Missouri (MO)

Missouri State Flag

"Cave State", "Gateway to the West", "Home of the Blues", "Show Me State", "Mother of the West", "Pennsylvania of the West", "The Bullion State", "The Iron Mountain State", "The Lead State", "The Mother of the West" and "The Ozark State"

Why visit Missouri?

Travelers seeking architecture, boating, breweries, camping, caves, cyclists, fishing, hiking, history, lakes, museums, music, rivers, small towns, theme parks, scenery, waterskiing, water sports and wineries.

"Fame is a vapor, popularity is an accident, riches take wings, those who cheer today may curse tomorrow and only one thing endures character." ~ Harry S Truman

Kansas City, MO. Photo Credit: Jake Heckey/Pixabay 

At a Glance

• Capital: Jefferson City
• State Bird: Bluebird
• State Dessert: Ice Cream Cone
• State Flower: Hawthorn 
• State Gemstone: None
• State Mammal: Missouri Mule 
• State Rock: None

St Louis, MO. Photo Credit: Christy Ash/Unsplash

Fun Facts

• Has more than 7,300 recorded caves throughout the state.
  
• Cathedral Church of the Prince of Peace (Highlandville) accommodates only a congregation of fifteen.
  
• Outlaw Jesse James hid in the Meramec Caverns.
• The Only state in the Union to have two Federal Reserve Banks, Kansas City and St Louis.
  
• Disneyland's Mainstreet USA was designed after Mr Walt Disney's hometown (Marceline).
  
• From the Missouri River to the Pacific Coast, Pony Express was the first mail service in North America.
  
• Measuring 630 feet, Gateway Arch is our country's  tallest man-made monument. 
• Home of the creator, George Washington Carver ("Peanut Man"), Scientist of peanut butter.
• Ranked in the nation for the production of lead (1st), farms (2nd), rice (4th), hogs, soybeans (5th), (6th) and for cattle (7th). 
  
• Kansas City Barbecue Society, the world's largest organization of approximately 17000 Members sanctions around 500 barbecue contests annually.
  
• Headquarters to the world's largest brewery, Anheuser-Busch (St Louis).
• Features 1 National Forest and 48 State Parks.
  

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." ~ Mark Twain

Thank You!

• Spotlight Celebrities: Chuck Berry (Musician), Dick Van Dyke (Actor), Marshall Bruce Mathers III "Emineum" (Musician), Matt Bomer (Actor), Maya Angelou (Poet), Sheryl Suzanne Crow (Musician), Steve Walsh (Musician) and Walter Cronkite (News Anchor), just to mention a few.
• Movies to Inspire You: Escape from New York (1981), Gone Girl (2014), National Lampoon's Vacation (1983), Planes Trains and Automobiles (1987), Truman (1995), Up in the Air (2009), White Palace (1990) and Winter's Bone (2010), just to mention a few.
• Reads Set in Missouri: A Friendship for Today (written by Patricia McKissack), Blue Highways (written by William Least Heat-Moon), Regarding the Fountain (written by Kate Klise), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (written by Mark Twain) and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (written by Mark Twain), just to mention a few.

"I never sit on a fence. I am either on one side or another." ~ Harry S Truman

Meramec Caverns, Sullivan, MO. Photo Credit: nelcathy/Pixabay 

Good to Know

• Not a coastal beach or mountainous destination.
• Summer months are usually wet.
• On Interstate 70, *55 connects you to the Highway Patrol.
• In January, sit along the lock and dam (near Clarksville) for bald eagle sightings.
  
• Highway 40 and Interstate 64 are one in the same roads.
  
• Nearly extinct, is the Missouri French language a combination of Canadian French and Louisiana Creole French. 
  
• State Law permits bars, billiard parlors, bowling alleys, restaurants (less than 50 people seating) to decide their own smoking policies.
  
• Foliage colors usually peak around mid October (end mid November).

Subject to humidity, severe thunderstorms, snowstorms and tornadoes.

• Best Time to Visit: May - October
• Coldest Months: December - February
• Hottest Months: June - August
• Peak Season: June - August

