South Midwest Driving Tour - Mountain View, AR
Mountain View, AR
April 1: Our trip began today with about 450 miles of driving from Portland to Boise, ID. We departed around 8:30 am after final packing and other last minute chores (putting out the trash, arranging house plants, and cleaning out the refrigerator). We stopped at Jim and Patty's for coffee and breakfast treats and then at Troutdale for gas. We drove all the way to Boise with two rest stops and one refill on gas. We ate lunch at the second rest stop near Baker City. We had rain, hail, snow and sleet at the higher elevations through the Blue Mountains, otherwise clear skies. We arrived into Boise at just after 4 PST or 5 o'clock Idaho time. Betsy and Kirk met us at their front door. We immediately went for a walk along the Boise River eastward on the Bethine Church Trail (Frank Church's wife, not a religious institution). We turned around at Bier Thirty, after a swift pint of beer (Kirk and I), a glass of cider and wine (Betsys'). We returned home for a very nice dinner of salad, Brazilian seafood soup, bread and lemon bars for dessert. We had a wonderful, wide-ranging discussion of travels, both past and future, a little politics and families. April 2: We were up early after a restful and pleasant night - very dark and quiet. We breakfasted with Betsy and Kirk on fruit and granola. We had coffee and hit the road. We drove south east on I84 to just past Rupert, turned mostly south to Utah and then picked up I15. We stopped near the access point to the Golden Spike Monument for gas and lunch a little after 1:30 pm. We head due south to Past Salt Lake City to Provo. We turned off the interstate toward Green River, Utah to cut the corner to I70 East. We saw way too much of Utah today. We drove until about 7:30 pm, managing to get into Colorado. We stopped at Fruita, CO at The Balance Rock Inn. We covered over 650 miles today. This will allow for a more relaxed drive tomorrow. We had a quick dinner at Rib City Grill - pulled pork and smoked chicken. April 3: After a hotel breakfast we drove across the Colorado River and immediately entered the Colorado National Monument. We drove the 30-mile Rimrock Drive, which climbs up to 6,600 feet snaking along a crenelated edge of the Colorado Plateau. This monument is at the northern edge of the layered landscape that extends southward to the Grand Canyon and westward through Utah. We stopped at the visitor center, which is four miles in, for an orientation. The first of the principle layers was laid down 1.5 billion years ago. The next six or so layers aged from 500 to 150 million years old. The Colorado River may have started the erosion but wind is the principle agent. There are a multitude of canyons with slick rock walls, hoodoos, pillars and the like. Besides driving the main activities in the park are mountain bike riding and hiking. I took numerous photos, some of which will be attached to this blog sometime. We dropped over the edge down through a canyon into Grand Junction. We picked up I70 and proceeded east to Denver. Our destination was Jan and Ron Schmidt's house in Conifer, CO, southwest of Denver. The drive was long and somewhat tedious with several backups, and many long ascents and curving descents. The 4 cylinder Honda struggled some on the uphills, given the altitude and weight. We went up to 11,000 feet twice. Fortunately, the snow that had fallen the day before was all gone by the time we went by, even though five miles of the road at the Vail-Copper Pass was closed as late as mid-morning. We navigated our way to Jan and Ron's home successfully. We did an hour long walk with them in one of 27 Jefferson County Open Space (like a large park). The one we're walked through had rock formations like those found at The Garden of the Gods or the Red Rocks Amphitheater. We return home for a dinner of salad, moussaka and ice cream. We shared travel plans and news of folks in Portland. April 4: We slept in late after getting up at 4:30 am to view the lunar eclipse. It was almost total while we watched from the comfort of Jan and Ron's TV room windows and later from our bed. This was the best viewing ever. After breakfast we all piled into the car for 40 mile drive south of Conifer for a hike in the Lost Creek area, specifically to Harmonica Arch. We had about a 15 miles of dirt roads, through wildfire-scared landscape. Unlike the Northwest, recovery here takes much longer due to less rainfall and higher temperatures. There were almost no new young trees even after 15 or more years. We arrived at the trailhead and walked about 2 miles in along a creek before ascending 900 feet to above the arch. There was much smooth looking rock outcroppings that provided good traction under foot. The views on top were impressive. We could see Pikes Peak to the southeast and several large peaks to the west. We enjoyed our lunch just opposite the arch which had about 100 foot wide opening at the edge of the