I am doing this trip in reverse. Before we got to Tulsa, we spent several days on the road—almost two full days in Missouri. We had already been to the State Capitol in Jefferson City several years earlier, so this not on our agenda for this trip.
We were going to stay with a couple in Forsyth. We had made arrangements ahead of time to go to a show in nearby Branson. It appears that locals can get bargains on tickets for many of the shows. Ken and Georgianne were to be out hosts for the day and evening. They picked the show. Excellent job for not knowing us. I had not told them that the particular day that we were going to meet with them was my birthday. We had not met them before, but through a fifty-year-plus club, we were recommended to each other.
We were leaving Arkansas early and had planned to meet them at their house. Almost immediately we ran into really bad traffic due to an accident on the Interstate. As we got closer to Missouri, we realized that we would not make it to their house in time to go to the matinee show in Branson. We agreed to meet in Branson at a hamburg joint.
The hamburgers WERE out of this world. Ken and Georgianne were great fun.
The show that they had picked out for all of us to attend was called SIX. It was a super show starring SIX of the ten boys in the family…a little Sinatra, Beachboys, Dion, clean comedy, lots of fifties and sixties music. Lots of talent! As they said (paraphrased) “In Branson, you can still use the name of Jesus and everyone is happy.” There were no girls in the family. Eleven men with no balancing female is definitely too much testosterone for which I would want to deal, but Mom did a good job raising the boys. The last part of the show was a tribute to her (she had passed away several years earlier) and several patriotic songs. The show closed with Lee Greenwood’s "I’m Proud to Be an American.” Everyone was on their feet for this wonderful song.
After the show, we followed them back to their home, which was on a lake. Fall foliage still in its glory. A most gorgeous setting. After a bit, they mentioned the evening meal. We ate such a large lunch that Steve and I were not that hungry, but they said they had a really great place to eat. So, off we went in their car. We went to BBQ place. We followed their ordering. One stood and placed ones order. They brought it to you as it was prepared. Ken and Georgianne often went there. Their special order was a half of a baked potato split between them. We thought that was kind of unusual until we saw the size of the half potato. HUGE! The restaurant would split the half into yet again another half. Each person could order his or her own toppings.
The list of toppings:
pulled pork or beef, coleslaw, baked beans, butter, sour cream, shredded cheese, chili, bacon bits.
I had mine fully loaded and mounded high (except for me--no chili). I had chosen pulled pork for my meat. Steve had the pulled pork, beans and butter.
What a scrumptious meal! All for $5.99 per potato half (that is only three bucks each for dinner).
We went back to their house. We saw lots of wildlife on the way home. A deer on the side of the road stood so still that she did not seem real. Then there was the owl that swooped down in front of us to grab its dinner of a mouse. It happened so quickly that we almost hit the owl. But, gratefully, we missed it. Several other critters crossed the road in front of us. We missed them all with the car, thankfully.
The World Series was on TV. We chatted and watched together until bed time.
After a good night’s sleep, we were chatting in her kitchen. I had slipped the evening before mentioning that it had been my birthday. She presented me with “Happy Birthday” via a kazoo. After this wonderful rendition, we went out to breakfast with them. They were great hosts. Hope to see them again.
Traveling north and then west, we went to see my friend Linda. Linda and Jimmy are funeral directors, so one of them always has to be near by at all times. Linda is also fighting breast cancer, so I did not think our visit could be very long. We got to their home. They were in the middle of getting things ready for a funeral. She was doing okay in her fight apparently. After spending an hour or so with her (Steve had gone next door to meet Jimmy…he had met Linda before, but never had had the opportunity to meet Jimmy), we left. But she wanted us to return.
Since we needed to kill a couple of hours, off to Wilson’s Creek Battlefield we drove. We turned Maggie Mae on. She will get you where you want to go, but not always by the best route. On the Interstate, a sign indicated that it was at the next exit and four miles after that was WCBF. Maggie Mae had us staying on the Interstate another twenty-five miles. We followed the sign on the Interstate. We found Wilson’s Creek quickly.
Steve has one of those wonderful National Park cards. $10.00 will get you and your car (or at those where cars are not appropriate such as the Adams home in Quincy, MA up to three guests accompanying the card holder) into almost all the parks or historic sites for life. Or, in our case, it will have cost us $20.00 as we lost the first one. BARGAIN! BARGAIN, BARGAIN! One does have to be either 62 or 65 (a senior moment…can’t remember which) to get one, but once you reach that age, one NEEDS to get one. BARGAIN! And did I mention BARGAIN!
Wilson’s Creek was an early battle in the War (August 10, 1861), the first major battle fought west of the Mississippi.
General Nathaniel Lyon of Connecticut was the first Union general killed in the War Between the States. It has been hinted that because of his early presence, he was able to keep Missouri from seceding. He was killed at Wilson’s Creek and was sent back to Eastford, Connecticut for burial after having already been interred in Springfield, MO...due to a strange of circumstances. A mound of stones was placed almost immediately after his death at the place where he died. It became a quick tourist attraction.
The battlefield is pretty much the same today as it was in the War. The Park Service was mowing hay on the day we were there. The battle took place on the farms of the Ray and Gibson families. The Gibsons sought refuge along with some neighbors and slaves in their basement.
Benjamin McCulloch commanded the Southern forces at Wilson's Creek. Major General Sterling Price commanded the Missouri State Guard at Wilson's Creek. It was a Confederate victory, but the South failed to follow up and capitalize on their win. This happened all too many times during this war that one side or the other failed to follow through on a victory. In many instances, a good follow up might have ended the war much earlier.
Wilson’s Creek Battlefield
6424 W. Farm Road 182
Republic, Missouri 65738
We went back to Linda’s where we visited for a while. We could see she was getting tired. So, we headed to Oklahoma and stayed in Miami(a) and first met Route 66. I get to see Linda only rarely. She once introduced me to a large group of people she knew as “the evil twin.” I have often said that we were twins of a different mother. We first met by mail and clicked immediately. But, how did I get to be the “evil twin?”
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