A sunny break in the cold got us out and about in the direction of West Plains, Missouri. In a quick stop by the old town square, we perused a used bookstore called Book Nook , with an enormous collection of mostly paperbacks and then grabbed fresh, brewed coffee at 10 / 40 Coffee.
We headed about 15 miles south of West Plains, taking smaller, county roads that had farms, gorgeous views and seemed a bit precarious, even on a sunny day. We saw wild turkeys crossing the road in front of us, so many calves (’tis the season) and cattle. One majestic bull, perched atop a hill, silhouetted against the sun, overlooked his herd.
I often wonder how much stocking up one would require to live comfortably on these roads, or maybe just less trepidation from a former city girl who is still nervous around steep hills with red clay mud and low bridges that require crossing through moving water. From trailers and modest homes, to opulent abodes with landscaping and pools, to farms, and a large variety of vehicles, everyone living there seemed like their roads were business as usual.
We arrived at Archie and Gracie Vanderhoef Memorial State Forest, near the tiny town of Moody, Missouri. Gauging by the parking lot (with a privy), we were the sole visitors to the 140 acre forest, at the time. The Missouri Department of Conservation manages so many miles of parks, that one can’t really complain about upkeep unless the trails are overgrown. The .9 mile loop at this park/forest was in pretty nice shape. It comes out along the West Fork Spring Creek with a nice, high lookout a few stories up and then the trail goes right down along the banks of the river.
Since it was February, most of the trees were leafless and brown, other than a few evergreens. One tree however, stood out as the lone, green leafed tree. The Conservation Department’s website cited the park as having Burr Oak and Black Oak trees, but neither of these stay green year round. There was some rock work along the path that looked like a decent attempt to mimic what the Civilian Conservation Corp did in other parks.
While the park website mentions hunting of deer, bear, turkey, rabbit and squirrel, we only saw deer and raccoon tracks; I was okay with that. When we first arrived there was a beautiful hawk circling overhead, it’s shadow passing over and over. We also were fortunate to get to hear owls calling back and forth, as we walked.
It takes a good half of the loop before the flowing river appears and in calmer spots, gorgeous, lighter blue water hints at springs. There are pretty, wooden bridges on the way in and the path opens to a large field on the way out.
After walking, we headed back to Springfield, via a more direct route and went to Wages Brewery and Taproom, which opened as the first craft brewery in West Plains, Missouri, in 2016. We had spied it previously and this was a great day to try it out. It’s has a casual setting, softer classic rock playing in the background and a pleasing absence of televisions.
Wages offers many choices of beer including IPA, stout, ale, porter and lager. There are preset flights or you can choose your own, which we did. My favorite of sampling four, was the Landlocked IPA. We enjoyed our brews over a game of Foosball, choosing the throwback game over other board game and card options available. Wages has themed nights and an upcoming choice is chess night. Various bands and singers perform on the weekends.
While the concept of a brewery is beer, I like to eat something when I drink and many breweries and ale houses only offer chips and pretzels; others coordinate with food trucks. I was happy that this one had a nice variety house made food and pizzas from a local place. We enjoyed a pickled egg and the savory Dirty Martini Dip (vegan and gluten free) served with pita chips.
On this day, we met the owner, Phil Wages, who was bartending. He was friendly, knowledgeable and humble about bartending not being his primary job (nice to meet a boss who respects his employees’ trade). He sources many of the ingredients for beer, as well as menu items, locally. Wages is truly a hometown brewery with work from local artists and photographers on display and for sale. As many small businesses of the Ozarks, they have a Facebook page with up to date events and menus.
Another park and brewery/eatery under our belts, we headed home with a can of a SIPA (session IPA).
