Environmental Echo

Looking for some cool summer fun? Onondaga Cave State Park has planned some special events throughout the summer, in addition to the normal cave tours.

Saturday, July 11, at 10 a.m. – Cathedral Cave Off-Trail Tour.
These tours are perfect for beginning cavers who want a more intense cave experience, one that goes beyond the lighted tour with rails and trails. Each tour is led by an experienced guide who will provide general instructions and share information about the cave’s biology, geology and history. During the tour, participants will climb, crawl and get a little muddy, spending four to five hours in the cave and some additional time outside the cave. Each tour is limited to 15 people aged 13 and up. Paid registration is required. The fee is $75 per adult and $55 per youth. All interested guests will be asked some questions to determine whether they are able to complete the tour, and they will be shown a video of what to expect inside the cave. After registering at 573-522-3760, they will receive a list of items to bring. Caving helmets will be provided.

Sunday, July 12, at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. – Onondaga Cave Photo Tours.
Step beyond the standard tour and take your time documenting the intricate details of Onondaga Cave. The cave’s newly upgraded lighting system highlights the stunning textures and colors of the cavern. Bring your tripod or handheld camera and join a guide for a slow-paced journey designed specifically for those behind the lens. These tours are sponsored by the Onondaga Friends Association. Please visit their website to purchase tickets in advance. Tickets are $23 apiece.

Saturday, July 18 at 9 p.m. (Rain date: July 25) – Starry Sky Night.
Join astronomy enthusiast Joe Parish in the visitor center parking lot to view the cosmos with a high-powered telescope. Although a telescope will be provided, visitors are welcome to bring viewing devices of their own.
The primary source of funding for the state park system is half of the dedicated constitutional tax of one-tenth-of-one-percent Parks, Soils and Water Sales Tax. The tax provides about three-fourths of the division’s budget for operation and development of state parks. All additional funding for Missouri’s Division of State Parks comes from revenues generated in the state park system and some federal funds.

For detailed information on any of these activities, please visit mostateparks.com. For more information on state parks and historic site events, visit mostateparks.com/events. The Division of State Parks is part of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

Don Corrigan, author of Scenic Natural Wonders Missouri, said the state is blessed with very diverse flora and fauna – and people for that matter!

The Missouri scribe said, “a lot gets written about how politically divided we are in Missouri going all the way back to the Civil War. But one thing that we ought to all agree on is that our natural treasures need to be protected.

“We have many wonderful naturalists and teachers in the state spreading that message, Corrigan added. “That’s why this book is dedicated to teachers who are spreading good words about a lovely world out there in the hills and wetlands of Missouri.”

Corrigan made his remarks at Peers Store along the Katy Trail. See coverage of the event in the Washington Missourian (below).

Pictured: Utahraptor. Photo courtesy of Billings Productions, Inc.

The Saint Louis Zoo will transport guests millions of years back in time starting Friday, June 19, at Dinoroarus (DIE-noh-ROAR-us), a returning, temporary attraction for all-ages. The walk-through experience will feature 20 animatronic dinosaurs and sculptures that will move, roar, spit and chomp their way through the Zoo’s Historic Hill, in the valley below the Charles H. Hoessle Herpetarium.

The collection spans the Late Triassic through the Late Cretaceous periods, representing more than 200 million years of prehistoric life that shares surprising connections with animals today. Guests will discover the latest science-backed dino facts, explore theories on mass extinction and learn practical ways to protect today’s animals from the same fate.

Together, the figures feature more than 130 individual animated movements — from independently moving eyes, arms and tails to full-body sways and water effects.

“Dinoroarus is about fun and wonder, but it’s also a reminder that no species is guaranteed a future,” said Michael Macek, Saint Louis Zoo Executive Director. “Extinction has happened before on a massive scale, and the choices we make today will determine which animals that future generations will get to know. Dinoroarus brings that lesson to life.”

New and returning highlights include: 

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2026 marks the 150th anniversary of Mark Twain’s timeless masterpiece, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.” To celebrate, Mark Twain Birthplace State Historic Site invites the public to view its most prized artifact: the original, handwritten manuscript.

The manuscript went on display beginning Memorial Day weekend and will be available for a limited time.

Publishing drama
Described by Twain, whose real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, as “simply a hymn, put into prose form to give it a worldly air,” the novel had a tumultuous journey to print. To overcome international copyright piracy, Twain had his agent hand-deliver a manuscript to British publishers Chatto and Windus, who released the first, unillustrated edition June 9, 1876.

Delays pushed the American edition back to Dec. 8, 1876. In the interim, Canadian publishers pirated the English text, flooding the U.S. market with cheap copies, costing Twain an estimated $10,000 in lost royalties (the equivalent of about $311,000 today).

The manuscript’s journey to Missouri
The original British manuscript was tracked down by Kansas City book dealer Frank Glenn, who purchased it from the agent’s heirs in London in 1937. It was dedicated at the Missouri State Capitol in 1951 before transferring to its permanent home in Florida, Missouri, for the grand opening of Mark Twain Birthplace Memorial Shrine in June 1960.

Restored and digitized by the Missouri Secretary of State’s office in 2022, the highly light-sensitive manuscript requires strict preservation. It is kept in temperature-controlled darkness for 10 months of the year and is displayed at a low ambient light intensity of 50 lux or less for no more than two months annually.

150th anniversary highlights
Throughout the 150th anniversary year, visitors to the park can experience:

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Scenic Missouri will host the 2026 Scenic America Symposium on Sept. 23 to 24, in the new Bayer Center of the Missouri Botanical Garden in Saint Louis.
The symposium will serve as a national gathering focused on scenic conservation in the United States by offering a structured space for education, collaboration, and strategic action.

Its purposes include:

·       Advancing scenic conservation practices — Sessions typically cover topics such as placemaking, scenic byways, sign control, tree ordinances, and utility undergrounding.

·       Strengthening advocacy and public policy efforts — Attendees learn about local and national legislative updates that affect scenic preservation.

·       Building a network of scenic advocates — The event brings together Scenic America affiliates, community leaders, planners, designers, and activists to share best practices and coordinate efforts.

·       Showcasing scenic assets and success stories — Discussions and poster expos highlighting how scenic principles are applied in real places, reinforcing the economic and cultural value of beauty.

Hosting this symposium positions Scenic Missouri as a leader within the national movement. It also highlights Missouri’s scenic assets—especially with the event being held at the Missouri Botanical Garden—a historic landscape of international distinction.

Scenic Missouri established the Missouri Byways Program in 1990. Over the span of three decades, the program has designated 13 scenic routes, all of which showcase the state’s exceptional cultural, historical, archaeological, natural, scenic, and recreational attributes.

Missouri byways provide access to the state’s most spectacular public lands, including 10 state parks, two state forests, the Mark Twain National Forest, the Gateway Arch National Park, and the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site.