Summer of Fun- Week 4

SAW-HEARD-DID

I saw a lot more of Arkansas than I initially thought we would.   Aw heck, I'm not even sure going to Arkansas was in the original plan.   When we left Colorado, we knew where we needed to be and when, and beyond that, we've just been wandering.    And here we are, over a week later- still exploring new areas of Arkansas.   Who would have guessed that?!  

First stop was a lovely little campground near Nimrod dam/ Nimrod Lake (near the town of Plainview, just off the scenic Hwy 7).   

Sidebar- I think in Arkansas- scenic means " this road is filled with lots of twisting/curvy/roller-coaster type dips-making the road the scene to keep a close eye on!   No need to look to the sides, as it is nothing but trees, trees and more trees.  

We were not pleased with our last spot in Oklahoma (Short Mountain Cove, just across the state line from Ft. Smith, Arkansas).   The site was horrible, the camp vibe was way off (is that harmonicas and banjoes I hear in a creepy movie style?)- and for just $10/night, we opted to cut our losses and try our luck elsewhere!     

Quarry Cove #12

Ah much better site...

and vibe!

From here, we'd head over to a campground just west of Hot Springs

Crystal Springs Site 12

and now we are  finishing  up our Arkansas exploration just outside of  Greer's Ferry Lake

Shiloh D-04

I heard stories of the glory days of Hot Springs

Which some historians argue is America's first national park.  That argument stems from the fact that this area was identified as a federal reservation (land set aside for all to enjoy) in 1877- pre-dating  the formation of the NPS system by over 30 years.  

Technically- it is recognized as the 18th national park and remains the only National Park that is smack dab in the middle of a town.   *which I decided makes it a strong contender for being labeled  "America's noisiest national park".   Seeing several ambulances, lights and sirens on full force, cruise down Central Avenue is clearly not something I've witnessed at other national parks.  

Anyways- back to Hot Springs...

it is  these natural occurring  very hot springs that  brought folks to town

reported to have healing properties coupled with the rich and famous loving their baths...

Of course, the rich and famous are more likely to come if you build elegant and  luxurious bathhouses

Eventually 8 bath houses would be built between 1892-1923...each more grand than the last..

These bath-houses pampered their guests

and offered state of the art  amenities...for the 1920s...

Besides bathing, the town also found itself popular with 2 other B words-  

 Baseball and Bad guys

As this entertaining tour guide explained at the Gangster Museum of America

Hot Springs was good at ignoring certain activities 

(gambling, drinking and entertainers of the female sort)-

and hence welcomed a long list of bad guys to town-

With Mr. Al Capone being one of the big name fans of Hot Springs

As for baseball, 

when AZ was but a desert and FL was a swamp

The White Stockings of Chicago first visited in 1886- 

some say to get their players in shape for the season, others say it was to sober up before the season- 

but everyone agrees, several major players from that era found their way to the Arlington Hotel 

prior to their seasonal work playing major league baseball.  

I did...  In between playing tourist, I did tackle the task of laundry- two weeks of travel, lots of dips in the lake, and drip-dry, things were starting to smell a tad fishy.   

I also decided to take ownership of my food choices

and checked in with a local WW meeting (where I'm happy to report I lost a tad)

I spent some time in the "time out chair" -finishing my 2nd vacation read...

We added a new gadget to the toys of glamping...

Jury is out on what the "schlep" factor will be-but it has brought some variety to

camp cooking!

I borrowed  stole pictures from Hubby's blog

because face it- he's  better at picture taking than I am..

capturing scenes that most of us average folks never even see..

So until next time...

don't let a little flooding get in your way of having some summer fun!

Oh great- he found the picnic table...hope nobody minds a soggy sandwich?!

 

Summer of Fun- Week 3

 SAW-HEARD-DID

I saw- how time flies when we are out having fun!   It's hard to believe we are closing in on the end of our 2nd week on the road- and yes folks, still laughing and talking to each other.  

 Ok- as much talking as my Mr. is usually up for...but you get the idea.   

Things are going really well- 

One of the highlight's of this week was catching  up with Hubby's college buddy (Andy) and his wife Rhonda.   

