Missouri Star Retreat and Girls Trip - Year Three Day 1

 The third week of July is here and that means that the trek to Missouri is about to go down.  I look forward to this trip all year long and am ready for so much fun.  Our car left retreat last evening and spent the night at my  house, thus we have Mister's help loading things up today.  Yes, the tubs are required - they house quilts to be dropped off and then hold purchases upon our return.

We are OFF!  Oh, that could be taken several ways, right?  Starting out with about 10 inches clear space.  Gonna be a great trip.

Finding new stops along the way each time (when one uses the same roads) can be challenging, but we give it a great shot.  On our way to Alma, AR, it is discovered that our other car is heading to Alma, OK.  ARGH.  Too many directions flying last night and I likely said the wrong thing.  They are changing direction but will not meet up in Altus and we'll see them in Eureka Springs tonight.  What a cluster.  

We've hit Atoka, OK and are ready for a walkabout.  There is a Civil War Cemetery where we can stretch our legs and learn a little something at the same time.  Perfect.  Atoka was named for Captain Atoka, Choctaw leader and signer of Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, 1830, providing Choctaw removal from Mississippi to Indian Territory.  Atoka County was organized in Choctaw Nation in1854.  The Atoka Agreement with U.S. to close Choctaw and Chickasaw governments was signed here in 1897.  Well, this should be an interesting and thought provoking stop.

This is part of the Butterfield Trail in Indian Territory (1857-1861).  On September 16, 1857, The John Butterfield Company received a federal contract to transcript mail from Missouri to San Francisco in under 25 days.  Semi-weekly trips began a year later.  Twelve relay stations lined the Butterfield Trail in Indian Territory.  Three were in present day Atoka County.  The Butterfield Trail permitted early trans-continental communication and was vital to settling the west, but it's impact was short-lived.  Service was halted by the Civil War (1861-1865) and afterward railroads transported mail more quickly, rendering The Butterfield Trail obsolete.

Near the trail is a Civil War Burial Site.  In the spring of 1862, confederate soldiers, members of Dawson's 19th Arkansas Infantry, were enroute along The Butterfield Overland Roadway from Fort Smith, AR, to Fort McCulloch, near Blue River where they were to join General Albert Pike.  As they traveled, measles swept through the regiment, causing some to become too ill to travel.  The sick were left at this middle, boggy outpost near a fresh water spring along with others to care for them.  Many died of the disease and are buried on this site.  Following the war, the site served as a local burial ground, so several early-day Atoka citizens are also buried here.

Spotting this, we wonder if it was a mail drop?  So many questions and since it is Sunday, the museum is not open today.

Naturally, Sherri must paly and she rings the bell.

There is an old church onsite as well, but not open.  Some peeks through windows happen.

They are not great, however.

Best I could get.

This was a great stop, but we are ready to hit the road again.  How old do you think this tree is?

Before we make it to the car, another items has caught someone's attention.

Our last view as we leave the area is this bell.  I think I liked the other one better.

Walking around is soooo tiring.  We've made it to Alma, so wake up, girlfriend.  It's time to be a tourist again.

I've been to Alma before and did some research on the place.  It is "The Spinach Capital of the World." The World?  Well, here is how the story came to be according to Roadside Stories:  "Alma, Arkansas calls itself the Spinach Capital of the World. Back in 1987, residents George Bowles and Wolf Grulkey were sitting around drinking coffee and doing some noggin scratching over the question of how to put their little community of 2500 on the map. Spinach is what they came up with. At the time, Alma-based Allen Canning Company canned way over half (65%, according to the paper) of all the spinach canned in the U.S., some 60 million pounds a year coming from the local area. And if you're the Spinach Capital of the U.S., then you're the Spinach Capital of the whole darn world, by gum. That was the thinking, and nobody argued but the Texans.

Well, one Texan briefly considered putting up a fight. It was Dale Barker, publisher of the Zavala County Sentinal that sent Bowles an unsigned postcard reading "Greetings from the spinach capital of the world -- Crystal Springs, Texas," thus announcing that they had since 1937 been and continued in 1987 to be, thanks to the local Del Monte cannery; and by the way THEY had a statue of Popeye, the cartoon patron of all things spinachy, in the town square and therefore they and not the hillbilly usurpers were the true and legitimate Spinach Capital of the World, thank you very much.

Bowles tried to stir up some publicity by fomenting a good-humored rivalry between the towns. He shipped a package of Popeye Brand spinach (Allen Canning is the official licensee of the Popeye trademark.). Also in the package was a bundle of Arkansas soil and a bottle of Arkansas water (Texas has for years tried to buy agricultural water from Arkansas.). Bowles never heard back from Crystal City. I have to conclude that they would have been embarrassed to contest Alma's claim.