slick rock overlooking the valley from whence we came. We returned the same way we came in, stepping carefully downslope to avoid sliding on the loose rocks. The total hike was 6 miles with 2000 feet of elevation gain, though with the scrambling up on a largely undeveloped trail and the need for a careful descent, it was harder than it might seem from these numbers. Ron drove us home through some quaint canyon towns with historic-looking, rustic cabins each with an outhouse. We went through Sphinx Park, famous for the Bucksnort Tavern, a favorite with the motorcycle clubs. The cabins in this area were often built directly on top of big boulders or outcroppings right next to the creek. It reminds one of West Virginia hollers. We went for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. We came home and watched a Netflix DVD I had brought along (and can now mail back) - Just Cause. I missed the NCAA basketball games but learned that Duke won their semi-final game and will play Wisconsin on Monday night. Go Devils. April 5: Happy Easter. We arose somewhat late, had breakfast (Ron's oatmeal, with lots of accompaniments), and then drove to Reynolds Open Space for a morning stroll. Jan and Ron do the loop walk at least twice a week. It is a good conditioning hike with good views of Pikes Peak from the top and the park is close to their home. We said goodbye to Jan and Ron, thanking them for a great visit and drove to Colorado Springs. We arrived in less than two hours. We found my brother's condominium easily by GPS. Paul let us park in his garage. After a short break, Paul, Barbara, Betsy and I went to the Helen Hunt Falls area for a couple of short walks. The first walk was from the base of the falls up to the crest. It was several hundred feet to the top. Our second walk was a bit longer up along North Cheyenne Creek on the Seven Bridge Trail. We turned around after five bridges. We came back into town for dinner at Red Robin. We watched some TV before retiring. April 6: I cooked sausage and scrambled eggs for breakfast, Betsy prepared a fruit salad and Paul found and fetched stuff since it was his kitchen. Paul went to his university for a meeting and then to teach his one class this quarter. Betsy and I washed a few clothes and caught up on email, etc. Armed with a local bike map, we ventured forth for the first time this trip on our bicycles along the riverside path, Pikes Peak Greenway. We pedaled north around the power plant, through America's Park, Colorado College and several parks, sports fields and skateboard tracks to Woodmen Avenue. We fought the traffic for about four blocks to arrive at REI. We walked around the store, Betsy bought some new bike gloves, and I bought a couple of energy bars. We took a break before retracing our route back to downtown. We stopped at a juice bar for smoothies, arriving at home just before 5:00 pm. Paul came home from his first day of class shortly thereafter. Barbara arrived and we all helped to prepare steaks, mashed potatoes and salad for dinner. We had a spirited conversation about many topics. I followed the last bit of the NCAA final basketball game. The Duke Blue Devils surprisingly upset Wisconsin for the university's fifth national championship. This gives me a chance to get some more championship apparel. After some TV, we retired. April 7: We arose late and had a leisurely breakfast with Paul before packing the car, putting the bicycles on top and refueling for the drive east to Kansas. We drove pretty much due east on a straight, flat two lane road. We saw two herds of pronghorns, and lots of some type of lark. We were definitely in the flat country. One and half miles into Kansas, we made a left turn and traveled 12 miles on a gravel road to Mt. Sunshine, the highest point in Kansas. It is a very slight rise in a vast grassland plain. It has a sunflower statue made of railroad spikes and a commemorative hanging stone. The elevation is 4,039 feet. An older gentleman drove up while we were there and agreed with us that we were probably seeing larks flying about. We drove a few more mile east before turning due south. We drove almost all of the way to Oklahoma, stopping to camp overnight at a campground within the Cimarron National Grassland. We used the app "camp and tent" to find the campground and we are the only people here. It is four miles in on a gravel road. We cooked a very nice dinner of salad and jambalaya. We are well equipped but making notes on refinements we need to make for the next car camping trip. I am laying in my sleeping bag, on our blow-up air mattress in the tent, listening to the wind blow as I type this. We also heard a pack of coyotes just a few minutes ago. April 8: After a good sleep in the tent, we awoke to chilly, foggy weather. We quickly washed and had breakfast. We had cell service so I could check the weather. The fog was burning off by 9:00 am and by noon, the temperature was to be in the 70s. The forecast