Here’s a summary of stories in the June 2010 Traveler.  It’s our annual Float Trip Issue. A bonus is coverage of the grand reopening of Johnson Shut-Ins State Park and the surrounding Arcadia Valley/Black River area.

• Eleven Point Crazy: Two men vs. elements — Hank Franklin
Smallmouthin’, river runnin’, campfires. What more could a guy want?
• Remember the silence — Don Rathert
Older outdoorsman surveys today’s tumult and recalls the quiet of yesterdays on the Current.
• Rewards for those who stop to look — Greg “Rudi” Rudroff
When you put down your fishing rod and concentrate on all that makes a stream a true wonder, you get amazing photographs like Rudi Rudroff’s.
• After hours floating yields moonlight memories — Rick Mansfield
The beauty and serenity of a night time float cannot be overstated.
•Floating, fishing from canoe takes thought, skill — Bill Cooper
Fishing and floating are both fun, but to safely and successfully combine the two requires practice, skill and a good partner.
•Rock Talk: The float trip that changed my life — Jo Schaper
Jo Schaper floated the Current and Jacks Fork in 1996 looking at rocks. She found a cave-like rock formation on Tufa Creek but no cave. Her study of Tufa Creek led her to a geoogy degree and a new path in life.
•So what did we learn — Howard Helgenberg
Life experiences, if you learn from them, make you a better floater.
•Kayak fishing best of two worlds for Brett Boschert — Jo Schaper
Springfield accountant Brett Boschert grew up around St. Charles, fishing at Busch Wildlife and Montauk State Park. He uses kayak fishing as a way to get exercise and pursue his favorite outdoor activity.

Special Coverage: It’s not your grandparents’ Johnson’s Shut-Ins anymore
Four and a half years after the worst disaster ever in a Missouri state park, Johnson Shut-Ins State Park is officially open and operating under a new sort of normal.
Our special package of coverage includes:
• Gov. Jay Nixon snips the ribbon to officially reopen the park — Jo Schaper
•Rebuilt Taum Sauk pumped storage reservoir back in business — Jo Schaper
•Maps and photos inside the refurbished park — Emery Styron
•Scenic beauty, outdoor fun, history found here — Ron Kruger photos
•Arcadia Valley long a scenic haven for residents, visitors — Kathleen Brotherton

Do we really need world class bass? — Bob Todd
If having world class smallmouth, such as a group from southeast Missouri recently caught near Wilson Dam in Alabama, means giving up Missouri’s world class Ozark streams, Bob Todd’s not a taker. He opines that major expansion of special management areas discourages fishing and doesn’t necessarily boost the size of fish caught.

Bluegill: A fish for all ages — Tim Huffman
The small but scrappy bluegill and readear provide some of the best family fishing. Huffman gives the basics for catching them and a survey of some of the best spots for fishing them in Traveler Country.

Traveler Editorial — What kind of ‘world class’ do we want?
The Missouri Department of Conservation didn’t aim very high with its white paper on improving smallmouth fishing in the state, but is the Missouri Smallmouth Alliance asking for too much? Letters to the editor: Readers sound off on closing access in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways and deer season changes.

The Seasons: nature’s seasons change in June, though MDC’s don’t — Bob Todd
On the calendar, not much is different in June except that you can take frogs. Unofficially, however, some fish are finished spawning, others are starting up and it’s easy to pick the wrong day to fish.

Huge oak shelters thriving natural community — Jim and Donna Featherston
Squirrels, possums, bats, owls, birds, snakes, mice and thousands of tiny critters that feed on dead wood or fungi all find a home in ancient oaks. One of the most interesting creatures is the periodical cicada that lives for years in its larval stage and but a few weeks as an adult.

Nature’s Corner: Many baby cottontails go out on own in June — Aaron Horrell
Cottontail rabbits grow quickly from four-inch hairless infants to animals ready to go their separate ways and five weeks.

The Iron Kettle: Sure hit dishes for summer picnics — Pat Todd
Recipes for Picnic Peanut Rolls, Fresh Zucchini and Veggie Salad, Broccoli Salad, Baked Beans and Corn and Skillet Fruit Salad. Don’t let store-bought convenience foods spoil you. Cook up something easy and delicious for a good old-fashioned summer picnic, Pat says.

Through the Years in Traveler — From our files
25 years ago, 13-year cicadas were ruining sleeping and fishing in the Ozarks

Other stories:
• State, federal caves closed in Missouri, show caves still giving tours
• Carbon monoxide can kill
• Conservation Commission sets fall deer, turkey season dates, tweaks regs
• Conservation Commission pulls privileges for 28 Wildlife Code violators
• Squirrel season open; bag limit upped to 10, possession limit to 20
• Lake Wappapello Outdoor Theatre season underway

Travel maps in this issue: Big Piney & Gasconade, Clearwater Lake, Lower Current and Eleven Point, Lower Meramec, Niangua & Bennett Spring, Parkland Region, Upper Current and Jack’s Fork, Upper Meramac, Huzzah and Courtois and Wappapello Lake.

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