September 2004 - Branson

September 4 thru September 7, 2004 High Bridge to Poplar Bluff, MO

We left home on Sat. Sept 4 at 6:00 am and arrived in Charlotte, NC at our friends the Stutt's at 4:45 pm. The ride was uneventful which is OK with us. Sunday Sept. 5 we spend relaxing and getting ready for the trip which was going to start on Monday, Labor Day at around 8:00 AM. The first day of the trip was scheduled to end in Clarksville, Tenn. which is about 480 miles from Charlotte so we did not have any side trips scheduled for this day. The day started out cloudy with rain but after we got out of the mountains west of Asheville, NC we were blessed with sunny weather all day long. The University of Tennessee had played a football game on Sunday in Knoxville and the roads were still filled with cars sporting orange "T" flags and Tennessee decals. Just like all the Penn State fans we saw on Saturday in Pennsylvania. In the evening after dinner I did get a chance to wander into a nearby cemetery which was over 200 years old. I tried to find the burial site of 125 Confederate soldiers but was unable to do so.

On Tuesday AM we left Clarksville with Poplar Bluff, MO as the intended stop for the day. We first stopped at Fort Donelsen Battlefield which was the site of the first significant Union victory of the Civil War. In February of 1862 a combined Naval and Infantry force captured Fort Henry on the Tennessee River. The Naval forces then returned up the Tennessee River to the Cumberland River to attack Fort Donalsen. The naval attack failed miserably but U. S. Grant marched his forces from Fort Henry and succeeded in defeating the Confederates there and capture 14,000 prisoners. It is here that the term Unconditional Surrender was coined and Ulysses S Grant got the nickname Unconditional Surrender Grant.

From Fort Donelsen we headed to the "Land Between the Lakes" in Tennessee and Kentucky which is the strip of land between the lakes formed by dams on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. This area is managed by the US Forestry Department as a recreational area. The "park" includes a living history farm called "Homeplace", depicting farm life in the 1850's, a bison and elk refuge, a planetarium, and a nature center with injured local area wildlife as the main display. We visited the "Homeplace" and the Bison/Elk refuge.

"Homeplace" is made up of various houses, barns and cribs that date back to the 1850's period. All of the buildings were moved to this site from other sites. The buildings are in magnificent shape. The "Dog Run" style farm cabin was fascinating and beautiful. Two women were working in the kitchen after having picked Okra in the garden. They were paid employees of the park. The only other human activity there was two men plowing a field with a horse. There was tobacco hanging in a barn which had been picked by volunteers yesterday. The ladies explained that the tobacco could not be sold but was being farmed as part of the living history of the place and time. Being the day after Labor Day holiday there were not too many cars in the parking lot so the staff numbers were proportional to the paying customers.

From the Homeplace we headed to the Bison/Elk Refuge which should have been re-named Plenty Buffalo but Elk not to be seen. Staff members explained that the elk generally come out in the evening and morning hours preferring to spend the hot day time hours in the woods away from prying human eyes. The Buffalo were right next to the road and did not react to the cars.

From the Land Between the Lakes we headed towards Cairo, Il to see where the Ohio meets the Mississippi. We drove across Kentucky Dam on the Tennessee River and in short order had traversed portions of three states - KY,IL and MO. We missed the turnoff for the viewpoint of the confluence of the two big rivers so we took no pictures here. We arrived in Poplar Bluff, Mo around 5:00PM.

What a Chariot	West of Asheville, NC on I40	Cemetery Sign in Clarksville, TN	Cumberland River and Ft. Donelsen	Great Western Blast Furnace - Shut down by Slave Revolt
Homeplace - Plowing the fields	Homeplace - Chicken Crib	Homeplace - Tobacco picked yesterday	Homeplace - Dog Trot style House	Bison Preserve - Mother suckling a calf

September 8, 2004 -Wednesday - Poplar Bluff, MO to Branson, MO

Today we were heading for Branson, Mo with stops along the way at Ozark Scenic Riverways National Recreation Area in the Alley Springs area and also at the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder in Mansfield, MO. One of our volunteers, Jim Kyle at Millbrook has been carrying on a correspondence with James Price, Park Historian of the Ozark Scenic Riverways NRA over the past few years and suggested that I stop in to see him if in the area. At the visitors center in VanBuren, MO we found out that Mr. Price had just left for Alley Springs which was along our way to Branson. We were glad we missed him at the headquarters as it gave us the opportunity to go up to Alley Springs and visit the fabulous red mill that we saw a picture of at the headquarters. The ride up to Alley Springs was through the beautiful rolling Ozarks which soon will be bright with colors in the leaf peeping season.