proved correct. We packed the car and then went for a walk in the grasslands. Prairie chickens and prairie dogs were suppose to be in abundance; we saw nothing but a few birds we couldn't identify and many doves. We saw dog-like tracks which were certainly coyotes, given that we heard them several times during the night. They sounded like they were having a party in the moonlight. Earlier by camp and the ponds Betsy saw red wing blackbirds, meadowlark, killdeer and wood duck or teal. We next drove to Elkhart, the "cornerstone of Kansas" and then into Oklahoma. The wind abruptly picked up significantly which slowed the car and further reduced gas mileage. We drove almost to the small town of Kenton, before diverting to Black Mesa trailhead. Black Mesa is the high point for Oklahoma at 4960 feet, but requires a hike of 4.2 miles and 650 feet of ascent to reach the "cap monument" in the middle of a huge mesa, part of a nature reserve supported by the Nature Conservancy. The exact point is only 1200 feet and something east of New Mexico, about 5 miles from Colorado, 14 miles from Kansas, and equally short distance from Texas. All of this was engraved on the 8 foot obelisk marking the high point. To get to it we walked west for two miles into a constant, stiff headwind and then southwest with an equally stiff wind "off the starboard bow." Betsy likened it to walking in a convection oven. There were only a few clouds that gave us momentary respite from the sun. We meet one person coming down who immediately asked us how many of the states' high points were had completed. We mumbled a weak reply to which he proudly said he had completed 21 so far. He was from Florida, had been given a week off after driving his rig to Ft. Worth, rented a car, drove to Big Bend, then to the Guadalupe Mountains (Texas high point), then to Black Mesa and was finally going to knock off Ft. Sunflower tomorrow before driving back to Ft. Worth. He motivated us to count up what we have done with regard to state high points. I have done 8 that I can remember. Though we may have a few more of the "drive up to ones." We credit Jan and Ron for inspiring us to start on this quest. Our return to the car was a retracing of the path, though we did walk to the edge of the Mesa for a view. The wind was blowing upslope so hard I could barely stand still to take a picture. Fortunately, there was nothing that picturesque-just the broad, meandering Cimarron River Valley. We drove a few miles to Black Mesa State Park for another night of camping. We set the tent up in the wind. Bringing 10 and 20 pound dumbbells was a particularly smart thing. We used them for anchoring the ground cover and tent during set up and later to hold down the tent corners. Although I pounded stakes in each corner of the tent as back up (using one of the dumbbells). We had another home cooked meal and completed the necessary chores before retiring. April 9: We went to bed the previous in calm conditions, so we put the fly on the tent, which makes the tent much warmer inside. But at 2:30 am, the wind began again with such ferocity that the tent collapsed on one side. Fearing a tent pole failure, we took off the fly and opened the windows. The wind blew through the tent and no longer bent the poles. It got a bit cooler inside. We hunkered down in our sleeping bags and tried to get back to sleep. The wind blew until earlier morning and then slowed again. I am writing this at the breakfast table in a slight breeze only. We struck the tent and packed the car. Taking the tent down in a freshening wind was a bit of Three Stooges. As we each grabbed two corners of the tent it filled with wind looking like a parasail. We repeated this trick with the ground cover, too. We spent most of the day driving to Oklahoma City, via the back roads. So, a few words on what we have been seeing while driving. The landscape is mostly flat and mostly treeless. The wind blows unimpeded. One can understand why there was the dust bowl and how nerve wracking is must have been. As for wildlife, we have seen several collections of Pronghorn Antelope, and today coming out of the state park we passed by Prairie Dog colonies. They stand up straight but when danger threatens they plop down over their entrance hole. It looks like they are reclining in a pint sized bathtub. We also saw a single turkey, a ranch with a herd of bison, lots of beef cows, a few horses, three burros and surprisingly a one-hump camel. As for birds, we see assorted raptors, and lots of larks that take off from the side of the road or even on the road, rise a few feet and then veering out of oncoming traffic with only seconds to share. And lastly, we see tumbleweeds constantly blowing across the road and even running over some. I made reservations at a B&B while on the road and we arrived just before 6:00 pm. The B&B is called Two Hearts and is attached to an "eatery" called Inspirations. The woman who checked us in is from Bend, but