"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." ~ Mark Twain 

Gateway Arch, St Louis, MO. Photo Credit: skeeze/Pixabay 

Your Must-See & Do

• Historical Sites: Anheuser-Busch Brewery, Arrow Rock, George Caleb Bingham House, Louis Bolduc House, Carrington Osage Village Site, Christ Church Cathedral, "Champ" Clark House, Eads Bridge, Joseph Erlanger House, Field House, Fort Osage, Gateway Arch, Goldenrod Showboat, Graham Cave, Scott Joplin Residence, Liberty Memorial, Missouri Botanical Garden, Mutual Musicians Association Building, Patee House, General John J Pershing Boyhood Home, Research Cave, Ste Genevieve Historic District, Sanborn Field & Soil Erosion Plots, Shelley House, Tower Grove Park, Harry S Truman Farm Home, Harry S Truman Historic District, Mark Twain Boyhood Home, Union Station, United States Customhouse & Post Office,  Utz Site, Wainwright Building, Washington University Hilltop Campus Historic District, Watkins Mill, Westminster College Gymnasium, White Haven and Laura Ingalls Wilder House. 
• Museums: Air & Military Museum-Ozarks, Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art, American Jazz Museum, America's National Churchill Museum, Arabia Steamboat Museum, Bollinger County Museum of Natural History, Campbell House Museum, City Museum, Contemporary Art Museum St Louis, Crisp Museum, Discovery Center of Springfield, Glore Psychiatric Museum, Harry S Truman Library & Museum, History Museum on the Square, Hollywood Wax Museum, Jefferson Barracks Telephone Museum, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home & Museum, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Missouri Civil War Museum, Missouri History Museum, Missouri Institute of Natural Science, Missouri State Museum, Museum of Anthropology, Museum of Art & Archaeology, Museum of Missouri Military History, National Museum of Transportation, National WWI Museum & Memorial, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, NRA National Sporting Arms Museum, Patee House Museum & Jesse James Homes, Pony Express National Museum, Powers Museum, Railroad Historical Museum, Ralph Foster Museum, Rockcliffe Mansion, Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis Science Center, Science City, Springfield Art Museum, St Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum, The Magic House, The National Museum of Toys & Miniatures, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, TITANIC Museum Attraction, Veterans Memorial Museum, Wonders Of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium and World's Largest Toy Museum Complex.
• Popular Attractions: Anheuser-Busch St Louis Brewery, Bluestem Missouri Crafts, Boonville, Branson's Promised Land ZOO, Branson Scenic Railway, Bridal Cave, Bull Shoals Lake, Busch Stadium, Cathedral Church of the Prince of Peace, Central West End, Chain of Rocks Bridge, Cherokee Antiques Row, Citygarden Sculpture Park, Clearwater Lake, Dickerson Park Zoo, Dogwood Canyon Nature Park, Dolly Parton's Stampede, Elephant Rocks State Park, Fantastic Caverns, Gateway Arch, George Washington Carver National Monument, Graham Cave State Park, Grants Farm, Harry S Truman Reservoir, Jefferson Barracks Park, Ha Ha Tonka State Park, Jewel Box, Johnson Shut Ins State Park, Kansas City Zoo, Katy Trail, Katy Trail State Park, Kauffman Stadium Water Spectacular, Laclede Landing, Laumeier Sculpture Park, LEGOLAND Discovery Center Kansas City, Mark Twain Cave, Mark Twain National Forest, Marvel Cave, Meramec Caverns, Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri State Penitentiary, Onondaga Cave State Park, Ozark Mountains, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Onondaga Cave State Park, Powell Gardens, Roaring River State Park, Saint Louis Zoo, Sea Life Kansas City, Silver Dollar City, Six Flags St Louis, Springfield Table Rock Lake, St Louis Zoo, Table Rock Lake, Talking Rocks Cavern, The Butterfly House, The Butterfly Palace & Rainforest Adventure, The Shepherd of the Hills, The State Historical Society of Missouri Center for Missouri Studies, Tower Grove Park, Wappapello Lake, Watkins Mill State Park, Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, Wonders Of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium and Worlds Of Fun.
• Popular Cities/Towns to Visit: Arrow Rock, Bethel, Branson, Cape Girardeau, Carthage, Columbia, Hannibal, Hermann, Independence, Jamesport, Joplin, Kansas City, Kearney, Lee's Summit, Liberty, O'Fallon, Rolla, Springfield, Stanton, St Charles, Ste Geneviève, St Joseph, St Peters and Weston.
• Special Events: (April) World Festival, (May) Spring Mountain Music Festival, (July) Fair Saint Louis, Red White & Blue BBQ Blowout, (August) Ozark Empire Fair, (September) 3D Bash, American Royal Barbecue, Big Muddy Blues Festival, Big River Steampunk Festival, Black Walnut Festival, Brewfest, Budweiser Taste of St Louis, Burg Fest, Chillicothe Festival, Cotton Carnival & Parade, Calhoun Colt Show Fair & Festival, Civil War Reenactment, Fair Grove Heritage Reunion Festival, Fall Bluegrass Festival, HOBA Fall Bluegrass Festival, Hootin an Hollarin, Humansville Fall Festival, Labor Day Rodeo, Lake of the Ozarks Bikefest, LouFest, Mule Festival, Music on Main Street, Rodeo Daze, Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival, Seymour Apple Festival, St Louis Art Fair, Summer Bluegrass Concert, Wilder Days Festival, (October) Apple Butter Makin’ Days, Autumn Historic Folklife Festival, Cackle Hatchery’s Annual Chicken Festival, Coin & Stamp Show, Fall Festival of Arts Crafts & Music, Fall Muster, Folklife Festival, Hollister Grape & Fall Festival, Kansas City Renaissance Festival, Liberty Days, Maple Leaf Car Show, Ozark Arts & Crafts Show, Pioneer Heritage Festival, Ranch Rodeo, Scarecrow Festival Eureka, (November) American Royal Livestock Show and Military History Appreciation Day.

Ozark, MO. Photo Credit: David Mark/Pixabay

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All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.