I was planning on doing my first backpacking trip of the year this weekend but when I pulled out my one man Big Agnes tent, all the tape on the seams was cracked. I called Big Agnes and they're standing behind their product and will replace it, so thumbs up to them!
Powers - I went to college in Southwest Missouri and spent a lot of time in the Ozarks, that is some beautiful country.
Trace63 - In most state/national forests, you can camp anywhere you would like unless it's posted otherwise. This usually means hiking into the woods a bit but you really don't have to go far, usually a mile or two and you'll get away from the crowds and find some solitude. I love this website for finding trails -
www.hillmap.com. In addition, check out
http://www.alltrails.com to find more trip reports and beta on trails and camping spots.