2006 -Winter Travel AFV

I heard so much about Branson, I decided we should go and see for ourselves.

Friday 17 February 2006

I attempted to have Bob drive up the scenic Arkansas route 7

Scenic Arkansas Route 7

to Jasper (which was reputed to have green water in the river), but he got very impatient with the turns and ups and downs. We stopped for lunch at Frank's Hickory House BBQ in Choctaw.

Bob going into the Hickory House BBQ

This was one of those places that has a menu with semi-phonetic hillbilly type spelling.

Hillbilly menu

Inside Frank's Hickory House

Bob had the

BBQ plate

which came with coleslaw and

A milkshake

I had

A sandwich and tater tots

Broasted Chicken, Fresh Donuts, Sausage Biscuits

Leaving Choctaw

Then we crossed to US 65 which was easier driving. Our next stop was the Buffalo River National River Visitor's Center at Tyler Bend. We had not visited a National River before we visited the Buffalo River, but later in this trip, we also visited the New River National River in West Virginia.

Entrance sign

The National Park Service has gotten creative. Now we not only have National Parks, but also National Parkways (roads), National Seashores, National Historic Parks, and now National Rivers. The Buffalo River is one of the National Rivers. During the era when the Corps of Engineers was building dams on every river, the Buffalo was protected from a dam-building project at first by being made a state park. The history of the protection effort is a story that is told in the film that is shown at the Visitor's Center at Tyler Bend. The Buffalo River was designated a National River in 1972.

The NPS website says: It begins as a trickle in the Boston Mountains 15 miles above the park boundary. Following what is likely an ancient riverbed, the Buffalo .. travel[s] eastward through the Ozarks and into the White River. The national river has three designated wilderness areas within its boundaries

The bluffs reach as high as 440 feet above the river - the highest in the Ozarks. There are many species of plants and animals native to the park. But it the river isn't just about hiking, fishing and boating. Prehistoric sites dating back 10,000 years and historic cultural sites are located throughout the park from bluff shelters once occupied by Archaic Indians to the cabins built by early settlers. Four areas, Boxley Valley, The Parker-Hickman Farmstead at Erbie, the CCC-built structures at Buffalo Point and the Rush mining district, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

When we drove in towards the visitor's center, I took some pictures of the information on the signs that were along the road. The first one is a map of the park.

River map

Next are pictures of activities to do in the park.

Discover the Buffalo

The third sign offers rules and regulations for the various activities such as camping, hunting, fishing and horseback riding.

Explore the Park

It also offers rules and safety warnings for the backcountry, and boating. The last picture is one I took when we were leaving the park of the sign on the highway at the entrance to the Visitor's Center road.

Sign at the highway entrance

The Wildlife Officer's car in the parking lot

One thing we could do even in the winter was go to the visitor's center and have our National Park Passport stamped. This visitor's center is open year round 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m

Walkway of natural materials to the visitor

Visitor's center

The store at the Tyler's Bend Visitor Center

As usual the NPS Visitor's Center are worth a visit.

From Tyler Visitor Center

They had the usual film about the park founding

Informational film

and recreation in the park.

Cave entrance from the film

a display showing local animals,

Display about local animals

a simulated stream,

Rocks and simulated stream in visitor's center

and warnings about dangers in the area.

Dangers posted in visitor's Center

There are about, 200 species of birds here and half of them (such as cardinals) are here year round. There was a stuffed hawk 'flying' in the rafters,

Stuffed hawk

and a pictures of a Wood Duck which is said to be a common sight on almost any section of the river.

Wood duck, gar, turtle and iris in exhibit

We may have seen a Bald Eagles resting in trees on the way out. They are easier to see when you don't have leaves on the trees.

Part of the film at the visitor's center showed various forms of recreation available in the park. It looked like it would be a lot of fun to be outdoors on "The Best Canoe Stream in the United States" It made me quite jealous that I could not do that too, but not at this time of year - you'd need an exposure suit to avoid hypothermia. (We had four inches of snow the next day, and the temperatures were down below freezing)

Family float trips were one of the possibilities. Trips could be for a day or several days, camping out on the banks of the river.

Movie shown at visitor's center

From Arkansas 7 to Highway 123 (or Carver)-is about 10 miles in length. This is a fine float, especially for families. It features class I rapids, gravel bars, and numerous bluffs. Campsites and access are available at Carver or two and a half miles upstream at Hasty.

The 27 mile trip from US 65 to Buffalo Point (still referred to by many as ''the old state park'') is a long, lazy float ideally suited for those interested in casual canoeing. The scenery's good, and the rapids are interesting but easy. Other access points within this part of the river include Gilbert, Maumee North, Maumee South, and the Highway 14 crossing

The Buffalo's final stretch-from Buffalo Point to Buffalo City (on the White River) is 30 miles in length, with only a single takeout point (Rush) in between. The 7.5-mile float from Buffalo Point to Rush is short, safe, and scenic - perfect for families. The remaining 23 mile trip passes through some of Arkansas's wildest country, including better than 39,000 acres of wilderness (the Lower Buffalo Wilderness and the adjacent Leatherwood Wilderness). This is the one for those wanting to get away from it all.

River model

Equipment: You may bring your own canoe, kayak, raft, or john boat; or you can rent one from local authorized concessioners – no permit is required. Motors must be less than 10 horsepower and properly registered in the state of Arkansas. Life jackets are required in all boats, and must be worn by children 12 and younger. No glass containers are permitted within 50 feet of the river or its tributaries.

Safety for boating

If you want to float down the river, you leave your vehicle at the place where you want to get out, and the concessionaire takes you and your equipment up the river to the put-in place. Then you float down stream to where you are parked. You can camp on the many gravel bars along the river or in the developed campgrounds at most major access points along the way. Be prepared for an all night chorus of whip-poor-wills in the spring

About two dozen concessionaires rent canoes along the Buffalo and offer other related services. In addition, several rent Jon Boats and can provide complete fishing packages.

The Buffalo's corridor is also a great locale for hiking and backpacking, but expeditions should be scheduled outside the tick/chigger season (i.e. in the winter) Ticks are not only annoying, but they are disease vectors. Incidents of both Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme Disease have been attributed to ticks in this region. Stay on trails (avoid walking through tall grass) and wear long sleeved clothing.

Ticks

The picture is an exhibit of various ticks and their sizes. The common dog tick (#2) is at the top - it is the biggest and blackest one. The Lone Star tick is on the left

The other items listed were poison ivy, bees and wasps, and poisonous snakes (cottonmouth, copperhead and rattlesnakes). The picture shows a cottonmouth snake in the foreground, and in the back is a harmless northern water snake.

Snakes that occur in the park

Other hazards which are not related to flora and fauna are climbing on the river bluffs, and especially jumping from a height into the river.

River bluffs from the film

Never swim alone or during high water. There are no life-guarded swimming areas. One should also avoid caves, sinkholes, and abandoned wells and mineshafts. When the river is flooded, there may be too much current so you need to check the level of the river before you start.

Warning for fall

Hunting is allowed (with the appropriate permit) in the hunting season, so during that time you will need to wear Hunter Orange clothing.

Over the fireplace there was a pair of elk antlers. The elk were extinct in this area but due to a re-stocking project, now special-permit hunting is required to keep the ever-growing population in balance. Since visitors see elk most frequently in the late winter and early spring, I had hoped that we would see some but we did not.

Elk antlers on top of the fireplace

Between 1981 and 1985, 112 Rocky Mountain Elk were stocked in Newton County near Buffalo National Park. the habitat of the Buffalo National River provides suitable habitat for its survival. Elk now number nearly 500 animals and have spread along the river corridor from Boxley Valley to the Tyler Bend area. the most promising place to view elk is at Boxley Valley....

The antlers on display were found by a park ranger in the Tyler Bend area. Bull elk antlers can weight up to 40 pounds and are shed every year. Adult bulls can have 6 to 8 "points" on one antler.

Sign between elk antlers

Counting only points on one antler:
A six point bull is called a "Royal"
A seven point bull is an "Imperial"
An eight point bull is called a "Monarch"

Which one is on display here?
.
The last picture is of an animal which people think is a hazard, but is actually endangered and we are more of a hazard to it than it is to us.

Survey poster

Then we continued on to Branson MO

Road to Branson

From Afar

where we have a studio apartment at the Sunterra resort Plantation at Fall Creek for a week at $199/week (under the Last Call rate). Normally it would be $1400.00 for 6 people. We were on the fourth floor, but there was an elevator.

Sunterra resort

Their write-up said: Each studio unit is 314 square feet and can accommodate up to 2 people. Each unit has one bathroom

Bathroom

and one queen bed.

Studio apartment bed

There is a partial kitchen that includes a mini microwave, 2-burner stove, under the counter refrigerator, one sink, and table set for two.
There was a couch with an end table and a phone (local calls were 25 cents each),

Couch in studio unit

a TV on a chest,

TV

which can be seen from the couch or the bed. The studio kitchen was a stove top, a microwave, a toaster, a coffee pot, and a very small refrigerator. The main problem with the refrigerator was that the freezer was tiny. We couldn't put anything much into it. It was too small for even a little bottle of water.

Kitchenette in studio apartment

Dusk

After we checked in, we blundered around in the cold and dark looking for a place to have dinner. We ended up at Shorty Small's Ribs and Steaks

Shorty's

and then we almost couldn't find our way back to the condo. Shorty's is a chain with other full service restaurants in AK, OK and KS plus some that they call 'casual dining'.

collage of website photos

The menu has "The Legend of Shorty Small"

Who The Heck is Shorty Small?

This story starts back in eighteen eighty-eight; it's about a mining town slapjack who made the worst pancakes ever. (But, if you're hungry, who gives a damn . . .). Well, anyway, the story we really want to tell is about his son, Shorty. Shorty was born in nineteen thirty-four. Needless to say, Ol' Josh was seventy-four when Shorty was born.

Well, as Shorty grew on plain folks' food, he attained the great height of five feet two inches, and he expan'ed to two hundred and ninety pounds. And Shorty jus' kept on expan'in'. . . and expan'in' and expan'in'. . . We won't mention his weight again, but we'll tell of his inheritance of the saloon business from his pappy, Ol' Josh. By the way, Ol' Josh kept the fire hot and fathered sixteen more youngin's named Lenzie, Drew, Ervin, Pat, Bill, Patrick, Rodney, Chuckie, Tracy, Daniel, Brad, Dave, Tarek, and Craig. Ol' Josh died happy at a hunnert and four. In fact, it was a hunnert and four degrees the day he died.

There were lots of women in Shorty's life, and he loved `em all includin': Kathi, Paula, Katie, Linda, Jennifer, "Boom Boom", Michele and Pat (but not at the same time...). But none caught his fancy like Sadie Woedzinski (wad*zen*skee!). Sadie was just a skinny young thang, an' she was gooder than gold. But years of cookin' for Shorty - and his inherited interest in young ladies - began to show a lot of wear and tear on poor Sadie, yet she still stuck by his side (it was the right side - not the left).