Alley Springs is a huge spring that generates 81 million gallons of water per day. The flow is strong enough to have once powered a turbine mill which is on the site. The park is hoping to bring the roller mill back into operation for demonstration purposes in the near future. The water in the spring is crystal clear. We visited with James Price for a short period of time and I personally felt that I could have spent a lot more time there but as we were only traveling thru we had to move on. Mr. Price made quite an impression on me. He has been instrumental in getting a group of volunteers to build a blacksmith's shop and is also trying to establish a living history farm at Big Springs which is another area of the park. I also found out that Ranger Price is a cooper. Another plus mark on the gentleman. We promised him that we would be back in the future when we could spend  more time in the park. He said he would hold us to the promise.

From the park we headed to Mansfield, MO which was the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder of the "Little House on the Prairie" book fame. Laura and her husband and daughter moved to Mansfield from DeSmet, SD in 1894. She started to write her books after 1928 when she was 57 years old. Her daughter Rose was also a prolific writer. Laura Ingalls Wilder died in 1957 at the age of 90. After touring the museum housing many Laura artifacts, we visited the simple farm house where both Laura and her husband Amanzo started a farm in 1894. For a period of 8 years they lived in the "Rock House" a short distance from the farm which was given to them by her daughter as a Christmas gift in 1928. It was in this house that Laura wrote the first four of her seven books published while she was alive.  Laura and Almanzo eventually moved back to the frame wood house on the farm. It was interesting to read and learn how a person with a modest beginning could touch so many people.

We arrived in Branson at around 5:00 PM and settled into our beautiful condo - Horizons by Marriott. 

Alley Mill at Alley Springs	Alley Mill at Alley Springs	Roller Mills at Alley Mill	Alley Spring - it flows like a river
The blascksmith shop at Alley Spring	Laura Ingalls Wilder Farm House in Mansfield, MO	Laura Ingalls Wilder home	The Rock House where Laura started her writing of Little House on the Prairie.

September 9, 2004 - Thursday - Branson, MO

The first show we had reservations for wasn't until 3:00 PM so we had some time to do some shopping at various places. I was able to get some butternut for carving and also pick up some carving knives. Mom of course was shopping for the grands. After shopping we picked up all the tickets for the shows. In the morning the traffic is lighter and the pick-up of all tickets ahead of time will make life easier later. After lunch we drove out to the Table Rock Dam and fish hatchery. The hatchery provides  trout for the many streams and rivers of Missouri. We also visited the Army Corps of Engineers visitors center at Table Rock Dam.

Then it was on to the Shoji Tabuki Show. Shoji is a transplanted Japanese fiddler and violin player backed up by an orchestra and some dancers. He put on a very lively performance showing that he was able to play all styles of music. It was an enjoyable show. One of the main attractions at the Shoji Tabuchi Theater are the restrooms. They are lavishly decorated and worth a visit even if you are just entering the theater without going to the show. After stopping back at the condo for a light "grits" snack in lieu of supper we went to see the Jim Stafford Show. Jim Stafford is a singer/comedian who always had the crowd laughing. He has included his 7 year old daughter and 11 year old son in the performance. The son showed talent on a multitude of instruments - piano, slide guitar, fiddle, and drums. It was a hilarious show.  

The Big at the Hatchery	The Small at the Hatchery	Table Rock Dam behind the hatchery	Fountain at Dewey Short visitors center
Ladies Room at the Shoji Theater	Pool Room in the Mens Room at the Shoji Theater	Mens Room at the Shoji Theater	Shoji on stage

September 10, 2004 - Friday - Branson, MO

Today our schedule did not call for any shows. We instead went to see Eureka Springs in Arkansas and also Bentonville, Arkansas by taking all the back roads we could. There are no dual lane highways leading you to these two places from Branson. The roads were mostly very curvy and yet the speed limit on these one lane each way roads was 55 mph. The Ozarks are beautiful.

Eureka Springs is a small town of about 5000 which started out as a resort/spa town based on the springs with "curative powers" in the area. None of these operations are in place anymore. Presently the town is dependent upon the tourist trade and is filled with little shops and restaurants. We spent about two hours in the downtown section walking in and out of the shops and even stopped at the Sidewalk Cafe for lunch. The waitress in this establishment looked like she would be more comfortable mixing cement rather than waiting on tables. Her dungare's and work boots set this mood.

