Missouri Adventures and into Oklahoma

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=50 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="043085a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Lone Mt Homestead</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lone Mt Homestead"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="14"><B>   </B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="14"><B>     </B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="14"><B>  </B><A HREF="oklahoma.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Oklahoma Adventures"><U><B><IMG SRC="0300e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="next" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="04507073.jpg"> <div> Missouri Adventures and into Oklahoma </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B><U>PART I:  Solo to Tulsa</U></B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B><U>4 Photos</U></B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>          My solo drive to Tulsa to rendezvous with Deb and Amanda took 2 1/2 days, not my usual pokey pace.  The first day I drove straight through to Vandalia, Illinois, about an hour east of St. Louis.  My only stops were in Defiance, Ohio for coffee (</B></I><A HREF="http://www.cabinfevercoffee.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.cabinfevercoffee.com/"><U><I><B>Cabin Fever Coffee</B></I></U></A><I><B>) and in Indianapolis, Indiana for </B></I><I><B>supplies at Whole Foods Market.  I cruised into the Days Inn, Vandalia in good time despite a nine hour, 482-mile drive.  The pool looked heavenly, and I was soon floating around it as if I belonged there.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B> </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>          Next day I had allowed myself a little sight-seeing, as the drive was not nearly so long (six hours, 308 miles).  I sailed through St. Louis without any tie-ups, and soon was careening through the Ozark Plateau.  The drive from St. Louis to Springfield, Missouri has to be one of the most exciting Interstate drives outside of the Rockies.  I always feel bad about speeding though this incredibly beautiful area, so today I began a very limited exploration of attractions near the highway.  I stopped in St. James, MO to visit Maramec Spring.  It is a short drive south from the highway.</B></I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="13b3687b0.jpg" border=0 width="872" height="635" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>A lovely walkway surrounds the impressive rocks and water at </B></I><A HREF="http://www.maramecspringpark.com/maramec/index.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.maramecspringpark.com/maramec"><U><I><B>Maramec Spring</B></I></U></A><I><B>, Missouri.  I spent a peaceful hour here</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>away from the madness of the Interstate highway.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="13b668460.jpg" border=0 width="872" height="582" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Trout are raised here for fishing, but many of them are allowed to live peacefully in the spring pond.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>          Also in St. James, and right back at the highway exit, is </B></I><A HREF="http://www.stjameswinery.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.stjameswinery.com/"><U><I><B>St. James Winery</B></I></U></A><I><B>.  Before visiting I had lunch at a nearby Subway, then went for a wine tasting.  Besides many, many kinds of wines, the store has an amazing assortment of food:  jams, jellies, salsas etc., as well as glassware, dishes and kitchen ware.  It is a very large shop, and the wine tasting is self serve!  I tried four dry reds and only found one not too exciting.  I left with four bottles in tow; two Norton, a reserve Norton, and something else, (all very reasonably priced) ready to be uncorked in the wilds of New Mexico.  This will become a regular stop on any journey westward.  I had spent a total of two and a half hours in and around the town, so it was time to move along.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>          My goal for tonight was Springfield, MO, the 3rd largest city in Missouri (after St. Louis and Kansas City).  I checked into my motel and realized I had left my bathing suit back in the motel room in Vandalia.  No more swimming for me.  I found some coffee brewing in the lobby and relaxed for a while in my room.  For dinner, I headed out to the Springfield Brewing Company in the downtown area.</B></I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="13b839260.jpg" border=0 width="825" height="550" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Being a Friday night, the </B></I><A HREF="http://www.springfieldbrewingco.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.springfieldbrewingco.com/"><U><I><B>Springfield Brewing Company</B></I></U></A><I><B> was hopping.  That car had "Route 66" as its licence</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>plate!  I started with the six-beer sampler, then ordered a very fine glass of pale ale and a delicious Veggie Flatbread.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>After dinner I walked around downtown for a while.  Springfield had a very active bar and fine restaurant scene.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>          Next day was Rendezvous Day, but not until 4 pm.  I had planned a visit and a walk at the Springfield Nature Center.  A lot of money has been spent at this place.  There is a large and beautiful nature building (as there was at Maramec Spring) and many short trails to explore.</B></I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="13ba4c4a0.jpg" border=0 width="844" height="586" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Lake Springfield at the </B></I><A HREF="http://mdc.mo.gov/areas/cnc/springfd/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://mdc.mo.gov/areas/cnc/springfd/"><U><I><B>Springfield Nature Center</B></I></U></A><I><B>.  I undertook a series of walks here totalling three miles.  This place is</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>a very good introduction to the Ozark region, and I'm glad that I stopped.  The center has free admission.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>            My final stop before Tulsa was Joplin, MO for lunch.  I dined downtown at the </B></I><A HREF="http://www.redonioncafe.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.redonioncafe.com/"><U><I><B>Red Onion Cafe</B></I></U></A><I><B>.  I ordered the Tomato Rhumba (sans chicken) and was glad I did.  After a very filling lunch I strolled downtown a bit before aiming Beorn for Tulsa.  I was close now, and heading for the airport.  Our Garmin Nuvi GPS had already saved me much time and hassle.  Instead of constantly having to pull over and read a map (or worse, reading while driving!), a destination was simply plugged into the little thing and the fastest way there was displayed visually, along with voice instructions.  The prearranged rendezvous time was between 3:30 pm and 4:30 pm at the airport.  I pulled into the Arrivals area at 3:45 pm.  Deb had  just appeared outside, her flight having arrived nearly half an hour early.  We found Amanda only seconds later, a bit further down the terminal.  Without even having to circle or park, all passengers were now on board and we were running ahead of schedule!  The trip proper was off to a perfect start!</B></I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="oklahoma.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Oklahoma Adventures"><U><I><B>NEXT PAGE</B></I></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>  <script type="text/javascript"> var sc_project=4981791; var sc_invisible=0; var sc_partition=57; var sc_click_stat=1; var sc_security="0f8f7595"; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.statcounter.com/counter/counter.js"></script><noscript><div class="statcounter"><a title="myspace visitor counter" href="http://www.statcounter.com/myspace/" target="_blank"><img class="statcounter" src="http://c.statcounter.com/4981791/0/0f8f7595/0/" alt="myspace visitor counter" ></a></div></noscript>   </B></I></div> </td> </tr></table></body>