Jefferson Davis and Ranger Joel –Nolin Lake State Park, Kentucky 6/3

It’s Ned here again. We woke to a beautiful view of Energy Lake in the morning sun. Our first outing was to find out more about this Land Between the Lakes area. We learned at the Visitor Center the history of this unique and fertile area, formerly known as “Between the Rivers” (before the Cumberland & Kentucky Rivers were dammed to become lakes.) The group of settlers there got displaced 3 times by the federal government (first by the Tennessee Valley Authority when the Kentucky River was dammed, second when the Cumberland River was dammed, and finally when the Federal Recreation Area was formed.) Needless to say, there are still lots of locals who are resentful of having been driven off their land. We learned that Golden Pond, where the visitor center was located, was formerly considered the moonshine whiskey capital of the U.S.! The weird thing is that the area is now completely uninhabited and undeveloped, so that, although quite beautiful, something feels not quite right about how this land became a “nature preserve”. Our next stop was at the Jefferson Davis Memorial, with its 315 tall obelisk, highly reminiscent of the Washington Memorial in D.C. We opted not take the elevator trip to the top, but only tour the small museum about the man who had been President of the Confederacy during the Civil War. We left feeling fairly creeped out by the vigorous enthusiasm of all the Confederate die-hards touring the museum, including the Confederate flags adorning their cars in the parking lot. Our next stop was a special side-trip Debi had arranged to sample the wares at Chaney’s Dairy Barn, a family owned dairy business that was named one of the Top Scoop Shops by Good Morning America. We both had Chocolate Brownie, but felt it was fairly icy, and lacked the creaminess of our number-one-rated Farr’s Ice Cream we had at Bryce Canyon. We juggled our plan again and decided to check out Mammoth Cave National Park. Debi was a good sport and agreed to the Mammoth Passage Tour, even though she can sometimes suffer from bouts of claustrophobia. A thunderstorm moved in as we waited for our tour, which definitely added to the drama of the moment. Our guide, Ranger Joel, was a very enthusiastic, although extremely serious fellow .(See today’s after-tour pic of him with Debi.) Debi survived the hour long tour, although not without a few very uncomfortable moments. One of which was when Ranger Joel locked us into the cave, and the other was when he turned off the lights in the cave to make a point about how early explorers viewed the cave only by torchlight. I really enjoyed seeing the huge subterranean caverns, although I wished I’d been smart like Debi and remembered to wear a long sleeve shirt! The contrast between the muggy 90 degree temperature outside the cave, and the dry, drafty mid-50’s inside was astonishing. On the way to our campground at Nolin Lake State Park, we were treated to a fun, tiny ferry ride across the Green River. The lush green woods along this road were breathtaking.

With a Spring in Our Step –Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky 6/2

Last night seemed like we were taking part in a National Geographic show. Lying in bed we could see the fireflies dancing about while hearing the rushing sound of the Current River in the background. The insects were buzzing and periodically a screech howl would hoot. The owl kept coming closer and closer until the eerie sounds of a coyote, which was very nearby, made such a racket the hoot owl was chased away. Before we left the park this morning we decided to do a hike to the spring at the headwaters of the Current River. We hiked through some pretty woods, but must have missed the trail somewhere because we never did find it. We had a lot of territory to cover today so we decided to push on. Our main outing of the day was to explore the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. The two most impressive stops of the day were Alley Mill and Blue Spring. The mill is a three story red building right next to the turquoise waters of Alley Spring. Much of the original equipment, a turbine instead of a water wheel, and rollers rather than grinding stones, is still operational. When the mill is fully staffed they fire it up twice a day for a couple of minutes. Apparently it’s quite noisy. Much to Ned’s disappointment, they were two staff members short today so he didn’t get to see it in motion. The other amazing stop was Blue Spring. Driving down a dirt road and then a short hike was this jewel. It’s Missouri’s deepest spring at 310 feet and produces 87 million gallons of water daily – wow! True to its name, it’s a beautiful brilliant blue. We had the butterflies, damselflies, surrounding cliffs and blue spring all to ourselves. It was a tough decision which of these two places would make the pic of the day. We settled on Alley Mill simply because of the great color contrast. (All the pics are on my facebook page). We eventually headed east, very briefly driving thru Illinois into Kentucky. It was quite a thrill to drive the bridge over the Mighty Mississippi and then over the Ohio River. We’ve crossed the Mississippi on past trips, but I can’t help but be impressed each time with this massive river and see all the barges. We were originally going to camp at a State Park on the Mississippi, but decided instead to go a little further and camp at “Land Between the Lakes”, the lakes being Kentucky and Barkley. We are camped in a National Forest Area right on the lake. We also have the campground pretty much to ourselves. From our campsite this evening, we munched on chips, salsa and margaritas while watching a gorgeous sunset over the lake. The lake water seems quite warm and perhaps will take an early morning swim before setting out. I’m also looking forward to checking out the Visitor’s Center and learning more about the history of this Land Between the Lakes.

