Category: Southern & Western United States Trip (2/28/19 – 11/1/19)

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Historic “Fairholme” House – Old “Street” Home Cadiz, Kentucky October 12, 2019

Anna and I had the tremendous privilege to visit CADIZ, KENTUCKY, located in the southwestern section of the state, and tour my GREAT GRANDFATHER’S home, now on the NATIONAL REGISTRY OF HISTORIC HOMES. We were treated like royalty this day which was such a unexpected pleasure and humble honor. This exquisite home was originally built in 1885 for EDWARD & MARY STREET. It has since been restored in a fabulous VICTORIAN STYLE. It was renamed “Fairholme” by their grandson John L. Street Jr. in 1984 when he bought the home. This treasure was ultimately donated to the John L. Street Library, and is open for tours and events throughout the year. Our PRIVATE TOUR on a Sunday, when they are typically closed, was such an amazing treat. Thank you so much to next door neighbor and property caretaker, Deb Swartz. The HISTORIC FAIRHOLME HOUSE icon is as beautiful as ever. What a fabulous day of spurring great memories, witnessing the beautiful changes made to the home, and to view countless pictures of my mother’s side of the family on nearly every wall and table top. Family members in particular, enjoy the pictures. There are a lot more of them if you are interested in seeing them!!

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Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area & Amish Settlement and Store – Southwest, Kentucky (October 12-13, 2019)

We continued our return trip to Florida, traveling from northwest ARKANSAS, through MISSOURI, and to CADIZ, KENTUCKY located in the beautiful southwestern part of the state. This is the hometown of my GREAT GRANDFATHER, EDWARD R. STREET, which will be the subject of my next blog. While in Cadiz, we stayed with two absolutely wonderful and hospitable people, Bill and Carole, “boondocking” (dry camping) on their beautiful farmland for the day. They graciously treated us to a visit to the local AMISH SETTLEMENT in the area, where some of their Amish friends live, and also to their food store as well. We bought many items including fabulous cheeses and meats, made locally or supplied by another Amish community in Ohio, with most at substantial discounts. What fabulous people and what a great experience. We also visited the LAND BETWEEN THE LAKES NATIONAL RECREATION AREA, situated in two states, KENTUCKY and TENNESSEE, and between two large lakes, KENTUCKY LAKE (Tennessee River) and LAKE BARKLEY (Cumberland River).  Two special areas to visit while in the park are the 700 acre ELK & BISON PRAIRIE, which is self-explanatory, and the WOODLANDS NATURE STATION, containing RED WOLVES, BOBCATS, COYOTES, HAWKS, OWLS, a BALD EAGLE and much more. What a wonderful and adventure packed day!!!!!! 

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Buffalo National River – Lost Valley Trail (Ponca, Arkansas) October 10, 2019

Today we hiked one of Arkansas’ absolute treasures. We hiked the gorgeous and famous LOST VALLEY TRAIL, in the OZARK NATIONAL FOREST, along the BUFFALO NATIONAL RIVER, which was AMRICA’S FIRST NATIONAL RIVER established in 1972. The trail is located in the BOXLEY VALLEY, which is registered in the “National Register of Historic Places” due to its unique terrain and the fact that the valley has been inhabited by its indigenous people for over 12,000 years. The rock structures, caves, natural bridges, and waterfalls are stunning, all situated deep in the beautiful Ozark National Forest. A few of our favorite locations along the trail were the NATURAL BRIDGE, COB CAVE, EDEN FALLS, EDEN FALLS CAVE, and the JIGSAW BLOCKS. Awesome hike, awesome day, with awesome friends!!!

