Summer 2018
Kris here: We have been on the road for
10 days so far so it's time to update this blog.
Last spring, we had big plans to drive
to Alaska and then roam around the Pacific Northwest. Then, life
(and illness) got in the way. Kris had completely recovered from
last fall's brain surgery to remove a benign meningioma and Brian had
successful procedures done on both corneas so we thought we were good
to go. Just a week before our planned departure in May, a stage I
cancer tumor was found on Brian's vocal cord. We found ourselves in
Houston in July for the first time in 10 years . . . ugh!! 33
radiation treatments were completed by late July so we took off with
three weeks of free time before the next doctor appointment. It has
been a communication challenge since early July when his voice
totally disappeared. He isn't supposed to whisper, but it is
necessary at times, especially while driving and he can't use his
whiteboard.
To summarize our experiences so far:
We started this adventure with three
days visiting friends at their lakehouse on Lake LBJ near Marble
Falls, Texas. We have not attended this annual gathering for the
past few years because we were always traveling outside of Texas,
sometimes in Canada. The 100+ degree heat was a bit daunting (we
had a can of carbonated water depressurize and some gummy vitamins
melt when it got above 130 degrees in the truck) but we slept in
air-conditioned comfort and enjoyed good food and good company. We even managed a full round of Mexican Train dominoes - tradition demanded it.
Charlotte and David: many thanks for
your wonderful Hill Country hospitality.
seen shortly after leaving the lakehouse
We entered Arkansas during a rain shower and it cooled things off enough to camp near Greers Ferry Dam on the Little Red River near the town of Heber Springs. It was wonderful to hear the river flowing by our campsite.
Camping again - yay!!!
Kris standing on the boat ramp next to Little Red River - clear water!
Little Red River below Greers Ferry Lake in Arkansas
Our next destination was Ozark National
Scenic Riverways in southeast Missouri. We spent three nights at the
Round Spring campground (National Park Service) and woke up to 60
degree mornings – we got lucky. We explored beautiful
large-volume springs that feed the Current River with crystal clear
water, went on a cave tour by lantern light (the park service keeps
this cave natural without electric lights so that was a treat), a
sinkhole, a historic mill, and enjoyed an evening ranger talk in the
amphitheater (always a pleasure).
Alley Mill
Alley Spring pool behind the mill
Blue Spring - 310 feet deep
Water dripping over ferns into the sinkhole called "Devil's Well"
Kris on the way down into "Devil's Well"
The park service keeps you safe and out of the subterranean lake but a motion sensor on the trail activates the light so you can see the water down below.
Entrance to Round Spring Cave - we took a tour by lantern light - no artificial lighting in the cave.
Rocky Falls - known locally as a 'shut-in' because it flows over resistant rhyolite instead of limestone.
Early morning on the Current River just a short walk from our campsite. The water is spring fed and you can see the gravel bottom all the way across to the other side.
looking downstream
Big Spring - Ozark National Scenic Riverways
Closer look at Big Spring - the water really gushes with a daily average flow of 286 million gallons.
We spent one day driving around the
Ozarks outside the national park and paid a visit to the high point
of Missouri, Taum Sauk Mountain. Not one of the more impressive high
points we have visited over the years, but worth the trip.
High Point of Missouri - Taum Sauk Mountain, elevation 1772 feet - quite a hike!
Actually, we drove to the top and walked a paved path to the marker.
We hiked to a nearby area dedicated to the founder of the Highpointers Club.
We've been to 5 or 6 Highpoints over the years, including Guadalupe Peak in Texas (8.5 mile hike that took all day in 2006).
The signposts are covered in wooden signs that point to every state high point with the distance carved into each sign.
Next up, St. Louis to visit Gateway
Arch National Park (the newest NP in the system) to see the renovated and
expanded museum. We did not ride a pod to the top this time like we
did with our kids many moons ago. While in the city, we visited
Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site and saw his home, White Haven.
We consider ourselves to be life-long learners and we always come
away from historic sites with a better understanding of the events
and important people in our history.
The newest national park, formerly known as Jefferson Westward Expansion Memorial
Cool terrazzo map of the U.S. with various overland trails delineated. Brian is standing on St. Louis (orange circle)
Looking up from the base of the south leg of the Arch
Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site in St. Louis
One of our geocaching goals is to find
caches in as many counties as we can, so we have spent a good bit of
the past few days roaming around central Missouri. As we approached
Jefferson City from the north, we could see the dome of the Capitol
Building rising taller than anything else in the city. It is
situated right on the Missouri River but is currently undergoing
renovation and most of the building was obscured with scaffolding.
We were able to gain access to the Lewis and Clark Monument on the
capitol grounds.
We are sorry that you really can't see the bronze statues very well - Lewis and Clark monument with the Missouri Capitol behind.
This cropped version of the photo shows the detail better.
It has been too hot to camp so we find
ourselves in a motel for the third straight night . . . not our usual
motel to camping ratio (4:4 since we left Texas). Our longest
running camping streak is 50 days in 2015! We drove through a
thunderstorm this evening so we have high hopes that the weather
forecast is right and we can camp tomorrow night.
I will close for now with some quotes I
have come across in my reading over the past few months:
“Our fantastic civilization has
fallen out of touch with many aspects of nature, and
none more completely than with
night. Are modern folk afraid of night? Do they
fear that vast serenity, the mystery of infinite space, the austeristy of stars?” “Today's
civilization is full of people who have not the slightest notion of the character or the
poetry of night, who have never even seen night.” “(Night) is the true other half of the
day's tremendous wheel.” – excerpted from The Outermost House: A Year of Life
on the Great Beach of Cape Cod by Henry Beston, published in 1928
These statements resonated with me
because I am always thankful to find myself in a campground
without electical service. I dislike the way artificial lights spoil
my night vision – strings of patio lights festooning RVs, street
lights on poles, overly bright restrooms. I love walking around on
full moon nights with my moon shadow following me around! No flashlight needed. I almost
always wake up naturally about 15 minutes before sunrise when I look
out the camper window and see the sky beginning to brighten.
And another, this one by John Muir:
“Keep close to Nature's heart . . .
and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a
mountain or spend a week in the woods.
Wash your spirit clean.”
Seen while geocaching:
I don't really like the cliché about everything being bigger in Texas, but . . .
A "gadget" cache in Arkansas - using a combination to unlock a drawer to get a 'tool'
Using the 'tool' to force air into a hole (several to choose from) but that didn't work . . .
putting the uninflated end of the balloon in the hole first, then blowing air into it . . .
Success! The drawer with the actual geocache opened. Cleverly designed geocaches
like this keep the game interesting.
Missouri Firefighters Memorial in Kingdom City
Old Carter County Courthouse, Missouri covered in geodes and similar rocks.
This building reminded us of 'Geode Grotto' we saw in Jasper, Indiana last September.
1.5 miles down a gravel road, we came to Mt. Sterling School used from 1896 to 1963
Statues on the grounds around the school house
Kris wanted to know what they were reading - alphabet book
Brian's caption for this one "I forgot my helmet."
Kris took the advice from the sign above the shelter.
Public Art in St. Louis - the geocache was nearby
You guys sure do get around!
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