Kirksville To Columbia

Being back in Kirksville for some extended time has given us the ability to spend some much-needed time with Amity’s parents. Splitting our time between their houses has made time feel like it is flying by. Billy has been picking up more hours with Curated, as a ski sales expert. Amity has been working at a local outpatient physical therapy clinic.

MIle - 2,496

Quote of the Blog - “The very cave you are afraid to enter turns out to be the source of what you are looking for.” - Joseph Campbell

Song of the Blog -

We have recently spent some time exploring Columbia, MO, which is about 90 miles away. Amity went to undergrad at Stephen’s College in Columbia and has had fun reminiscing and exploring in the area. Our first adventure to Columbia was for a Missouri Tigers Basketball game with Amity’s dad and his girlfriend Karen. If you ever go to Columbia with Mike Sparks, you are going to start your night at The Flat Branch Brewery. They have a great selection of micro brews and some amazing food to go with it. Asa and Kelsey, Amity’s brother and his wife, along with Amity’s long-time friends Michelle and Kinsey met us there. After food and libations, we headed out to the game, which ended up being a total blowout by Missouri. Super fun though!

This Is College Basketball During Holiday Break

Although Amity went to college in Columbia, she apparently did not spend a lot of time exploring the outdoors until she moved to MT. We found a couple of unique outdoor playgrounds to explore near Columbia that Amity had not been to before. We decided to take this weekend to go knock these spots off the list. First stop was just north of Columbia, right off of Highway 63. This area is known as, The Pinnacles.

We started walking on a trail, right out of the parking lot. We shortly found ourselves at the base of a large rock overhang that had been cut out of the hillside though years and years of moving water. It was a very pretty time to be walking around in the woods. The fall leaves coat the forest floor with an array of orange, brown and red colors. The main feature to this area is a large fin like ridge line which is surrounded by the flowing creek bellow. Massive cliffs, rock spires and arches dot the ridge line. It is nice to feel the cool breeze and get our hands dirty hiking around the rocks! Even if we didn’t even hike over 3 miles, nature truly is healing!

Missouri Still Has Some WOW Hidden Out There

The next phase in the weekend was to check into a really neat historic hotel in downtown Columbia called, The Tiger Hotel. This hotel was built in 1928 and they have worked hard to maintain as much of the original architecture as they could while modernizing it. We had a great view from our hotel room. Tonight’s activity is going to cheer on the Missouri Tiger Wrestling team, and our sister-in-law’s brother Jarret.

Before the match we went out for some beers at Broadway Brewery in downtown Missouri. Walking past some of the college bars, Amity found herself walking down memory lane. Wondering how she survived those days, we laughed at our inability to hang with our 21-year-old selves. Jarret’s parents hooked up the mat side tickets, so we could get an up-close view of the action. This is our second wrestling match and we are beginning to understand the scoring a little better. We are still amazed by the athleticism that it takes to be a good wrestler. With all of the awkward positions and feats of strength, we were able to see Jarret and the rest of his team easily take care of the University of West Virginia.

Following the match, we went over to Michelle and Ryan’s house for dinner. Ryan had cooked up some delicious burgers and we enjoyed a couple beers , while hanging out with the family. We spent the evening laughing about old memories and talking trains with Gary and Henry.

The next morning, we grabbed coffee and breakfast at a great coffee shop in Columbia called Love Coffee. This company hires individuals with disabilities to help them gain work skills and give them inclusive work place opportunities. They had the tastiest breakfast sandwiches on homemade scones! We will gladly be back there when we go to Columbia again! We then met up with Michelle and her children at an Alpaca farm for some exotic animal time. It was so funny to watch Henry light up when he was “feeding” the alpaca’s, which equated to him just throwing the food in to their area and then cheesing out with the happiest/proudest smile! Something we will not forget! We also scored some Alpaca fur items. We are super stoked on our new Flax Seed Heating Bag with Alpaca fur!!!

With extra time in our afternoon, we decided to meet up with Asa and Kelsey and head down to an area known as The Devil’s Icebox. This was a really cool cave system that has a boardwalk and trail system around it. We found ourselves climbing down into the cave. Billy confidently crawled back into the different chambers of the cave, while Amity entered the first area, only to be hit with the musky sent of stagnant cave air and quickly exiting the cave. While it was tempting to dive deeper into the cave, we were not prepared with the appropriate equipment to get to explore too far. It was really amazing to feel how cool the area around us was when we were down in the cave. Starting to find out that Missouri is home to a lot of caves to explore. We have a lot to explore!

Before we headed back to HQ in Kirsksville, we had to stop at one of our staple spots in Columbia for food. Booche’s bar is a classic spot in downtown Columbia. They are known for having some amazing burgers that are both simple and bomb! When we say simple, we mean it! They have meat, cheese, pickles, ketchup and mustard served in a bun on a napkin. Yep, that’s it! So good though! Pro tip at this spot, bring cash! They are a cash only bar. After crushing a couple of these, it’s time to head back north.

Now that we are getting into December, we have a lot of holiday things happening around the state. Missouri is a proud state, and they cannot be prouder of the Budweiser Clydesdale Horses! Amity’s mother and step-father, Julie & Jeff, were kind enough to get us tickets to go spend time at one of the Clydesdale homes, Warm Springs Ranch. The size and strength of these animals is humbling. The ranch was beautifully decorated for Christmas and it was a perfect way to get into the festive holiday season.

Well That’s A Horse Of A Different Color

The holidays are coming quickly and we have a lot planned. Next up, we are headed to big city for some holiday fun with some of our Chicago faves!!

Christmas In Chicago

Fall In Kansas City