Missouri’s natural wonders offer breathtaking landscapes, from serene lakes to majestic caverns. Discover over 80 scenic sites with expert tips for safe and memorable outdoor adventures.
| ST. LOUIS, MO—Reedy Press is pleased to announce the release of our newest local interest book, Scenic Natural Wonders of Missouri: Lakes, Trails, Caverns, and Vistas, by Don Corrigan & Diana Linsley. Scenic Natural Wonders of Missouri is an outdoor nature guide featuring more than 80 sites of natural wonder in the Show-Me State and offers valuable insights on how to visit and enjoy each of them. |
A Comprehensive Guide to Missouri’s Outdoors
ST. LOUIS, MO—Reedy Press is pleased to announce the release of our newest local interest book, Scenic Natural Wonders of Missouri: Lakes, Trails, Caverns, and Vistas, by Don Corrigan & Diana Linsley. Specifically, this outdoor nature guide features more than 80 sites of natural wonder in the Show-Me State. Moreover, the book offers valuable insights on how to visit and fully enjoy each location.
Fascinating vignettes and spectacular photographs completely immerse readers in special places that distinguish and define Missouri’s natural environment. Consequently, hikers and bikers, climbers and environmentalists, as well as poets and philosophers, will all find something meaningful to take away from this detailed collection. Photo buffs, for example, will love the magnificent images captured by landscape photographer Diana Linsley. She has beautifully documented the essence of natural locations such as Blue Spring, Ha Ha Tonka, Riverlands, Pinnacles, Roger Pryor, and more.
In addition, the book provides friendly suggestions and advisories on how visitors can enjoy safe, memorable experiences at every site. Notably, this represents author Don Corrigan’s second nature site guide published by Reedy Press. He previously published Show Me . . . Natural Wonders back in 2007.
Currently, Scenic Natural Wonders of Missouri is available wherever books are sold.
Book Details: Scenic Natural Wonders of Missouri, by Don Corrigan & Diana Linsley, ISBN: 9781681066431, softcover, 6 x 9, 192 pages, $27.00.
Meet the Creative Team
About the Authors
Don Corrigan has served for more than 40 years as a professor of journalism at Webster University. During his impressive tenure, he received the Kemper Outstanding Teacher Award and the Presidential Faculty Scholar Award. Additionally, he worked as the editor and co-publisher of the Webster-Kirkwood Times, South County Times, and West End Word. Corrigan has also earned the Lewis C. Green Environmental Service Award, recognizing his decades of writing in environmental journalism and his foundational work in creating the Outdoor/Environmental Journalism Writing Certificate program at Webster University.
Meanwhile, Diana Linsley has worked as a professional photographer for more than 40 years. Throughout her expansive career, she has exhibited her nature photography at galleries all across Missouri. Furthermore, she served as a dedicated photographer for the Webster-Kirkwood Times, South County Times, and West End Word for several decades. Ultimately, she has won numerous awards from the Missouri Press Association for her outstanding work in photojournalism.
Author Contact Information
- Don Corrigan: donzie550@aol.com
- Diana Linsley: linsleyphoto2018@gmail.com
Upcoming Events and Book Signings
If you want to meet the authors, consider attending one of these scheduled events. All gatherings are free and open to the public.
- Saturday, June 6th, from 11 am – 2 pm
Forest Park Visitor Center, 5595 Grand Ave, St. Louis, MO 63112 - Saturday, June 13th, from 12 pm – 2 pm
Magnificent Missouri, Peers Store (located just off Katy Trail), 16011 Concord Hills Rd, Marthasville, MO 63357 - Thursday, June 18th, from 5:30 pm – 7 pm (Presentation & Book Signing)
Grafica Fine Arts, 7884 Big Bend Blvd, Webster Groves, MO 63119 - Friday, July 3rd, from 12 pm – 1 pm
Room for Art Gallery, 124 W Main St, Washington, MO 63090 - Monday, September 28th, from 10 am – 5 pm
Cooper’s Landing Riverside Resort, 11505 Smith Hatchery Rd, Columbia, MO 65203
Key Highlights and Talking Points
- First and foremost, hikers, bikers, poets, philosophers, tree huggers, and flower children will all find something to take away from this detailed collection of 80 Missouri nature sites.
- Additionally, Scenic Missouri acts as the perfect guide for shutterbugs to locate memorable images to capture on their cell phones or sophisticated digital cameras.
- Furthermore, the guide features plenty of bluff sites where you can capture the best vistas, ranging from Castlewood and Vilander to Devil’s Elbow and Weston bluffs.
- Similarly, the book covers lakes and wetlands as varied as the ponds of Busch Conservation and Big Lake to Mingo Swamp and Allred Lake Natural Area.
- Moreover, the text explores Missouri’s many special places, from Tower Rock to The Pinnacles, and from Hughes Mountain to Big Oak Tree State Park.
- For hikers, trails of various complexity and challenge are detailed extensively. You can find simple jaunts at Claire Gempp and Blue River alongside more formidable walks at Pickle Springs and Roger Pryor Pioneer Backcountry.
- Ultimately, Scenic Missouri has it all, encompassing everything from roaring rivers and swift-flowing streams to plains, rolling foothills, and the Ozark Mountains—all packed into one state.
A Conversation with Author Don Corrigan
Q: What inspired you to write Scenic Missouri?
A: There is so much to see in Missouri, but there is also a lot to hear. Therefore, it feels especially soothing—and inspiring—to listen to the flow of falling water at Rocky Falls, Grand Falls, or Falling Spring Mill. Native Americans were certainly onto these aural pleasures, and it is hard not to appreciate their naming rights for places like Ha Ha Tonka Spring, the site of “laughing waters.”
Q: Were you and Diana Linsley on the same page with this book?
A: Photographers like Linsley and writers like me can sometimes operate on very different wavelengths. However, that is okay. We complemented each other beautifully on this project. She possesses an eye for wildflowers and wildlife that I wish I could claim. Conversely, I enjoy the challenge of trails and hiking. Meanwhile, she prefers the experience of viewing flowers at Valley View Glade or snow geese in flight at wetland preserves.
Q: What sort of folks did you and Diana Linsley create this book for?
A: We put these 80 sites together primarily for people who want more than just a simple checklist of tourism attractions or a bucket list of nature sites to hit. Instead, this collection of nature locales caters to people who want to make a day of it—or maybe more. We hope that newcomers will come away with a deep appreciation of the gems of nature that we have in Missouri. Likewise, we hope we are providing veteran Show-Me-State nature explorers with some new ways to look at sites they may have previously taken for granted.
Q: With the work completed, are there regrets about what’s left out?
A: As an environmentalist, this writer is always tempted to get preachy about how we haven’t taken care of nature so well, and about how we’ve lost things that are not coming back. For example, we once had swarms of parakeets in southern Missouri. Today, they’re all gone! Similarly, we once had tremendous swamps and forests in the Bootheel. Gone! At least we still have Big Oak State Park to remind us of what once was. Nevertheless, this is a joyful book. Consequently, we will save the regrets and preaching for our book talks.
Q: What does this book say about Missouri?
A: Missouri is undeniably blessed with highly diverse flora and fauna—and people for that matter! Although some folks don’t like the words “diverse” and “diversity,” we should embrace them at every level, especially in regard to nature. A lot gets written about how politically divided we are in Missouri, dating all the way back to the Civil War. However, one thing that we ought to all agree on is that our natural treasures need to be protected. Fortunately, we have many wonderful naturalists and teachers in the state spreading that exact message. For that reason, this book is dedicated to the teachers who are spreading good words about a lovely world out there.
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