MINGO NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, DAY 3.
Day 43 – There was frost on the old Honda pumpkin this morning. 27 degrees and sunny. We bundled up and left for Mingo at 10:30 a.m. One last day of pictures at Mingo. We leave tomorrow for Arkansas.
We spent the whole day driving the refuge roads, saw some impressive hawks, an increase in the ducks and black birds, etc. We did encounter a few more people driving the roads at the refuge today. And a very nice, smiling Ranger who was keeping track of all of us. The pictures follow:
When we got back to the RV, it looked like the girls had not budged from their sleeping positions – the same ones they had when we left. Tomorrow we hit the road again; they’re not going to like it. We made a large batch of Curry Scallops over Oriental Rice Noodles for dinner. We’ll be sad to leave tomorrow, but there’s lots more to see out there!
“Mingo National Wildlife Refuge consists of 21,592 acres of bottomland hardwood forest, cypress-tupelo swamp, marsh, and upland forest ecosystems. The refuge is managed for wildlife habitat and people. The primary purpose of the refuge is to provide food and shelter for migratory waterfowl and to protect the bottomland hardwood forest.”
“Management of wildlife habitat at the refuge emphasizes the natural productivity of the swamp. Water levels are manipulated with water control structures and ditches. Water levels are lowered during the summer, exposing the mud flats around the perimeter of the marshes, to encourage seed-bearing plants to grow. The water levels are raised in the late fall to flood the marshes to provide food for migrating waterfowl.” From the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service information brochure available at the Refuge.
Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, Visitor Center & Headquarters: 24279 State Highway 51, Puxico, MO 63960. Phone: (573) 222-3589.
For more detailed information about Ridge Campground at Lake Wappapello State Park, click here.