Bob had ribs

Bob's ribs

I had

Steak

Blackberry cobbler and ice cream

It was all good.

Saturday 18 February 2006

The snow that had been predicted for yesterday came today. It snowed. A lot. Well - about 4 inches and it got down to 10 deg F. Everything was cleared asap, but it was still cold and there was some ice. It is a considerable distance from town - you couldn't walk to any activities that were not on the grounds. The resort does have activities on site. There was an indoor pool with a hot tub, and I enjoyed the water aerobics three mornings a week - there were participants from both the town and the resort.. There are more water aerobics days during the regular season. The resort has 4 outdoor pools as well as the indoor, but that wasn't an option in February. In season there is trout fishing, tennis, basketball, volleyball. There was a horseshoe pit and an 18 hole miniature golf course, as well as a playground for the kids and an area to barbecue in.

Horseshoe pit

Miniature golf

Playground

There is an activity room where you can check out equipment (including towels for the pool), and there is a small fitness center. The activity director schedules card games and people play dominos. There is a computer to hook up to the internet for 15 minutes at a time, and at present there is free wireless access in the activity room. (They said they were going to charge for it eventually.) They also have a library of movies for viewing in your room(s)

There is a constant offer to get free show tickets, but you would have to listen to a timeshare presentation. If you don't care about the free tickets, or really hate timeshare presentations, then you don't have to attend the talk.

Across the street was a small mini-mart and gas station.. So we spent the day inside and ate the food we'd had in the cooler and watched the Olympics.

Branson highway after snow

Bob went down and started the car, and it did start, but we didn't go anywhere.

Sunday 19 February 2006

It was very very cold. We stayed inside and just ate tuna fish sandwiches.

Tuna sandwich

The restaurant is only open on weekends at this time of year, although they did have a dinner show at the resort. It was a retrospective of male country singers. We didn't go because we are not country music people.

Monday 20 February 2006

Snow has been cleared from the streets, and it is warmer, so Bob plugged in the car to warm it up (it is a diesel car and has a block heater), and we started out to go to the Trout Hatchery about 11. The car had NO POWER WHATSOEVER. I thought I might have to get out and push it up the hill. Bob said it was the transmission. So almost before we got out of the resort, I decided to scrap the plans to go to the hatchery, and just go to the grocery store to get some more food.

Road sign

Driving is difficult even when there is little or no traffic. It must be horrible in the summer. We saw some of the "attractions" on our trip.

Branson Globe

Theatre

Lost Treasure Golf

Ripley's Believe it or Not

We managed to get to the Jubilee (grocery store) by 11:30

Grocery store

and Bob bought some Lean Cuisine meals. The freezer on the little refrigerator in the unit isn't big enough for more than about 3 of those packages. I suggested we have lunch while we were there (no problem with food thawing), but the McDonalds next door was being rehabbed inside and had only a drive-through,

McDonalds

and Bob didn't want to drive through. So we went to Taco Bell, at which point I found out that he doesn't LIKE Taco Bell and in fact doesn't really like any Mexican food except tacos.

We came back to the unit - the transmission seems to be working a little better now.

Tuesday 21 February 2006

I had decided that we ought to see at least one show while we were in Branson, and Bob doesn't care for country music, so I thought the IMAX theatre would be a good compromise.

Resort buildings and landscaping

Water feature

Water feature

In December 2006 they had

Nascar

NASCAR ad

Fighter Pilot Operation Red Flag is the final training for pilots and their aircrews before being sent into actual combat. Follow pilot, John Stratton, as he makes his way through this extraordinary event held over the desert of Nevada at super-sonic speeds!

Greece Secrets of the Past - Be transported back 2,500 years - to the Golden Age of Civilization! Witness a great volcanic eruption, beautiful views of the Aegean sea, and sunsets silhouetting the Parthenon as it appeared the year it was completed!

Mysteries of the Nile -Join a breathtaking expedition down the world's greatest & most deadly river, the Blue Nile - as a team of explorers travel along all 3,260 treacherous miles of the river to become the first ever to complete a full descent from source to sea.

Forces of Nature - Come-face-to face with Earth's most destructive forces! Witness the awesome spectacle of an earthquake, travel to the brink of erupting volcanoes, and follow scientists as they barrel toward severe and tornadic storms! Narrated by Kevin Bacon.

We decided on a show called "Ozarks-Legacy and Legend", which purported to be a history of the area which was shown once at 4 pm.

Ozarks-Legacy and Legend

In the morning I had made an appointment with the hairdresser for right after water aerobics. But the hairdresser wanted to cancel (the first time this happened) and do it at 4, which conflicted with the IMAX.

We started off at 3:30, and got there way early

Information Booth

Sign in the front of the theatre

IMAX theater entrance

so we wandered around the mall that the theatre was in (there was also a real movie theatre and a 'show' type theatre there,

Regular movie theatre entrance

plus a lot of stores and a food court).

Quiznos

Fudge

]

Baskin Robbins

Shadowbox Gifts

Fabulous Finds Jewelry

Ozarks Mountain Quilt Company

Clothing at Fashion Liquidators

Movie poster

IMAX

I won't critique the film here, but some of it was somewhat unbelievable. Like how a kid could just pick up a fiddle for the first time and start to play a reel and dance in it at the same time, and why a couple of kids who were out for a picnic one day and fell into a cave would have a kerosene lantern with them.

Also the obligatory airplane sequence - a barnstormer is going to take two poor kids up for a ride without them paying something?

Obligatory IMAX airplane flight

We ate a very early dinner at McFarlains, which was supposed to be a family restaurant with local recipes. It was in the IMAX mall.

Entrance sign in the mall

I didn't think the food was very good.McFarlain's offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily. In the mornings there is a large breakfast buffet.

Dessert exhibit

There is also a little store associated with it where you can purchase a McFarlain's cookbook and several food items, including cornbread mix, and jams.

McFarlain's products

I got fried green tomatoes, which were greasy.

Fried green tomatoes and meatloaf

Bob got

Fish and Chips???

but the chips were just regular fries. We took a lot of it home with us.

Cornbread

Except for the cornbread, which was good, I was disappointed. The car is working somewhat better.

Wednesday 22 February 2006

This time when I went to the water aerobics,

Pool

I took my computer with me to use the wireless instead of using the very very slow dial-up modem which cost 25 cents for each call. (We had $4 worth of charges when we left - I was kind of hoping that they wouldn't actually keep track like when we were in Ormond Beach when they used the honor system for charging.) The hairdresser again wanted to postpone my appointment (again), so I said OK and went and used the computer until she was ready for me. She cut my hair, and then when she was getting ready to do the waxing, some people from Sunterra came in to ask question (Are you a timeshare owner? No. What is your favorite vacation memory?)

The beauty shop person charged double what was listed for the waxing. Chin and lip were all supposed to be $5 and she charged $10 each. She is a private contractor who rents the space.

Shepard of the Hills Hatchery Conservation Center sign

After eating lunch, we finally went out to the Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery which was right below the dam.

Dam

Electric lines from the dam

I'm not a fisherman, but neither am I really one for going to country music shows.

Bright Red Cardinal in a Tree

So I found this place one of the most interesting places in Branson.

Put your Butts here (by the Handicapped door opener)

Bob going in

Film "Ozark Rainbows" flyer

We visited the Conservation Center which had several informative exhibits on fishing

Bait v.s. Lure and Fly Fishing

Lake Taneycomo part of the exhibit

Turtles

Hellbender

Salamanders

FREE - Please take one

and also saw the incubation tanks.

One of the fish tanks

Broodstock Trout at the hatchery

Guided hatchery tours are provided at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 2 p.m. weekdays from Memorial Day to Labor Day. But we were there in the winter, so we did the self-guided tours.
The facility website says;
The hatchery typically produces 1,125,000 catchable trout annually, weighing 301,000 pounds. Lake Taneycomo receives 700,000 catchable trout per year...

Rules of the Pools

Bob at the hatchery

Food machine signs (machines were empty)

On demand feeder

This facility completes all trout production phases. Egg incubation and early rearing is completed in the hatchery building in jar type incubation units, and aluminum/fiberglass tanks. Twelve, outdoor concrete raceways are used for intermediate rearing,

Concrete raceways

Hatchery Fish in the ponds

and final rearing is completed in twenty outdoor concrete raceways. Three earthen ponds are also used for fish production. Spawning and broodstock holding operations are accomplished in four separate raceways.

Caution

The area has a boat ramp and several fishing access points along Lake Taneycomo, where trout fishing is allowed year-round. You need to bring your own equipment. All trout fishing areas require a Missouri fishing permit or exemption.

Permit prices as of July 1, 2009 are:

• Resident (ages 16-64) $12 (residents 65 and older and younger than 16 are exempt)
• Nonresident (age 16 and up) $42
• Daily Fishing Permit $7
• Trout Permit $7
• Daily Trout Tag (trout parks only) $3
• Daily Trout Tag (age 15 years or younger) $3.50

A trout permit is required to possess trout, except in areas where a daily trout fishing tag is required. Must also have a fishing permit or qualify for an exemption.

A trout permit is required for all fishing in winter catch-and-release fishing in trout parks; and for all fishing year-round in Lake Taneycomo upstream from U.S. Highway 65 bridge.

Looking down the road near our unit

We went to Montana Mike's for dinner.

Montana Mikes Steak House sign

Sign

All Montana Mike’s offer beer and wine with most locations having a full bar.A survey website says: A full-service casual dining steakhouse that specializes in satisfying big appetites at an exceptional value!

Inside Montana Mikes

You’ll feast on a selection of naturally aged steaks, hand-cut right in the restaurant and grilled. Montana Mike’s menu offers grilled chicken, baby back ribs, chicken-fried steak, catfish and of course our mouth-watering steaks including Mike’s 22-ounce Sirloin, a Mile High 16-ounce Ribeye or a delicious Porterhouse. Guests can choose from a list of delicious appetizers including fried mushrooms, Mike’s famous potato boats or hand-breaded onion rings. We also offer fresh salads, pastas and other seasonal menus and promotions throughout the year

Part of Montana Mike's menu

Montana Mike's is a chain with locations in TX, OK, KS, IL, IN and KY in addition to Missouri.

Sign with specials held by a wooden bear

I had a steak (which came with Texas toast), and root beer. I don't remember much else about it.

Steak

Root Beer

Thursday 23 February 2006

I went to the water aerobics for the last time. The snow is melted and it is pretty warm. We left as soon as I could get dried off from the pool (the water aerobics was from 9:30 to 10:30 and we left at 11) for a visit to Wilson's Creek Battleground - a NPS site which was south of Springfield. We had lunch at KFC before we got there.