From Eureka Springs we set out for Bentonville, AR which is the home of that merchandising giant Wall-Mart. Sam Walton started out with the ownership of a Ben Franklin 5 & 10 cent store franchise under the name of Walton's. Eventually he came to own 9 Ben Franklin franchises and when Ben Franklin turned down his proposal to start discount stores with Ben Franklin merchandise, he started out on his own. Eventually he sold of his Ben Franklin stores and developed Wall-Mart into what it is now. His original store was re-purchased and is now the Wall-Mart Visitors Center telling the Wall-Mart story. A section of the display contains Sam Walton's 1979 ford Pick-up and also Sam Walton's office. In this area there are signs asking for silence as this area is treated as a shrine.

Sunrise in Branson on 9/10/2004	Eureka Springs, AR -check out that sky	Stairway in the New Orleans Hotel	The Flat Iron building - Eureka Springs style
The Ozarks below Eureka Springs	Sam Waltons first store - now a museum	Sam Waltons 1979 Ford Pick-up	Confederate Memorial - Bentonville, AR the flags don't match the memorial dedication

September 11, 2004 - Saturday - Branson, MO

For the morning activity we went to the Yakov Smirnoff show at 9:30 AM. What a Country. I havent seen Yakov in years but he is alive and very well in Branson. He put on a patriotic show and also made you think about different ways of looking at things. He has a phrase - "You never looked at it that way but you will now"  From there filled with nationalistic fervor we went shopping for the day. Mom could be considered a real patriot. In the evening we went to see the "Baldknobbers County Jubilee" which is the original show started in Branson in the 50's. The show is a knock-off of the "Grand Old Opry" and done very well. It combined music with comedy. One of the comedians was able to put his lower lip over his nose as he didn't have his false teeth in. It was the third show we heard the comedian say that he was riding a horse and was in danger of losing his life when the manager of Wal-Mart came out and pulled the plug. It was a great show.

September 12, 2004 - Sunday - Branson, MO

Our first scheduled show wasn't until 3:00 PM so we had plenty of time to be patriotic and shop. Todays excursion was to "Downtown Branson" where we started out in "Dicks 5 & 10 cent store". This is a true old style five and dime. It is huge. By the time we finished up at Dicks it was time for lunch which we took up at a local restaurant. We met some people who were on a train tour and had started out in Washington State to St. Paul, MN with a bus ride from Minneapolis to Branson. They were not happy campers as they did not expect the crowded sleeper rooms on the train.

The show at 3:00 pm was the "Legends in Concert". The impersonators portrayed, Neil Diamond, Diana Ross and the Supremes, The Blues Brothers, Bing Crosby, Barbara Streisand, and of course Elvis. All of the performers were good. I didn't particularly like the Crosby portion. After the show we relaxed in the apartment before heading out to the evening show at 8:00 PM, "The Stars of Broadway" which was a tribute to all the big musicals from New York. This was also a lively and enjoyable show. All the music and songs were familiar to us. They would not let us take any pictures at all in this theater. Someone two rows ahead of us took a picture and the usher went haywire. I obeyed the rules for once.

This is Branson Bob selling leathergoods	She turned into the Christian Bookstore	Neil Diamond of the Legends	Diana Ross of the Legends
Blues Brothers of the Legends	Barbara Streisand of the Legends	Elvis in concert at the Legends

September 13, 2004 - Monday - Branson, MO

The only formal item scheduled today was the Dixie Stampede Dinner Theater at 5:30 PM with a 4:45 pre-show. The day went quickly with several shopping excursions. While getting coffee at a supermarket cafe this morning I witnessed a woman getting fingerprinted at the cash register. She was paying by check and they were taking her thumb print on the check. Never had seen that before but Ken and Jeanne both said that they had seen in in Charlotte. Mom did particularly fine at Vanity Fair. We had extra time in the afternoon which I used to finish the first of my Santa carvings I started on the trip.

The Dixie Stampede was primarily an equestrian show with almost no music. The motiff was North versus South and the waiters on our side were in Union uniforms and the other side was the South. They set up a competition between the sides by having the performers as well as the audience participate in the contest. They non equestrian events included racing pigs, racing ostritches and horseshoe pitching with toilet seats. Of course the score was tied at 5 to 5 prior to the final event which consisted of the audience passing flags to the end by row. The south won. There were no photos allowed at the theater but I did get one of the juggler at the pre-show before i was warned. I never saw the sign. On the way into the theater you got to walk past the stables where all the horses were housed for the show. Photos were allowed here.

The dinner consisted of roasted chicken, barbecued prok, tater, corn, soup, biscuit and an apple turnover. No utensils other than dishes were provided but Jeanne was ready with plasticware. Our waitess Christie threatened to take them away but we prevailed. Jeanne even had handy wipes to wash the hands after the meal. They had done this before.