They'd been following our travels via Dom's blog and my FB updates- when Andy reached out to us  on Monday- wondering if we'd be up for an impromptu meet-up along the way.   Sounds like fun!    

The plan was rather simple- they'd drive up from Dallas and we'd take off together to check out the town of Pawhuska, OK- home to Ree Drummond of Pioneer Woman fame.

*somehow this made me not feel so guilty about serving dish stash

A little side funny- when I first mentioned to Dom wanting to go to Pawhuska to visit the lodge, somehow he thought I was suggesting we stop in unannounced at a  friend of mine- and he asked "are you sure your friend won't mind us dropping by?"  We all got quite the giggle out of visiting with "my friend" at her very lovely ranch.  I mean- I've borrowed enough of her recipes over the years- I think we've reached friend status, don't ya suppose?   

We had a wonderful day catching up and playing tourist together.   We'd hoped to do some more sight-seeing on Wednesday but unfortunately- one has to be able to see- to sight-see.   

Still not sure on the exact sequence of what went wrong-but by Wednesday morning-my eyes were burning, with severe light sensitivity.   After a trip to urgent care (like my sister texted me "You know it's bad when YOU agree to go to a Doc-n-the-box"), followed by an eye consult the next day the verdict was severe dry eyes with a localized allergic reaction to the over-the-counter eye drops I foolishly thought to use to relieve some minor symptoms I had after a day on dusty country roads.   Should have stuck to just cold compresses and eye rinses.  

Happy to report- all is better- and just grateful a solution was found quickly (steroid shot) and we were in an area where I could easily access health care.   

Back to vacation fun we go.

I heard a very talented docent provide an interpretative talk to a group of school aged kids at the Will Rogers memorial museum.   Maybe it's the kid in me- but I feel that often  I absorb more information if it's presented at about a 3rd graders level.   Just kidding- but the presentation was really thoughtful and helped bring old Will and his wisdom into the light of a modern day world.  

I saw 

A chance to travel back to a childhood favorite author

Where Laura's little sister Carrie was born and Pa dug the well

Coffee and camping go hand-n-hand

As do Mimosas..

The gallows could hold 12-

but the most they ever hung at once was 6

*is that considered a 6-pack?  Don't mind me and my gallows humor...

Sunsets in Oklahoma-are indeed A-OK!

Until next time...

Hoping you can find a shady spot and take a little snooze...

Summer of Fun- Week 2

 SAW-HEARD-DID

I SAW first hand the joy that comes from taking a step away from the beaten path and exploring some of the lesser but still equally curious, informative and well crafted local attractions.    Who knew there was a week's worth of exploring and relaxing to be had here in KS without stepping foot in any of their "big" cities.

Week 1 of our Eastward Ho adventure has been a success.   The only thing we'd like to change is the heat and humidity.

We knew headed this direction in the heat of the summer would require developing a tolerance for these two weather variables.     I foolishly believed we'd have at least one week of "not so hot" weather...oh silly girl that I am.

if these guys can handle it- surrounded by flies- so can I!

 But we will acclimate soon enough- and in the meantime- have discovered the joys of staying at Army Corps of Engineering (COE) campgrounds- most if not all include- electric hook-ups means we can run the A/C which makes things a little more tolerable.   All for a very reasonable fee ($10/night- thanks to Hubby's veteran pass)

I HEARD  my husband as he reminded me heading into this trip "Don't over plan".  

In the interest of full disclosure-  I find the most fun comes from planning- so the minute we agree on a location- I start to research the heck out of that area.   Which I have done- for the KY destination we are aiming for.  

 But, what I agreed not to do was to plan  out the entire  route in advance.   This has led to us making route choices as we head east.   The exact route remains unknown- but that's ok- we are headed in the right direction.

