All posts by paula

128-Branson, MO

Talking Rocks Cavern – a small vertical cave

While in Branson we visited the Talking Rocks Cavern nearby. It’s not a big cave but has lots of pretty formations. It was named Talking Rocks because several decades ago when the first tours were started, speakers hidden in the cave would ‘talk’ as guests grew near, making it sound like the rocks were talking. The rocks don’t talk anymore, a guide gives you information.

This cave has lots of draperies and bacon formations. Bacon is what a drapery formation that has stripes of colors is called – it does look like bacon hanging from the ceiling!

This is a mostly vertical cave, and you climb down stairs to see the formations and cavern area, then climb back up the stairs. It’s not a lot of stairs thank goodness!

Here are some pictures we took:

128-Branson, MO

Cosmic Caverns – lots of soda straws

The area around Branson, MO has lots of caverns that are available for touring. We picked two of them and one was Cosmic Cavern, about an hour out of Branson. It’s actually in Berryville, AR.

This cave was discovered in 1845 and opened for tours in 1927. The tour doesn’t cover a large portion of the cave and there is a lot yet to be discovered. We visited one portion that wasn’t discovered until 1993.

This cavern has more soda straws than any other cave I’ve been in. It’s possible that it’s a more recent cave than some, since soda straws are the beginning formation of a stalactite. Also, quite a bit of the floor of the cave was in water, and the underground lakes are considered bottomless because the bottoms have not been found yet. Divers have gone under more than 70 feet but at that point the floor of the lake narrows to a crevice that the divers cannot get through.

This cavern is called “Cosmic Cavern” I think as a gimmick to be different from the other caverns in the area. When you enter the gift shop you are hailed with “Welcome, fellow Earthlings”.

It’s a worthwhile cave to visit with different rooms, the lake with blind salamanders (we didn’t see any) and the fact that it’s warmer than other caves at a constant 64 degrees. It does have a few narrow passages where you have to bend at the waist to get through, but they weren’t tight enough to trigger my claustrophobia, thank goodness!

Here are some pictures we took:

 

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128-Branson, MO

Driving through the Ozarks

We drove from Mufreesboro, AR to Hollister, MO yesterday and it took us through the Ozarks.  It’s very pretty!  We saw several signs warning of steep and crooked roads but they must have a different definition of steep and crooked than what we’re used to!

Here’s a picture of the area we drove through:

128-Branson, MO

More flooding, this time in Hollister MO but not as bad

We left Vicksburg and flooding behind a few days ago and just got into Hollister MO.  The RV park we are staying at is alongside Turkey Creek which flooded last week.  All the folks staying here had to evacuate but they’re back now.  The floodwaters have receded from the park (but it’s still muddy in areas) but it’s still real high and some walking trails are underwater.

127-Murfreesboro, AR

We stayed one night in Vicksburg, MS and found they had no water!

We stayed in Vicksburg MS for one night while travelling from Picayune to Arkansas. When we checked in we were told that due to flooding of the Mississippi River and a water main break that was under the flooded area there would be no water, for possibly 5 days!

We did have water for a couple of hours from a nearby water tower so we filled up all our bottles and pitchers and pots. It was enough to wash a few dishes and flush the toilet and drink, but not enough for showers the next morning.

I do feel bad for all the residents of Vicksburg though, and I hope they managed ok with the combination of floodwaters and no water in the taps.

Here’s an article about what was happening in Vicksburg: click here

127-Murfreesboro, AR

The only Diamond Mine in the U.S.!

We visited Arkansas and stopped at the only diamond mine in the U.S. – Crater of Diamonds in Murfreesboro, AR.  It’s located on a state park and anyone can rent a shovel and screen and dig for diamonds!  You get to keep any that you find.

It’s a volcano crater actually.  It’s fairly level and gets plowed periodically to turn over the earth for the diggers. When we were there lots of other people were there as well, some with rented equipment like we had, some with wheelbarrows and equipment they owned.

