This past Sunday, I left with my Envirothon team for the national competition in Springfield, Missouri. The drive down through the Corn Belt of Indiana and Illinois proved uneventful as expected, but the transition to the West via the St. Louis arch lifted our road weary spirits. I had not been west of the Mississippi since I was an eight month-old moving back from Texas before last Sunday. We stayed in Springfield and tried some road cruising that night for snakes in the Ozark foothills, but failed to turn up any herps on the roads. The next morning, we got up early and headed for a cave that was rumored to have a few lifer salamanders in good numbers. That it did. This particular Southern Missouri Cave, replete with a crystal-clear stream and moss-covered limestone walls, turned up Dark-sided, Cave, Western Slimy, and Grotto Salamanders all within 20 minutes!! Another larger, more historic cave offered up another significant dose of lucifuga before we headed back to Springfield to register for the competition and ended the stint of euphoric limestone karst herping.
Happy herping!
P.S. The Ozarks are not Midwestern!
First foray into the Ozarks
Moderator: Scott Waters
Re: First foray into the Ozarks
Nice. Was in the Ozarks in Arkansas a couple years ago. Saw our first Copperhead there. Very cool region. I guess it would be considered part of the south?
Re: First foray into the Ozarks
Yes, it is a very cool region, and, as a Michigander, any place with "hollers," Copperheads, and Scots-Irish derived twangs is part of the south.
- Tuataurifer
- Posts: 52
- Joined: November 6th, 2013, 6:38 pm
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Re: First foray into the Ozarks
Very nice! All good finds. Any photos? Would love to see them.
Re: First foray into the Ozarks
You betcha I've got photos, but I can't figure out how to post them here. If you want to see them, just go to naherp.com and enter "Richendollar, Nathan" in the "recorded by" box and "Missouri" in the "state" box after clicking "search records."