Detour to Pomme de Terre

The scenery west of Jefferson City is not entirely different from most of the other scenery in the area, or most of the rest of Missouri. While waiting on the vehicle to get patched up, a phone call encouraged another slight southerly detour to Pomme de Terre Lake.  Why not?  It was the trend for this particular adventure.

Quickly discovering that Google Maps does not understand the first thing about "Avoid Highways," it became apparent that some matters are best handled by a paper map and intuition.  Navigating the smaller back roads, a few rustic relics from the past enabled a sense of relief from the crazy urban complex from which withdraw could not have happened soon enough.  

One of the more unique structures along the way, an old stone schoolhouse in Preston recently began a new as a home to boat lift manufacturing plant.  Little else is currently known about the structure and most of the surrounding area appeared cordoned off with "No Trespassing."  School must be much more popular now than ever before.

Storm at Pomme de Terre Lake - August 2021 - by CMW

In short order, Pomme de Terre filled the windshield, followed by some time with good company.  Rocks were skipped and details of their expedition shared, while an otherwise cloudless day suddenly turned threatening.  What appeared to be a dense fog racing across the lake appeared after about 30 minutes, forcing the entire group to huddle under the awning of their accommodations, while what turned out to be torrential rain poured an ocean of water upon the situation.

The storm dissipated as quickly as it had organized, leaving fluffy white clouds soaring over the soaked western Missouri prairie.  Out on the road again, a few diversions peaked curiosity and further investigation.  Old Highway 13 lived up to its name.  It is old and decaying, poorly maintained, and full of potholes.  The Missouri Department of Transportation has mostly forsaken this stretch of road, which was once one of the most beautiful scenic drives in the state.

Another point of interest never noted before was found just on the other side of the bridge crossing the South Grand River arm of Truman Lake, ahead of Clinton.  The access point appears quite obviously headed northbound, which explains why it had never been recognized.  This path is rarely traveled on expeditions returning from the the south, and headed south, there is no indication that the access point even exists.

Nothing new appeared for many miles beyond that, even with an attempt to stumble into something or another by ignoring MO-7 in favor of MO-13.  A weird old dilapidated shack that becomes more overgrown with each passing caused a momentary pause, but nothing more.

One improvement on MO-13 kept things flowing.  The loop around Warrensburg is extremely gratifying, saving countless hours pushing through that mess of traffic.  Nothing more curious of note appeared beyond that and the Missouri River crossing at Lexington appeared almost out of nowhere.  It is never quite as satisfying as it once was, with the old bridge, but does offer a much more clear view of the horizon.

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