Eufaula Again

Although I came back to Oklahoma for a family emergency, I had the opportunity to meet my new grandchild in person, and to visit with his brother and parents. I also took time to do some exploring of the area, Robbers Cave State Park and the city of McAlester. Anytime someone tells you "there isn't anything interesting around here", tell them to look again. There is always history to explore.

But first things first. I came back to Eufaula after my dad collapsed and had to be hospitalized. He is doing much better and is in rehab to get strong enough to return home.

Can you believe they let me bring the dog? Yes, that is Fancy (I just got her hair cut) sitting with my dad in the hospital. They say it is good therapy for the patients once they get to the rehab unit.
My 12 day old grandson, Gavin, taking a snooze.

I just love being a grandma!


But it was also fun taking his brother, Adrion, to the park.

Four Generations

Robbers Cave State Park is about 60 miles from Eufaula. One afternoon following a hospital visit, I took Fancy and we went hiking. Robbers Cave is famous for hiding out outlaws such as the Younger Gang, Jesses James, and Belle Starr.

Here is part of the cave.

The entire area was developed during the 1930s by the CCC. They built great steps using natural rock to help climb to the cave.

They had these great yellow arrows to help keep you on the trail. If no rocks, they painted yellows circles on the trees.

What a great view from the top.

See the blue strap? There was a person at the other end down between the cracks. I never did see them, but could here them talking to the lady on top.

This is the stone corral where they kept the horses.

A map to the cave.

At the other end of the park is this CCC built dam. The park has 3 lakes: Lake Carlton, Lake Wayne Wallace and Coon Creek Lake.

Picnic and swimming area on one of the lakes.

McAlester lies 30 miles south of Eufaula. One day I did some exploring and found more than I bargained for.

When I saw the sign for the first time, I didn't even know McAlester had a historic district. This area is now known as "North McAlester" or "Old Town".

I saw this sign of things to do and see.....

and this sign.....But although I found most of these things, few had any info about what they were or why they were important. So most of the info I will be relating is what I found online later.

This is the original Oklahoma State Penitentury. They have built a newer, modern prison south of town, but this one is still in use. Not sure if it still houses prisoners or is mainly administration now. The museum is only open Wed-Sat and today was Tuesday.

It looked like a driveway and private residence to me, but it is supposed to be the Tannehill Family Museum. Didn't find out much about this. I didn't stop, only took pictures.

At least the cemetery was identified.

This monument was standing in the middle of a vacant lot. It says although he was born here, he lived his early childhood in a company house in a rural coal mining camp. My mother says she always heard he grew up in Bugtussle. (Yes, that is the name of a town)

No signs, but this is J.J. McAlester's home according to pictures on the internet. It was built in the Queen Anne style in 1870.

J.J. McAlester came to the area in 1870 from Arkansas to set up a trading post. He married a Chickasaw Chief's daughter, which allowed him to take up legal residence in the Choctaw Nation. He is credited with discovering the rich veins of coal in this area. Pittsburg County and surrounding area was found to have the richest coal outside of Pennsylvania.

This must be one of the parks mentioned on the sign, but I found no name.

The site of J.J. McAlester's store.

I moved toward the current downtown area and spotted several old, beautiful buildings.

This is the Masonic Lodge. Originally built in 1907, it was added onto in 1928. Only some additional exterior lighting was added in the 1950s, otherwise, this building looks like it did in 1928. I didn't go inside, thinking it wouldn't be allowed. But when I looked up information about this lodge on the internet, I found they give tours. This lodge, located in a small town in Oklahoma, population maybe 12,000, has what is considered to be one of the prettiest Masonic Lodges in the country.

This picture came from the lodge's website. It is the stage inside the lodge. One of the largest stage's in the country, it is 80 x 120 feet.

No picture, but the website says there is also a 1930s, 3100 pipe, pipe organ located in the auditorium. Boy I wish I had taken the tour. Next time.

This is "Chapel on the Hill". Built in 1899, it is the original First Presbyterian Church, which is the only original church building left in the area and is still used for weddings and special occasions.

The Aldridge Hotel building, built originally in 1930, has been remodeled and is now apartments.

Another gothic style church in the downtown area.

This is the old high school building built in 1919. It is still used as the school's administration building and for adult education.

As I left the downtown area I saw a sign for a Coal Miners Memorial. Just a statue of a coal miner and a wall listing the names of all those who died in coal mining accidents from the 1800s through 1945. I could find no museums about coal mining in this area, so I don't know if it is still going on or not. But across the street was the Dept of Labor Miners Health and Safety office, so maybe there still is some mining.

This is one big piece of coal. I'm surprised someone hasn't tried to steal it so they could use it.

