Sunday,
April 24, 2016
Our
week at Tulsa with Terry’s family was a most enjoyable visit. We had rain for
the first two days and then clear, beautiful spring days. Terry especially
enjoyed the personal quality time with her mother.
We
cooked, dined by the pool, watched television and movies, took nice walks,
shopped, visited with the daughters, and Friday night, we fed and entertained
the traveling Niehause family. It was an excellent week and everyone seemed to
enjoy the camaraderie. Patrick and Kristy have a charming home and gardens in
Tulsa.
We
parked our RV at the garden gate and consequently, the rain-soaked ground
caused us some concern about getting out. Fortunately, I found some good wheel support-boards
and Patrick cut a small tree, providing us with an easy exit.
No greater love hath a man
Than to cut a tree
For his RV clan
After
coffee, we departed Tulsa, and headed east on US 412. We crossed the McClellan-Kerr
Arkansas River Navigation System, drove to Chouteau, and took the Cherokee
Turnpike to the Arkansas line. Oklahoma has a network of expedient Turnpikes,
crisscrossing the entire state. For convenience, you need to have the correct
toll fees ready for the toll-booth.
The
McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System is 445-mile canal network which
connects Tulsa to the Mississippi River. We heard boat horns at Catoosa and now
we realize that the canal IS very close to Catoosa. This is another extraordinary
US Army Corps of Engineers project.
We
continued east to Arkansas’s Siloam Springs, Springdale, and a camp at the
Withrow Springs State Park. Traveling along the highways east, from California
to Arkansas, we experience a restrained culture-shock, observing lifestyles and
conditions that still exist from the previous century. Education must be a
factor but the local employment opportunities must also keep people in a
deprived condition.
Springdale
is Tyson Poultry country and it’s all about chicken. The totally-integrated
operation begins with laying-hen growers who produce fertile eggs for the
hatchery. The hatchery produces baby chicks for the broiler poultry growers.
The feed mill produces feed for the broiler poultry growers and the fertile egg
producers. The processing plant produces the various poultry products from the
broiler growers AND the retired laying-hens become stewing hens. This autonomous
business model is replicated across several southern states to supply the
worldwide Tyson Poultry market. I like it fried, grilled, broiled, roasted, stewed,
barbequed, and included in all sorts of delectable recipes.
Withrow
Springs State Park, situated in the Ozark Mountains of Northwest Arkansas, and
named for 1832 pioneer Richard Withrow, has a gushing spring which feeds the
old grist mill and meanders over the bluffs into the War Eagle River. The
mountains are predominately covered in hardwoods, especially White Oak, Red
Oak, Hickory, Sycamore, Poplar, and occasional Cedar. An outstanding population
of Dogwoods paint the mountain slopes from bottom to top, with waves of white
blossoms. The park is sporting new-spring-green and the spreading layers of
Dogwood blossoms accent the unspoiled Ozark beauty of the park. We enjoyed the
park, walking around, cooking, eating, watching television, and resting at our
gorgeous campsite.
Monday,
April 25, 2016
Today,
we continued across north Arkansas to Harrison, Flippin, and Bull Shoals, with
a few significant Arkansas towns sandwiched between. The Ozark Mountain streams
run clear and fast and offer some outstanding whitewater paddling
opportunities. Over the years, we have experienced many exhilarating challenges
and adventures, in our “Old Town” canoe, on the Ozark Rivers and creeks.
Huntsville
is the site of the 1863 “Hunstville Massacre” and in 2006, they placed a
monument at the site, commemorating the event. War is hell!
Marble
is an old settlement, with the old marble quarry contributing some marble to
the Washington Monument. Not a bad “claim to fame”! The old quarry property
became “Dogpatch USA”.
Alpena
(town) Pass is an old railroad pass in the Ozark Mountains between Carroll and
Boone counties, Arkansas. This old town has a story or two to tell. Interesting
spot!
At
Osage, Arkansas, the old (1899) Stamps Store is a historic stone “general
store” that’s loaded with Carroll County history. Named for the Osage tribe,
many historic “firsts” occurred here.
It
is believed that the first white men to visit the Harrison, Arkansas area were
the Hernando de Soto explorers, who met with “cliff dwellers” along the White
River bluffs around Bear Creek. Must have been an interesting encounter!
Entering
Bull Shoals by crossing the Bull Shoals Dam, we took a picturesque campsite on
the lake, just north of and overlooking the dam. This US Army Corps of
Engineers project provides flood control, hydroelectric energy, and recreation
on the White River. It’s a fine resort and retirement community and White River
is ranked as one of the top trout fisheries in the country. Downstream from the
dam, at the confluence of the White and Mississippi Rivers, is the beginning of
the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System.
It’s
a most beautiful Spring in the Tri-state area of Missouri, Illinois, and
Kentucky. We crossed the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau and cruised down the Illinois side, through "Little Egypt". We visited the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers at Cairo. (Lots of water coming down!) Cairo WAS a stunning old town but the flood and the economy have left it a "shell" of it's glory days. We crossed the Ohio River into Kentucky and had lunch at Paducah. Afterwards, we headed east by "Land between the Lakes" and crossed the confluence of the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers with the Ohio River. Didn't see any "Great Loop" cruisers but it's too early, as they come through mostly in the Fall.We enjoyed our visit to Cape Girardeau, “Little Egypt”, Cairo, Paducah,
Louisville, and now Indiana. We got to see some impressive historic places, and
some engaging new places. Nothing like seeing how so many places have achieved
prominence! Nothing like the American people!
Monday,
May 2, 2016
Now,
we begin our summer in Indiana. We’re looking forward to family, friends, and
all the people, places, and things that make the Indiana area special.