Leopard the Appaloosa	The Pre-show Juggler at the Dixie Stampede

September 14 - 15, 2004 - Tuesday/Wednesday - Branson, MO to Nashville to Pigeon Forge, TN

Tuesday was spent on the road driving the 520 miles from Branson to spend the evening in Nashville, TN. Our Wednesday destination was Pigeon Forge, TN with a tour of Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. We arrived at Cades Cove at around noon having lost an hour after crossing a time zone and approximately 190 miles. We had been in Cades Cove in the spring of 2002. It was beautiful then and it was just as beautiful today. Cades Cove is an open valley surrounded on all sides by the Appalachian Mountains. A hardy lot of people lived here in relative isolation. At its population height, approximately 625 people lived in this large valley. There were three churches in the valley, two Baptist and a Methodist. During the Civil War the churches stopped operations because the divisions within the country also split the congregations of the churches. The park service has done a great job in maintaining the cabins and houses that have remained. Of interest to me was the Cable Mill which was built around 1870 and is still used for demonstrating the grinding of corn. It was idle for a period but has been restored to operational condition. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. Cades Cove is a place to be seen in person.

After Cades Cove we drove to Pigeon Forge for the evening and some more of the great American pastime - shopping. There are more outlet malls here than in Branson. It is a very busy area. Tomorrow it will be off to Cherokee. We will drive thru the Great Smoky National Park and hopefully visit two more mills.

John Oliver Cabin in Cades Cove. Original built around 1826.	View from the Oliver cabin - Cades Cove	Missionary Baptist Church - Cades Cove	Along the loop road - Cades Cove
Sluice for Cable Mill in Cades Cove	Cable Mill Cades Cove - from around 1870	Gregg-Cable Farm House in Cades Cove	Carter Shields cabin - Cades Cove.

September 16, 2004 - Thursday - Pigeon Forge, TN to Cherokee, NC

Today was to be the last touring day of the trip. After a Hampton Inn breakfast and some shopping in Sevierville we headed to the Old Mill in Pigeon Forge. The mill was built in 1830 and has operated continuously since then. It was not destroyed during the Civil War. According to the guide on the tour both North and South used the mill and considered it too valuable to destroy. The mill complex is now a big shopping area but the mill is still operating as a going concern grinding corn and other grains for the local restaurants and bakeries. A large portion of their product goes to the National Park Service as the gristmills within the park only grind for demo purposes and use the product from the Old Mill in their gift shops. According to the guide the mill still grinds 250 tons of corn per year.  The outside waterwheel is 24 feet in diameter and is used only to power the belt conveyors throughout the mill. The stones of the mill are powered by turbines installed in 1899. At one time the mill also ground wheat in three roller mills which were also installed in 1899 but these while in place have not been used since the 1950's. It was amazing to see a 174 year old building still in use.

We then headed off to find the Reagan Tub Mill which was on Roaring Brook within the Smoky National Park. The road to get there was a tortuous uphill and downhill ride with no guardrails on the sides and deep dropoffs. Mom said she got caught up on her prayers. The road was one way which was a great help. Along the way we came upon some old 1800's homesteads which in their day had been carved out of the forest which has now reclaimed most of the cleared land here. One of them was the Ephraim Bales Place which at one time consisted of 72 cleared acres in the mountains. I can't imagine what it was like to live in these circumstances. Back to the mill. A tub mill was generally a smaller version of a grist mill which was built on mountain streams. It depended upon rapid flowing water for its energy source rather than a large volume of water. Across the road from the Reagan Tub Mill was the Reagan Home which has been recently restored. From the looks of it the Reagan's did well.

We then rode through the park to Cherokee, NC for the evening. Hurricane Ivan was starting to push rain into the mountains so our ride was not very scenic or conducive to photos. By the evening in Cherokee the rain was coming down pretty heavy. We did go to Harrah's Casino on the Cherokee Indian Reservation but wound up leaving some money for them. The machines here are the worst odds machines we have seen anywhere. This will be the last post of this trip as tomorrow we are driving to Charlotte, repacking and then going home on Saturday.

Dolly Parton's statue in Sevierville, TN	Wedding Chapel Sign - we chose the drive thru	The Old Mill in Pigeon Forge - Circa 1830 AD	Corn Grinding in progress at the Old Mill in Pigeon Forge
Ephraim Bales Place along the Roaring Brook	Roaring Brook in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park	Reagan's Tub Mill	Sluice for the Reagan Tub Mill
The Reagan's Homestead	Reagan's Tub Mill Building	Along the rainy road thru the Smokies	Along the rainy road thru the Smokies

 

     

 

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