So next time I am back in this area visiting family I will try to find something else historical to explore. But tomorrow I am heading back to Sedalia to pick up my home, and then I will start heading slowly east for a while.

Sedalia, MO

I arrived in Sedalia, MO, all excited about attending the Scott Joplin Ragtime Music Festival. The evening I arrived I joined about 20 friends at the local Moose Lodge. We had a good time playing Moose Bingo. I had never heard of Moose Bingo, but it was fun.

First you pick your favorite Moose. Then you place a $2 bet.

Now the fun begins. Everyone takes turns rolling the dice. There are six moose and each are numbered. If you roll a 3 with the dice, you move moose #3. Each move takes the moose 1 ceiling tile across toward the finish line. The 1, 2, and 3 place winners get to split the bets with a little going to the Moose Charity.

The next morning I spent listening to ragtime music being played by several artists. Each musician played the piano for 20 minutes in the college cafeteria. The main ragtime festival really wasn't to begin until the next day. If you don't know what ragtime music is, think "The Entertainer" with Robert Redford. The music was a Scott Joplin tune. To hear some of the artists and see pictures, check out www. lifeontheopenroad.blogspot.com.

In the afternoon several of us drove out to the Bothwell Lodge and Mansion. John Homer Bothwell came to Sedalia in 1871 and was instrumental in bringing the Missouri-Kanasas-Texas (KATY) railroad repair shops to Sedalia and also in bringing the Missouri State Fair to Sedalia. He was a prominent businessman and politician. In the 1890s he purchased Stoneybrook Farm and in 1897 started construction of this lodge. It was not completed until 1928. It was built in sections, with 3 different wings added over the next 31 years.


The front of the lodge doesn't look near so appealing to me. It is truly an unusual house, having many modern features for the times built in. It has been restored much as it was when he was alive. Mr. Bothwell died in 1929, but left the lodge to group of his family and friends. They used the lodge until 1969, when the last of them died. At that time the lodge was given to the state of Missouri.

On our walk around the grounds we found even the dog had its own office.

The Cliff House was built for a nephew. It was completed shortly after his death. This home is now used for the park administrator.

The Farm House was also built near the mansion and was completed later in the year Mr. Bothwell died. This home is in the midst of being restored. It burnt in the 1940s.

Don't we look relaxed. Sitting in the breezeway between 2 wings, in the rockers, overlooking the cliff below is something I could really get used to.

Inside his house he actually set up a beehive in the walls. They have replaced the wood on one side so visitors can see the bees at work.

I'm glad I got to listen to some ragtime music in the morning because a family emergency called me back to Oklahoma the next day.

My New Grandson

I am proud to announce the arrival of my latest grandson, Gavin Scott Patton. He arrived May 29, 2009, at 12:45 PM, weighing in at 7lb 8oz and 20.5 inches long. His parents, Aaron and Holly, are now the proud parents of two boys, Adrion, age 7, and now Gavin.

Adrion with his new brother.

Gavin

Alley Springs, MO May 26-Jun 1

Alley Springs is located about 6 miles west of Eminence, MO.

We saw lots of these Mountain Bluebirds in the area. This one was right outside my motorhome and I managed to take a picture through my window.

. We had a fire almost every evening. Here is Cory chopping us some wood.

We hiked about a mile over to the Alley Springs Mill.

In the late 1800s this was a booming town. Now all that is left is this mill. For its day this was a very progressive mill. Instead of stone grinding, they used filters for the grain. Utilizing the spring they had power not only for the mill but also for the blacksmith shop and other businesses in the area. But as retail stores became more popular, less and less people grew their own crops, less grain was brought to the mill and eventually the town died. Twice a day during the summer the interpretive rangers turn the mill machinery on so you can see it in operation.

They created a funnel like water chute with a 6 ft drop. This is what created the power for the mill. It was supposed to be a very efficient method for a water powered mill.

We took the higher Overlook Trail returning to camp. We took the Spring Branch Trail on our way to the mill.

On top of the overlook.

Looking down on the spring and mill. The mill is barely visible as a little bit of red in the trees.

Here I have to stop and explain what happened to me on the end of the trail. I was not watching where I was placing my feet and I stepped on a 4x4 board. These boards were placed periodically on the downhill side of the trail to prevent erosion. I even had my walking sticks, but with all the rain it was slick and my stick and myself went flying. I landed with my leg in a heap underneath me. With help I made it down the rest of the trail, but very slowly and in pain. The next day I kayaked since kayaking doesn't use your legs and by the time I got out of the kayak I felt pretty good. By bedtime I was in pain again. Well, I finally went to the hospital and had it x-rayed. It wasn't broken, but the knee was badly bruised and they gave me crutches. I really did try to use the crutches, but they were terrible to use. After a few days I gave the crutches up and am still using a knee brace. I recommend kayaking after a knee injury. 5-6 hours immoble in a kayak really releaves the pain of a knee injury.

