We woke up this morning to a beautiful, clear day. Relaxed, rested and filled with memories, we said good bye to Joyce and Gordy and headed for Springdale, Arkansas to continue our 50 in 50 Challenge.
Before we drove away from Still Waters Resort, both Bill and Sue went in different directions to capture final images of the area in and around the resort.
Sue saw:
Bill saw:
Once settled in our hotel in Springdale, AR, we went to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in nearby Bentonville, AR. The museum, containing a world class collection of American art, is located on 120 acres of Ozark forest with 5 miles of trails, each offering different plant life, terrain and ecosystems.
The grounds around the museum were beautiful in their own right.
The art was amazing. America has some very talented artists.
One of the more unique pieces of American are was a wall of speakers. Americana in the Flesh Our addition to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
Our day on the water was wonderful! “Captain Gordy” guided the pontoon boat over quite a bit of Table Rock Lake. A picnic in a quiet cove, blue skies, warm sunshine, cool water, lush foliage, and good friends made for a GREAT day!
Leaving the dock to tour the lake.
The lake was beautiful, and we saw some very interesting houses along the shores.
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We also saw some interesting wildlife.
All lined up in a row.
Rain is in the forecast for the rest of the week, so we are especially thankful to have had the day outdoors without rain jackets and umbrellas.
We had dinner at Fall Creek Steak & Catfish House. This restaurant was unique because the waiters served hot rolls by tossing them to people at their tables.
Days 15-19 -Shows, Museums and Golf
As predicted, we awoke Monday morning to gray skies and rain. We all attended a time share sales meeting at the resort, but, remained resolute in NOT becoming owners. Our attendance had earned us the 6 hours usage of the pontoon boat for free. Clearly we were the winners on this deal!!
After the sales presentation, we went to lunch at Mel’s Hard Luck Diner, home to very talented singing waiters and waitresses. We also learned the diner is home to HUGE servings of ice cream. Bill ordered a SINGLE scoop of orange sherbet and Joyce, Gordy and Sue ordered single scoop ice cream cones. Were we ever surprised to see scoops of ice cream that were bigger than softballs!! We experessed our amazement, yet, didn’t leave any behind. Furthermore, we liked this restaurant so much we went back later in the week.
Another restaurant that was particularly interesting was Billy Gail’s Restaurant in Branson. Billy Gail’s is famous for its large portions, especially the 14″ homemade pancakes!
We didn’t let the daily rain dampen our spirits or slow us down. Branson has a variety of wonderful shows, museums, and restaurants. Over the week, we enjoyed performances by Grand Shanghai Circus, Dublin’s Irish Tenors and Celtic Ladies, Hits of the 50’s and 60’s, Reza – Edge of Illusion, and Dolly Parton’s Stampede.
Grand Shanghai Circus:
Hits of the 50’s and 60’s:
We learned a lot at the Titanic Museum, and descended deep underground at Talking Rocks Cavern.
Photos from the Titanic Museum.
Photos from Talking Rock Cavern:
In spite of the generally wet weather, Joyce, Gordy and Bill were able to play two rounds of golf this week. The first was at Branson Hills Golf Course, known as the #1 Best Course to play in Missouri and the 49th Toughest Course in America. Sue gladly served as a cart driver and photographer. The course was very hilly, wet, and windy, and golf carts were restricted to the cart path.
The second golf outing was played on Thursday at Ledgestone Country Club at StoneBridge Village. After several days of rain, the course was extremely soggy! Again, golf carts were restricted to the cart path. It’s a wonder they let anybody on to play. Joyce’s shoes were soaked before she finished the first hole. The determined golfers played on, and by the end of their round, the sun broke through the clouds to provide a beautiful finish on the 18th hole.
What a fun, relaxing week this has been! We are sad it has come to an end.
`We left our hotel in Independence, MO (a suburb of Kansas City, MO) headed to Branson, MO to spend a week with Joyce and Gordy Young. Since the drive is only about 3 hours, we decided we would stop in Springfield, MO and get our first ride in Missouri. The drive to Springfield can best be described as COLORFUL! Sue commented that the scenery was like looking into a big box of crayons. As we drove down the highway, we saw dark evergreens and trees covered in numerous shades of green leaves. Some trees still had bare gray or black branches waiting for spring foliage to emerge. Yellow wildflowers and purple and pink bushes lined the side of the highway. Black, brown, and white cattle and calves grazed in fields where straw colored round bales of hay were stacked in fields. We passed red barns, rust colored silos, green and yellow farm equipment, bright red pick-up trucks, and yellow school buses parked for the weekend. The beautiful blue sky was filled with fluffy white clouds.