is currently a missionary in Belize, is here in Oklahoma for a few weeks and therefore does not claim to be an Okie. We are north of Ok City in the suburb of Edmond We walked just short of two miles to downtown Edmond for dinner at Othello's, an American Italian restaurant. It was very typical yet efficient. We walked home. We are the only ones staying at the Twin Hearts. April 10: Wow, last night was very different than the previous two nights - we didn't hear the wind once. We had a leisurely breakfast before driving a few miles to a parking area at Lake Hefner. Lake Hefner is one of the water reservoirs serving OK City and has a ten mile bike and pedestrian path around it. So, we took the bicycles off the car and did an easy ride around the lake. We saw a few bikers and probably more runners; we are sure it is a good training ride. We reloaded and then drove downtown. Our first stop was at the capital building - very similar to most other capital buildings, except it has an Native American on the top of the cupola and replica oil well structure/derrick in front. We next navigated to the more central downtown area, namely Bricktown, and then back toward the memorial to the Alfred P. Murrah building and those lost in the 1995 bombing. It is a very nice outdoor memorial with 168 bronze chairs for each fatality. There a reflecting pool, a serving tree and gates at each end labeled as 9:01 and 9:03, the first time signifying innocence and the second time signifying a new awareness. We walked toward Bricktown and stopped into the Leadership Center for a smoothie. We had paid for an hour of parking and thus returned to the car for a drive to Tulsa. We drove the famous Route 66 from OK City to Tulsa. It was quite pleasant with virtually no trucks and rolling countryside. There was little to no wind. We saw a coyote and a dead armadillo - two more from the bucket list. We also saw a few vintage gas stations, one of which is now a motorcycle museum and several classic small towns with two-story brick facades. We arrived into Tulsa, securing the last room in a large Doubletree Inn. We have the "boardroom suite." The bicycles are parked around the the boardroom table. We could host the entire walking gang, much like our Vancouver Bike trip. You might asked why we got the last room in town, or not. Well, this is a big weekend for Tulsa. There is what's advertised as the world's biggest gun show and a beauty pageant, size unknown. We are having fun matching attendees to their particular event. For dinner, we drove uptown to the Cancun Mexican Restaurant, as recommended by Jane and Michael Stern of Roadfood fame (featured on NPR's Splendid Table radio show). The food was excellent and very fresh and flavourful. I enjoyed a Victoria Beer, from Mexico. April 11: Oh, the comforts of home or at least a well-appointed hotel room. We are looking at the possibility of some cloudy, rainy weather so being inside is nice. We may have to extend our motel stays through Monday. Today, we drove toward downtown Tulsa, parking in Utica Square, which had another Roadfood-famed restaurant, noted for breakfast granola and was the start point for a volkswalk. We didn't have the granola but instead went for Monte Cristo French Toast and egg scramble. I topped off the breakfast with carrot muffin. The flavours were good and service attentive. We then did the 6-mile volkswalk that took us through three ritzy neighbourhoods, through the arboretum with a nice greenhouse, and through a garden fund-raiser/fair with booths selling all manner of things. The neighbourhoods had grand homes with immaculate landscaping, water features and large yards. Though, it didn't seem to have much activity - we saw very few people, no cats and very few dogs within fenced area. Tulsa is also known for azaleas, which were in full bloom. They claim to have 15,000 plants in the city. After the walk, we drove through the Art Deco section of the city, but were less than impressed. It was also dead, it being a Saturday. We went on to the Gilcrease Museum, known for its western art collection and its gardens. The art was good ranging from Native American, Mexican/Hispanic to Western. There were numerous galleries, but the best for us was the collection of western art by Remington, Moran, and the like - broad vistas, with interesting light, colourful yet realistic rock details and cowboys. After touring the museum, we did a short stroll around the gardens in a light shower, seeing a colonial garden, a vista garden, several named gardens and a rock garden. Beside the azaleas, nothing else much was flowering. We saw a rustic six-sided gazebo next to a lake, which would make a good project for someone with a cabin in the woods. For dinner, we tried the Baker Street Pub, a pseudo British pub. The portions were small, the beer was expensive and we got carded. April 12: We were up early, repacked the car and hot the road south toward Robbers Cave State Park. We stopped