Chicken, biscuit and coleslaw

Chicken, biscuit and sides

Soup and dessert

Almost the only way to get to Wilson's Creek is by car. And even that is not particularly straightforward.

Road to Springfield

Road to Wilson Creek

Welcome to Wilson' Creek Battlefield

When we were there, we saw this car in the parking lot.

NPS alternative fuel car

In addition to the picture of the field with the cannon, it says Wilson's Creek National Battlefield with the National Park Service logo, and under that, the label on the back of the car says "Clean Cities" (U.S. Department of Energy)

I found information on this on a NPS website (listed below)

Wilson's Creek Wraps Up Hybrid Technology
A partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy Clean Cities Program and Toyota Motor Sales has put a Toyota Prius? hybrid vehicle on the road at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield. The car will be used in the park and the Springfield, Missouri, area by interpretive rangers and other park staff. Driving the vehicle will help educate more than 200,000 annual visitors about hybrid technology and the NPS commitment to exploring innovative ways to better protect, manage, and preserve natural resources. Toyota Motor Sales donated the graphics "wrap" for the vehicle, which features images of the battlefield landscape complete with a cannon and rows of corn. Toyota also provided informational cards for visitors that explain hybrid technology and recognize the park's dedication to environmental stewardship and sustainability.

This was actually a very interesting site for finding out about local Civil War history and I got my first stamp in the North Central section of my passport.

The sidewalk to the Visitor's Center had a kind of TimeLine of events in the sidewalk leading up to and away from the door. I tried to get pictures of some of the more significant ones leading up to the Battle of Wilson Creek (August 10, 1861)

The partial list of the dates is

1820 Missouri Compromise

Missouri Statehood - August 1821

Compromise of 1850

Kansas-Nebraska Act - May, 1854

Dred Scott Decision - March 6, 1857

John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry - October 16-18, 1859

Lincoln elected president Nov 6, 1860

South Carolina secedes - December 20, 1860

Missouri Secession Convention- February 28 - March 22, 1861

Fort Sumter - April 12, 1861

Camp Jackson - May 10, 1861

Planters House Meeting - June 11, 1861

Battle of Booneville - June 17, 1861

Battle of Carthage - July 5, 1861

Bob walking up to the Visitor's Center

And going away from the Visitor's Center

Siege of Lextington September 12-20, 1861

Battle of Pea Ridge - March 7-8 1862

Battle of Prairie Grove - December 7, 1862

Battle of Springfield - January 8, 1863

Battle of Honey springs - July 17, 1861

Raid on Lawrence - August 31, 1863
Lee Surrenders at Appomattox - April 9, 1865

Wilson's Creek National Battlefield established

Wilson's Creek Blue and Gray Reunion - 1883 and 1897

Visitor's center sign

The Visitor Center is open every day 8 - 5. It has a small museum with exhibits about the battle, a thirteen minute film (always a good deal at a NPS site),

The film explaining the battle

and a bookstore.

Bookstore

There was supposed to be a fiber optics map program but it wasn't in operation when we were there. It had been sent to be repaired. The rangers said it was one of the most popular of the exhibits there. Also in the Visitor's Center is a research library which is open Tuesday to Saturday

Entrance to the library

Museum exhibit at Wilson Creek

Union Cavalry uniform and saddle

The sign in the case says:
Private Charles WOod, Company K, 4th Michigan Cavalry used this Model 1859 McClellan saddle. Wood, a resident of Attica Michigan was forty-one when he enlisted on August 9, 1862. Promoted to sergeant, he died of disease at Stanford, Kentucky on October 26, 1862.

Sergeant Levi Patterson, Company F. 2nd Indiana Cavalry wore the cavalry uniform jacket. He enlisted on September 12, 1861, and participated in the fighting at Perryville Kentucky, Chickamauga Georgia and in the various battles and skirmishes of the Atlanta Campaign. He was mustered out on October 4, 1864.

Sword of the first Union General killed

Other items in this case include a Model 1859 .52 Sharps Carbine and Colt Army Savage Staff and Remington revolvers.

Map explaining the geography of the CSA

Map of the army movements

We found out when we visited the Visitor's center that there is a 4.9 mile paved tour road.

Road around the battlefield

There are eight interpretive stops at significant points to the battle. Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Travel Guide:

Gibson's Mill

Ray Springhouse

Ray Springhouse

Road up to the Ray House

Ray House

Ray Family information

Bedroom

Looking into the dining room

Fight in Ray's Cornfield

Pulaski Arkansas Battery

Price's Headquarters

Pulaski Batter and Price's HQ 1/4 mile

Sigel's Attack

Information on Col. Franz Sigel

Rout of Sigel's Column

Map

There are five walking trails off the tour road for individual exploration, varying in length from one-fourth of a mile to three-fourths of a mile.

Walking trail

Walking on a trail

East Battlefield Overlook stairs

Only automobiles, buses, walkers, bikers and horseback riders are allowed on this road, and bikes are only allowed on the road, not on the trails.

Horse crossing sign

Although I did not do it myself, there are many indications that horseback riding is one way to see the park, perhaps from the perspective of a cavalryman. There are signs throughout the park indicating parking for horse trailers, there are hitching posts,

Hitching posts

and there are maps of the trails for the use of horses.

Wire Road - Horses and Hikers only

The seven mile trail system for horseback riding and hiking is accessible from the tour road. There is a link on the on the NPS website which talks about Staff Rides.

Hillside in February

Cannon

Battlefield

On the way back I got us quite lost. I didn't have a Missouri map (this is the only state I've been to so far where there wasn't a Visitor's Center on the entrance road with a place to get a state map - probably because we didn't come in on an interstate), and the Missouri roads are both lettered and numbered. I wanted to go back on route ZZ to route M,

Junction with road M

but we got onto route FF,

Junction FF

which dead ended into a place with a gravel road on one side and the other side started out paved and then became gravel, and when we got to the top of a hill there was a sign which said that the road was flooded at high water. That didn't look promising.

Route F to the left

We ended up at the south side of Springfield, and found US 65 to drive back to Branson.

Missouri Sheriff

The Pantry - gas station near condo

Bob got fuel back by the resort about 4. I had the computer with me and he let me out at the front desk area. I went and did the internet until about 6:30 when a whole bunch of rowdy seniors (about 18-20 of them) came in to play dominos, and took all the chairs and tables there. I called and talked to Mother while I was walking back to the unit.

Friday 24 February 2006

Checked out at 9. Started the drive to Memphis.

From our balcony the day we checked out

We were to stay at a Red Roof Inn, but I have canceled this reservation and we are going to be at the Navy Lodge there near Memphis for $40/night.

Driving out across the dam

Maybe it is the weather, or the car trouble, but I have no desire to ever visit Branson again. It seems full of tourist traps and theaters showing shows I don't want to pay to see. All the worst characteristic of Atlantic City and Myrtle Beach with out the ocean. They are even building a Titanic museum - miles from any water where such a ship could have sailed.

Titanic Museum being built

Friday 24 February 2006

We checked out at 9 and started to drive to Memphis. The right windshield washer is not pointed right so my side of the window is smeary.

Leaving Branson with a smeared windshield

The car transmission is still not working well. Sometimes the car only goes about 50 mph, and vibrates. When we would stop (like for lunch or fuel), the car would run better for awhile. Although I did not write it up at the time, I think we stopped in Batesville and had lunch at Colton's Steakhouse about noon. I know if was Colton's Steakhouse and it was about noon - I just don't know which Colton's Steakhouse it was.

Colton's sign

Colton's restaurant

The Legend of J.T. Colton

Saddle

Jackalope through a Window

Cowboy Etiquette

Lunch specials

Lunch

Outhouse

My selfie in the restroom

Arkansas Youth Equine Program trailer

Church from the highway

Approaching Memphis, the big trucks on the interstate were riding up our tailpipe. It took us 9 or 10 hours to make a trip which should have taken 5 and it was very stressful.

Coming East on the Interstate approaching Memphis

One of the first things we saw when we came across the bridge to Memphis, was the monorail station near the visitor's center.

End of the monorail

Mud Island monorail

Monorail

Each time we went by, we tried to figure out how it would work. It did look like we could walk across above the monorail.

Mud Island

We stopped at the entrance to Memphis at the visitor's center about 4 p.m.

Birth of the Blues Egg - front of Visitor's Center

Sign in Ladies Room

and the lady there gave us directions to the base where we didn't have to get back on I-40.

Elvis statue in the Visitor's Center

In the visitor's center is the original statue of the Vegas jump-suited Elvis which stood on Beale Street plaza near the old site of the Lansky's store. Lansky made Elvis's suits. The statue was so popular tourists climbed onto the base of the statue and managed to pry loose the metal fringe on the jump suit. The statue was refurbished, including the jacket fringe and is now in the Visitors Center along with a statue of B.B. King. In the climate-controlled room he's had all to himself since 1996, the more mature bronze Presley stands on a pedestal that is "alarm protected" according to the plaques by each of his feet.

Statue to BB King in the Visitor Center

Heading for Millington

Driving to Millington through city streets

Apparently at this base there is both a Navy Lodge and a Navy Inn.

Entrance gate to the Navy Base

Unfortunately, we are at the Lodge which is not on the base. The Inn has high speed wireless. The Lodge does not. We finally found the Lodge (The Inn is across Navy Road on the base), and checked in. We asked the lady where was a good place to eat, and she recommended two places. Old Timers and Miss Sipps. So we started out to find Old Timers, and drove all the way out Navy Road to US 51. Then on the way back, we saw Miss Sipps, so we stopped there.

Outside of Miss Sipp's

Inside Miss Sipps

The place's name is Miss Sipps Catfish Saloon. So we had to have catfish. Bob had

Two filets with baked potato and coleslaw for $8.98

I had the thin fillets and two sides.

Thin fillets with hush puppies and fried corn on the cob regular portion for $9.39

I picked a tossed salad and fried corn on the cob (the latter because I wanted to see what it was like - it was good.) For dessert, I had

Peach cobbler a la mode for $2.99

As we were checking out, I saw a sign that said

Sign about personal checks

"NOTICE We cash personal checks up to a maximum of $20.00 (twenty dollars) if you have 6 (six) I.D.'s and leave a $50.00 (fifty dollar) cash deposit until check clears bank."

Flag painted on a water tower- sunset

Saturday 25 February 2006

Sign out front from our room

Plants outside our window

Each room has a fully equipped kitchenette (dishes, pans, etc.) with a stove, dorm sized refrigerator, microwave and coffee maker.

Kitchen area

We had two double beds with a night table between them, an upholstered chair,

Bed and chair

a table and chairs,

and a TV which sat on a chest of drawers. There is a radio/clock, irons and ironing boards, and on-site laundry facilities. There was a nice bathroom,

Bathroom sink

and maid service came in each day.

We could make free local telephone calls. A free local paper was supplied, which I prefer to getting some generic paper such as USA Today. There is a gym and outdoor tennis courts, outdoor BBQ and playground nearby.