It’s fairly easy – you can either walk around and look at the rocks and dirt laying on the ground…surprisingly some of the largest diamonds were found that way!  Or you can dig in the dry dirt, sifting the dirt through the screen.  Or you can take a bucket of dirt to a washing station where you submerge a screen-full at a time into a trough of water to get rid of the fine dirt and also wash dirt from the stones, and then sift through the wet dirt.

We worked at it for a few hours but didn’t find any diamonds, just some quartz, mica, and other stuff.  Just a few months a kid walking around found a 7-carat diamond!

Anyway, we had fun.  Here are some pictures:

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124-Benson, AZ

Benson, AZ – a mishap with our trailer

We were planning to travel 5 days straight to get from So. Calif. to Livingston, TX.  But, on our 2nd day as we were on the freeway going through Benson, AZ Jeff glanced in the rearview mirror and saw a wheel rolling down the road away from us.  Since there wasn’t any other vehicles on the road we pulled over quickly to see what had happened.

Yep, it was one of our wheels.  Not just a tire, the rim and the wheel and the bearings that a wheel gets attached to – it all came off!  The brake and a twisted smoking piece of metal were all that was left on that side of the axle.

Jeff started walking down the freeway to see if he could find the wheel.  He noticed the weeds at the roadside starting to burn so he stamped out a little fire…good thing too as it was a ‘dangerous fire hazard day’ in Benson!  He never did find the wheel and he walked over a mile looking into the scrubs and weeds along the road.

So, we called AAA and got towed to a nearby mechanic who replaced the axle, wheel, tire, the whole thing in 3 days.  We had to stay in a motel in Benson while the work was being done, but we were really glad to see it get done so quickly so we could get back on the road.

We’re working with our insurance agent to get reimbursed for the expenses.

Here’s my review of “Big Dave’s Towing” on Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/review_share/JQHAPQgZABrgyT-3uP3AZQ/review/nUFz_CV4rzZRYTXz7rN7GQ

And here are a couple of pictures of the damage:

119-Peoria, AZ

Taliesan West, a Frank Lloyd Wright home and school

We visited a Frank Lloyd Wright compound and Architect School that is just east of Phoenix. It’s called Taliesan West (there’s a Taliesan East in Wisconsin). This is where Frank Lloyd Wright lived for several years at the end of his life, and he always had a few graduate students living and working at the site. While the Wrights had a section of the compound for their apartment, the students lived out in the desert in tents. This, Mr. Wright felt, would bring them closer to nature and get them to understand and love the shapes and dimensions of nature to use in their architectural work.

The compound was also build by the students, by hand. THey scoured the desert for rocks, and then built all the walls out of concrete with the large and small rocks placed within the walls. The walls, windows, rooflines all are at a 15% slant. A chef also lived on the property to prepare all the food.

During his life he also felt that the ‘whole student’ should be educated, not just one facet. There were Saturday parties where the students, who lived in tents in the desert, were expected to dress in tuxedos and socialize with local people invited out for the evening, listen to concerts, play social games (bridge etc) and behave as gentlemen. The students were all male by the way.

The property itself is very unique and pleasing to the eye. We really enjoyed our visit.

Here are some pictures:

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118-Cordes Junction, AZ

Montezuma’s Castle – a cliff dwelling

There is a small section of cliff north of Phoenix that contains a cliff house. I saw this cliff house many years ago and thought it was unique. After this summer’s travels I know there are several places where cliff houses exist that were occupied by Native Americans between 800-1300A.D.

This dwelling was called Montezuma’s Castle although it is not Aztec. The people who named it that thought it was and the name has stuck.

In addition to the cliff dwelling, there are rooms at ground level along the cliff and other alcoves that were occupied.

This area would have been very pleasant for the people who lived here, as there’s a spring that provides fresh water all year round, flat land near the cliff for farming and lots of trees because of the abundance of water. There is evidence that the people who lived here hunted deer and antelope and farmed beans, corn and several kinds of squashes.

As with other cliff dwellings in the area, it was abandoned sometime in the 1300s. It’s not known why but modern Native Americans believe they just felt it was time to move along, and they still return to this and other Native American ruins where they believe their ancestors still reside.

Here are some pictures we took: