As previously admitted… I LOVE Fall. It is my very favorite season…. the festivals, the leaves, the flavors, the crispness in the air…. every last bit. As soon as Fall arrives I start dragging Brian from one Fall Festival to the next. If I can’t find a Festival then we take a drive to someplace where I can photograph the leaves.
This was the perfect fall weekend. First, Kimmswick, MO hosted their annual Applebutter Festival... it’s a huge arts and crafts events. And Sunday was a beautiful day, bright and clear, just a hint of chill in the air…. perfect.
With a packed November ahead of us, Brian and I decided to head out and enjoy our last un-booked weekend. We hadn’t been to Elephant Rocks State Park since last fall, and the leaves are turning beautifully.
Driving down Highway 21 through Caledonia, Missouri we came across a little shop that I had passed a dozen times before, but never had the opportunity to stop. Farmhouse 1807 is an adorable old farmhouse filled with odds and ends… old antiques, pretty bottles, birdhouses, homespun yarn and hand knitted items. The store and the house are so cute… I wanted to take photos of the whole place, but I was too busy chatting with the owners. Brian finally made me quit talking and we got back on the road.
Elephant Rocks was beautiful and overwhelming as always. If you haven’t been to the park before, it is a great place to visit. There is a picnic area with 
BBQ pits and real bathrooms (which is massively important… I don’t do port-a-potties… and Elephant Rocks is a pretty good distance from any public restrooms). The trails are paved, but you can also wander off the trials and climb on the huge (elephant like) rocks.
For dinner we visited the Caledonia BBQ Co in Caledonia, MO… population 130…. seriously. The main street is about four store fronts, a church and two old houses. It is right on Highway 21 and if you blink you would miss it. It is a really picturesque Main Street… perfect with the maple trees turning colors. There are actually two restaurants, but Brian and I decided to go with the BBQ place. Since quitting Gluten/Wheat we’ve been eating BBQ a lot when we go out…. A.) I like BBQ and B.) it is almost always a safe bet that there isn’t wheat hidden in all the food. I was hungry and I went a little berzerk when I ordered… I got the sampler dinner… 1/2 chicken, ribs, pulled pork and two sides…. yeah… a little berzerk. Brian just got the half a chicken and two sides… we could have just shared the sampler and we’d have still been stuffed silly. The food was good… nothing outrageous, but good food and plenty of it. The staff was nice, the place clean and warm… I would absolutely recommend stopping by after visiting Elephant Rocks.
If you haven’t stuffed yourself silly (I took half my meal to-go, so I still had room) stop by Carr House Antiques & Ice Cream Shop for an after dinner scoop of ice cream. Actually, I asked for a little scoop and the guy gave me three well-rounded scoops…. I guess I looked hungry. We roamed the old house / antique store while I ate my ice cream.
A perfect day trip!
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