Melissa & Mark’s Missouri Farm
We took the short one-hour drive from Bennett Springs State Park to Melissa & Mark's Missouri farm, stopping for some groceries at Walmart along the way.
Having only seen the farm in pictures, the excitement was building as we took the final dirt roads that led to their 120 acre homestead.
We were greeted by the whole family, Melissa, Mark, Tegen, Evelyn, Piper and Tripp, plus their three dogs, Tiki, Goose and Rooster. What a wonderful reunion. So fun to get re-acquainted with the kids after not seeing them for a year.
Their property was amazing! One hundred and twenty acres, 40 acres farmable, 80 acres forested.
The property had not been lived in for 10 years, so the "Wild" had taken over. They sprayed prometheum to knock the insects down, but I'm not lying when I say the bugs were a constant irritation: ticks, chiggers, mosquitos, flies, sweat bees, RDHOUS's (red dobber hornets of unusual size), deer flies and no-see-ums. Did I leave anything out? We had to conduct the nightly ritual of full-body tick checks which nearly always yielded results. Hate those nasty buggers!
We also killed a poisonous copperhead snake!
During our stay we made so many wonderful memories:
- Played cribbage with Tegen and taught Evelyn and Mark how to play
- Helped them build a chicken pen and a goat house, the goat-mahal
- Watched Tegen and Evelyn race their RC cars around the yard
- Witnessed Mark make a pool out of a stainless steel feed trough. He has some serious skills!
- Celebrated Tegen getting his driver's permit
- Watched Evelyn and Piper learn how to drive the tractor and ride dirt bikes
- Enjoyed 4th of July fireworks in Dixon
- Fed leafy branches to the goats, they eat anything!
- Witnessed numerous thunderstorms, usually every two or three days
- Toured the property in Mark's Toyota Tacoma, the grass and weeds were as tall as the truck in many places
- Watched their baby chickens grow to the size of small turkeys
- Shared some amazing meals like Polenta, Tacos, Enchiladas, Kielbasa & Perogies to name a few
- Watched Karen teach Evelyn how to knit
- Enjoyed an afternoon at the water park in St. Robert
- Ate some delicious burgers at Freddy’s in Saint Robert
- Survived a nasty thunderstorm, two nights before we left. We endured several hours of rain, hail, and constant lightning flashes. The next day we witnessed the damage in the town of Crocker, a few miles away where a tornado touched down and destroyed a couple of barns. We also saw several trees down and one split in half. The tree was black on the inside from a lightning strike
- Helped Mark build some basement steps
- Enjoyed target practice with Mark, who was on the Marine shooting team. He taught me a thing or two! He started out by aiming at the bar code from about 20 yards so I could use the target. You can see the results in the photos below.
- Watched Karen, Melissa, and the kids make tie-dye T-shirts
- Helped Tegen build a website for his modeling hobby. He is a meticulous modeler!
- Played the short 9 in Saint Robert with Mark and Tegen, even saw an armadillo
- Attended Mass at the Catholic Church in Dixon
- Went to a rodeo
- Ate dinner at Jackie’s Snackette
In total, we spent 18 days with Melissa, Mark and family. We are so grateful to have had this amazing experience and make some wonderful new memories.