Maniac Mike arrived at Alley Spring and he offered us the use of his trailer for transporting our kayaks to the water.

We were floating down the Jacks Fork River while at Alley Springs. It is a shallower river, which means more obsticles and fast water through narrow channels. More fun! We saw lots of turtles and snakes both in the water.

On the first kayak trip we had 3 people dump. Here Nancy is emptying the water from her kayak.

Here are several guys salvaging Caroline's kayak from the river after she turned over. We almost got to see a miracle (Caroline walking on water) after she saw a snake just feet from where she was in the water. Luckily the snake swam the other way. We had one more person go over as well, but no one got pictures. Some of our group stopped to help some canoers who got the canoe stuck in some logs. While getting Caroline and her kayak out, we watched 3 canoes go over in about the same place.

Some goats along side the river.

Cory passes the kayak hat to Nancy.

Nancy passes the hat to Caroline.

Caroline passes the hat to Maniac Mike.

We took a day trip to Round Springs Cave.

This was the most natural cave tour I have ever been on. There is no permanent lighting at all. Everyone is given an electric light to carry.

What looks like coconut sprinkled on top is of interest to scientists. Most cave sculptures grown down from the ceiling. These little guys grow all directions. Scientists are studying these because they have not been found anywhere else in the world (at least that is what the ranger said).

More cave sculptures.

We planned to have lunch on the road, but found no restaurants in the area. So we settled for frozen sandwiches, which we microwaved, from the local outfitter store.

Our next destination that day was a place called "Devils Well". It was an underground lake with an opening. Stairs were built down to a ledge just above the lake. We all thought we would be able to see something, but once we climbed the stairs down, nothing. Just a concrete room with a grate on one end overlooking an opening. But with no lights you couldn't see down. I guess I'll take their word of an underground lake.

We found a ferry to take us across the river. It is supposed to be the last ferry like this in the state of Missouri.

Another day of kayaking. This time from the campground down the Jacks Fork to the confluence of the Current River.

It was warm and we stopped along the way to play. We had two people to turn over on todays trip.

Mike gives the hat to Caroline.

Caroline gives the hat to Geraldine. Geraldine will get to keep the hat until next year since NARKSMO is now over. Next stop is Sedalia, MO, to the Scott Joplin Festival.

Van Buren, MO May 19-26

One the way to our next stop, Van Buren, MO, we stopped at Mammoth Springs, AR, and Grand Gulf State Park, MO.

Here is Mammoth Springs. The reason you don't see the normal fast water or bubbles like most natural springs is because this spring is 70 feet below the surface. This spring is one of the top 10 producing springs in the world, producing 9 million gallons of water per hour.

Here is the dam, built in the early 1900s. It powered an hydroelectric plant until 1972 when the cost to repair or replace a broken turbine became too costly. At one time there was also a mill which was also powered by the dam.

Next to the spring was this train depot. No longer in service it is now a museum, but the museum was closed so we didn't get to go in.

Grand Gulf State Park is part of the water source for Mammoth Springs. It is located about 9 miles north of Mammoth Springs. They have put dye in the water and they have watched the dyed water show up in the spring downstream. Most of the water is part of the underground water table and is not above ground. Grand Gulf is called by Missouri 'the grand canyon of Missouri'. It is actually a collapsed cave system. This is one area which now is only a sink hole, but was once covered and part of the cave. There are trails and one trail goes out along a bluff which is actually now a natural bridge where some of the cave ceiling still stands.

But finally we arrived at Big Springs Campground, Van Buren, MO. Both the Current River and the Jack Forks River are part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. These rivers were the first rivers in the U.S. to be so dedicated.

At Big Spring we kayaked first by going upriver.

The Current River doesn't have the bluffs like the Buffalo, but is still pretty in its own way. The river was not as high as we saw on the Buffalo either.

Here we are at the end of our second kayak trip. We floated about 9 miles from the campground downriver where we had shuttled our pickup vehicles.

Cory gets the kayak hat. Each year a special hat is made to be given to those who dump their kayaks on the river. I mean, we are supposed to keep the open side up, right! She took off on what looked like a faster, narrower river split, but actually it narrowed down to almost nothing and she had to portage (drag) her kayak back to the beginning of the split. In the process she fell in the water and with this group, anytime anyone goes in the water while kayaking, even if it is getting in and out of their kayak, we give them the award. But you only get to keep the hat until the next person dumps.

