards, but here disguised with green paint and a twisted rope, used to water animals at the zoo. 

I didn't know bamboo would grow in the midwest!  It was nearly 25-30 foot tall, and planted all the way around the zoo as a wall.  Cool!

After St. Louis we made our way, 2.5 more hours south and found our campground.  Pulling in, we probably looked like trouble from the get go.

The first evening we visited the Shut-ins park, rock bottom rivers, to cool off.  We walked to this spot, kind of thinking it was rather normal looking to be so advertised....

Then we traveled further down the river and found the unique rock formations that Shut-Ins is known for.

It felt really dangerous at first, with the slippery rocks, and little kids everywhere, but after the first night we got used to it.  I'll have more pictures of the rocks later, when we went back!

To be continued...