At one point we came upon a roadside sign with a picture of a horse and buggy on it reminding us to “share the road.” We learned there was an Amish population in the area who still use the horse drawn buggies for their primary transportation. We looked but never saw any buggies on the road as we drove through the area.
The towns of Peculiar and Humansville prompted us to speculate on other unusual names for communities.
We arrived in Springfield and found the parking lot at the beginning of the Frisco Highline Trail where we planned to ride the 19 miles needed to complete our 50 miles in Missouri. The Frisco Highline Trail is the second longest Rail-Trail in Missouri. In 1948, Harry Truman rode the Frisco Railroad train from Springfield to Bolivar and back in his private railroad car, warming up for his famous “whistlestop” campaign that would get him re-elected as President. The tracks are gone now, the stations have been torn down, and the steam whistle has been replaced by silence or bird songs. The trail winds through woods and pastures, crossing 16 railroad bridges as it passes across two counties in Missouri. We enjoyed every moment of our 20 mile ride on this historic trail!!
We continued on to Branson and the Still Waters Resort, located on Table Rock Lake.
Luckily, we had time to get settled and clean up from our ride before Joyce and Gordy arrived. We were excited to learn we have a condo with a beautiful view of the lake. Bill and Gordy played cornhole, and we enjoyed a pizza dinner from an on-site restaurant.
Champion form!
Checking the weather forecast for the week, we have decided to spend tomorrow exploring the lake on a pontoon boat. We can’t wait to be on the water!!
With severe storms in the forecast, we decided to spend a leisurely morning organizing all our photos and notes from the last several days travel. Finally, it was time to do a little exploring in Kansas City, Missouri and have a late lunch.
Loving baseball as we do, we ventured out to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in the historic 18th & Vine District of Kansas City. 18th & Vine was THE thriving center of the African American community in Kansas City during segregation. It was home to many of the key businesses, churches, and social organizations that worked to eliminate segregation. It served as a cultural center for everything from jazz and baseball to nightlife throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s.
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum traced the story of the rigid color barrier in the game of baseball. Black baseball teams played without any structure until 1920, when the first negro league was formed. From 1920 – 1955, more than 30 communities were home to teams that were organized into six different leagues. These communities were located primarily in the Midwest, Northeast and South (Birmingham, Alabama was home to the Black Barons).
We learned the stories of Negro League stars Buck Leonard, Satchel Paige, “Cool Papa” Bell, “Pop” Lloyd, Buck O’Neil and many others. Jackie Robinson, who played with the Kansas City Monarchs, broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. It took the next 12 years, to 1959, to integrate all Major League Baseball teams.
The 18th & Vine District was also famous for its many night clubs, where live music was performed. At the American Jazz Museum, we learned that Kansas City’s legendary jazz musicians — Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Big Joe Turner, Jay McShann and hundreds of others perfected their blues-based jazz style in the clubs. We also read about jazz greats Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, Harry Belafonte, Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington.
While in Kansas City, we kept seeing statues of hearts (very similar to the statues of black squirrels we saw in Marysville, KS). It turns out that Kansas City, located right in center of “Americas Heartland,” has laid claim to the phrase “Americas Heartland” and Kansas City has created the Parade of Hearts to comemmorate that claim. Like the statues of the black squirrels in Marysville, KS, the hearts in Kansas City show different things important in the life of the citizens of Kansas City.
We broke from our visit to the historic 18th & Vine District to have lunch at Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque. Interestingly, Bill remembered eating there years ago while in Kansas City to do an audit of Phillips Petroleum’s Pension Plan. The main difference today from the last time Bill was at this restaurant was they no longer cure their barbeque sauce in large 5 gallon jugs in the windows of the reataurant.
Tomorrow we head to Branson, MO for a week of fun with Joyce and Gordy Young!
In Nebraska we raced the train. Today, in Independence, Missouri, we raced the rain! When we headed out to the Little Blue Trace Trail this morning, Bill assured me that the very dark clouds were moving away from the trail we planned to ride. We put on our rain gear, covered our Garmin GPS computers with zip-loc bags, and started pedaling.
We had a few short, light showers before the sky cleared and the sun came out. It turned out to be a beautiful day! The trail was lined with wildflowers and the trees showed their yellow-green leaves of spring.
