They don headlights and spelunk in caves, read about In’jun Joe and take tours of caves, even forgo decent wedding photos and get married in caves. But it wasn’t until David and Connie Hughes set to work that Missourians could enjoy barbecue in a cave.

The Hughes’ restaurant, called Caveman Bar-BQ and Steak House, prides itself on its primitive location. Guests arrive by gravel road and then park in a street-level lot to take the shuttle up the path to the entrance. They are greeted by an elevator operator who ushers them into the gaping hole, now civilized by a set of wooden doors. The deck, set into a bluff about 100 feet high, overlooks the Gasconade River and is framed by trees that flame orange and red in the fall. The restaurant itself is split-level, with a gurgling fountain, a few stuffed bobcats and forest birds, and casual place settings. The ceiling, walls and floor are, of course, rock. Caveman Bar-BQ was always a cave, but it wasn’t always quite so big.

The Hugheses, cattle farmers from central Missouri, said they got tired of chasing cows and bought an old resort in Richland, Mo., about 22 years ago. David restored almost a dozen cabins and founded a successful float trip operation.

Kansas City, Missouri 

Call it what you will.

Cowtown. BBQ Capital of the World. Paris of the Plains.

Amanda Manion, a Kansas City, Mo., resident, knows it as the City of Fountains.

“This area here by the fountains, by the [Country Club] Plaza, is very attractive,” said Manion, who has lived in Kansas City since 1970.

Manion works at the Gap store in the middle of the Plaza – downtown Kansas City’s upscale shopping district in which more than 20 fountains provide eye-catching oases.

Starved Rock State Park, Illinois 

Visitors to Starved Rock sometimes miss the grisly undertones behind the beautiful park’s name. 

At the top of the bluff, a breathtaking view of the Illinois River and Lover’s Leap – an adjacent bluff – welcome all who make the trek.

But the stunning location would prove all too deadly for the Illiniwek tribe.

According to legend, an Illiniwek warrior slew the chief of the Ottawa tribe. In revenge, the Ottawa tribe, along with their allies, the Potawatomi, attacked the Illiniwek. The Illiniwek sought protection atop the 125-foot bluff, and the Ottawa and Potawatomi surrounded it until their helpless enemies died of starvation – hence the park’s name, Starved Rock.