Just to drive the point home, Bowles commissioned Alma's own eight-foot statue of Popeye and a four-foot base for the town square. Here it is across the street from City Hall, next door to the water company. The work was done in papier mache by Red Moore of Mountainburg, assisted by his wife, Barb. For his work, Red got $2400, about half of which was donated by Allen Canning. The statue was unveiled at the town's annual May Daze Festival and was shortly thereafter stolen, probably by kids from Alma High School (home of the Fightin' Airedales), just a hundred yards away. The sailor man was later recovered from a Wal-Mart trash bin.

After he was stolen again a year later, Bowles printed up a sign offering a $500 reward for information about the stolen Popeye. The sign now hangs in Kustom Kaps (run by Sharon Bowles) just a couple of blocks north of the statue. Popeye later turned up in the middle of the street, as if directing traffic

Enough was enough. And after all the wear and tear and two-years' exposure to the weather, Popeye was getting a little soft in spots. He was spruced up and given a hard shell of fiberglass, which served to make him much heavier and harder to steal. He was also chained to his base, where he has remained ever since."  

Gotta say, from the back - that's pretty cheeky.

This mural is also in the park.

Okay, we're hungry!  Yep, yep, yep.  Cindy has been in this area before and remembers a restaurant her parents took her to and it is still open.  Absolutely, let's go.  Wiederkehr Weinkeller Restaurant is built into the ground and also has wine cellars that can be toured.

We snag a table and take in the atmosphere.

True German goodness.

Outside, we check out the top for a minute or two.  Looks like a nice place to hang out on a less rainy weekend.

Somewhere in Arkansas.  So, so green.

Another stop to rest happens at a random pullout.  Crazy, right?  But, sometimes crazy nets you interesting things.  As we walk down to the nearby creek, this lovely butterfly shows off a bit. 

This is at the bottom of the trail near the pullout.

Yep, in she went.  Truth be told, so did I, but no proof.

We are right near an overpass.

There are cairns nearby.  I find peace in these and love seeing them.  I KNOW there is controversy surrounding them, but it doesn't change that I like them.

Over to the bridge - such clear water from the creek flowing in.

We found a cairn near the bridge and simply attempted to add to it.

Jen, Cindy, and I were successful.

Sherri, tried to add one before she left and sent the whole top tumbling off.

Before we left, I went to the previous cairn to see what Jen had added.  Nicely done.

Our final destination today is Eureka Springs and we have arrived with JUST enough time to make a dash to the Thorncrown Chapel before it closes for the day.  On a previous trip my sweetie and I visited this place and loved it so I thought the girls might enjoy.

This is what I wrote the last visit - From their website:  "Nestled in a woodland setting, Thorncrown Chapel rises forty-eight feet into the Ozark sky. This magnificent wooden structure contains 425 windows and over 6,000 square feet of glass. It sits atop over 100 tons of native stone and colored flagstone, making it blend perfectly with its setting. The chapel's simple design and majestic beauty combine to make it what critics have called "one of the finest religious spaces of modern times."

Since the chapel opened in 1980, over seven million people have visited this woodland sanctuary. Designed by renowned architect E. Fay Jones, Thorncrown has won numerous architectural awards such as the American Institute of Architects’ Design of the Year Award for 1981 and AIA’s prestigious 25 Year Award. Additionally, members of the American Institute of Architects placed Thorncrown Chapel fourth on its list of the top buildings of the twentieth century."

If you wish to see the previous pictures (of which I took many) and the chapel in fall, here is the LINK to my previous post.

Well, it's time to check into the house.  We have an AirBNB and ya just never know sometimes.  This one is unique, for sure.

There are more bedrooms, but the pictures really didn't turn out.

We have time for one more touristy thing tonight before dinner.  We are off to the Christ of the Ozarks statue.  Again, I have been here in the fall, at sunset and if you wish to see those pics, here is the LINK and it contains a lot more information.

Nearby, there is a little grotto - 

A piece of the Berlin Wall reads:  "And even if it goes through the dark, I am not afraid."

Dinner is at McGarity's Restaurant and Saloon.  We met up with Gwen and Frieda at the house and our little party is complete.  A pic is taken before we go in and I gotta say, it's a little creepy.

Inside is IRISH!

Welcoming committee of one.

Great little nooks and crannies.  Love this about Irish pubs.

Not such Irish food for me tonight, though.  Went with wings as I'm not used to eating three times a day and am just not too hungry.  Protein is always good though.

Once back at the house, four of us are off on another adventure.  Always one to follow directions:

It takes a bit of waiting - 

But we manage to get our cones.  Psst - they were not that great but still a sweet treat to end the day.  (Sherri's is damaged because she didn't want a waffle cone and he screwed up.  Didn't make a new one - just transferred it.)

We had to pose for the owner.  Yeah - perhaps pass this one by, but it is a FUN memory that will make the four of us laugh for years to come.

Well, we are calling it a day and just before I head to bed, I look in a cabinet and spot this.  Pretty cool?  Freaky?  Not sure, but it is not operational, just for looks.