Over Memorial Day there were festivals in Van Buren and also Fremont. We stopped in Van Buren first, but went to the parade in Fremont. One of the rangers at the park was carrying the flag in the parade and she invited us to the festival.

It was more of an old time festival. Here are a group of ladies dressed as they would have been in pioneer days, attending a gospel sing.

This tent reminded me of a Mountan Man exposition. There was clothing of all kinds in the style of the 1800s. Also available were accessories such as travel bags, old pipes, dishes, etc.

There was music.

Even a candy cannon. When it fired it sent candy all over the field for the kids to collect.

Some ladies were weaving and spinning.

I couldn't wait to eat this onion flower.

Appropriately this float led the parade for Memorial Day.

They had all sizes of vehicles and all ages in the parade.

Here is the ranger riding her horse and carrying the flag.

And here we are waving our flags.

We were camped at Big Spring Campground and here is where it gets its name. This spring is also one of the top producing springs in the world. It produces an average 152 million gallons per day but has produced as much as 840 million gallons per day (that would be over 20 million gallons per hour).

We hiked to the spring, over the hill and to the lodge. About a 4 mile round trip. On the return trip we took a route over the top of the hill which had a 400 foot elevation gain in less than 1/2 mile. Not the steepest I've climbed by far, but steeper than most of my hikes.

The lodge. It is now a restaurant and the office for all the cabin rentals in the park.

Just outside was this little fawn hiding in the tall grass next to the tree. It finally realized we had seen it and it fled.

Buffalo Point, AR May 12-19

I just love this sign.

We had a grill your own potluck over at Cory's site. She was located on the bluff overlooking the river. We also celebrated several birthdays.

Just north a ways down the road is Rush. It is a fun place to hike and look at the old buildings and machinery. Rush was settled in 1880 as a zinc mining town. It peaked 1914-1917 with over 5000 people living here. After WW1 the zinc market dropped and the mines started closing. Now all that is left is some buildings and an old smelter.

See the mosquito nets? The bugs were terrible. All the rain had the gnats and bugs out in force. They were so bold they would fly right into your mouth and eyes.

Along the hike are several of the old mine openings. And of course, boys will be boys. Even though the sign says to stay out, as Max puts it, "The sign doesn't say 'Max stay out'." The bars across the old mine shaft does keep people from venturing into dangerous areas though.

This was once the general store. It was actually used until the 1960s as a post office and store.

The smelter here was built for silver. Some of the founders thought they had silver, not zinc. It was used only once and after they discovered they did not have silver, it was abandoned and never used again.

There was even a large hotel. This is the foundation of one part of the hotel which burned in the 1940s. Part of the building was actually used as a ranger residence until a few years ago when it was finally destroyed by a flood.

On the way home from the hike we stopped here for lunch. Last year this was a dry county, but since then they elected to allow beer and wine sales. In addition to Buffalo burgers, then also sold Elk burgers, so of course I had to try one. I thought it was good. Some thought the elk to be a little dry because it was so lean.

On Friday and Saturday nights they have live entertainment. Several guys from Yellville played. It started out bluegrass, then turned to country. We stopped by both evenings to hear them play.

Mark hauled our kayaks to the river access.

Buffalo River is known for its wonderful bluffs all up and down the river.

There are even places where you can kayak into and hide, waiting to surprise those coming behind you.

Friday night we went to the Front Porch Restaurant in Yellville. They feature a seafood and frog leg buffet. Some of our group had never had frog legs before.

Saturday we headed to Harrison for a festival.

Of course, if you are at a crawdad festival, you have to have some.

These young musicians ranged in age from 13-15. They were selling CDs to raise money so they could go to some National Bluegrass Music competition in Orlando, FL. Last year in Nashville at a Christian music festival they won 9th. We thought they were pretty good and even bought one of the their CDs.

One of the events was the 'burnout'. We wandered over to see what was going on. They would pull a vehicle up, block the front tires, then proceed to burn rubber until a whistle was blown. We don't know why, whether anyone won this event, or how it was judged, but it was loud, smokey and smelled terrible. This truck blew a tire and pieces of rubber went everywhere. It sounded like a gun went off and when it did, I ducked. Good thing too since a piece flew right over my head.

The blown out tire.

One of the pieces picked up near me afterwards.

The big event, at least according to the radio and papers.

Sadly, there were only 2 entries. The entire boat had to be made of cardboard and they had lots of rules about what you could or could not do. The boys in the blue boat had a lot of trouble.

Kayaking again on the Buffalo. Pictures just don't do the bluff justice.