Little House on the Prairie in the Ozarks!…Montauk State Park, MO 6/1

We were enjoying hanging around the campsite so much this morning we didn’t leave until about 11:30. It felt simply wonderful eating papaya while overlooking Table Rock Lake. From there we took a very meandering drive through Mark Twain National Forest just roaming around the countryside of the Ozarks. Eventually we came into Mansfield, the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder in her later years. In fact, this is the place where she wrote most of her Little House on the Prairie Books. We spent several hours here taking a tour of her home, museum and the Rock House. We were amazed at the simple beauty of the home, particularly the Arts & Crafts style living room, library and music room. I really appreciated the craftsmanship of Laura’s husband, Almanzo. He created a gravity fed cistern water system that was funneled through their wood stove, thus giving them hot water. He made several pieces of their furniture and many personal items for Laura. What a guy! The natural light throughout the house seemed particularly advanced for a house built in 1913. Their property was situated on a peaceful wooded knoll. It’s easy to see how Laura got the inspiration to write here. (Today’s pic is Ned standing next to the back of the house). We continued our drive through the Ozark Mountains finally pulling into Montauk State Park after 6. Wow!! This is one of the most beautiful State Parks we have seen. It definitely makes the top 5 list of all our travels. It’s predominantly a fisherman’s paradise, complete with fish hatchery. We picked out a great campsite backed up to the Current River and then hopped on our bikes to explore the park. There’s a rustic lodge, several cabins, an old mill and the Current River running through-out. It was unbelievable beautiful, especially in the dusk to watch the fly fisherman in their waders casting in the turquoise water as the mist rose up above the river. We had fun feeding the fish at the hatchery and biking around all the beautiful parts of the park and enjoying the endless scenery of the river. We grilled up some bratwurst at the campsite, but ate so late that we had to wear our headlamps to see what we were eating. It was still quite warm at 10:30 so we decided to wade into the river, which turned out to be bone aching cold. Boy, did we get cooled off quickly. I can’t quite describe how magical it was, standing ankle deep in the river, looking up at the stars as the fireflies put on a light show for us. We were joined by a very large turtle, several trout and an opossum that wandered by in the moonless night.

