Port Gibson

We have arrived in Mississippi for our three-night stay at Grand Gulf Military Park. Lots of history and humidity, but no wifi or satellite, and very sketchy cell service.

More when we can. Meanwhile, we'll keep the AC humming.

Rain Delay

Dense fog and heavy rain across the state of Arkansas were enough to convince us to sit for another day.

Here's hoping for better weather tomorrow as we head, at last, to Port Gibson, MS.

Maumelle Park

We are setting up at a site right on the river in Maumelle Park in Little Rock. This gorgeous spot will be home for the next three nights. No wifi, so we'll post when we can. Pictures to come!

A Week in the Ozarks

Our week in Southwest Missouri has passed quickly. In fact, we’ve decided to delay our departure a day to dry out from the drenching rains of the last couple of days.

Our home for the week has been Pine Trails RV Ranch, located three miles east of Monett. With just 20 sites, it’s small and comfortable. The price is so right, Paul was tempted to sign up for a month! This place isn’t listed on rvparkreviews.com yet, but it soon will be.

The week started with leaving Kansas City after our one month stay. Our cats were definitely ready to roll. They got into their crates on their own, with no coaxing from us. Now, that’s a first!

We picked up a very special passenger in Kansas City. “Flat MC” is a full-size paper replica of our third-grade niece. As part of a class assignment, Flat MC will be traveling with us through February. Here in Monett, we introduced her to some of her extended family. They were very glad to see her.

We also paid a visit to Mary’s sister and her family. It was great to see them. And, don’t they photograph well?

Flat MC was invited to a fire pit party at cousin John and Melissa's house. Here she is with Sally, a friend of the family.

Friend Kenny served as the pit master for the evening, tending to dinner with a flashlight. The Kobe beef burgers and Kenny’s homemade sausages were cooked to perfection and mighty tasty!

After dinner, we gathered around the fire pit and relaxed. Of course, we kept the paper version of our niece a safe distance away.

One of the places we’ve explored this week is Monett City Park, a 75-acre oasis that features plenty of picnic spots, sports fields, a playground, swimming pool and a pond where - apparently - you can’t fish for adults.

Also visiting the pond were these too odd-looking birds. We’re not birders, but to us they looked a bit like a cross between a rooster and a duck. We know we have a birder or two that are following our travels. So, please help us. What are these ugly things?

The park is also home to a beautiful rose garden. Though it’s past its peak, there are still a few beauties in full bloom.

This little thing obviously doesn’t know that the first frost of the season

is expected on Sunday!

Monett is also home to a few geocaches. We spent an afternoon with cousin John and introduced him to the game. Here he is displaying his first find at a spot that once housed a school, but today is a busy Lowe’s.

Next, we were back to the park to hunt for three caches. John’s second find took a bit more searching, but he had another taste of success.

These two found the third cache of the day so quickly I could barely catch up.

As they made a beeline across the park for the last catch of the day, I stopped to admire the changing colors of the season, which are just starting to show in this part of the country.

This beautiful afternoon simply could not just be spent on land alone. So, we made a quick trip to nearby Table Rock Lake. With approximately 800 miles of shoreline, this is one big lake!

Cousin Scott was the skipper of our tour on the lake. Does he look relaxed or what?

Do these guys look like they’re related? The lake was very quiet today, so we were able to just float for awhile and soak in the last bits of sunshine before clouds started to fill the sky and signal a big change in the weather.

On the way home, we made a quick stop to feed the fish at the hatchery at Roaring River State Park, where the trees are definitely starting to change.

With nothing more than coordinates, the three cousins headed off in search of a cache near a cave at the hatchery. With no cell service, they couldn’t access any more information about the cache. (This is the downside of “paperless caching”.) With fading light and rain on the way, they quickly decided to take a pass on this one.

Before we returned to Monett, the rain began. And, it didn’t stop for at least 36 hours. Much of the Ozarks received record rainfall,which prompted Flash Flood Warnings across the region.

We hunkered down in the moose and found ways to keep ourselves entertained. We played on the computer, caught up on the blog, read, napped and watched a little TV. Our girl kitty went on the hunt for flies seeking refuge in our rolling home.

Wow! She’s quick. And, yes. She did get it!

After a week filled with family, food, fun and a whole lot of rain, we’ll dry everything off and hit the road for Little Rock tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Monett

After battling 30-plus mph westerly winds while traveling south all day (not a good combination), we arrived in Monett, MO. We'll be here for a week while we explore and visit family in southwest Missouri.

More to come.

Kansas City

Is it October already? It's been quite a month in Kansas City. We've enjoyed spending time with family and a few friends. We spent ten days or so with the flu, so our visiting was curtailed a bit. But, we'll be back in November and look forward to catching up everybody over the holidays.

I finally got out for a day of "sightseeing" yesterday when I was one of several responsible adults who accompanied a herd of third graders on a field trip in Kansas City. We spent the day traveling by bus. A school bus, that is!

Our first stop was in Kansas City's historic 18th & Vine district. One of the jewels of the district is the Negro League's Baseball Museum. I had been to the museum in the past for a couple of special events, but had never had the privilege of going on a tour. Our guide introduced us to some of the most interesting bits of history in this very special place. The kids and adults were captivated!

Next door is the American Jazz Museum, which featured plenty of interactive exhibits to keep third graders busy for awhile. Together they learned about jazz greats Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Kansas City's own Charlie "Bird" Parker. As our second wonderful guide of the day explained: "If New Orleans is the place that gave birth to jazz, it grew up in Kansas City."

I learned a great deal about being with a group of third graders. Here's a tip: If you want to keep the herd under control, have them all sit down. (And, make sure the adults stand around the perimeter!)

After a picnic lunch at Kansas City's beautiful Loose Park, we headed to Kansas City's premier shopping district, The Country Club Plaza. The country's first shopping center boasts Spanish architecture and lots of European art, making it an outdoor museum of sorts.

Our charges were unleashed on the 15-block area for a scavenger hunt to find 40 pieces of art and fountains. Here we stopped and learned a bit about Nepture, god of the sea, who seemed right at home in this fountain.

One of the items in our hunt was this "Matador" mural, which - I am ashamed to admit - I don't ever recall seeing while we lived here. This was one of those works of art that just had to be touched to be truly appreciated.

This adorable little sculpture is called "Quiet Talk". These kids were studying all of the helpful information on its base.

Kansas City is known as "The City of Fountains", and rightfully so. With more than 200 fountains within the city limits, only Rome has more. The most photographed, and my personal favorite, is the J.C. Nichols Fountain. But to Kansas City kids, including the third graders and me, it is known simply as "The Horse Fountain."

The day with the kids was exhausting but lots of fun. It was great to spend a beautiful day in my hometown with my sister-in-law, my niece and a few of her friends. Thanks to all!

Today began with a visit to Midway Ford Truck Center north of downtown Kansas City for some routine maintenance. We can't say enough good things about this place. We were very impressed. We'll definitely be back.

With an afternoon forecast of wind and thunderstorms between here and our next destination, we decided to spend a night around the corner from Midway at Worlds of Fun Village. This cabin, cottage and RV resort is adjacent to a 235-acre amusement and water park. Worlds of Fun opened when we were both in high school, and it's been nearly 30 years since we've visited the place. There are more towering coasters and rides than we remember. The RV park, which opened 2005, is lovely.

The wind and rain is out of the forecast. So, tomorrow we're hitting the road for southwest Missouri.

We're Home!

Well, actually, we're always home. But, today we've reached our native Johnson County, Kansas. So, we're really home.

So it will be, for the rest of the month.