Travel

A Lear jet rests beside the highway without an airport in sight. A Ferris wheel sits idly in a field. A forlorn brick chimney rises out of a clump of bushes. These are but a few of the curiosities that travelers speed past on their way across Missouri on Interstate 70 between St. Louis and Kansas City. Entertainment abounds on the nation’s oldest interstate highway. You have but to stop and look.

The Auglaize Bridge—better known as the Big Swinging Bridge—hangs over the meeting point of Grand Auglaize Creek and Lake of the Ozarks. The bridge was built in 1931—the same year Union Electric completed Bagnell Dam to create the Lake of the Ozarks.

Wet your whistle with a Cherry Coke or a chocolate soda at one of these quaint shops for a truly authentic experience. Let the ambience, and the treats, take you back to the good ol’ days.

The four-season beauty of Columbia can be found throughout the town in its private lawns and public gardens. Here’s where the green-thumbed go to find inspiration.

From the jacket worn by Mark Twain to Truman's famous "The Buck Stops Here" sign, you can find these historical icons within the borders of the Show-Me State.

This year we're bringing our cross-state ride, Big BAM, to the Katy Trail! We'll kick off in St. Charles on October 6, then camp in Hermann, Jefferson City, Boonville, Sedalia, and finally end in Pleasant Hill on October 11.

Camp Long Creek at Big Cedar sits on the lakeshore, next to Bass Pro Shops Long Creek Marina, and features 64 units that include shepherd’s huts, luxury “glamping” tents, and couples’ and family cottages. The campground is set to open in May.

Local productions and traveling shows bring the iconic ballet to appreciative audiences here in Missouri. For professional ballet companies, The Nutcracker is often the most popular show of the season.

An inaugural Veterans Day ceremony will take place November 11 at Missouri’s National Veterans Memorial. The event off˜ers a way to remember those lost or serving in the military by securing a personalized Gold or Blue Star badge to be incorporated into the ceremony as service flags.

Although the phrase “ghost town” might call to mind the tumbleweed-strewn roads and abandoned wooden storefronts of the Old West, ours tell a different tale. A detour through these rural locales reveals stories of a changing world and devastating acts of nature.