State Capitols and Oddities

 August 11, 2025

It has been quite a while since we traveled out of state, and we are finally on the road again.  We didn't leave until early August because our itinerary revolves around two nights in a camper cabin in Isle Royale National Park, located on Lake Superior.

Our first major stop was a visit to the Oklahoma State Capitol, our twelfth state capitol tour.  The weather was in the high 90s for the first two days, so we didn't try to camp.

Will Rogers

Sequoyah

The next location on my list was the "Keeper of the Plains" sculpture overlooking the Arkansas River in Wichita, Kansas.  We were pleased to hear native American flute music playing quietly through speakers at the sculpture.  Nice displays about aspects of indigenous culture, too.

The next cool place was not expected, except we wanted to route ourselves through Minneapolis, Kansas (I was born in Minneapolis, MN).  We explored nearby Rock City, the largest concentration of huge sandstone concretions in the world.  An added bonus was the George Washington Carver exhibit in the local county museum.  Mr. Carver lived in Minneapolis for a while as a young man.

We dawdled along the Lincoln Highway in Nebraska and visited another state Capitol in Lincoln.

The floors in the Nebraska State Capitol are covered in many intricate mosaics.  Here are some that interested me...

The Nebraska State Capitol felt like a church.

The story goes that the Capitol in Baton Rouge, LA, was made taller than this one at the insistence of Governor Huey Long.

a portion of orginal concrete of the Lincoln Highway (U.S. Highway 30)

On September 1, 1928, Boy Scouts erected  3,000 of these markers along the entire length of the 

Lincoln Highway.  

A feature along the Lincoln Highway in Nebraska.  The owner drove by, saw us, then pulled over

to tell us the history of the location and his plans to restore the building.  It has been here since 1932.

There is a very large cemetery in Lincoln, NE, and we saw the Nebraska State Holocaust Memorial there.

We found geocaches in 14 Iowa counties, the 45th state we have completed.  Some of the cool things we encountered are . . .

Claims to be the world's largest bull in Audubon, Iowa

Templeton Rye Distillery

retrieving a geocache

AND . . . another State Capitol tour - Des Moines, Iowa

Iowa is full of rolling, hilly farmland (so different from the FLAT farmland in eastern Illinois where I grew up).  So many shades of green, terraced fields with contour plantings.  This rest stop along the interstate caught my attention . . .

Depth of topsoil in 1850 was 14 inches

In 2000, it was only 5.5 inches

This summarizes Week 1 of this adventure.  More to come!

CCC in the Texas State Parks

                                        

Thanksgiving 2024 - Bastrop State Park

In 2011, there was a devastating wildfire in  Bastrop State Park.  Heroic efforts by firefighters

saved the cluster of cabins built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1935.  This was the first

time that these cabins caught my attention and ever since then, I wanted to stay in one.   Well, the 

 time finally arrived.  We reserved one cabin that sleeps 5 and immediately learned that our son, Mark, 

and his whole family would be there.  Luckily, we were able to reserve the one next door and 

all four of our children and the three grandkids were set to spend three days together.   No TV

or other distractions, just endless board games, big breakfasts together, outdoor hikes.   So much

to be thankful for with our whole family.

  

Most of the gang - Phillip became ill after a few hours and had to return to Houston

Playing Uno

A lasting legacy

Oldest and youngest Kissells

Scenic Lookout built by the CCC

Our eldest and youngest offspring

Walnut mantel carved by CCC workers

Unfortunately, a burn ban was in effect so the fireplace could not be used.

These three are clever AND the best!

farkleberries growing along the Farkleberry Trail

Snag left after the 2011 fire

There has been quite a bit of regrowth in the park over the past 13 years.

Over the years in our travels and camping trips, we have encountered numerous CCC

structures around the country.  We have recently read a few books about the work of the CCC

and will be paying more attention to their legacy in the future.  The structures were so well built

using local materials that they are still in use.  Most were built using plans drafted by National

Park Service architects.

Suggested Reading:

       

            Brandimarte, Cynthia. Texas State Parks and the CCC: The Legacy of the Civilian Conservation 

                            Corps.  Texas A & M University Press, 2013

            Pearson, P. O'Connell.  Fighting for the Forest: How FDR's Civilian Conservation Corps Helped

                            Save America.  New York: Simon & Schuster, 2019

We spent the last few days of December camping at two state parks in northeast Texas - Eisenhower State Park on the south shore of Lake Texhoma and Bonham State Park.  With weather turning colder, we returned to Houston on New Year's Eve.

Denison, TX

Another Denison native son, Capt. Sully Sullenberger

                                    A beautiful sunny day at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge 

snow geese

Entrance built by the CCC

Remnants of water tower built by CCC, just 400 feet up the hill from our campsite.

Fannin County Courthouse in Bonham in early morning light, flags are at half-staff

for President Jimmy Carter

Rayburn served 24 terms in Congress and was Speaker of the House for 17 years.

While not born in Texas, his home is near Bonham.  

Now a trip down memory lane . . .

Observation Tower built by CCC

Three-tier spillway built by CCC in Cleburne State Park, TX

Grandsons Caleb and Logan at the spillway on a camping trip a few years ago.

The travel itch is getting strong so we are eagerly looking forward to more camping trips to Texas State Parks and seeking out more CCC structures.  More to come in 2025!