Here I am looking behind me at some turtles on a log. There were turtles perched on the banks and every log we passed.

Our last day had us traveling down to Buffalo City. That is the confluence of the Buffalo River and the White River. At one time it was quite a logging town since logs were floated down the Buffalo so they could be transported further down the White River. Now there is nothing there except this resort and a river access.

Here is where the two rivers actually come together.

On the way back we stopped at this park along the White River.

We have a fellow RVer whose last name is Cotter, so we had to take pictures of these signs for him.

This is the bridge spanning the White River.

Tyler Bend, Silverhill, AR May 6-12

This is the river access point at Gilbert, AR. Usually you can drive down where the water is because it is a large sandbar. There you unload the kayaks and prepare to float the river. But not today. The river was about 16 feet above flood stage and at 12 feet above they close the river. They expect the river to crest at about 18-20 feet above flood stage. Hopefully it will go down quickly once the rain stops.

The Buffalo River above flood stage.

The town of Gilbert consists of a restuarant which is only open on weekends, a general store which is also a river outfitter, a post office, several bed and breakfasts and a few private residences. But I loved this sign.

Here we are several days later at Tyler Bend river access point, getting ready to float down the river. Once the rain stopped the river dropped quickly, like 5-6 feet overnight. Today it is still about 8 feet above flood stage and it is recommended that only experienced floaters get on the water. We had no problems and I thought the river was actually easier to navigate than normal because of the high water.

Since south Texas, I have seen more goats than I had previously in my entire life. I started wondering what do people do with all these goats? I've never seen goat meat for sale in the stores (although I do know from personal experience that goat meat is edible and not too bad), most are not angora goats so there is no hair for goat wool, I pondered....

Then while driving around Yellville, AR, I saw this sign. Yes, it looked familiar. I've seen that sign on cans of goat milk sold in the store. So, maybe all these goats are being milked for commercial use. This goat milk processing plant shows it has been there since 1934.

Of course we found someplace to hike. At the campground there is an old homestead. We actually hiked over a mile from the campground just getting to the trailhead here. I believe in all we hiked around 4 miles this day.

As you can see some still had raincoats on. I believe it has rained some every day for the past several weeks. I wish the sun would come out.....

The trail leads along the bluffs above the Buffalo River.

We found this old tree along the bluff. One of the limbs actually sticks out over the bluff, but no one was brave enough to go out on it. But we did perch on it for the picture.

Waiting for the rain to stop and river to go down, one day we headed to Lost Valley about 50 miles west. Lost Valley is located at the west or upper Buffalo River. Along the way we stopped at a place just south of Jasper. I believe every state has some place that they try to claim is the 'grand canyon of......'

It was a beautiful view. We climbed up a tower to overlook the entire area. But 'Grand Canyon of Arkansas'? I think that is stretching it a bit.

Down the road was a restuarant which was recommended for the view, not necessarily the food. No tables on the deck, but we did come out after lunch just to sit a while.

Looking straight down from the deck was this little creature scurrying along the logs. Actually there were several enjoying the sunny weather.

We are at the start of Boxley Valley, where Lost Valley is located. This is the original home of 'Beaver' Jim Villines. His father, William, built this home in 1850. Jim moved across the road and built his own home in 1880 after he married. This home was utilized in some fashion through the 1940s. The last use was as a barn.

We had to hike across the road to see 'Beaver' Jim's farm.

His home was occupied by his family until the 1940s when it was finally abandoned. There was also a barn, a cellar (which was full of water from all the rain), another storage shed and of course, the outhouse.

Finally, our destination. I had visited this place back in the 1970s, while on a vacation. Camped here before it was even a National Scenic River area. All I remembered was it was a pretty place with a cave and a waterfall in the cave.

This is along Clark Creek. Clark creek only runs about 3 miles but has a wide variety of formations along the way. This water fall has eaten its way about 50 feet through the limestone creating a natural bridge.

The water cascades down 170 feet creating Eden Falls.

Above the falls is the entry to Eden Falls Cave.

Here we are entering the cave. Several of us braved the cave by crawling a distance to arrive at the interior cave. Yes we are on our hands and knees.

Here are a few of us inside the interior cave. It is located about 200 feet from the entrance. It has a 35 foot waterfall, hence the spots on the picture. But because of the darkness, the flash just wouldn't illuminate the waterfall. I was initially not going to crawl in because of my fear of small places, but yet, I really wanted to see the waterfall again (I crawled in here over 35 years ago). Nancy, who is next to me, egged me on, and together we crawled back to the cave. Thanks Nancy. I never would have done it without your encouragement.

Here are the 7 of us who crawled inside.