Rural Missouri - January 2013 - (Page 19)

MISSOURI SNAPSHOTS by Jason Jenkins jjenkins@ruralmissouri.coop ach month, Rural Missouri’s editors travel the Show-Me State bringing you stories of interesting people and places, unique businesses and worthy causes. With word and image, we attempt to capture all that is good about living in rural Missouri and why we call it home. While it’s a great privilege to share these stories with you, once a year we place the camera in your hands. The Missouri Snapshots Photo Contest is your opportunity to focus on those places that make Missouri special to you — why you call it home. For the second consecutive year, we pointed your lens toward Missouri State Parks, which again teamed with us to sponsor the contest. With more than 145,000 acres to explore at 87 state parks and historic sites, Missouri State Parks offer ample opportunities for award-winning photography in nearly every corner of the state. Photography is just one reason Rural Missouri’s editors enjoy Missouri State Parks. This past year, we visited dozens of parks and historic sites, sometimes for work, but mostly for play. You may have passed Editor Jim McCarty on the mountain biking trail at Table Rock State Park or enjoyed an underground concert with him at Onondaga Cave State Park. You may have said hello to Associate Editor Heather Berry as she walked along the Katy Trail State Park or ﬁshed elbow to elbow with Field Editor Kyle Spradley at Roaring River State Park. You may have even camped next to me and my family at Lake of the Ozarks State Park. The reasons we love our state park system are the same as yours. Our parks and historic sites offer affordable access to numerous outdoor recreational activities, cultural resources and treasured historical Missouri landmarks. They provide places for our children to play and to explore, to learn and to dream. That’s why this year, in addition to the ﬁve photo contest categories for adults — Playing in the Parks, Historic Missouri, Overnight Adventure, Show-Me Wildlife and Scenic Missouri — we added a brandnew “Children in Nature” category for shutterbugs age 12 and younger. Despite a year that witnessed dozens of days above 100 degrees and a drought that forced ofﬁcials to issue a campﬁre ban, you braved the heat and entered more than 600 photographs in the contest. In November, judges selected 10 semiﬁnalists in each category. From these, the ﬁnal 18 winners — which appear below and on the next three pages — were selected. The remaining semiﬁnalists can be viewed in a photo gallery inside our digital edition. 2nd annual photo contest highlights the best of Missouri State Parks “I continue to be impressed with the photos and the insight the contest gives us into what our visitors see and appreciate,” says Bill Bryan, director of Missouri State Parks. “I’m especially pleased with this year’s category for children. It’s one more way we can encourage kids to get outside and explore nature, this time through the lens of a camera.” Each ﬁrst-place photographer wins a Missouri State Parks Getaway Package. Valued at $500, the packages include lodging for two, a state park activity and a gift certiﬁcate for meals. Second-place photographers each receive a Missouri State Parks gift basket valued at $100. Each third-place photographer wins a $50 Missouri State Parks gift card. “Whether I’m boating with my family at Table Rock Lake or trout ﬁshing at Bennett Spring, I’m reminded how fortunate we are here in Missouri,” says Barry Hart, CEO of the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives. “It’s been a pleasure to partner with Missouri State Parks to promote our rural treasures through the photo contest, and I hope it’s a partnership that lasts well into the future.” Learn more about Missouri State Parks online at www.mostateparks.com or call 800-334-6946. PLAYING 2ND IN THE PARKS 1 ST 1st: “We Love Mud!” by Sara Schuette, Liberty, Ill. They had planned to go swimming at Mark Twain State Park, but instead of water, 5-year-old Luke Schuette and his 6-year-old cousin, Mitchell Meier, found the mud, which was OK with Sara, too. The mother of three says her family visits the lake often and enjoys hiking, camping, skiing and ﬁshing. 2nd: “Rays of Sunshine” by Julie Taylor, Greenville. On a Sunday afternoon after church, the Taylor family visited Sam A. Baker State Park where Julie snapped this photo of 6-year-old McKynlie that she described as “dreamy” and “heavenly.” 3rd: “The Secret of Nature” by Amy Thompson, Fredericktown. The Black River Electric member took her niece and nephew, Ava and Don Laut, and her two children, Grant and Leah, on a day trip to Elephant Rocks State Park. “It’s such a great park for little kids,” Amy says. “We try to go as often as we can and take advantage of it.” 3RD JANUARY 2013 19 http://www.mostateparks.com http://www.mostateparks.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - January 2013

Rural Missouri - January 2013
Table of Contents
Comments
Columns
Turning disabilities into abilities
Aiming to win
Outdoors
Enshrined
Out of the Way Eats
Missouri snapshots
Hearth and Home
Marmaduke’s first raid
Around Missouri
Marketplace
No strangers to hard work
Neighbors
Just4Kids

Rural Missouri - January 2013