at the Apple Barrel Cafe for breakfast in Bixby - a very nice down home place, with biscuits and gravy and grits, as options. You know you are in the south when fried pickles are on the menu. We drove south to Robbers Cave State Park for a three-mile loop walk and a visit to a sandstone pile of rocks that is infamous for being an hideout for Jesse James and other outlaws. The walk was easy through deciduous forest of maples, oaks, black gum and flowering dogwoods. It reminded us of the woods we both grew up around and played in. The rocks were fractured with cracks, fissures, overhangs and caves. There were many people scrambling all over the rocks. We next drove to Ozark, Arkansas arriving in our third of four states on Betsy's list. We arrived at the Ozark Inn and promptly went for dinner at a local BBQ place. The dinner was excellent and we even had sweetened ice tea. April 13: We depart for Paris, AR and Mt. Magazine State Park. The state park is very nice and has a newly rebuilt lodge that reminds one of Skamina Lodge in the gorge. The park is also home of the Arkansas high point of 2,753 feet. We completed 0.4 mile trip to this point which is actually called Signal Mountain. We looped around on a separate trail back to the car. We then lunch at the lodge. All of this was done in dense fog or in clouds. The bottom layer of the clouds was at 1,800 feet. The rain began while we were having lunch. We drove the rest of the way to Hot Springs in rain but along a scenic route. We curved up and over than down and around the rolling hills of forests. We saw evidence of some Corps of Engineers projects (dams) and were passed by numerous log trucks. We were in the Ouachita National Forest. We arrived into Hot Springs with hard rain, decided to forgo camping in the National Park Campground, and found a lovely B&B within walking distance of the downturn win and "Bathhouse Row." The B&B had a membership for one of the baths (for guest use) and off we went to the Quapaw Bathhouse to take the waters. There are eight bathhouses along Central Avenue, which cut through a mountain ridge. The waters flow naturally out of this mountain "fault" after being heated by the Earth. The transport time for the water falling on the ground to when it flows out is estimated at 4,000 years. There were four public pools of different temperatures. I was instructed to start hot and work toward cool. We soaked first in 105 degree water, than moved to 95 degrees, back up 102 degrees and finally cooled off in 92 degree water. After the bath, we walked to the last bathhouse on the row named Superior, which was converted into a brewery, with food and gelato. The beer was made using the mineral ground water. I tried a flight of four beers - Ouchita Ouild (red wild ale), Kolsch-style, SPA (Superior Pale Ale-British style) and Chaudfontaine Noire (Belgian Strong Ale). Betsy when for a full glass of Chaudfontaine Noire. For dinner, we shared a quinoa salad, mushroom and fig strudel and salmon cakes. It was all excellent, hence why I reported it in detail. We walked home the rain, which has continued with gusto all evening. April 14: Today we did Hot Springs. After the B&B breakfast, we hopped on our bikes for an 17 mile ride. The first and last 4 miles was on a Rail to Trails greenway South along the Hot Springs Creek. The rest of the trail is still under construction. We transferred to the streets and continued to Lake Hamilton and explored a couple of coves with some nice homes. The road "roller-coastered" along with short downhills followed by abrupt uphills. The momentum going down got us about two-thirds of the way up. We returned to the B&B on the same route. We next walked downtown, visited the Visitor Center, toured a bathhouse and walked up and around the North Mountain, from whence the hot water comes. We walked a bit of the West Mountain, too on the way back to the B&B. One interesting thing we saw was an animal control officer who had snared a raccoon on the second floor of the tower. The officer said the raccoon was healthy and would probably be released deep in the forest. We cleaned up and went for an early dinner at the Superior Bathhouse Brew Pub. April 15: We had another good B&B breakfast and then departed for Little Rock. We arrived at the Visitors Center to pick up a volkswalk route for the downtown area. We completed the 12 km. route which took us by the Clinton Library, across a pedestrian bridge over the Arkansas River, back across the river a little upriver, and then west to the capital building. After clearing security, we walked around the inside of the capital - we didn't see the Governor, nor was the legislature was in session. We next walked back through downtown, turned south and went out to the Governor Mansion Neighbourhood, which surprisingly went by the mansion. We finished up the walk by going through Quapaw Quarter, another upscale neighbourhood. We next drove to Mountain View, home of the Ozark Folk