By JACKIE TAYLOR | August 19, 2026

Fishing

It’s the simple things in life that make memories; and this weekend was full of memories.

The R-Pod and I, my dog and family made our second trip in two years to Montauk State Park – a beautiful park situated on the Current River at a place you can barely get to from here.

You think I jest? Well, once again I tried to override Google Maps and ended up 30-minutes out of my way and literally on a one-lane bridge road in southern Missouri. Beautiful? Yes. Slow? Yes. Narrow roads to navigate in the windy, hill country kept this driver awake and alert.

It’s a four-hour drive, give or take, to Montauk. I like getting there on a Thursday, that way I have a day to unpack, check out the river, and more – well, work intervened and I left Friday morning. My son and daughter-in-law met me there that afternoon; with my granddaughter trying out her bicycle expertise after parking.

Montauk is a hidden gem of a park; spots are around 100-feet from each other. More than enough to get some privacy and not hear your neighbors talking.

The river is a short walk away; one I have yet to try as, apparently, I am a creature of habit and like the top end of the river at the spring.

To say it was hot was an understatement. It was high-nineties with high humidity. Put on a pair of chest waders to ward off the really cold Current River water, and your body doesn’t know what to do. 

I found myself kneeling in the river with the waders on to cool off – next time, I’ll own a pair of knee-high neoprene socks to put over my wading boots and enjoy the river a bit more.

The thing about Montauk that I enjoy, as well, is how many fewer people go there. For instance, my family and I were talking about Roaring River – that I love – but it’s close to Kansas City, Joplin and Springfield and half of those city’s populations dump into Roaring River on nice weekends.

Montauk – not so much. And, they have an ice cream shop in their park store that provides a mid-afternoon snack break for hot fisherman.

Vacations are a funny thing; we had this trip planned for a year. A person waits and waits and suddenly the vacation is here; then it’s gone.

I love getting together with my family; it’s one of my favorite things to do. But I hate the blues I get after everyone breaks up and goes their own way.

Check out time was 2 p.m, Kyle and family left around 9:30 or so. I was going to stay and check out a new fishing area – funny thing, fishing became less important when the blues set it. So, this girl packed up what was left to pack, hitched up and bugged out for home.

Gas was probably the biggest expense we had; food is minimal as we have pretty simple tastes. The campground was relatively inexpensive – so really, it’s a matter of making the time to get together.

Memories were made – my granddaughter caught a very nice Rainbow trout on my fly rod. She was holding it while I got a birds-nest out of her rod; she cast the fly out and hooked a nice fish. She reeled it in and released it all by herself – cool stuff.

Well, the blues have subsided and its time to begin thinking about what vacation we can plan next year. All of us were on the same plane of moving our fishing weekend to October – the heat did us in and October should be beautiful in southern Missouri.

Take time – it’s worth it. That is what counts in life; enjoy the time we’re given.