Once again we saw more cardinals than we could count, robins carrying worms in their beaks, small black birds with bright yellow breasts, and two big pheasants beside the trail.
Sights and sounds of the Little Blue Trace Trail!
Sights and sounds from the creek along the Little Blue Trace Trail
We took advantage of what turned out to be nice weather and completed 31 miles today!!
This afternoon we went to the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum.
We learned so much about the man who was President when we were born. Did you know Truman had been Vice President for only 82 days when FDR died? He became the President during one of the most difficult times in history! A continuing theme during his presidency was “Peace for all time!”
After leaving the presidential museum, we drove by the house that was Truman’s home from the time of his marriage to Bess Wallace in 1919, until his death on December 26, 1972.
Harry Truman’s house from 1919 until December 1972.
From here we went to Ophelia’s restaurant on Independence Square where we enjoyed fried chicken made with Harry Truman’s personal recipe.
After dinner we “rolled” over to Clinton’s Soda Fountain. Though our minds kept saying, “go in”, “go in”, our stomachs said, “Noooooo,” “Nooooo.” We were just too full from President Truman’s fried chicken!
We left the Great Plains behind as we traveled briefly through Iowa and into Missouri, the “Show-Me” state. Bill commented that we saw more traffic today than in Kansas and Nebraska combined.
Kansas City, Missiuri Skyline.View of Kansas City, Missouri.
The landscape has changed to tree covered rolling hills and green grass lining the interstate and filling the median.
Independence, MO is a subburb of Kansas City, MO. Visiting the area requires at least one Kansas City style barbecue meal. Tonight we enjoyed a local delicacy, Burnt Ends, crispy, jucy bites cut from the brisket tip. We’re bringing home a bottle of the Smokehouse sauce. Fire up your smokers!!
Today, we completed our 50 miles in Nebraska on the Jamaica North and Homestead Trails.
The trailhead was in a rural area south of town. The weather was wonderful! Blue skies, sunshine and mostly gentle wind made the ride very enjoyable! The straight, crushed stone path was lined with trees and shrubs just waking up from winter. We imagined that full foliage would create the feel of riding through a tunnel.
We crossed old bridges, past acres and acres of dark, rich farmland waiting to be planted and fields covered with the remnants of last season’s corn harvest.
Turn the volume up to hear the peaceful sound of the running water.
Part of the trail paralleled the railroad tracks. Bill was disappointed that even with all the training he has been doing, he still couldn’t beat the train!
Try as he did, Bill still couldn’t beat the train!
Butterflies and pairs of cardinals flew through the trees. There is a saying that when you see a cardinal, it’s a visit from a loved one in heaven. Perhaps our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles were welcoming us back to our roots in the Plains.
We woke up to 42o temperatures and 22+ mph winds; no surprises there!! We decided to let the temperature rise some before heading out for today’s ride. So, Bill went to get batteries for the power meters in his pedals.
By lunchtime the temperature had risen to 51o. Winds were still strong and gusts were even stronger, but we bundled up in layers and headed for the trails. We completed 30 miles by combining several trails of the Great Plains Trail Network — the Old Cheney Trail, Rock Island Trail, Helen Boosalis Trail, Billy Wolff Trail and the Southpointe Trail. The wide concrete paths took us across bridges, by the children’s zoo & Botanical Gardens, the UNL City Campus, Antelope Park and Hibner Stadium (the soccer complex of the University of Nebraska).
The trails passing through wooded areas and neighborhoods were really pretty. Signs of spring were everywhere — with budding green leaves, blossoms of pink and white, daffodils and tulips, cardinals and robins flying through the trees.
On one neighborhood trail there was a strong scent like chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven!! Some child returning home after school may have a special treat waiting for him/her!
We talked to several people walking along the shared use paths. They seemed amazed to hear about our 50 in 50 rides and offered suggestions of other places we can go.
We are hoping for sunshine and calm winds tomorrow to explore more trails and complete our Cornhusker adventure!
Before leaving Manhattan, KS, we drove through the campus of Kansas State University. It’s a lovely campus with big trees, rolling hills and stone buildings.
We drove north to the “Cornhusker State” and the city of Lincoln, Nebraska. Our hotel reservation was in the Historic Haymarket District.
