Playing Tourist and Back to Work...

Wednesday, October 16

While we waited to hear if an agreement had been reached to end the Government Shutdown, Ron and I went to Smallin Civil War Cave in Ozark (Ozark is located just north of Branson and south of Springfield).

Smallin Civil War Cave was discovered in 1818 by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft. Not only did
Schoolcraft explore the cave, he wrote about it extensively in his journals.  The Osage Tribe
called the cave "Winoca", or Underground Spirit.

During the Civil War, the cave served as shelter for traveling soldiers and housed a Union spy.  Local accounts tell of supplies being hidden in the cave by Union troops at Camp Brown in the Village of Ozark. During the aftermath of the war there are many reports of the use of the cave by the vigilante group known as the Baldknobbers.  The last of the Baldknobbers were hung on the west side of the courthouse square of Ozark in 1889, just a short distance from the cave.

Following the Civil War, Smallin Cave became a social gathering place. The massive entrance provided natural air conditioning during the heat of the summer and shelter in the winter.  There are many pictures of people in the cave during this time including a full page photo from a 1923 National Geographic article titled, "Missouri, Mother of the West."

Heading into the cave...

Hi Ron!!

From the inside of the cave looking out.  It is a large entrance...

As part of our tour of Smallin Cave, we also walked past Disappointing Cave.  Disappointing Cave was so named because it is a disappointment.  It's only 12' deep!!

 Fielden Cave is another small cave that we were able to enter...

Piece of a spear in the stone...

We really enjoyed our tour here and highly recommend visiting Smallin Cave when in the area.  The Bright Family who now own Smallin Cave are a delightful family who possess a passion for the cave and have a deep knowledge of the cave as well as Ozark history.

Of course, on our way back to Branson we had to stop at Lambert's for dinner!!!

We had a wonderful day!!

Thursday, October 17

Ron and David have a standing golf date each week.  The only thing that changes is the day of the week (which varies due to work schedules) and the course that they play.  Today they played at Branson Hills.  A beautiful and somewhat challenging course...which reminded Ron of some of northern Michigan's hilly courses.  It was a beautiful day for golf.  Thanks David McClintock for the great pictures!!

Must be warming up...Ron opted for the shade for his approach

Magnificent, isn't he...

Beautiful view!

This scenic par 3 is called the Cave

Friday, October 18

We decided to make a visit to Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

We stopped at a Scenic Overlook just prior to entering the city...

The building in the far background is the Basin Park Hotel, located  on top of the hill in the Historic District

Eureka Springs has over 66 Springs.  Early Native Americans and Settlers alike believed that the Springs had healing properties.  In 1850 Dr. Alvah Jackson established a clinic in the area.  By the late 1870’s a busy resort had developed.  The arrival of the railroad in 1883 made the Spa more accessible.  People came in droves from great distances to be healed. 

Today, people visit Eureka Springs for recreational and artistic uses.

The streets of Eureka Springs and very narrow and parking is at a premium.  We decided to park at the Visitor’s Center and take advantage of the Trolley the city provides for a nominal fee.

We picked up the Trolley at the Visitor's Center. We decided to take the trolley along the "purple route" to Thorncrown Chapel.  This Chapel is known for its modern architecture...

The inside of the Chapel is just as architecturally interesting...with beautiful views of the woods through the windows...

Following our visit to the Chapel, we hopped on a trolley a toured the downtown historic area...

Humpty Dumpty, taken from the inside of the Trolley...

Remember the Basin Hotel from the Scenic Overlook?? This is a picture of it taken from the inside of the Trolley

We rode the Trolley for the full loop of the Historic District. The loop encompasses the Historic Shopping area as well as the Historic Homes.  We remained on the Trolley and rode it again to the top of the hill where we got off.  We decided to explore the shopping area with it's historic buildings.  It's much easier to ride to the top of the hill and walk down, than vice versa!!!

Some of the sights as we walked (and shopped) down the hill...

Another great way to get around town.  We saw quite a few of these scooters

As we walked, we came across this cool park, right along the main street of town...

A very cool bench...

This is a really nice park.  A great place to sit a  while and people watch...

One of the many "alley ways" in between the buildings.  Some shop entrances are located in these "alley ways"

A very interesting building...

Following our walk through the Historic District, we hopped on the Trolley and rode it back to the Visitor's Center.  One of the stops along the way was at the location of the Great Passion Play.  Free performances are held almost daily...

Saturday, October 19

Today was our first day back to work following the shutdown.  The Visitors Center re-opened at noon this past Thursday.  It was good to be back.  We had a very busy and fun day.  Through the end of October, Table Rock Dam Tours are offered four times a day, seven days a week.  In November we scale them back to three tours a day, four days a week.  One of our tours today was a "double tour" (anytime there are more than 14 people, we need to have two tour guides and two tails).  It was a windy, chilly day today, with standing room only on the trolley...

Howard, the other "tail" hanging onto his hat...

Sunday, October 20

Today was another "show" day.  This afternoon we went to the Starlite Theatre to see the Texas Tenors. You may remember them from America's Got Talent...The Tenors blend country, classical, gospel and Broadway with a touch of country humor.  This show did not disappoint...

This evening found us back at the Starlite Theatre.  This time to see a performance by Larry Gatlin and The Gatlin Brothers.  The Starlite is a fun theatre which includes a diner and lots of seating in the lobby...

Larry Gatlin and The Gatlin Brothers were only in town for a very short time.  We were happy that we were able to see their performance...

Tuesday, October 22

Remember Sherryl's concrete leaves that she made???

Sherryl made each of us a smaller version.  This time she used Red Bud leaves.  There is a Red Bud tree near the entrance to the Dewey Short Visitor's Center.  Thanks Sherryl for the great souvenir!!!

We went for a nice ride today (Tuesday) to Power Site Dam.  Power Site Dam is owned by Empire Electric.  This dam is the only dam in the White River Watershed System that was built for power generation and not flood control.  It's a rather small dam.  We stopped at a scenic overlook, which overlooks Bull Shoals Lake, near the dam...

Power Site Dam...

Power Site Dam.  Foreground is Bull Shoals Lake.  Lake Taneycomo (not pictured) is on the other side of the dam.

Saturday, October 26

Another ride today took us to Bowman Cemetery.  When Table Rock Dam was constructed, graves from a local cemetery needed to be moved.  Many of them were interred at Bowman Cemetery.  

The colors have been a week or two late getting here.  Now that they have arrived they are just beautiful...

Entrance to Bowman Cemetery

We are thankful each and everyday.  We have truly been blessed...