It's just under two months until winter solstice. Crunch time. Kansas ranks #49 in public land. Less than 2% of our state can be used as a place to tramp about in wanderlust. Our neighbor, Missouri, on the other hand...#30 at 11%.
The original plan was to take a backpack and some empty bags on the train, get dropped off in the middle of Missouri, and hike into woods for a few days of foraging. But Amtrak doesn't allow fillet knives (or any kind of knives) on their trains. You can't even check baggage with knives in it. I called Amtrak twice to confirm. Handguns? Well, Amtrak lets you check those. I asked if I could take a sheathed sword. Yes! Oh grand! Unfortunately I'm not skilled enough to use a handgun or sword to fillet fish or whittle. Also, Amtrak was going to charge me a fee to breakdown and check my fishing pole. The fee was higher than the amount of money I spent on the fishing pole in the first place. Major deterrents, Amtrak.
After the Amtrak disappointment, I called the small tourist town's post office I was hoping to visit while being dropped off by the train. I asked if I could have a package sent to myself via general delivery, pick it up (full of forbidden Amtrak knives), and then come back in a few days and ship the package back home to myself. Nope. They don't do general delivery because they think it would confuse their carriers. I was asked to clarify why I needed to send myself something in the mail to their town. I explained that I wanted to fish and Amtrak doesn't allow knives on the train. "And you need a knife for fishing?!" Why yes, if you plan on eating them. I heard a nervous laughter over the phone. "So you are a fisherman?"
Road trip!
So I spent a few days in Missouri and while near the Meramec River I picked up some black haw, a native to eastern North America and something not available in Kansas. The black haw has a rather large seed, so there isn't much fruit to speak of. I've read that at one time people would snack on the black haw while walking through the forest. The flavor is a mixture of raisin and plum.
I picked about a pint, washed and froze.
(My photographer was unavailable, but he did edit my cruddy photo. Thank you, Cale.)
The original plan was to take a backpack and some empty bags on the train, get dropped off in the middle of Missouri, and hike into woods for a few days of foraging. But Amtrak doesn't allow fillet knives (or any kind of knives) on their trains. You can't even check baggage with knives in it. I called Amtrak twice to confirm. Handguns? Well, Amtrak lets you check those. I asked if I could take a sheathed sword. Yes! Oh grand! Unfortunately I'm not skilled enough to use a handgun or sword to fillet fish or whittle. Also, Amtrak was going to charge me a fee to breakdown and check my fishing pole. The fee was higher than the amount of money I spent on the fishing pole in the first place. Major deterrents, Amtrak.
After the Amtrak disappointment, I called the small tourist town's post office I was hoping to visit while being dropped off by the train. I asked if I could have a package sent to myself via general delivery, pick it up (full of forbidden Amtrak knives), and then come back in a few days and ship the package back home to myself. Nope. They don't do general delivery because they think it would confuse their carriers. I was asked to clarify why I needed to send myself something in the mail to their town. I explained that I wanted to fish and Amtrak doesn't allow knives on the train. "And you need a knife for fishing?!" Why yes, if you plan on eating them. I heard a nervous laughter over the phone. "So you are a fisherman?"
Road trip!
So I spent a few days in Missouri and while near the Meramec River I picked up some black haw, a native to eastern North America and something not available in Kansas. The black haw has a rather large seed, so there isn't much fruit to speak of. I've read that at one time people would snack on the black haw while walking through the forest. The flavor is a mixture of raisin and plum.
I picked about a pint, washed and froze.
(My photographer was unavailable, but he did edit my cruddy photo. Thank you, Cale.)