A Taste of Branson…Table Rock State Park, MO 5/31

When we woke up this morning there was a very slight drizzle. At first Ned thought there were just a lot of fish biting in the lake. Less than 30 minutes later it stopped, but it was so hot and humid you really couldn’t tell the difference between rain and just plain muggy. We said our goodbyes to Teri and Terrie, and promised to meet up again somewhere next year for another camping trip. We drove through the Ozarks and into Southern Missouri taking backroads and scenic routes. The hardwoods were really thick and lush, so unlike the forest of the Sierras! When we eventually arrived in Branson, MO it was a little bit of a shock. We were so used to the solitude of 3 days at Lake Wedington that the tourist attractions of Branson felt over the top. Just for kicks we drove through downtown but really didn’t see anything that struck our fancy. By anything, I mean country shows, go-karts,, bunge jumping, or helicopter, railroad, boat or duck rides. We did settle on trying out Andy’s Frozen Custard. Meh. It was on par with your standard soft-serve, not even on par with Farr or Blue Bell’s league. I thought the picture would give you a taste of the area. When we pulled into Table Rock State Park earlier today, we got the usual person wandering over asking questions about the Winniemoblie and wanting to take a look inside. He was a sweet grandpa from Missouri. We asked him for recommendations on what was a “must see” and he suggested the Ralph Foster Museum at College of the Ozarks. So, after meandering thru Historic Branson to catch the dancing water and fire show, we decided to mosey on over to the College. By this time it was close to 90 deg. and humid as hell. It felt great to be inside an air-conditioned building. The museum had everything from the original car of the TV show “The Beverley Hillbillies” to an extensive gun collection from the last 400 years. There was also quite a bit of Country Music memorabilia specifically related to the Ozarks. We enjoyed the museum a lot and would recommend it to anyone passing thru. (Did you know that Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf was an alumni of this college?) We got settled into the campsite in the early evening but were still too hot to do anything. Once the sun was near setting, about 7:30 we hopped on our bikes and pedaled along this really nice bike path that took us along the lakeshore from the marina to the dam. By the time we got back to our site, we decided to put on our swim suits and go for an evening swim. The water felt great! We floated around for awhile and when the fireflies began to come out we decided it was time to head back! It was a skootch disconcerting to have a skunk wander onto the bike path, but he eventually headed home. Currently, it’s 10ish at night and the temp is a very muggy 88 degrees. I’m sure going to appreciate the fan that Ned rigged to blow air across our bed tonight.

Lazy Days – Lake Wedington, Ark 5/29-5/30

The last two days have been the epitome of a summer holiday weekend. The campground where we stayed is relatively small – only 14 sites, and our campground is situated right on the lake. We’ve had a great time with Teri and Terry (the Terries) pretty much doing nothing. Ned and I have taken some great bike rides before everyone else is awake. This morning we tried to circumvent the lake, but the trail was way too narrow and technical. We did see a huge flying bullfrog that shot across the trail when we came up on him too quickly and a turtle just hanging out. We decided to attempt the hiking trail from the other side of the lake and had a bit more success. We ended up taking it to the top of a mountain, the end destination being the Gazebo Overlook. It was a very cool structure, built by the WPA. The problem was the forest had grown so much since it was built that it was actually situated more IN the dense woods then overlooking anything. For the past two days The Terries, Ned and I have hung out at the grassy public swimming area from about 10ish until 7:30 or so at night. Our routine has been pretty much swim, nap, eat, swim some more, etc. The lake is a perfect swimming lake and we have really enjoyed just soaking up the sun on our floaties. (Some of us got a little more sun than others). We’re also enjoying swimming with the turtles. It’s a riot to see them poke up their heads, look around and then quickly duck down again. Last night we decided to have a night out on the town and head into Fayetteville for some bbq. One can hardly hang out in Arkansas without having some bbq! We went to a place recommended by locals called Penguin Ed’s. There’s a red phone located at each booth. The way you place your order is by picking up the phone and “calling” it in. Kinda gimmicky, but fun. We had ribs, two sides and toasted bread. Yep – we’re definitely in the south! Actually, the most entertainment we’ve had is observing the local Ranger, whom we’ve all fondly named “By the Book Betty.” Geez, she’s a complete psycho on the rules. Yesterday, the 4 of us, while swimming, were yelled at by her for venturing a few feet beyond the swimming buoys. This morning, Ned and I were scolded for riding our bikes in the park area before the park opened. What?! Well today one of the buoys was “magically” moved far out into the lake. Teri and Ned decided to test the rules by swimming way out of the accepted boundaries to the rogue buoy, their excuse being they were still within the marked area. Well, within 20 minutes “By the Book Betty” was in a fishing boat, regulation orange life vest on, instructing two lackeys to move the buoy back where it needed to be. Hilarious. Most fun we’ve had in a long time.

