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Mark Twain National Forest: Salem-Potosi District, November 2006

as submitted by Kevin McLeod

After spending a tremendous amount of time building my bus up a little higher off of the ground, along with missing several days of work, I left late Saturday morning to take it for a test run in the Salem/Potosi District of the Mark Twain National Forest near central Missouri.

This is the largest section of the Mark Twain National Forest, which covers portions of southeast, central, and southwest Missouri.

I toured the majority of the area for the next day and a half. The bus camping and fresh air was most excellent, although the roads were not challenging for George (da' bus), as I (and he) had hoped. Note to self: Bring a chainsaw! Many of the trails were blocked by downed trees that were not small enough to drive over, although some were: hehe! Slippery cow shit, wet leaves, and mud puddles abounded, but it was not the kind of atmosphere a backroadbuser would revel in! Unless you dig running into "No Trespassing" and "Keep Out" signs at the end of a wandering, seemingly remote forest road, along with being witness to the desolate tragedy of the active clear-cutting going on in this National Forest Farm, I'd recommend taking the bus elsewhere. Maybe better luck next time?

View all Kevin's photos from this excursion here!