I  WE DID  this past week included

• Stayed at 4 Campgrounds 
•  a beautifully maintained county park near Goodland Kansas
•  a lovely Harvest Host site in Wilson KY- where the owner is completing a labor of love renovating an old missile silo
• 2 COE sites- one with a little more distance between other campers but both with the highly coveted electrical hook ups
• Explored 2 museums
• Ft. Wallace- a very nicely curated museum that paints a vivid picture of life in western Kansas during the era of westward migration
  
• Eisenhower Library and museum- ok- I suppose I  shouldn't really count that- we just visited this location in the style of a Chevy Chase American Vacation movie- drove by, nodded yep-there she is, and continued on our route.   
• That wasn't the intention- but when we got there, much like Wally World for the Griswold family- the park was essentially closed.   You see, the feds are in charge of operations- which in a pandemic translates to them being about 6 months behind the times-only about 10% capacity was being admitted, and tickets were all sold out for that day.   Unlike the Griswold family- we didn't try to storm the castle to learn all about Ike- we just paid our respects at his chapel and drove on by.
• Took 2 tours
• Matthew, the owner of the missile silo and his loyal furry side kick Buddy showed us around the decommissioned missile silo.   
• For details and photos- check out Hubby's blog- most of the technical stuff just went zooming by my head.   
• My take aways- 
• it's pretty near perfect temperature inside-perfect for those of us not used to the heat or suffering from persistent hot flashes
•  Yikes-that's a long way down-I think I'll stand over here
• No honey- you may not buy one-  According to the owner, the area around Salina has 12 similar silos, some for purchase.   Fortunately- hubby and I agreed- for this type of project,  you have to have big dreams, infinite patience, lots of muscle and a fair amount of cash to bring it all to fruition.   Thanks- but we'll pass
• Salt mine tour in Hutchinson.   Pretty extensive information shared- with my take aways being 
• Yeah baby, it's cool down here,
• Damn it's dark without headlights, 
• This place is huge- but seems a bit safer and cleaner to work in than say a coal mine and maybe not as profitable as gold-silver mining?
• Took a nap or two
• Discovered some true gems thanks to the Roadside America app- 
• Like a giant grasshopper made from tractor parts
  
  
  
• Or one giant egg to celebrate the Czech heritage of Wilson

• Or the herd of Swedish horses filling the streets of Lindsborg

In addition to these photo-worthy experiences- naps were had, books were read, podcasts listened to, meals savored and memories created.  

Until next time- 

Summer of Fun- Week 1

 SAW-HEARD-DID

In keeping with my past summer attempts to blog more frequently- let's dust off my Saw-Heard-Did weekly blog prompt.

5.29-6.4

SAW:   I saw first hand how quickly time flies-and how easy it is for me to lose sense of time and place.   To Do Lists and calendar alerts kept me from forgetting a couple important tasks (Hello-it's June- I think it's safe to swap out the snow tires)

HEARD:   I hear ya HOA- I admit the landscaping was looking a little rough there.   In my defense, it had been a soggy couple of weeks in early May and when things finally started to dry out- I decided to run away from home for a couple weekends in a row.   So- it really should not have been a surprise that we got a warning letter from our HOA- reminding us of our promise to keep things "neat and tidy".   Do they not know my family nickname is Messy Martha?

Anyways- while we were at it- we decided to remove the half dead-grossly misshapen tree.   I don't know if that was part of their concerns- but it sure did draw one's eye towards our home- and not necessarily in a good way.   

So now things are truly neat and tidy-just in time for us to hit the road!

DID:   As hubby and I head out tomorrow for what we are calling our "Eastward Ho" experience- I used this first (and likely my only totally "free" weekend)  to catch up with a few friends.   From brunch, to coffee dates to dinner-and-drinks, it was awesome to catch up in real time with friends- without masks.

In addition to the socializing and a bit of lawn care, I also found myself cleaning out some clutter in the "Hen Den" (formerly known as my craft shack- although little actual crafting occurs these days).   The files were purged, some of the sticker stash was thinned and I feel like I am leaving this space in a place of order for me to return to later in July.  

  The kitchen fridge and cabinets also got some detailed attention.  As for the rest of the house- why bother- Thing 1 and Thing 2 will both be home this summer- working, sleeping, taking a couple college courses (Thing 2- who is resuming her studies towards an RN degree).  

Until next time...

*Disclaimer- unless you've nicknamed your offspring "Things"...

they have and will continue to fill our lives with great joy-

and yes- the occasional frustration too I suppose.