Tennis courts, gym and Navy Lodge (right)

If you have access to the Navy base (which we do), there is an exchange and commissary within a mile or two, and it doesn't take long to get to Memphis to visit the attractions there.

Bob wanted to know where I was going today, and I basically said - nowhere. I was worried about the car, and tired from the trip yesterday. So we stayed in until dinner and watched the Olympics. We went out to dinner and found the Old Timer's. This is "Babe Howard's Old Timers Restaurant" on C Street. They have a reconstruction of the Iwo Jima memorial on top of the restaurant that swings in the wind.

Iwo Jima flag raising on top of a restaurant

The entrance was through a mockup of a railroad car,

Entrance to "Old Timer's"

Old Timer's Restaurant menu

Millington menu at Old Timers

and there was a little model railroad train that could run around the top of the restaurant.

Model train

We were there by 5:30, and there were people waiting, but since there were only two of us we were seated right away. Lots of large family groups. We were seated back by the kitchen and we could see the cooks rushing back and forth in there, and the servers getting iced tea etc. Interesting to watch.

I didn't get a chance to really peruse the specials board which had a special on crawfish pie ($4.99),

Specials menu board

so I asked about the dumplings in the the chicken and dumplings.

Chicken, Dumplings, ColeSlaw and rolls for $5.25

This was certainly a good price. But the dumplings were flat pasta like things with white gravy that looked like Elmer's glue. Bob had

A quarter chicken - smoked and a baked potato $6.25.

I asked the waitress about desserts, and she listed a couple of pies, none of which appealed to me, but she did not mention the peach or blackberry cobbler-specials which I would have liked.

Dessert carrousel

We went back to our room.

Sunday 26 February 2006

Bob woke up last night and said, "I know what the problem is with the car - it is a fuel restriction". Then he went back to sleep. So when we finally got up, he said that he was afraid that the car might stop running altogether so we shouldn't go anywhere. I had Bob's piece of chicken that he didn't finish for lunch, and he had pb&j.

Navy Jet on Display

We decided to go to Perkins for dinner, and he had the

Senior turkey dinner with corn, mashed potatoes and a roll

and I had a breakfast -

Two eggs, hash browns and corned beef.

We watched Dancing with the Stars alternately with the final ceremonies of the Olympics.

Monday, 27 February 2006

Bob called the Mercedes dealer and they said to bring it in and they'd work it into the rotation. So we did, and then we rented a car from Budget. The guy that gave us a lift to the Budget place was driving a very fancy Mercedes limo.

The two of us reflected in mirrors inside the limo

Some of the fittings in the limo

Ceiling mirror in fancy Mercedes Fuel Cell Limo

Limousine from inside the Budget office

Budget gave us a white Chrysler for $32/day. I tried Enterprise first and it was $36/day although it was much less than that when I looked on the internet.

After we got the car, we drove in toward the Visitor's Center because one of the things I wanted to do was ride the trolleys, and the lady at the visitor's center had told me that we could catch the loop trolley from there and ride all the way around.

But while we were driving I called the Blues City Tour desk and asked about the morning tour which we had a $2 off coupon for. It started at 10 and was 3 hours. The dispatcher said that they picked up from the Visitor's Center about 9:45.

Flags outside the Visitor's Center

So we parked and waited for the tour bus to pick us up. When we got to the tour agency, there was $1 fuel surcharge, but the discount coupon still saved each of us $1 over the original price. I asked and was allowed to sit in the passenger seat next to the driver, which was good except that the front window was dirty.

City Sightseeing tours

We drove all over the city and I took over 200 pictures. The tour included:

• Sun Studio where Elvis recorded his first record.

By coincidence, driving to Memphis we heard a NPR reading from "Dewey and Elvis: The Life and Times of a Rock 'n' Roll Deejay" the biography of Dewey Phillips written by Louis Cantor, a professor of history at Indiana University.

Sun Studios

Dewey Phillips and Sam Phillips (no relation to each other) had a very brief record company partnership in 1950 in a company called "It's The Phillips" which issued only one record. Sam Phillips continued working in the recording business as the Memphis Recording Service, and in 1952, he started Sun Records.

The Memphis Recording Service, in addition to recording bar mitzvahs, weddings also recorded personal records for people walking in off the street. For four dollars they would record two songs. A young truck driver in Memphis named Elvis Presley stopped in one day on his lunch hour to record a song for his mother's birthday. Sam Phillips was not there that day, so Marion Keisker, the Sun office manager, recorded Elvis. Marion kept urging Sam to record Elvis.

In 1954, Sam made the recording of Elvis singing "That's All Right, Mama" (Sun 209). Sam took a dub of the record to Dewey Phillips, who was a top DJ on WHBQ. Dewey played the song over and over on his program "Red, Hot and Blue". We are not rabid Elvis fans, so this was news to us - we had never heard of Dewey Phillips before but the reading of the book made a good introduction to the Memphis music scene of the 50s

Sun Studio is open seven days a week from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm daily. Tours are given at the bottom of every hour on the half hour starting at 10:30 and ending at 5:30. Sun Studio requires at least 1 to 1.5 hours. The tour ticket price is $9.50 per person, & children under 12 are free. We apologize, but due to the nature of our guided performance tour, children 3 & under are not allowed to take the tour. No reservations are necessary.

• The tour drove by the building which formerly housed the Cadillac dealership

where Elvis bought his cars (and also a car for anyone else that happened to be there on the off hours),

• Autozone Park (For the Redbirds - a farm team for the Cardinals)

Autozone park entrance

Redbirds fans enjoy:
- An Open Concourse allowing them to never lose sight of the game
- The Wolfchase Toyota Picnic Pavilion hosting as many as 500 fans

Sign

- Lawn seating on the Bluff (Please Note: No Chairs Allowed)
- Club Seats with access to an air conditioned concourse and specialty foods
- A state-of-the-art Press box and Super LED Video Board
- The Boardwalk - A family-oriented games and amusement area

Ticket windows

- P.D. Parrot's Playhouse Perch, sponsored by Baptist Pediatric Care (a playground and fun zone located next to the Bluff)
You can have a tour "behind the scenes" for $5.00 per person

• Churches I took photos of three different Memphis Churches.

Calvary Episcopal 102 N 2nd St, Memphis, TN 38103

Calvary Episcopal

Calvary Episcopal Church was founded circa 1832. The surviving 1844 nave is the city's oldest public building still in use.

St. Peter's Roman Catholic 190 Adams Ave, Memphis, TN 38103

Sign for St. Peter Catholic Church

St. Peter Catholic Church which was founded in 1840, the first Roman Catholic parish in West Tennessee and given to the Dominican Order in 1846. The present church was built 1852-1855 around a smaller church, which was then dismantled and carried out the doors.

Detail of St. Peter's

First Church United Methodist 204 N 2nd St, Memphis, TN 38105

First Church from down the street

This church's history started on the first Sunday in February, 1826, when a young Methodist circuit rider, the Reverend Thomas P. Davidson, held a service of worship for a small society of Methodists. This service was the first for the group of citizens who formed the First Methodist Society. It was also the first church of any religion in the city of Memphis. Organizing members of the society were Mrs. Paulina Perkins, a young widow; Elijah Coffee, a shoemaker and itinerant preacher; and a Mr. Dickens, a Portuguese. In March, 1832, the Reverend Mr. Owen made a fervent appeal to the congregation to build a church and to build it at once. Up to this time, there was not a single place in the town of Memphis dedicated to the worship of God. Shortly thereafter, the lot upon which the Pepper Memorial Sunday School Building now stands was purchased from John Overton for $200. It is interesting to note that no building other than the church has stood upon this land.

First Church United Methodist

The cost of the church building was approximately $150. The first service was held in June, although the building was not yet complete. This was the “Old Meeting House,” the first church edifice of any denomination in Memphis. In 1885, a building committee was again appointed to investigate the possibilities of building a larger church. In 1885, construction began on a new church structure. The congregation moved into the completed church in January, 1893. The new building of granite and limestone was one of the largest and most handsome in the South

• Hospitals - The tour included all the hospital buildings

Children's Medical Center

(including the Elvis Presley trauma center,

Elvis Presley Memorial Trauma Center

the Regional Medical Center

Regional Medical Center sign

Adams Pavillion in the Regional Medical Center

and the construction site where Baptist Hospital used to be).

Construction where Baptist Hospital was

And we even had a stop at Danny Thomas's St. Jude's hospital.

• Victorian Village.

We drove along Adams Avenue on the city tour. There are homes in the area which were built between 1846 and the 1890s which have been rescued by interested citizens.

Mallory Neely House 1852

The architectural styles range from Neo-classical through Late Gothic Revival. The oldest home in the area is the Massey House (ca. 1846),

Massey House c. 1847

which was built for Benjamin A. Massey, an early Memphis lawyer. Another one is Fontaine House

Fontaine House c 1870

and the Gingerbread Playhouse which is behind it.

Playhouse c 1890

It was built in the 1890s by J. W. Handwerker, a pharmacist, for his children. It has also been used as an office and a beauty parlor.

Woodruff Fontain House Museum 1870

The Woodruff Fontaine house was bought by Noland Fontaine from Amos Woodruff in 1883.
He was president of Hill, Fontaine & Co., at one time the world's third largest cotton company. The Fontaines lived in the house for 46 years.

• The courthouse

Shelby County Courthouse

Civil War Capitol

Washburn's Quarters

Current statue of Elvis at FedEx Forum

FedEx Forum

• The Peabody Hotel.

Approaching the Peabody Hotel

Looking across the guide to the hotel entrance

Before I went on the Memphis City Tour, I had never heard of the Peabody Hotel. But the tour driver told us that the Peabody is renowned for the March of the Ducks. Here we got out and went into the Peabody Hotel

Lobby

Fountain before the ducks get there

Stained glass ceiling

to observe the ducks - at 11:00 they would come down from the roof on the elevator,

Elevator with duck insignia on floor

and waddle down the red carpet and jump into the fountain in the center of the lobby where they would stay until 5 pm

Duck fountain

when they would go back up the elevator. This tradition dates back to 1933. In the center of the lobby is a fountain which is where the ducks swim. On one side is a bar, and there is also a player piano in the lobby.

Player Piano

On the advice of the tour guide I went up on the mezzanine to watch, but it was so dark and there were such crowds of people

Crowds around the duck walk

that my pictures don't amount to much. It's really fun to see though, and is one of the iconic sights of Memphis.

Tidbits from the hotel website
-The Peabody's lobby fountain is cut from one enormous piece of travertine marble made and shipped from Italy for the hotel's 1925 opening. The colorful flowers adorning the top of the fountain are changed out every other day in the middle of the night.

Ducks swimming in the fountain

- When off-duty from the Lobby, the ducks live in their Royal Duck Palace on the hotel's rooftop.

