Hikers and bikers, poets and philosophers, tree huggers and flower
children, all will take delight in a new book by nature writer Don Corrigan
and outdoor photographer Diana Linsley.
Scenic Natural Wonders of Missouri is an illustrated collection of 80 state
nature sites. It’s the perfect guide for shutter bugs to locate memorable
images, and to capture memories on their cell phones or digital cameras.
“My first outdoor guide in 2007 featured pencil drawings,” said Corrigan.
“This new guide boasts colorful photos. Diana’s shots of cypress trees in
Allred Lake, antlered beasts in Lone Elk Park, or 100,000 snow geese in
Big State Park are awesome.
“Photographers like Linsley and journalists like me can be on very different
wavelengths. But that’s actually okay,” added Corrigan. “We complemented
each other on this project.
He said Linsley has an eye for wildflowers and wildlife, and he likes hiking
trail settings and bluff views. Linsley brings out the colors of coneflowers
and black-eyed Susans at sites like Valley View Glade or migrating fowl in
flight at wetland preserves.
Grand Bluff: photo courtesy of Diana Linsley from Scenic Natural Wonders of Missouri
Among Scenic Missouri’s many attributes:
• An array of bluff sites where you can capture the best vistas from
Castlewood to Vilander to Devil’s Elbow or Weston bluffs.
• Lakes and wetlands where you can view ponds at Busch Conservation
and Big Lake, or primordial swamps at Mingo and Allred Lake nature areas.
• Also covered are Missouri’s “just special places,” from Tower Rock to The
Pinnacles, from Hughes Mountain to Big Oak Tree State Park.
• For hikers, trails of various complexity and challenge are detailed, from
simple jaunts at Claire Gempp and Blue River, to more formidable walks at
Pickle Springs and Roger Pryor Pioneer Backcountry.
• Scenic Missouri has it all, including roaring rivers and swift flowing
streams, to windy plains and rolling foothills in the Ozarks – they’re all
packed into one state – and this one book.
See & Hear Nature
There’s so much to see in Missouri, but there’s also so much to hear as
well. In his detailed accounts of different nature sites, Corrigan notes that
visits can be soothing, therapeutic for the ears.
It’s a delight to listen to the flow of falling water at Rocky Falls or at Grand
Falls or at Falling Spring Mill. Native Americans were onto these aural
pleasures and they bestowed melodic site names such as “Ha Ha Tonka,”
or spring of “laughing waters.”
The relaxing and rejuvenating waters at Welch Spring inspired Dr. Christian
Diehl to build a rest home and sanitarium site nearby. He believed in the
healing qualities of the spring waters.
Scenic Natural Wonders of Missouri highlights more than a dozen springs
around the state such as Greer, Turner, Maramec and Alley springs. Blue
Spring is so deep that the Statue of Liberty could be easily submerged in its
azure waters.
Corrigan and Linsley said they selected the 80 sites in the book for people
who want more than a checklist of tourism attractions or a bucket list of
nature sites to hit. This is all about connection and not consumption.
Echo Bluff: photo courtesy of Diana Linsley from Scenic Natural Wonders of Missouri
This collection of nature’s magic locales is for people who want to make a
day of it – or maybe more. Newcomers will come away with an appreciation
of the gems of nature that we have in Missouri.
“We’re also certain we are providing veteran Show-Me-State nature buffs
and explorers with some new ways to look at sites that they may have filed
away or taken for granted,” Corrigan said.
In their book dedication, Corrigan and Linsley pay tribute to the work of
state teachers such as those in the Missouri Environmental Education
Association. Teachers increasingly know the benefits of introducing
students to nature and the outdoors.
“As an environmentalist, I’m tempted to get a little preachy about how we
haven’t taken care of our natural heritage so well, and how we’ve lost
things in Missouri that just are not coming back,” Corrigan said.
“For example, we once had swarms of parakeets in southern Missouri.
They’re all gone! We once had tremendous swamps and forests in the
Bootheel! They’re gone!
“However, we have places like Big Oak State Park to remind us of what
was once in the Missouri and what we need to protect now,” Corrigan
added. “Overall, this book has a joyful message: Savor our lost past; strive
to preserve for the future.”
Among upcoming signings:
Forest Park Forever, 11 a.m., June 6.
Peers Store, Katy Trail, Noon – 2 p.m., June 13.
Grafica in Webster Groves, 5:30 – 7:30, June 18.
Adam Puchta Winery, Hermann, Noon, June 27.
Room for Art, Washington, Noon – 2 p.m., July 3.
(Scenic Natural Wonders of Missouri is available at Barnes & Noble, on
Amazon Books, at reedypress.com., and numerous local bookstores. For
more book information contact Don at 314-968-2699 or reach him at
corrigan@timesnewspapers.com.)
Environmental Echo 