Bill and Nancy Smith Family
Travels and Holidays

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For our August, 2000, "vacation," which usually, as this year, includes Nancy's birthday on the 3rd and our anniversary on the 7th (41st this year), we decided to take it easy and visit some "nearby" places we usually drive by on the way somewhere else...rather than Montana or Minnesota or Colorado or Maryland, which had all been considered at one time or another for this period's trip.

We first went to The National Frontier Trails Center in Independence, Missouri. Then, went drove liesurely down county, and a few state, roads south through west-central Missouri, avoiding traffic and larger towns, into Springfield. Then, down to Branson for a day, and on to Eureka Spings for three days. It was REALLY HOT, so we mostly relaxed in our suite and went out for a little shopping and touristing - we both had brought along reading and writing to do, that we'd put off at home. We cut short one day, came on home for a couple days, then went to Iowa for a Bolger family mini-reunion at Philip's new home in West Des Moines, as the final leg of our August vacation period.

Bill - bonus coverage: Labor Day weekend, we went to Branson, met Annette and Larry there, and did some more shopping and visiting in Eureka, as well as some more "shopping" in Branson!

West Des Moines, Iowa visit

This is on the wall of the parking lot on the lower level. A little history: 1829 to 1929 in Eureka.

 

This is the mural that goes with the history lesson. Beautiful! Quite a place. Unique!

 

An upper level photo, there is a little park, on the way up the hill. This shows one side of the big hotel buidling. Later, I took another shot of it, looking down the avenue.

 

Here you get a better impression of the slope of the road. See the park, beyond the hotel. This is our brown car parked along the sidewalk.

Looking back up the hill, you can see where the street splits. Goes around to the right. Goes on up the hillside to the left for many more blocks. Nancy and Annette are shopping in the Quilt Shop ahead as I took this. Larry is actually in the shadows at the top of the stairs. He took a picture of us on the stairs a little later. May show up on an eduscapes.com photo display sometime. Covered the corner, but, I liked the picture, so left it in!

 

This is in a shop on up the hill where we each bought some things. Nice guy, nice merchandise, nice shop! You can see out the window how the world slopes down, away from this shop!

Shop person, on left, then Annette, Nancy, and Larry with hat. Bill took the picture.

On our August visit, we stopped out at the Thorncrown Chapel were Annette and Larry had been married five and a half years before: Apr 15, 1995:

Hadn't noticably changed. Still a steady steam of people in and out. Very quiet inside, of course, and beautiful, as always!

In August, we also went for a ride on the train:

This is the display outside the depot.

Below we are lining up to get on the train. Nancy in sunglasses, bottom center.

The conductor punched our ticket and provided color commentary.

At the end of the line, we all got out and stretched while the engine did it's things.

We had a desiel engine rather than the old steam engine that is normal. It was being readied for the next trip. We could have come back in the afternoon to ride with it, but, I just took a picture:

We also got to see the turntable operate, and hear great stories about it:

That's our desiel on the turntable.

In our August visit, we also visited the Abundant Memories Historama and Show. A bunch of old building and really lots of really old stuff. The proprietor was very proud of his collection!

Here he is, spinning his yarns about the early days, in front of the big Conestoga Wagon. Nancy is seated on the right in blue.

After a few minutes outside, we went inside to hear more about American history with more displays, all around the big room. Here are some examples:

This next one is a stuffed horse pulling a wagon, with a raccoon in it.

Couldn't pass up a close-up of the raccoon, of course:

Down the walk a ways was a fire-engine display. This one was built about the time they bought one in Deer Lodge, MT, where my Great-Grandfather Preston owned a Livery-Stable when the whole downtown burned. Next day, they ordered their fire engine, started a fire department, that continues to this day.

A little further down, was a full blown Harnass and Saddlery shop, much like Nancy's Great-great grandfather John Thomas had in Pennsylvania, where we visited in May.

Other end:

Pretty neat!!

Bonus Coverage follows:

 That For Sale sign disappeared shortly after we all checked it out carefully!

Western Taney County, south of Branson, near Hollister; Hwy 65 over a couple ridges beyond trees.

Walking around back ...

 

 Wouldn't a deck look real nice back here??

(See Dec 2000)

Page created 11 Aug 2000, last updated 11 Feb 2001.
Direct questions and comments to Bill or Nancy.