When we arrived we quickly realized that being downtown where the streets are more narrow and the parking more sparce, was not going to work for our needs. Imagine, Bill hauling our portable refrigerator, two bikes and all our suitcases through the massive first floor entry hall to small elevators and up to the fourth floor! Pretty funny, right? So, we cancelled that reservation and found a Residence Inn for the next three nights. As luck would have it, our new accomodations were located closer to the trail we planned to ride.
We found a nearby Texas Roadhouse for dinner. We even had enough for lunch tomorrow!
Mother Nature changed our plans for this morning! We had planned on driving to Marysville to ride the Blue River Rail Trail to the Nebraska state line, but it was raining and the Kansas winds continued to be strong. The weather radar indicated the rain would be out of the area by mid-day, so, we decided to visit the Flint Hills Discovery Center in the morning and do our ride in the afternoon.
Located in east-central Kansas, the Flint Hills is one of the largest tallgrass prairies left in the world. The prairie continues into northern Oklahoma where it is known as the Osage Hills. The prairie is marked with few trees, wildflowers, and many species of grass. The big bluestem grass can grow as tall as 10 ft. Pioneers used to talk about riding through grasses that were at eye level! Large wild herds of bison (commonly called buffalo) once roamed the plains. Look at our photo gallery for more of the things we learned at the Discovery Center.
After the Discovery Center we ate lunch and headed north to Marysville to complete our 50 miles in Kansas.
The drive to Marysville was rather challenging because of the high winds. Sue was also getting concerned because of the dark clouds in the sky.
A cross wind to beat all cross winds!!!
The first place we went when we arrived in Marysville was the Backroads Bicycle bike shop Brock Corby had recommended to get more specific directions to the Blue River Rail Trail trailhead. Interestingly, the streets of Marysville were ghostly quiet!
Main street is practically empty!
In fact, we found the bike shop closed in spite of the sign on the door saying the shop was open until 5:00 pm on Saturdays. As we were unloading our bikes and getting ready to look for the trailhead, Mark Hoffman, the shop owner, walked up to us and asked if he could help us.
After he had given us specific directions to the trailhead, he asked how we found out about his bike shop. Bill told him a friend who lived in Senaca, KS had recommended his shop. Mark said, “Oh, you mean Brock?” Small town America!! The heartbeat of our great country!!
With high hopes of a fun ride in rural Kansas, we started down the Blue River Trail, high wind and all.
Sue had to make several stops because the battery on her bike kept popping out of its socket. After we thought we had finally solved the battery popping out problem, Bill continued down the trail while Sue rode more slowly becaues of the somewhat unstable nature of the crushed stone surface and the high cross winds. At this point we had the 25+ mph winds at our backs. As Bill approached a bridge he turned to give some instruction to Sue about slowing before starting across the bridge, she was no where to be found. Bill turned around and headed back to find her and was hit with really strong head winds that made negotiating the crushed stone surface really difficult, especially with the serious lack of experience on this type surface in the high wind conditions. Bill immediately determined we should not be riding this trail on this particular day!! We went back in to town and decided we would ride the “silent” yet paved streets of Marysville. Marysville; a town of about 3300 people, covers a total area of 4.6 square miles. Many of the streets are made of red brick and there were several steep hills to climb (almost 1000 ft of ascent over the 20 miles we rode). It was mid-afternoon on Saturday, most of the businesses were already closed, and there were few people “out and about.” Marysville is known as the “Black Squirrel City” due to an isolated community of all-black squirrels that live there. The squirrels are said to be the result of escapees from a traveling circus.
We had fun looking for the 34 squirrel statues that are placed throughout the town.
Other “Norman Rockwell” images of “Small Town America” we saw included kids playing catch in their frontyard, a red & white striped barber pole outside the barber shop, train cars parked on the tracks running through town, mothers pushing their babies on the park swings, and people working in their yards. It must have been prom night because we watched couples, dressed to the nines, gather in the park for photographs. It appeared the whole community was there snapping pictures. Later, as we were leaving town, we saw the prom-goers riding to a restaurant on the flatbed of an 18 wheeler. We decided that must be the small town equivalent of taking a limo to the prom.
By the time we finished our 20 mile “Marysville tour,” the empty streets were coming alive as residents headed out to dinner at WagonWheel, New China Buffet, Penny’s Diner or Bite-Me Barbecue.
We really enjoyed our ride in Marysville! It was a day that reminded us of the diversity of America, the importance of community and the beauty of simplicity.
50-in-50 Challenge 