The trees are about one week from peak color, but the Missouri Scenic river road was gorgeous with some very deep purples, reds and yellows. Clarksville has streets that are made for Hummers, straight up the side of a hill. Most streets are gouged from cars and trucks scraping the pavement on the many steep roads, but the reward at the top, with houses from the 1800s make it all worthwhile. If you are nearby, this is one drive you have to make this autumn and take in Hannibal too. How about $2.59 a gallon regular gas in Elsberry, MO on hwy 79!
I also found out that in January, February and late December they have one of the largest bald eagle populations in the US in Clarksville. They even have a bald eagle weekend gathering & party every January.
Missouri is one of the leading bald eagle states. Thousands of Eagles migrate south each fall to hunt around the open waters of the Mississippi. With the Mississippi being so wide at Clarksville and all the undisturbed forest and hill country for nesting, Clarksville is a natural winter home for the bald eagle. More than 2,000 bald eagles are reported in Missouri regularly during winter, making MO the leader in the lower 48 states.The bald eagle was formally adopted as our national emblem in 1782. In the 200 years since, its numbers suffered a great decline. However the bald eagle has recovered and it is reported that more than 7,000 nesting pairs are found in the lower 48 states. In Missouri, the bald eagle is still listed as state endangered.A few bald eagles usually are seen in Clarksville by mid-fall but most arrive in December. In some cases, a bird will return to the same location each winter to find food in unfrozen lakes and rivers. In addition to feeding sites, a wintering area usually contains isolated night roosts.
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