Rolla Unknown: Devils Elbow
This week I am cliffside just outside the unincorporated town of Devils Elbow. I left home about an hour ago and hopped on I 44 west until I got to exit 169 route J and took a left. I crossed over the interstate and took my next right down Z, or fashionably marked as part of Old Route 66. The road seemed as if it hadn’t seen work in years; though wasn’t used enough to cause it to break down. I am greeted by some canoe rentals and some very nice old time farmhouses with the wraparound porch that you love to see. I get to my next turn onto Teardrop Lane, and I take the road to just before the bridge, as I pass by I notice the quaint little dive coined The Elbow Inn of course.
The Elbow Inn acts somewhat of a town hall, a favorite of mostly retired veterans that live in the area. If you go there on a Saturday night, be prepared to get wrangled in to at least one round of karaoke and about an hour of talking to the locals, as they love to meet current students of Missouri S&T since its where most of their own children attended.
I passed by the Inn this time and take a left onto the gravel road and I was slowly swallowed up by the surrounding nature. The road ran parallel to the river that was on my right; sometimes if I am lucky I can spot a couple fish jumping out of the water. The river quickly became replaced with what seemed like a thousand tree trunks that blend together the longer my eyes tried to weave through them. My imagination wondered as I drove under an old train bridge and thought of what it would be like to see a train passing overhead. For what seemed like forever of bends on the road I finally made it to the T in the road I was waiting for. I took a right and after about ten seconds the trees open up to a nice camp area that has seen decades of families come, go and enjoy being out in the fresh air. This is where I parked my car.
I made it to where I was going and as I am sitting here writing this I keep finding myself looking up and getting lost in the view. As a river ran below me there was nothing but treetops covering everything else that went on for miles, with the various hills and valleys that you find all around the area. There is a tree out in the middle of it all that’s nearly double the size of any of the others I see. I think about how much the tree must’ve seen being there, watching as everything else grew up around it. Huge birds more than likely part of the vulcher family circle above some areas, probably zeroing in on what they’ll be having for dinner. I get up and find my closest rock and see, for old times sake, if I can throw it all the way to the river. I hear a crash through some trees after a couple seconds and know that I have not made it there this time. I took in the view one last time, amazed by how everything just fit perfectly together, as if it were a million-piece jigsaw puzzle. I pack up my stuff and start heading back to my car, thankful for being able to witness such a beautiful sight so close to home.
I made it to where I was going and as I am sitting here writing this I keep finding myself looking up and getting lost in the view. As a river ran below me there was nothing but treetops covering everything else that went on for miles, with the various hills and valleys that you find all around the area. There is a tree out in the middle of it all that’s nearly double the size of any of the others I see. I think about how much the tree must’ve seen being there, watching as everything else grew up around it. Huge birds more than likely part of the vulcher family circle above some areas, probably zeroing in on what they’ll be having for dinner. I get up and find my closest rock and see, for old times sake, if I can throw it all the way to the river. I hear a crash through some trees after a couple seconds and know that I have not made it there this time. I took in the view one last time, amazed by how everything just fit perfectly together, as if it were a million-piece jigsaw puzzle. I pack up my stuff and start heading back to my car, thankful for being able to witness such a beautiful sight so close to home.