Center. The drive was completed in a steady mist and occasional rain along windy, steep and narrow roads. We drove to the Ozark State Park to see if they had a vacant cabin. They did and we decided to book for two nights. The Ozark Folk Festival starts this weekend and kicks off tomorrow night with music by local young people. We had happy hour in our room and discussed tentative plans for the rest of our trip. We had dinner (catfish) at the restaurant within the park. April 16: Today started with a bike ride up to town for groceries. We decided to breakfast light but also to replenish supplies for camping. We returned to our cabin and had breakfast on the back deck in sunshine. The weather all day was glorious and even got hot by late afternoon. After eating, we walked up to the Folk Center for a tour of the shops practicing traditional work. We hit them all and had great discussions with the various crafts people. We started at a gunsmith who was making Flint lock rifles, moved on to silversmithing, blacksmiths (he made me a hammered nail), and soap making, where we watched cold process soap mixed and poured into a mold. The chemistry of soap is interesting yet simple - lye and fats, with essential oils added to make it smell nice. Other highlights included a copper flame coloring shop, a letterpress printing shop (a retired printer just loved to explain all things printing), a knife maker (a young man who wanted to go away and study with a master knife maker when he turned 18), a weaving shop containing 6 looms (the craft woman had two six-month old rabbits in the shop), a coopering shop, a quilting shop, a wooden toy and rustic musical instruments shop (demonstrated an original one-string slide guitars and other types of "jug band" instruments), and a pottery shop. We missed the broom store; it was closed for a family emergency. We purchased a few items for ourselves and to give away from the central gift shop. While we paid for the privilege to tour the center today, there were few people competing for attention as compared to what is likely tomorrow. There will be no admission fee tomorrow since it is the first day of the festival and will undoubtedly have lots of attendance. We purchased dinner at the Smokehouse Grill and brought it back to the cabin to eat. We again sat out on our deck in warm sunny weather. We returned to the Folk Center auditorium for a music roots free concert. I was told that it involved somewhere like 160 school aged children for the local communities. There was some amazing fiddle, banjo, guitar, dulcimer and mandolin players starting in the fourth grade up to eighth. Several of the "ensembles" have contracts to play at the Center during the summer. One person of note was Mary. I was told she was either nine or ten and was playing this afternoon by the Smokehouse Grill. Her group was Mary and Friends. She was an excellent fiddle player. At the evening concert we saw her play the fiddle, piano, bass and banjo. April 17: After a hearty breakfast buffet of sausages, bacon, eggs, and biscuits with gravy, we drove northward to Missouri. We stopped at Mammoth Springs, which is at the border and is the tenth largest spring in the world (we haven't looked up the other nine). There is an historic decommissioned powerhouse at the outlet of a dammed lake. For you hydro geeks, it was a Westinghouse generator on top of a Francis turbine. In 1981, it was deemed uneconomical to refurbish. A pair of wood ducks were crushing on the pond at the springs outlet. We crossed into Missouri, Betsy's fourth and final state, and drove "blacktop ribbon candy" roads to Johnson Shut-in State Park. We arrived just before 3:00 pm, found a basic campsite, and had lunch. We got the bikes out to go back to register only to be told that the all of the basic sites were reserved. We relocated to the equestrian camping area. We set up camp. We then biked to the main attraction and walked 0.3 miles to view the shut-in, which the East Fork of the Black hits a band of hard rhyolite and is forced into narrow chutes, plunge pools and potholes. This is a popular bathing spot in the summer, but was quiet when we arrived. Curiously, this park sits below the Taum Sauk upper pump storage reservoir, which failed in December 2005, wiping out much of the park area and washing down large boulders. There are warning signs instructing visitors to climb 200 steps uphill if the alarm sirens sound. We biked back to camp, prepped our supper and are now listening to a chorus of tree frogs. April 18: We got up to light fog which burned off during breakfast. We packed and motored to Taum Sauk State Park to conquer the high point of Missouri. It was at 1772 feet and 0.3 miles from a parking lot. Compared to other high points it was less dramatic-it was a rock and a plaque on a flat top, forested mountain. We walked another half mile to the junction of the Ozark Trail, to say we have been on this famous Missouri trail. We continued