Children with stuffed mallard toy

Jewelry on display in the lobby

Lansky's: Elvis's Taylor

Lansky Book Poster at Peabody entrance

The tour bus driver told us to look in the lobby for the poster for Lansky's because he was the tailor who made Elvis' costumes.

Lansky's clothing shop

The website says:
We supplied Elvis with his flashy early clothes (the Hi-Boy collar shirts, the peg-legged pants, the Pink/Black combinations) and his famous Gold Lame' jacket for his early hip-swiveling performance on the Ed Sullivan Show. As Elvis spread the word, calls from around the world began pouring in. Everyone wanted to dress like Elvis!

Old archive photo of the store

Our gigantic list of recording star/customers includes Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, B.B. King, Issac Hayes, Bobby Blue Bland, and many more.

But there are other shops in the Peabody also such as the Lucky Duck

Lucky Duck Gift shop from mezzanine

Gift shop closer

Next we stopped at the

• Danny Thomas memorial shrine and cemetery at St. Jude's hospital.

St Jude's Medical Center

Entrance to the hospital

There was a pavilion there with a little museum which detailed the life of Danny Thomas

Danny Thomas Visitor's Center

Memorial plaque outside

Danny's career as an entertainer listed here

Plaque lauding Danny Thomas as a humanitarian

and the history of ALSAC (American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities)

American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities

and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The website says The architectural layout of the Danny Thomas/ALSAC Pavilion emits a star-like shape with five alcoves surrounding the rotunda. Considered to be a modernistic representation of the world, the Pavilion’s design symbolizes the far-reaching scope of ALSAC and the work of St. Jude.

-St. Jude Gift Shop: The Memorial is the repository for thousands of artifacts from Danny Thomas's life. Its presence allows the hospital to further raise funds for the facility by operating an extensive gift shop with an on-line "The Hope Catalog."I went in and took a few pictures, but I didn't buy anything.

Door to shop with hours painted on it

Display - bags, shirts, mugs, hats etc

You can make a contribution to St. Jude's and send a card for an anniversary, birthday, wedding, thank you, memorial or for other occasions. They have regular merchandise - books, music, accessories (lapel pins, hats, key chains, bags, umbrellas, watches), clothing, jewelry, candles, pillows, car accessories, golf balls, mirrors, stationary and many other items.

Checkout counter with TV playing D. Thomas

"The Right Words at the Right Time" is a book by Marlo Thomas ($24.95

There was also a chapel.

Looking into the chapel

Inside the chapel

Adjacent to the Danny Thomas/ALSAC Pavilion is the Danny and Rose Marie Thomas Memorial Garden

which is not only the site of the burial crypt

Memorial at the gravesite

but a functional park which furnishes a contemplative setting for hospital staff workers and visitors alike to enjoy a peaceful place for relaxation.

Looking toward the waterfall end of the garden

After I briefly toured the Pavilion, I walked around to the Memorial Garden which was quite peaceful and beautiful even though it was late winter or early spring and there weren't many flowers in bloom.

Waterfall wall

Here is the grave of Muzyard Yaakoob (Amos Jacobs) AKA Danny Thomas. Birth: Jan. 6, 1914 Death: Feb. 6, 1991 and his wife Rose Marie Thomas Birth: Mar. 6, 1914 Death: Jul. 12, 2000. Danny Thomas's name is a derivative from the names of two of his brothers. His parents were Syrian, and the story goes that as a young man, he prayed to St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hopeless causes, to “show me my way in life.”

Closeup of the memorial site

Many years later (after he starred for many years in the TV show "Make Room for Daddy" ), he decided to build a memorial hospital to St. Jude as an expression of gratitude for his success. Memphis was chosen as the site because it was more or less the center of the country, so that it would be accessible to almost everyone.

PULL UP - Gate Will Open

On leaving we went to a gate where the sign said "Pull Up - Gate Will Open". I thought of course that the driver would have to get out and pull something up. No of course not. It meant pull the car up to the gate and then it would open.

• The pyramid - Are we in Egypt?

The only surviving one of the Seven Ancient Wonders is the Great Pyramid of Giza, the necropolis of ancient Memphis, and today part of Greater Cairo in Egypt. When the Memphis in Tennessee was founded in 1819 and incorporated as a city in 1826 it took its name from the old Egyptian capital.

The pyramid

It took me a little time to figure out why Memphis would have a big Egyptian pyramid as an appropriate symbol for the city. It could be the sixth largest pyramid in the world behind the Great Pyramid of Giza (456 ft), Khafre's Pyramid (448 ft), Luxor Hotel (348 ft), the Red Pyramid (341 ft) and the Bent Pyramid (332 ft), both in Dahshur. It is also slightly (about 16 feet) taller than the Statue of Liberty.

Looking down the street from the city tour bus

A statue of Ramesses the Great stood in front of the pyramid. In 2011, this statue was sold to the University of Memphis for the cost of $1.

Are we in Egypt? Pyramid and statue of Ramesses the Great which stood here until 2011

The official name of the Pyramid is "The Great American Pyramid."
The Pyramid is 321 feet tall, or 32 stories.
The Memphis, Tennessee pyramid is a 1/6th size replica of the Great Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt.
The arena seated 21,000.
The Pyramid's exterior is clad in stainless steel.
They built the 32-story Pyramid Arena in 1991. At that time, it was the home court for the University of Memphis men's basketball program. When the National Basketball Association's Grizzlies moved from Vancouver in 1995, and became the Memphis Grizzlies, they also played here. The Grizzlies moved to the FedEx Forum in 2005 so they are trying to figure out what to do with the pyramid now, The pyramid is visible from almost everywhere downtown, and approaching Memphis from the river side

We drove past

• the Lorraine Motel where MLK was assassinated.

The first picture I took through the van window and is the only one I have of the Civil Rights Museum protester.

The Lorraine Hotel and protestor on left

She has a street stand where she sits whenever the museum is open. She apparently makes a pretty good living here -- according to the tour guide, she was a guest in the Lorraine Motel when King was shot, and she objected to being evicted so that they could make a museum of it. Unfortunately, when I went back the next day (Tuesday) to get a better picture of her, the museum was closed and so she was not there.

Balcony outside MLK's room and student tour

The ring on the balcony in the second picture is where M. L. King was standing when he was shot.

Cars that were parked outside the motel at the time of the assassination including a limo

In addition to the section of the museum that is in the motel, (Room 306 and 307 are just as they were when Dr. King was assassinated in 1968)

Front of building where shooter was

there is an additional part in the Young and Morrow building and the 420 Main Street rooming house where the fatal shot was allegedly fired by James Earl Ray. This section was opened in 2002.

Then she let us out on

• Beale Street to walk around and see the sights.

Beale Street

Beale Street

wrought iron

Pork with an Attitude

Shopping

Beale Street

Alfred's

Dyers Burgers: World Famous? We ate lunch at Dyers (founded in 1912)

Front of Dyers

Part of menu outside

Dyers

Behind the bar

Inside of restaurant

We each had a hamburger and I had an ice cream soda, and Bob had a milkshake - made with real ice cream.

DYER'S SINGLE $3.49

Their website says:

Old fashioned soda fountain - archive photo

Featuring ICE CREAM
AUTHENTIC "SODA JERK" FLOATS
Your choice of Soda topped with Vanilla Ice Cream $3.99
THE ORIGINAL "SUPER DOOPER" ROOT BEER FLOAT
The one and only made with "IBC" Root Beer $3.99

Dyers drinks

MILK SHAKES
Vanilla, Chocolate or Strawberry $3.99

We could also have had a deep fried twinkie or a hot apple dumpling with ice cream

We walked up and saw W. C. Handy's statue in Handy Park. W. C. Handy Performing Arts Park.
Address: 200 Beale Street
This park named for him has blues music concerts and even parades down Beale Street to the park.

Park entrance

William Christopher Handy has been called the Father of the Blues. His statue is at the park entrance.

W C Handy statue

The side of the monument says

Base of the statue

His life is the tale of three streets, Beale Street in Memphis, Market Street in St. Louis and Broadway in New York City

Other side of the base which has a long inscription that is almost impossible to read

The sign says

Sign at the park

In memory of
W. C. Handy
Composer
Music Pubisher
Father of the Blues
1976
Erected by the Association
of Afro-American Life and History
In Cooperation with the
Amoco Foundation,

If we don't have it

A. Schwab sign (est. 1876)

... You don't want it
Address: 163 Beale Street
I was interested in the Schwab drugstore because my grandmother was a Schwab, so when the tour let us out on Beale Street for lunch, I took a photo of it.. Their motto apparently is, "If we don't have it, you don't need it."

Schwab store

In 1876, Jewish immigrant Abraham Schwab opened a store on Beale Street. Over its 138-year history, A. Schwab has become a Memphis institution, beloved by many generations. A. Schwab is the only original business remaining on Beale Street.

Closeup of the Orpheum sign

We didn't get a chance to actually visit the Orpheum. We just saw it from the outside. The original building (the Grand Opera House) was built in 1890. In 1907, the Grand became part of the Orpheum Circuit of vaudeville shows, thus the theatre became known as the Orpheum. Then in 1923, the theatre burned to the ground. In 1928, a new Orpheum was built on the original site but it was twice as large. In 1940 a movie chain bought the theatre and presented first run movies until 1976. Sometime in the 50s, the Orpheum acquired a ghost in a white dress and pigtails sitting in seat C-5, Box 5. She is known as Mary and has never disrupted a performance.

Orpheum Theater

In 1982, a renovation was begun, and the theatre was reopened in 1984. Now it presents 10-12 large-scale Broadway shows a year. It is also used by Ballet Memphis and Opera Memphis

Then we got back on the bus

Sign for Peabody Place

Peabody Place is part of a downtown renewal effort that includes complexes of restaurants, shops and apartments.

We saw it from the sightseeing van, but did not go in.

Looking under/through to Peabody Place

and did a drive-by of Silky O'Sullivans- I was intrigued by the building next door with the false front propped up by beams

Silky's with false facade next door

City Architecture

• Graceland, We did not take the version of the Memphis tour which allowed us to go into Graceland.

The Graceland sign

I like Elvis' singing, but I had no real desire to fight the mobs to go through the whole tour, so I just took some pictures from the bus.

Graceland from the road

My daughter did visit Graceland when she was driving through Memphis and she said it was quite interesting.

Place where you buy tickets from the bus

Birthplace of Rock N'Roll

• Heartbreak Hotel and Lonely Street

Heartbreak Hotel was named after a song which was written by Tommy Durden who was inspired by a newspaper story about a man who killed himself and left behind a note saying only, "I walk a lonely street." Another Nashville songwriter named Mae Boren Axton wrote the music.