Blue Skies & Blue Bell…Lake Wedington, Ozarks Mts. –Arkansas 5/28

Ned here. We left Boiling Springs State Park and headed toward Arkansas. This part of Okalahoma was looking very green, but very flat so we kept ourselves busy listening to the local NPR station. The show we heard had the typical sound of an NPR interview, but the content had a Southern-Midwestern spin. The story was about a woman who had made history by breaking into the all male arena of bbq competition. She was from Mississippi and her family had developed a prize winning bbq sauce recipe. The irony of the story it seemed to both Debi and me was that despite the theme of the story being the groundbreaking ascension of a young woman into a man’s domain, the father remained extremely patronizing toward his daughter and the balance of power clearly remained all with him. Debi pointed out that if this man had a son this would never have happened. Clearly, this story never would have made it on air in our part of the country. We finally arrived at the Blue Bell Ice Cream plant in Broken Arrow, it was 1:05 pm and we expected the last tour to be at 1:00 so we were delighted to get a private 1:30 tour. (Today’s picture is Debi hamming it up before the tour). Our tour guide was “Miss Delores” a handsome large Black woman who also tutors middle-school special ed kids. She was warm, friendly, enthusiastic, and we had a great time bonding with her over kids going off to college and our common love of ice cream. She showed us the whole operation from observation windows above the factory. When we went back to the tasting room, Miss Delores snuck us a special cup of their “Southern Hospitality” flavor (crushed pineapple, strawberry swirl and chopped pecans) which we were amazed was our favorite of the three scoops we tried. For the record, Farr’s Ice Cream from Ogden, Utah is still our trip favorite. From Broken Arrow, OK we made a straight shot into Arkansas where we met Teri and Terry, who had driven down from Chicago. The campground Debi reserved on the internet, Lake Wedington, is really nicely wooded and set along side of a beautiful lake. We plan to stay here for the next three nights to avoid any Memorial Day weekend craziness. Debi is really looking forward to hanging out with her childhood buddy from 7th grade.

Slow and Steady – Boiling Springs State Park, OK 5/27

It’s hot. At 7 pm it’s 90 degrees, humid and I’m loving it! After the cooler dry air in the last couple of western states this finally feels like summer. Wispy cotton balls from the cottonwood trees are floating in the air, the birds and insects sound like a chorus competing for air time, and it smells like fresh grass after a rain storm. Occasionally, you can hear a whistle from a distant train as it rumbles by. (Can you tell I spent 13 years of my childhood in the East Coast and mid-west? I’ll be looking fireflies next). We had a pretty uneventful day driving thru the plains of New Mexico and the panhandle of Oklahoma. We drove past miles of young, green wheat fields about 2ft high, and wildflowers of all colors scattered through out the plains. We even saw some antelope! Originally we were planning on staying at Beaver Dunes State Park, but knowing the long day of driving ahead of us tomorrow, and the fact that ATV’s are welcome on the dunes until 11pm at night, we decided to venture on to the next State Park, Boiling Springs. Contrary to its name, the springs here are cold, but only appear to be boiling as they bubble up in the sand. We have a secluded camping spot tucked away in a mixed hardwood and evergreen forest. When we arrived at the park we went for a bike ride hoping to explore the various trails and also see the Canadian River. Many parts of the park, especially the woods are submerged in water. This park reminds me more of a bayou in Louisiana than an oasis in the northwestern area of Oklahoma!. On almost every trail we had to turn back because at some point it was either submerged under water by at least a foot or too muddy to go on. After speaking to some folks we discovered there was a huge storm here yesterday, apparently raining by as much as 2 inches in an hour and a half! Considering we only saw blue skies during the day we were surprised and grateful that we missed it. We did manage to spot a very cute tortoise on one of the trails. We thought he captured the tone of the day perfectly – slow and steady – and therefore he has the honor of being the pic of the day. Our big decision of the night was to barbecue chicken or eat the leftover pizza. The pizza won out, which allowed us to hop on our bikes and go for another ride later in the evening, about a little before 9. We picked a higher ground bike trail and were pleasantly surprised when we came upon on old CCC shelter. It was three sided, made out of huge granite slabs and had a giant fireplace in the back wall. So cool and reminiscent of a bygone era. Tomorrow we have another long drive with our destination being Lake Wedington in the Arkansas Ozarks. We do have one side-trip planned, a visit to the Blue Bell Creamery in Broken Arrow. We are planning on meeting up with my friend Terri and her husband, Terry, to hang out for the long Memorial Day weekend.