driving north to Merimac State Park, with a brief stop at Elephant Rocks State Park. This stop is a tor, or a granite outcropping which was originally sculpted under ground and then uplifted and eroded. The rock is comprised of large blocks that have massively rounded corners. It reminded us of the rocks we hike with Jan and Ron at Harmonica Arch in Colorado. It was a site of a quarry in days past. We arrived at Merimac State Park mid afternoon, found a campsite (it was easier than yesterday) and set up camp. We then walked the Bluff Trail, taking us through wildflower glades, then down to rivers edge, over a cave or two and back up to car. The wildflowers that we saw and photographed included bird foot violet, purple wood sorrel, spring larkspur, wild hyacinth, blue phlox, mertansia, hoary puccoon, foam flower, columbine, shooting stars and pussytoes. The soil is thin and rocky so plants grow slowly and most of the trees are spindly. We drove in to Sullivan for a few groceries (avoiding the ubiquitous Walmart), returned to camp for dinner and enjoyed a home cooked meal. After dinner we walked around the campground and a half mile loop called Walking Ferns. We don't know what walking ferns are but did see several traditional ferns trail side. We are setting at our picnic table being serenaded by tree frogs, an occasional whippoorwill and camping neighbours. It is calm and the smoke is trap in the bowl of the campground between the bluff and the river. But, it only sprinkled a few drops here before dinner, though thunderstorms were in the area. April 19: Well, the rains came at 5:00 am and continued until about 2:00 pm. We packed up with everything wet and drove to Jefferson City. We arrived and drove through town, stopped for photos and then crossed the Missouri River to a Katy Trailhead. We stopped for a lunch at a picnic pavilion. It finally stopped raining. We drove to the Lake of the Ozark, stopping at the Bagnell Dam overlook, before arriving at the State Park. We drove around and around the various levelled campground trying to decide on which site was appropriate and available. There were fewer than 15 other sites occupied. We finally landed and unpacked our wet equipment. We spread it out to dry, wandered around the campground and then set up the tent. Our respite from stormy weather was not over though. We had an enjoyable happy hour at our camp before driving into the city of Osage Beach for dinner. Betsy read me the prologue of the Doris Kerns Goodwin biography of LBJ; he was quite an energetic person and she had unprecedented access to him after he left office. We had dinner at J. B. Hook. The restaurant was on a bluff overlooking the lake, lots of Turkey Vultures and with a good view of a mass of very dark clouds coming at us. Our dinner was less than relaxing because we were worried about our camp. I was able to monitor the storms approach using the Dark Sky app (thanks Kirk). We left the restaurant with minutes to spare before the downpour. We made a quick stop at a grocery store for breakfast supplies, got into the store before the rain hit but didn't get out in time. We raced back to the camp expecting gusting winds and heavy rain. Surprisingly, the line of clouds had a gap in it the corresponded to our camp's location. We got a few sprinkles but not much else. We sat in the car listening to tunes. April 20: We had a restful night and awoke to chilly temperatures. We breakfasted while wearing multiple layers. We then drove into town for laundry. I had to call Verizon to get my data plan straighten out, so I could continue to "blog," get e-mail, and other things. All things are a go now. We finished with the clothes, made another grocery run for dinner supplies. We arrived back at camp, had lunch and then journeyed out for a bike ride in the state park. We went in on one arm of the lake and out another one on roller coaster roads. We enjoyed the downhills but were winded going uphill. As Betsy noted, we exercised all of the gears. We returned to camp for a siesta before dinner. The wind continues to blow but no rain in the forecast. After dinner, we walked down to the lakeside, around to a marina and back uphill to our campsite. We had an early night, though I finished reading Flash Boys. Wall Street is messed up, but the guys who created the IEX exchange are trying to change things for the better. April 21: We were up early, breakfasted and away toward Independence, MO. We drove the back roads going by the Truman Reservoir, a large U.S. Corps of Engineers flood control project. We made a brief stop in Clinton, which is one end of the 224-mile Katy Bike Trail. We rode five miles one way and returned backed to the endpoint. It was very easy riding downwind, a bit more challenging upwind. We saw thin, green snakes sunning themselves on the path and heard several bullfrogs. It would be a fun trail for more bike riding but might be tedious after awhile. We continued into Independence