Originally posted by Parallax On the plus side: Last year we spent our vacation in MO. A few days in Carthage, then some exploring/camping. Lake of the Ozarks, and then along Hwy 65. I was impressed that the State Parks were free, with nominal camping fees.
Yep!! We pay 1/8 c sales tax for the Conservation Department that covers all kinds of neat hunting and fishing and species reintroduction and land/resource conservation stuff. Then the State has enough funds to do the State Parks from general revenue without having to support all the conservation stuff. Pretty cool place if you like the outdoors.
I live in the middle of late 50's suburbia (not 80's or 90's, thankfully) but I'm never more than 30 minutes from some kind of low-pressure outdoor activity. I do a lot of Venturing (Co-Ed Boy Scouts) volunteering (we just ignore the big issue and let everybody). I'm literally 10 minutes from a 2500 acre Reservation and 90 minutes from a 10,000 acre Ranch.
It isn't The West, by any means, but it isn't bad. My wife and I get out to SW Colorado or NE NM or SW Wyoming every other summer.