Elvis performed the song in 1955, and it became a hit (his first #1 hit on the Billboard pop charts) after Elvis performed it on The Dorsey Brothers TV show in 1956

Lyrics for: Heartbreak Hotel

Well

Since my baby
Left me
I've found a new
Place to dwell
It's down at the end
Of Lonely Street
The Heartbreak Hotel

Sign with "Lonely Street" sign

I get so lonely
Baby
You make me so lonely
I get so lonely
I could die

And though it's
Always crowded
You can still find
Some room
For broken-hearted
Lovers
Do cry away their gloom

And be so lonely
Oh
So lonely
They get so lonely
They could die

The bell hop's tears
Keep flowing
The desk clerk's dressed
In black
They've been so long
On Lonely Street
They never will
Go back

And they're so lonely
Oh
They're so lonely
They're so lonely
They pray to die

So if your baby
Leaves you
And you have a tale
To tell
Just take a walk
Down Lonely Street
To Heartbreak Hotel

Where you'll be lonely
And I'll be lonely
We'll be so lonely
We could die

I'm not quite sure why anyone would want to stay in a hotel that was named for such a sad song. I doubt if it dates back to 1956 - it probably opened after Graceland was opened to tourists in 1982.

Rooms are $99-104 for a double

• Elvis's Planes- Lisa Marie and Hound Dog II

Planes from the tour bus

One of the things you can do at Graceland is tour Elvis's two planes. According to Rolling Stone:

Lisa Marie

People lined up to go aboard

The Lisa Marie, a Convair 880 named after the rock legend's daughter, features a red-white-and-blue exterior, gold-plated bathroom fixtures, a stereo system, a conference room and bed. Presley bought the jet from Delta Air Lines for $250,000 in April 1975; refurbishing brought the total to over $600,000, and he first boarded the craft in November of that year. Presley purchased The Hound Dog II, a Lockheed JetStar, in 1975 for around $900,000 as he awaited renovations for the Lisa Marie.

Hound Dog II

There has been a recent controversy about the location of the planes. but at present they are still listed at Graceland:

After that, they took us back to the Visitor's Center which is right on the river.

Tug with barges

Informational sign about the riverbank

Paddlewheels Along the Mississippi? You can take a paddlewheel cruise on the Mississippi here in Memphis - in the spring and summer.

Paddlewheels through a railing

Since we were here in February, it was too early for a cruise or water activities on the river. When we were here they were docked near the Visitor's Center. They are now boarding at the new Beale Street Landing 251 Riverside Drive Memphis, TN 38103

Paddle wheel boats

We called the Mercedes place and they said that the two left door locks were leaking (which we kind of knew and it wasn't a priority) and they would have to replace them. Wouldn't be done today.

We drove back to Millington, and tried really hard to find a steakhouse that was listed as being in the 6600 block of US 51, but could not. So we ended up at Ryan's which is a buffet.

Ryans

This chain is part of the company that also includes Old Country Buffet, Hometown Buffet, Fire Mountain and Country Buffet. This is a buffet chain which always includes comfort foods such as
-Fresh made Macaroni and Cheese
-Hand-Breaded Fried Chicken
-Fried Fish
-Baked Chicken
-Baked Fish

Salads

Meat

On the Side
You’ll also find just the right side dishes made in small batches for every meal, like:
-Mashed Potatoes
-Rice and Gravy
-Fresh Vegetables
-French Fries
-Corn Bread Dressing
-Two Home-Style Soup Favorites

Desserts

We weren't too happy with the service here. Not only did the girl checking us in have to swipe Bob's card about 20 times before it 'took', but she didn't ask him what he wanted to drink (so he drank water - he was going to drink root beer), and when she asked if we wanted to put the tip on the charge and Bob said yes to put on $3.00, she added only 30 cents. Bob did leave an extra couple of bucks.

Receipt

We left at about 7:30.

When we got back to the Navy Lodge, we were locked out of our room because while they had extended the time on the computer at the desk, they hadn't reprogrammed the keys. The front desk was completely locked up and dark as they are not open past 7 pm. Because my phone was on all day waiting for the Mercedes place to call, I left it charging in the unit. So I called on the white phone in the anteroom and got the Navy Inn. She said to come over and she would reprogram our keys

The desk had also said we would have to check out on Wednesday, so I asked the Inn whether they would have two more days, and she said to check with the Lodge tomorrow that maybe someone would check out, but if not, she did have space. The reprogramming did work, and we did get back in the room.

Tuesday 28 February 2006

We left the Lodge about 10 after I called the MATA (Memphis Transportation people) and asked about getting transfers for riding the different rail lines. We drove down to the Visitor's Center again (where you can park for free),

Memphis Blues Birth egg at the Visitor's Center

and walked over to the trolley stop. The farebox on each trolley is designed to accept cash fares and passes. The farebox does not dispense change and bus operators are not allowed to handle money or make change for fares. Please have exact fare amount ready to deposit into the farebox. The farebox also does not accept pennies or foreign objects. All trolley base fares are designed for one-way trips:

There are three trolley lines in downtown Memphis and they are all old versions of the New Orleans streetcars with quite rough rail beds and wooden seats. The antique trolleys are being renovated (as of 2014). We rode all three loops. We got on the Riverside Loop car

Looking down the trolley tracks

and paid 50 cents each (as old people - half regular rate).

Bob talking to trolley driver

We asked about a transfer and he said we couldn't get one unless we transferred to the Madison Street line.

Transfer

The Loop car goes up Riverside and then comes down Main (which is not open to vehicular traffic).

Lorraine Motel Museum from the Main Street trolley on Tuesday

Sign on the trolley

Station

Fort San Fernando de las Barrancas sign

We got off at Madison. There was no trolley stop station for transferring to the Madison car, but eventually, one came and we transferred.

Waiting on Main Street

Pedestrians Yield

City Architecture

The main feature of the Madison car was going by the Wonderbread bakery, which you can tell by smell alone

Wonder Bread Sign

WonderBread

. At the end of the line, we paid again (another $1.00 for the two of us) and got another transfer.

Madison Street Trolley

We picked up a lady in a wheelchair when we went over Presley Blvd.

inside Madison Street Trolley

Madison Street trolley

We transferred to the Main Street-Loop Trolley.

Main Street Trolley

When we got opposite the pyramid on the Loop car, there was a red light ahead of us. We could hear a train. The trolley driver was annoyed because there weren't supposed to be Amtrak trains running then. She called dispatch and they didn't know anything about it either. But we could hear a LOT of whistling. Maybe a freight train.

Pyramid from the streetcar

Eventually one single engine appeared, whistling its head off, and the gates went down on each intersection until it came behind a building that was to our left and then there was silence. The light was still red for us.

From the streetcar

Eventually one of the lights (there were two) turned green,

Single engine

so the trolley proceeded across the train tracks.

We asked at the visitor's center for a good BBQ place,

Elvis Statue

and the lady there sent us to Neely’s Barbecue - The Finest the World Over.

Front door of the restaurant

Apparently Neely's has two locations in Memphis and one in Nashville.

Sign out front

The restaurant was started in 1988 by four brothers. By 1997, it was voted the best ribs in Memphis and then in Nashville. Al Roker has given Neely's his stamp of approval, and they have also been featured on Good Morning America, and The Food Network with Bobby Flay. Their food is served in FedEXForum in Memphis and Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville. Neely's BBQ sauce is sold in local grocery stores, Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores. They also do catering.

Bob and me reflected in the mirror behind booth

Bob had the

Small pork sandwich ($4.69)

and I had the

Large beef sandwich ($5.69)

I also had peach cobbler with ice cream. I thought it was all very good.

We went to the Botanical Gardens and walked around there - the little trolley train was broken and they didn't have money to fix it.

Botanical Garden

Bird sculpture

Botanical Garden fountain

Not much was in bloom -

Purple Crocus

some crocuses, a lot of daffodils,

Daffodils

and a few camellias.

But it was a proper Botanical Garden with everything labeled.

Lenten Rose

Perennial Phlox

We looked at the big koi

Koi

(there was no food in the feeders for them

Empty Fish Feeder

and watched the Canada geese honking, hissing at each other and running around in the Japanese garden.

Canada Geese

Bob exiting the Japanese Garden

Then we drove over to the Mercedes place to see what they were doing. I called from my cell phone, and we parked in the parking lot there while Shaun (the service advisor) was going and talking to the mechanic and them coming back to talk to us. I finally said - it is silly to sit here in the parking lot talking to him in there on the phone - let's go in.

They fixed the two window actuators which were leaking vacuum (and really didn't need to be fixed) and had tested it and found more leaks and couldn't get the parts in less than 2 days, which would be Friday. Bob was annoyed because he didn't think that the vacuum system was the problem, he thought it was a fuel delivery problem. But since we couldn't have the car that day, so we drove the rental back to the Lodge, after picking up some food from

Sonic

I called the hotel in Bowling Green and canceled the Wednesday reservation.

Wednesday 1 March 2006

Mud Island logo from across the river

Shaun was supposed to call this morning and tell us when we could have the car. I wanted to go to Mud Island and go to the museum. So I stopped using the phone line here with the computer and took a shower at 7:30 and then went to playing games and editing photos until Shaun called at 10. Bob asked if they had changed the fuel filter, and they had not. So he told them to do that.

According to my tourist guide, the monorail would start running in March, so while we were driving in, I called the Mud Island people, and they didn't answer the phone, so I called the visitor's center. They said that the train was not running, and no one was sure whether it would open even in April. So we never got to see how it would work, and we never were able to visit Mud Island either.The website says: Don’t miss the opportunity to experience great views of downtown Memphis, the Mississippi River and Mud Island River Park. Step aboard a cabin and let our Swiss-made monorail whisk you across the harbor to Mud Island River Park. Traveling at an average speed of 7 miles per hour, each cabin can carry up to 180 passengers for the exciting 1/3 mile trip.

I took a photo of a park along the river. When I asked the tour bus driver, she didn't know anything about it.

Park from the trolley

I have decided that this park is Confederate Park. The council temporarily changed the names of Confederate Park to Memphis Park but there is controversy about this decision.

The Historic-Memphis website describes this park. Confederate Park at 51 North Front Street

Confederate Park was designed by George Kessler as a Memorial to the Civil War, and was dedicated in 1908. It was part of Kessler's original "Grand Design" for Memphis. During the Civil War, the Mississippi River at Memphis was the site of an intense battle as Southern forces fought to keep control of the waterfront. It wasn't enough. The Union crushed the Confederacy. Many lives were lost as well as the control of Memphis and the entire river. Those troops who died are remembered at Confederate Park. Today, the park provides a great perspective of where the battle occurred and there are markers where you can read first-hand what happened during the battle.

Canon in the park

In spite of the Civil War theme, Confederate park became a dumping ground for a lot of old junk, none related to the Civil War - battered artillery from WWI, E. H. Crump's totem pole, and a concrete block inscribed with the Ten Commandments, as well as numerous fountains.

Looking down the street to a fountain

In 1964, the park finally got its Civil War centerpiece, a statue of Jefferson Davis. Davis had lived in Memphis from 1875 to 1878 and a group raised the money to erect the statue.