arriving at the Woodstock B&B. We walked to the Visitors Center for maps. The Center was also the start point for a 5K and 10K volkswalk. We opted for the 5K which took us by Bess Truman's birth house, the Truman home (Summer White House) and several historic homes. We also walked by the National Trails Center, the starting point for five important westward trails - Lewis and Clark, Santa Fe, California, Oregon and Mormon Trails. We ended up at the Ophelia's for dinner. We had a relaxed dinner - no thunderstorms approaching and no tent to blow away. We wandered home passing the UN Peace Plaza and the Temple, world headquarters for the Church of Christ. It looks like a roll of ribbon, whose Center was pulled out to make a pointy tower. April 22: After a good night, we had the B&B breakfast-egg ramekin, bacon, fruit and muffins, and had a conversation with the innkeeper. We were her only guests for the night. We drove to downtown Independence, checking in at the Visitors Center for Truman House Tour tickets. There was only one left so Betsy took it. We hustled the five blocks to 216 Delware St. She joined the tour and I visited the Noland House, which was across the street and was where Truman's cousins lived. He would stay overnight here when he came to town to court Bess. His family moved from Independence to A farm in Grandview, MO just after he graduated from high school. He and Bess were in the same class and had known each other since they were six. The Trumans live in their house for over fifty years. After his presidency, Harry lived there for 20 more years and helped raise money to build the Truman Library. He was a constant presence around town, taking regular walks and hosting visiting dignitaries. He died in 1972. Bess live for another ten years. Both are buried in the courtyard of the library. We went there next, watched a documentary on Truman's life and toured the exhibits. It was very well done and didn't appear to be as grandiose as some of the more recent presidential libraries. We next checked into a hotel across the street from Kaufman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals. We stopped in at the box office and purchased tickets for tonight's game. And, then drove to downtown Kansas City. We completed a volkswalk that started on Quality Hill, the original fashionable district, along the bluff of the Missouri River, to the riverboat landing area, and then south to the Crown Center, Union Station and Hallmark's Headquarters. Union Station is very grand and upholds the tradition for historic train stations, like Grand Central in New York and Union Station in DC. We had BBQ at Winslow's in the River District. We were stuffed after eating about half of it. We have dinner for tomorrow. We made it back to the motel in time to prepare for the game. We walked to the field and fortunately brought layers for warmth. It was a good thing because it got chilly. The Royals were playing the last of a 3-game series against the Minnesota Twins. They had won the first two games of the series. So it was not surprising that they would lose 0 to 3 tonight. All of the scoring occurred in the first inning. There were plenty of hits throughout the game but no scores after the first flurry. One notable occurrence was a line-drive foul ball was hit at us. I ducked, the guy next to me got a hand on it (he said) but a women several rows behind us ended up with the ball. After the game, we returned to the motel for hot chocolate and to get warm. April 23: Although we had not planned on camping again this trip, here we are at Tuttle Creek State Park, adjacent to an Army Corps flood control dam. The change in plans happened because of a flat tire this afternoon. The day started off normally when we checked out of our motel and drove to our final state capital of this trip, Topeka, KS. We found a pleasant cafe recommended by a passerby where we had breakfast. We located a volkswalk route (5 k) through downtown Topeka ending at the Capitol. On the drive out of town we stopped at the historic but inactive railway station in North Topeka. We drove north and west on the back roads to a section of the Oregon Trail, originally 13 days from the beginning in Independence. There was cemetery with graves of a family who maintained a toll bridge over the Red Vermillion River. We crossed the river shortly thereafter. On the way back to the main paved road, we heard a funny noise. The right rear tire was flat. We unpacked the car to access the jack and wrench and changed the tire. We were pleased to find, on the advice of one guy who stopped, to go into Wamego, KS to get it fixed. We found a tire shop who pronounced the tire dead and I fixable. It was done in by a rock most likely. So, we got to buy a new tire; the shop only had three that fit our rim. After the repair, we decided to drive only a few miles out of town and ended up at the state park campground. We had an enjoyable dinner of leftover barbecue ribs.