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Dogwood Canyon Nature Park -Lampe, Missouri (David Hoehne Tour) October 9, 2019

Today we were treated to a two hour WILDLIFE TRAM TOUR of the amazingly beautiful DOGWOOD CANYON NATURE PARK in LAMPE, MISSOURI, where DAVID HOEHNE works as a top notch tour guide. David was absolutely incredible at his job; personal, engaging, very knowledgeable, mixed in with some great humor. We had a blast and learned so much about the area and its history. The park is owned by Johnny Morris, the owner of the Bass Pro Shop chain, and is an amazing and wonderful example of the preservation of nature, wildlife, and historical sights and artifacts. We toured 24 natural sights on this magnificent property, and viewed wild ELK, BISON, and LONGHORN CATTLE up front and close, all cohabitating in one valley area of the park. Specific areas we particularly enjoyed were the WILDLIFE MEADOW where we viewed a baby bison and mother from a distance of 15 feet. We loved the gorgeous INDIAN CLIFF FALLS near the Conservation Center.  We also enjoyed multiple, truly gorgeous, WOOD & STONE BRIDGES, various OTHER WATERFALLS, glorious REFLECTIVE POOLS, and numerous, impressive LIMESTONE ROCK STRUCTURES throughout the park. All in all, this was a great day, at a great park, with dear friends.

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David & Linda Hoehne Visist – Green Forest, Arkansas October 8-11, 2019

Family and friends are everything!!!  For the last four days we have visited our dear friends, DAVID & LINDA HOEHNE, at their RANCH in GREEN FOREST, ARKANSAS, located in the northwest section of the state. They graciously offered for us to park our 5th wheel RV on their beautiful, spacious property, adjacent their home, overlooking the gorgeous OZARK MOUNTAINS which surrounded them, and also within birds-eye view of their cattle. We have had a tremendous time catching up and enjoying each other’s company immensely, and will be back soon to do it all over again!!! While on their ranch, we have spent time viewing their WORKING FARM & CATTLE and feeding them as well. They treated us to 4-WHEEL RIDES throughout their property and to Linda’s sister’s home, on what they call their “mule”. We hiked in the Ozark Mountains on the beautiful and famous LOST VALLEY TRAIL, with Linda and her sister, Loree, and her wonderful daughter, Kaitlin, and had an absolute blast. The first night there we enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing campfire. We also had a number of great meals together, and the seven of us including their awesome cousin KEENAN, attended the Christian play, Sampson, at the super impressive SIGHT & SOUND THEATRE in HISTORIC BRANSON, MISSOURI as well. What a fabulous visit, but more importantly, spending quality time with dear friends. What a blessing!!!!!

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Kansas City, Missouri to St. Louis, Missouri Gateway Arch, Ted & Paula Vick, Dick & Karen Hime) October 2-7. 2019

For three wonderful days we BOONDOCKED on the property of two of the nicest people ever, DICK AND KAREN HIME. They live in one of the southern suburbs of KANSAS CITY, specifically RAYMORE, MISSOURI. Dick and Karen could not have been more engaging and wonderful people, and we enjoyed our time thoroughly at their home. While in Kansas City, you must indulge in their world famous BBQ, which we did at the world famous JACK STACK BBQ in southern Kansas City. It was without question the VERY BEST BBQ DINNER I have ever had!!!! We then traveled across the state to the St Louis, Missouri, founded in 1764, for the second part of the week. We stayed at a wonderful city park called 370 Lakeside Park in St Peters, Missouri, situated 15 minutes from Anna’s brother and sister-in-law, TED & PAULA VICK. We spent two glorious evenings with them catching up and laughing. Ted now has his voice back after a delicate vocal cord surgery which was performed a few days prior. We also visited GATEWAY ARCH NATIONAL PARK (renamed “St. Louis Arch”). This 630 foot arch, which opened in 1965, is super impressive, especially from the top where you can see 30 miles into ILLINOIS on one side of the arch, and the same distance into Missouri in the opposite direction. The monument was built to honor the role that St. Louis played in the westward expansion in the 19th century. We then ended the day at the famous FAST EDDY’S RESTAURANT in ALTON, ILLINOIS, over the MISSISSIPPI RIVER. What a great week this has been!!!!

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Colorado Springs, Colorado to Oakley, Kansas (Half Way Back Home) October 1, 2019

We are now 1 MONTH FROM COMPLETING OUR 8 MONTH CROSS COUNTRY TRIP IN OUR 5th WHEEL RV “HOME”. We have TRAVELED 20,000 MILES on this trip so far. We are HALF WAY BACK to Melbourne, Florida, on our current southeast trajectory, to see our precious family and dear friends. Today we traveled from COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, through the high level plains of in the eastern part of the state, into KANSAS. We started our day at an elevation of 8,000 feet, and ended at 3,055, a 5,000 FOOT ELEVATION DROP in just a few hours’ drive. KANSAS marks the 18th STATE WE HAVE VISITED ON OUR TRIP. We have 6 MORE STATES TO VISIT, including Florida, before arriving home. We landed for the night in OAKLEY, KANSAS, founded in 1887, the birthplace of the legend BUFFALO BILL. Kansas is also the home state of President Eisenhower, and famous as a result of the classic movie blockbuster WIZARD OF OZ. Along the entire trip today we witnessed nothing but corn, wheat and alfalfa fields, as well as cows, and more cows. Moving along, we visit many family and friends!!!!!