Jefferson Davis statue in the park

Originally, the park had authentic Civil War cannons, but they were sacrificed for scrap metal during WWII and later WWII cannons were added to the park.

Gun in park from below

Those cannons have been removed and the Shelby County Historical Commission has announced plans to purchase 4 reproduction Civil War cannons to place in Confederate park.

We drove to the Mercedes dealership. Did we get the car fixed? Read the next installment to find out.

Wednesday March 1 - Mercedes Repair - continued

Huge Flag

Photo in side car mirror of car dealership

When we got to the Mercedes place, Bob handed me the keys of the rental in case (he said) he didn't get back!!

He took it on a test drive, and we decided just to take it as it was - they had changed one fuel filter, but said they didn't have the other one - citing the fact that the car was 20 years old. I called the Lodge and told them that we would check out tomorrow. The car door locks no longer worked, and it was shifting hard, and the engine wouldn't turn off. After we put gas in the rental and turned in it, Bob drove back to the Lodge - the acceleration is fine now. We picked up hamburgers at Burger King, and he bought the filter that Shaun said they couldn't get at AutoZone for $3.00

After he ate lunch, and read his repair manual, he went out and looked at the car and figured out that the connector between the car lock button and the actuator was missing (which makes a leak in the hydraulic system that runs everything). So he connected the two with a wire tie and voila, the engine now shuts off without having to turn it off from under the hood.

We had dinner at Barb A Rosa's Real Pit Bar BQ.

In 1960, Sandra Austin opened this restaurant and it has been taken over by her daughter. They advertise an authentic hickory smoked BBQ experience.

Menu on the wall

They have both eat in, drive through and catering. Behind the pig on the counter are license plates.

Pig on the counter backed by license plates

I think we had the regular BBQ rib plate (small) for $7.99. This would include Ribs, Coleslaw, BBQ beans, French Fries and Texas Toast.

BBQ plate with BBQ beans and coleslaw

Thursday 2 March 2006 - Driving to Bowling Green

We checked out of the Navy Lodge in Millington ,

Highway east out of Memphis

and the drive to Bowling Green was pretty much without incident.

Highway near Nashville

We stopped at KFC for lunch and I had the chicken pot pie which is really good.

Chicken pot pie

Bob's lunch

(It was right next to Nervous Charlies Market and Fireworks),

Nervous Charlies

but Bob refuses to get fuel on the road and has to get it just before we get to where we are going.

We crossed into KY about 1:45

Kentucky Welcome Center

(Did you know about the 'notch' in the TN/KY border - apparently there was a surveying dispute and so there's a notch of KY that sticks down into TN).

Monument to the victims of the Oklahoma City bombing at Kentucky Visitor's Center

The Visitor's Center was in front of a horse farm.

Gas station

Microtel

We checked into the Microtel. Originally I wanted to stay in Bowling Green for two days and go to Mammoth Cave before we had to be in Taylorsville for our last condo stay. But the car trouble that we had kept us in Memphis an extra day. I made the reservations at this hotel through the internet.

The website says: And now, Microtel is pleased to be the first economy/budget hotel brand to offer guests free local and free long distance calls in the continental United States, and free wireless high-speed Internet access in every room of our hotels, as well as advance online check-in and check-out with unlimited access to online folio information. These new amenities compliment our other standard amenities including remote TV with ESPN, CNN and one movie channel and complimentary continental breakfast.

After we checked in, I immediately started uploading pictures from Memphis etc on the high speed wireless internet. The room was nice I thought.

Me taking my picture in the mirror - bed on right

Beds and TV (on right) and Refrigerator left-door to adjoining room in back

It had a TV up high in the corner (good for watching in bed), and had a microwave and a refrigerator and a coffee pot. It also had a window seat.

Microtel Sign at dusk

I'm not a big fan of Cracker Barrel, but if we didn't want to get back in the car and drive, our choices were limited to either Waffle House or Cracker Barrel.

Waffle House sign

Cracker Barrel Sign (with Ryans across the street in back)

Bob walking along the porch

Sign outside

It was packed so I sat in a rocker in front of the fireplace to wait for a table while Bob walked around the store.

Fireplace in Cracker Barrel

Bob bought a clacker for mother to call people with if she is in bed and wants something

Red light in Cracker Barrel

Table decorations in Cracker Barrel

Faux olde country decor

Bob had a roast beef sandwich with gravy, mashed potatoes and coleslaw,

Bob's roast beef sandwich

and I had breakfast which I figured they couldn't screw up too badly. It was two eggs, hash browns, fried pork tenderloins, biscuits, pale gravy, grits and stewed apples.

My two eggs, hash browns and fried pork tenderloins

Grits, Gravy and Biscuits

Stewed apples

Last time I said over easy for the eggs and the yolks were all hard, so this time I said sunny side up and they were absolutely raw on top. I managed to drip egg yolk all down the front of me. I also got ice cream and fudge sauce in a mug for dessert.

Ice cream and fudge sauce in a mug

Rocking chairs outside Cracker Barrel as we left

When we got back to the room, there was a rowdy crew next door - sounded like they were in the hall, but they were not. They talked as loud as our daughter and son-in-law (all talking very loud at once) and kept saying things like "Get out of here" very loudly. Bob went to bed, grumbling. He said they were in the adjoining room and the noise was coming through the door.

About 10, they were still at it, and I was tired and wanted to go to bed, so I opened my door very quietly and looked, and their door to our room was open. That's why I could hear everything they said so clearly. They were playing cards on a hexagonal table, and had poker chips etc. So I called the desk and complained that they were gambling, and she called the room. They quieted down.

Friday 3 March 2006

The next morning, they stared up again at 7 giving group yells. The clerk on duty said they must be some kind of sales group. They had been there for 4 days and checked out that morning, but he said he faxed them a lot of maps. I left a comment card that said I'd never stay at a Microtel again.

The continental breakfast was just that - orange juice and apple juice, rolls, cold cereal and milk, coffee and bagels. (We could have gone next door to the Cracker Barrel for a proper breakfast of course, but that wouldn't have been free.)

Bob didn't think much of it. So we checked out to go to Taylorville which was only about an hour and a half away. But first, because we weren't supposed to be in Taylorville until 4, we went to: Mammoth Cave about 10, thinking we could do a tour there.

Sign pointing to Environmental Education and Picnic Area

But the first thing we saw (after a school group which the ranger said was 'little kids' in 4th or 5th grade, but looked to Bob and me like the 7th graders that we used to teach)

School bus field trip to Mammoth Cave

was a sign saying that you could take no packages of any sort into the cave.

• No camera bags,
• No fanny packs,
• No diaper bags,
• No purses,
• No backpacks.

Sign with prohibitions

When I asked they said it was because of homeland security, which is absolutely ridiculous. I mean if I wanted to I could strap stuff to my body - I wouldn't have to carry a knapsack. (Although the sign also said

• no firearms,
• no knives,
• no pepper spray,
• no mace,
• no stun guns or other weapons)

And I guess a bomb would count as a weapon. I see no reason to carry weapons into the cave but I can see plenty of reasons to carry a camera bag or water container.

So Bob was already POed at the idea of going back to the car with his little tiny fanny pack that he carries his camera in. And I thought that the idea that some homeland security could be impacted by carrying a diaper bag into the cave was pretty silly. I'm sure that's not the reason, but I couldn't get the ranger to tell me what the real reason was. According to the website: Interested members of the public can join an Earthwatch.org sponsored field survey of the history of Mammoth Cave However, due to Mammoth Cave park regulations, participation on this project is restricted to US citizens only.

Visitor's center

Screens with tour times at the ticket booth

The next thing was that the Frozen Niagara tour that was leaving at 10:30 was a 2 hour 3/4 mile tour with considerable climbing, and I didn't think that I was up to that. The Travertine tour which was only 1/4 mile and no climbing involved wasn't until noon.

If you want to visit the caves you should check the schedule (which we had not done) and check the length and amount of physical effort required. Make reservations, especially in the summer. Fees for an adult range from $4 for the self guided Discovery Tour to $25 for the Wild Cave Tour.

• Travertine Tour - EASY: Walking Distance: ¼ mile, round trip. Emphasis On: Formation of cave; development of dripstone; animal life. Landmarks Seen: Frozen Niagara Entrance, Rainbow Dome, Crystal Lake, Frozen Niagara flowstone formation; Drapery Room. Number of Stairs: 13, an additional 98 are optional
• Trog Tour - for children 8 to 12 years old - not recommended for children with asthma or severe allergies to dust and molds.
• Focus on Mammoth Photo Tour - a new short evening tour where camera bags and tripods are allowed.
• Frozen Niagara Tour -Number of Stairs: 500, nearly 200 descended inside New Entrance. Takes 2 hours and covers 3/4 mile
• Mammoth Cave Discovery Tour - both Self-Guided and Ranger-Guided Historic Tour 1.75 hours and 3/4 mile round trip Number of Stairs: 120 - 180
• Great Onyx Lantern Tour - 2 1/4 hours, 1 mile and 40 steps
• Introduction to Caving - 3.6 hours, 1 1/4 miles Must be 10 years old.
• Star Chamber Tour
• River Styx Cave Tour - 2.5 hours, 2.5 miles, 560 steps
• Violet City Lantern Tour - 3 hours, 3 miles, 160 steps and numerous hills
• Grand Avenue Tour - 4.5 hours, 4 miles and 670 steps
• Wild Cave Tour - 6-7 hours, 5.5 miles Involves: Free-climbing cave walls; lengthy crawls through areas as tight as 9 inches high; walking in a crouched position; hand and knee crawls over jagged rocks and dirt; crawling through wet areas; twisting into and out of tight crawlway openings. Visitors must have had their 16th birthday; High-top, over-the-ankle lace-up boots, with lug or deeply treaded soles, are required. No low-cut hiking or athletic shoes allowed.Chest or hip measurement should not be more than 42 inches to avoid situations that impact tour for all participants; Helmets, lights and knee pads provided

River Tour section (closed for the winter season)

We watched part of one of the movies. A schedule was posted, but it was not adhered to in any regard. We went to the auditorium at 10:15 and nothing was being shown. We came back later at 10:25, and something had already started.

Movie schedule

Scenes from the film

From what I gathered from the movie the great thing about Mammoth Cave is the sheer size of it,

Map showing the parts of the cave

because there aren't many stalactites etc. in there. So we passed on going in. I got my passport stamped in the shop,

Another NPS shop

and I walked around the Visitor's Center. We went through the little museum.

Museum at the Visitor's Center

Clothing for caving

African American Heritage

Even if you can't go into the cave, there are interesting things to see on the surface.

Small stream near Visitor's Center

There are signs about the various geological features.

