We had a wonderful time canoeing along Elk River in southwest Missouri today. The water was very clear and we enjoyed watching fish and turtles swimming along. We traveled about 6 miles of the river. There was current in many places which gave a nice break from paddling.

If you like the outdoors, you would enjoy this trip.

Following the canoe trip we went to Bluff Dwellers Cave (near Noel, MO). It is a privately owned cave that is well cared for with many “living” features. The tour took about 45 minutes and was just right for a cool (56 degree) break after over 3 hours on the river.

For evening fun we went to the small town of South West, MO which is on the MO, KS, OK state lines. This town has a population of 600 but tonight they had a great Independence Day concert and cookout. There were several thousand people there to enjoy free watermelon and free music from the Chuck Wagon Gang – then fireworks after dark. We were pretty tired by the “half time” of the concert so we headed back to our motel in Neosho for the night.