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Colorado Springs, Colorado (North Cheyene Canyon Park, Historic Colorado City, Magic City – M. Garmin) September 30, 2019

Today we decided that a breakfast in HISTORIC OLD COLORADO CITY, a HISTORIC NATURAL DISTRICT, founded in 1859, would be our choice. We ate outside at, BONTON’S, a delightful family owned restaurant right on the quaint main street. It was an awesome environment with delicious food. We then went to the MICHAEL GARMAN MUSEUM & GALLERY down the street, which surprisingly turned out to be an absolutely amazing experience, with the most unique and detailed sculpted cityscapes you can imagine. The scenes within MAGIC CITY were raw and stimulating as everything you looked at was reflected from somewhere else with the use of mirrors and lighting. Don’t miss this one if you are ever in HISTORIC OLD COLORADO CITY. We then took to the trails in the NORTH CHEYENNE CANYON PARK, established in 1885, which is located immediately southwest of Colorado City. We hiked the SILVER CASCADE FALLS TRAIL to two beautiful waterfalls, the HELEN HUNT FALLS and the SILVER CASCADE FALLS. We ended the day at the top of the world, hiking the MOUNT CUTLER TRAIL to the peak of MOUNT CUTLER at 7,200 feet, overlooking Colorado City through the gorgeous mountain valleys. The park was gorgeous and very memorable!!!!

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Colorado Springs, Colorado – Red Rock Canyon Open Space, Manitou Springs, Pikes Peak September 29, 2019

Today we hiked the beautiful RED ROCK CANYON OPEN SPACE, which lies at the Western edge of COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, and also borders the historic town of MANITOU SPRINGS. The park was stablished in 2003 and sits adjacent the one million acre PIKE NATIONAL FOREST. We hiked and explored four trails today including the MESA, ROUND-UP, QUARRY PASS and ROCK CANYON TRAILS. We witnessed some of the most gorgeous RED SANDSTONE ROCK FORMATIONS, ponderosa pine filled valleys, and impressive mountains you can imagine. We also really enjoyed an old DAKOTA SANDSTONE ROCK QUARRY, which operated during the 1870’s and 1880’s, and mined in the so-called “hogback” (highest ridge) of the mountain. We then went into historic MANITOU SPRINGS for some terrific post hike food and refreshment. With a summit elevation of 14,115 FEET above sea level, the Manitou to PIKES PEAK RAILWAY is the highest railway in North America, which is a real tourist attraction in the area. What a beautiful site of Pikes Peak from town, and a glimpse into the very impressive railway as well. What a fabulous day!!!!!

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Colorado Springs, Colorado – Garden of the Gods September 28, 2019

We were able to build three extra days into our schedule to visit the incredible area in and around COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, located immediately south DENVER. We arrived midday at ROCKY TOP CAMPGROUND, situated at 8,000 FEET near the base of famous PIKES PEAK, which towers above the surrounding high level landscape, at an impressive 14,115 FEET. Instantly after arriving we left to investigate the stunningly beautiful, very large, and quite unique, rock formations at the GARDEN OF THE GODS. It is a donated, 1,350 acre, city park, which was dedicated a NATIONAL NATURAL LANDMARK in 1908. The park offers stunning views of magnificent red sandstone rock formations, many of which were formed over 300 million years ago. We investigated the park by car and on foot, hiking three trails, the BALANCED ROCK, SIAMESE TWINS and the CENTRAL GARDEN TRAILS. Some of our favorite formations were the BALANCED ROCK, SIAMESE TWINS, and the entire, impressively beautiful, CENTRAL GARDEN area. What a fabulous place!!!!!