Informational sign about the caprock

For instance one of them says:In the Pennsylvanian Period, 280 million years ago, a layer sand and silt was laid down by an ancient river delta, forming the slanted layer of mixed sandstone and shale visible immediately across the ravine. Beneath this "caprock" lie 6000 feet of layered limestone deposited as an ancient ea bed some 350 million years ago. The miles of cave passageway that make up Mammoth Cave are found within these layers. Sandstone and shale is more resistant to being dissolved by water than is the limestone underneath. The caprock acts like a roof, shedding water to the side of the ridge.

Sign pointing down the road to Historic Entrance

Road down into the caves

Looking up at the visitor's center from bridge

Visitor's Center

Winter

Road in the winter

Bridge to the Visitor's Center

Mammoth Cave Hotel Bus

Old Train Exhibit

Fuel Available

Cabins Closed Off Season

Bike Trails

Narrow Roads

Then we drove to a little church up on the hill

Mammoth Cave Baptist Church

and I got out to look at the cemetery.

The graves were interesting - there were a couple that looked like someone hacked them out with a knife.

Henry Burnett's grave

G. W. Denison's grave

Other gravestones

Shackelford's graves has the dates of their marriage and baptism on the stone

Leuise Child of Clyde and Ida Davis

There was a grave there for William Floyd Collins "The Greatest Cave Explorer Ever Known"

Floyd Collins ultimate grave

In the 1920's Floyd Collins was known as the best cave explorer in the world. His family's Crystal Cave (which he discovered on January 18, 1917) was overshadowed by Mammoth Cave. He was part of the infamous Cave Wars between Mammoth and 17 other cave attractions. While trying to find a passage from Crystal Cave to Mammoth Cave, he was exploring Sand Cave when a large rock fell on his foot, trapping him 60 feet underground and just 120 feet from the entrance. He had only one light, was ill-clothed, didn't have a protective helmet, and was exploring alone.

He lay trapped there for two weeks. He was close enough to the entrance for people to get food to him for the first four days. then a cave-in closed the entrance to the passageway and reporters could only talk to him. Reporter William Burke "Skeets" Miller from the Louisville Courier-Journal received a Pulitzer Prize for his interviews with Collins. When the shaft that was being dug to rescue him reached his location, he had already died. Authorities decided it was too dangerous to recover the body, so it remained in Sand Cave for several months until Floyd's brother Homer raised enough money to give Floyd a "decent burial".

When Crystal Cave was sold in 1927, Floyd's body was put in a glass topped coffin in the cave. The body was stolen in March 1929 and later found in the river minus one leg. The body was returned to Crystal and the casket was chained down for security. In 1961, Crystal Cave was purchased by Mammoth Cave National Park. At the Collins family request the National Park Service re-interred Floyd Collins next to the old Mammoth Cave Baptist Church on Flint Ridge road on March 24, 1989. Many books and even one musical have been written about Floyd Collin's death. The book originally titled "Ace in the Hole" about the media circus surrounding his death was made into a 1951 Billy Wilder movie starring Kirk Douglas.

We went back out to the interstate past Dinosaur Land about 11:48

Dinosaur Land guardian

and crossed into the Eastern Time Zone after which we had lunch at Hardies.

Hand Scooped Ice Cream

Taco Salad

I found a little rock in my salad about the size of a baby tooth.

Rock from my salad

Since Mammoth Cave was such a bust, we stopped at Hodgenville at Andrew Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site (another stamp in the book). It was on the property called Sinking Spring where Lincoln's father and mother and older sister came to live before he was born.

Map

The first thing we saw were the cabins of the Nancy Lincoln Inn.

Nancy Lincoln Inn buildings on the left as we enter the park

These were log cabins which are not part of the park and which apparently are rented for about $65/night so you can get the 'flavor' of living in a log cabin without running water. The Inn was constructed of chestnut and red heart pine in 1928, and consists of a large, round-log building that houses a souvenir shop, snack bar, and Lincoln memorabilia. The inn operates four, one-room overnight tourist cabins.

The cabins are air-conditioned, but in keeping with their historic character, do not have indoor plumbing. Full sanitary facilities are close by in a modern bathhouse.

The Site has a visitor's center

Visitor's Center

From the window of the Visitor's Center

This is the usual type of National Park Service bookstore. They sell things like a magnet or patch of of the building, a Lincoln Birthplace Christmas Tree ornament for about $15.00. And they had cookbooks and coloring books and so on.

Gift shop items

There was a film - Abraham Lincoln: The Kentucky Years, a 15 minute captioned film shows every 30 minutes on the hour and half hour and it ran on schedule.

Movie at the visitor's center

There was another group of school kids there - these were older and looked to be developmentally disabled. There were various exhibits in the visitor's center including one on Lincoln Logs,

Construction details of a log cabin

Model of the cabin

Inside the cabin

and a cross section from an oak tree (called the Boundary Oak)

Picture of the Boundary Oak

which was growing next to the Lincoln's cabin. It was a white oak on the north boundary of the farm, and it was about 28 years old on the date of Lincoln's birth. It was marked to show how big it was at various times in Lincoln's life

Tree "timeline"

Boundary Oak

Boundary Oak detail

Sign about the park

Instead of going up the steps, we took the boardwalk out to the log cabin building which made it possible for wheelchairs to get to the log cabin memorial without going up the steps. We met a lady pushing a wheelchair when we were walking on the walkway.

Boardwalk through the trees(wheelchair accessible)

From the walkway looking back at visitor's center

Bob walking around the Memorial building

There is a log cabin with no provenance (It is not really the cabin in which Lincoln was born) which is inside a marble structure somewhat like the Lincoln Memorial in DC. This First Lincoln Memorial is a somewhat incongruous structure was apparently built with the contributions of school children. (10,000 citizens contributed and a lot of children would send 25 cents each) The neoclassical granite and marble structure designed by architect John Russell Pope -- a sort of Greek temple in the Kentucky woods --was built to house a reconstructed cabin like one where Lincoln was born

Steps in front of the memorial building

Fifty-six steps, one for each year of Lincoln's life, lead to the huge double front doors. Sixteen windows in the building and sixteen rosettes on the interior ceiling are there to remind visitors that Lincoln was the sixteenth president.

Doors

The one-room cabin that is inside does reflect Lincoln's humble beginnings although it may be smaller than the original. It includes one door and window, a stone fireplace, and dirt floor.

Beside the entrance to the memorial building is inscribed, "Here over the log cabin where Abraham Lincoln was born, destined to preserve the Union and free the slave, a grateful people have dedicated this memorial to unity, peace, and brotherhood among the states."

Front door of the cabin

Fireplace side of the cabin from the outside

Looking down the steps

The spring (called "Sinking Spring") is still on the farm near the memorial. A few months before Lincoln was born his parents and sister moved from nearby Elizabethtown to the property, known as Sinking Spring Farm. His father paid $200 for 348 acres of stony ground on the south fork of Nolin Creek.. However, Lincoln did not remember living on the farm because his family moved down the road to Knob Creek Farm when he was only two years old.

The farm's name came from a spring on the property which emerged from a deep cave, still visible today. Sinking Spring was the water source for the Lincoln Family

Land around the spring

There is no way to get down to the Sinking Spring without going down steps. Bob walked down into the spring, but I stayed at the top and took a picture of it from there

Sinking Spring

Between mounds

Looking down into the spring

Bob walking back up from the spring

We were on the road again by about 2:40. We went up I-65 to the Bluegrass Parkway

Intersection KY 55 and KY 48

(which has no number) and got off at

Bloomfield

We notice that most of the barns hereabouts are painted black.

Black barn

Kentucky farm

Black barns

Road to Taylorsville

Taylorsville Dam

Bob wanted to get fuel before we went to the condo as he though (correctly) that there might not be many gas stations.

We checked into the condo about 4. This was the last place where we stayed on our 2005-2006 winter trip. It was an Armed Forces Vacation (space available) condo. We were here in March. The condo ad says that there is an 18-hole golf course on site and Taylorsville Lake is just a mile from the resort. You can swim in the lake (not now of course - in the summer) as well as fish.

Condos on the hill

On-Site

• Game Room
• Golf
• Laundry Room
• Outdoor Pool
• Playground Area

Playground

• Spa Services
• Whirlpool/Hot Tub
• Swimming

Road to outdoor pool - indoor pool is in the red building

Pool house

• Fishing is available on the lake and the nearby Salt River.
• Indoor Pool

To unwind, take a dip in the resort's glass-enclosed pool open Memorial Day through Labor Day. Of course we were there well before Memorial Day.

However, it WAS a convenient location, not too far from Louisville or Frankfort. You will need a car.

Parking lot of the condo

I discovered that the phone system doesn't allow internet usage, so I have to come down to the office to log onto the internet. I came down Friday afternoon to use the computer and she had me put in on one of those computer desks pull out trays. Then when I plugged it in, the plug did not have any electricity to it. She put her hand on the tray that the computer was on, and the whole thing fell off and onto the floor. I thought my computer had been broken.

I got my power strip out and plugged it into a plug on the other side of the room. The computer still worked. It is a dial-up which is pretty slow, and there is only one line for the office and the guests, so if I use the computer, the lady in the office has to be offline. Guest use is limited to 15 minutes if there is more than one person waiting. When we were there, no one else was using the computer line. I was afraid to chance the computer desk, so I worked on a table until they fixed the plug behind the computer desk.

We have two bedrooms - one a king bed,

Bedroom with king size bed

and one a regular double or a queen.

Bedroom with Double bed

There's only one bathroom, and only one TV and that's inom.

Dining room to living room

Kitchen

There is a full kitchen. The unit backs up onto a golf course. It is on the second floor (14 steps) but the hill rises steeply so that we could walk right out the back onto the golf course. Although there is NO way that one can access the parking lot from there without sliding down the hill.

View from the back windows

Taylorsville is a very small town. There are a drive in tobacco shop, a couple of little boat places (places for little outboard fishing type boats), a small hardware store, and the town hall.

Town Hall in a Small Town by the Dam

It looks like this another condo primarily for golfers.

Golf course

The lady at the condo gave us directions so we wouldn't have to go all the way into Taylorville for dinner, but she was concerned about us getting in after dark because of the danger of hitting a deer. Hitting a pothole seems more of a problem.

Taylorsville doesn't have very many restaurants. We wanted to go somewhere to sit down for dinner, and our choices were Dairy Queen, a Chinese buffet, the little restaurant on the corner or a place called Moby Dick (A Whale of a Sandwich).

Moby Dick sign

Moby Dick logo

We hope our ship comes in before the dock rots

We ate at Moby Dick on the first night. It seemed to be mostly take-out. I've seen other Moby Dick restaurants since then, but can't find that there is any kind of presence on the internet if it is a chain. I got the fried clam dinner,

Fried clam dinner

and Bob got chicken strips

Chicken strip dinner

which looked so much like fish fillets that he went and got tartar sauce for them. They came with fries, coleslaw and hush puppies and were too much to eat, so we brought them home.