While Iowa has its famous covered bridges in Madison County, Missouri can boast of a half-dozen swinging bridges in Miller County.

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 12 suspension bridges are still in operation in Missouri, and six are in Miller County. Of those six, four lie within a few miles of Missouri Highway 42 near the Lake of the Ozarks. A trip to any of these bridges makes an entertaining and educational side excursion while driving to or from the Lake.

Visitors may walk or drive (depending on the vehicle's weight) across each bridge. The load limits range from two to 14 tons. At some of the bridge sites, gravel bars, campsites and fishing opportunities await those who seek out these gentlely swaying structures from the 1920s and '30s.

The bridges of Miller County have a rich history, complete with adventure and tragedy. Built by Joseph Dice of Warsaw, Mo. -- in the days when string and mules were commonly used to plan and execute construction -- these single-lane suspension bridges have undergone very little change, other than routine maintenance and repair.

Peggy Smith Hake, a Miller County historian and genealogist, says Dice became an apprentice to Dr. D.M. Eddy, a physician in the Warsaw area who also designed and built bridges. Eddy built the first swinging bridge in the Lake area in 1895, and Dice was his foreman.

Dice went on to build 40 bridges of varying lengths in central Missouri, each measuring 12 to 14 feet wide. He never drew plans, preferring to use a ball of twine to figure curvatures and spans. Men on horseback and in boats pulled the wires used to make the bridge cables across the creeks, and men with mules hauled cement, river gravel and timbers to the sites.

In her book "Pioneer Families of Miller County ... Journey to the Past," Hake writes, "We are told that Mr. Dice could tell by the 'feel' of the wire if the tension was right." When the state transportation department started requiring blueprints for bridges, Dice retired.

Two of the bridges cross the Big Tavern Creek near St. Anthony. The bridges are easy to find because they have namesake roads. The Kliethermes Bridge, built in the late 1920s and situated about three miles to the west of the town, measures 304 feet long.

Wilson Camp Public Fishing Access, maintained by the Missouri Department of Conservation, is located on the western side of the bridge. Visitors may fish or launch a canoe from a large parking area at the foot of the bridge.

The second bridge near St. Anthony lies 2 1/2 miles south. It is called the Buechter (pronounced "Booster") Bridge and is 128 feet long. Private property lines both sides of the bridge, but there is a place to pull off and park on the north side of the bridge.

A tragedy occurred on this bridge in August 2000, when a recently hired Miller County transportation worker driving a dump truck attempted to cross the bridge. Carrying a load of gravel that exceeded the bridge load limit, the truck crashed through the bridge, pinning the driver and drowning him in the creek.

As a result of the accident, both bridges near St. Anthony have been refurbished with new planks and reinforced with new cables.

The second set of swinging bridges is situated off Highway 42, near Brumley. Referred to as either "the twin bridges of Brumley" or "the swingers," these bridge sites belong to the Lake of the Ozarks State Park. In 1931, during construction of Bagnell Dam, Union Electric built the bridges to replace former low-water bridges that were covered with water.

The first bridge of the set, the Mill Creek Bridge, measures 100 feet and crosses Miller Creek. New cables and corrugated steel planks reinforce the old bridge.

Beyond the Mill Creek Bridge lies "the mother" of all the Miller County bridges -- the Auglaize Bridge. It measures 400 feet long and boasts a weight allowance of 15 tons. Although the bridge is grand in size, weathered, hole-ridden boards line the deck of this bridge, and gnarled cables groan and twist like old joints when in motion.

Visitors may picnic on gravel bars at either of the Brumley bridges, and fires are allowed in designated areas. Overnight tenting is also allowed, with payment on the honor system. Restrooms are provided. In-season fishing and frogging can be productive at both bridge sites, especially after heavy rains.

History may be seen and felt in these old bridges, and they afford opportunities to discuss not only the past but also the principles of mathematics and physics. Or, if thinking is not in the plan for the day, ju st spending time near the old bridges while enjoying a picnic or casting a line may prove therapeutic.

To get to the bridges near St. Anthony, take Highway A north from Highway 42, a few miles east of Iberia. Turn west into St. Anthony and follow the appropriately named roads.

The twin bridges of Brumley can be found on Swinging Bridges Road, off Highway 42 on the left side as you leave Brumley heading toward the Lake of the Ozarks.

Before crossing any of these bridges, please note the specified weight limits. SUVs are often too heavy to cross the bridges.

For more information about the Brumley bridges, call the Lake of the Ozarks State Park office at 1-573-348-2694, or go to www.lakelinks.com/sites_to_see/swinging_bridges.htm. Reservations for c amping may be made at www.mostateparks.com.