Driving around...

We like to drive around and get to know our new home. Someone at one of the shops told us the Swinging Bridge was now open to foot traffic. Mom and Pa have lived in this area 7 years and this is the first they've been able to check it out. So we all went together.



That round building off in the distance on the cliff is the Truman Dam Visitors Center. The water is an arm of Lake Of The Ozarks.



Mom and Pa wander across the swinging bridge. This bridge used to be the only one across to Warsaw and CARS drove on it! They closed it to cars sometime in the 1960s. Its only recently been repaired and able to handle the tourists walking across to the other side.



I stood on the side and told Richard I was going to jump! Jumping on the bridge makes it swing. Pa and I tried to get it to really sway, but we could only get it to move a little. We need more volunteers. (grin).

Dam water!

The lake is experiencing a crisis from the flooding. The overflowing rivers have uprooted many trees and shrubs. As they float downstream, they are creating log jams. The Dam is working to clear the one that has stopped in front of it!



The log jam.



Truman Dam has opened the tailrace gates to allow water into Lake Of The Ozarks to bring Truman Lake's levels down.



Another shot of the water boiling out of the Tainter gates.



I have no idea why anyone would throw the rocks fisherman anywhere, but apparently casting them off the cliff walk is typical...or maybe not. Perhaps they meant that people shouldn't throw rocks off the cliff because fishermen were below?

Sac-Osage Rivers

The Sac-Osage Rivers meet in Mid-Missouri...this photo is where a Confederate Army camped on the island between the courses of the rivers. The island is mostly underwater due to the recent flooding.

Echo takes control

Echo is in control...of the remote.

The flooding of the Midwest has affected us minimally. However, in town it is much worse. This is the road to another small hamlet in our vicinity. The whole are is a small lake.

Congratulations, America!

Happy Fourth Of July!



And Happy Birthday to our contractor, Dave, too!

Glory Days

Last Saturday, Mom, Pa, Richard and I went to Glory Days in Clinton. The bad news was that it was raining buckets. The parade was cancelled and the amusement park was shut down. The good news was that people stayed away! We had most of the Square to ourselves. We specifically wanted to go to the Henry County Museum. The docent let us in TWO hours early - they had re-scheduled because of the parade and weren't supposed to open. She gave us a personal tour of the museum and it was wonderful.

The town of Clinton used to be a destination for sick people who came to the natural springs for health and rejuvenation. A whole industry was built around the health spas. Eventually the spring dried up although the park is still there.

The museum also house a collection of articles from opera legend Courteney Thomas, who's stage name was Vera Thomas. A few other famous Henry County residents included the man who invented Cheerios and the man who invented the cattle poke - a special rigid metal brace that held the cow's head still for various cattlework. There were displays of local pottery (We have a lot of clay around here!) and a military room with scenes of Civil War battles and various weapons.

The museum has grown since I've seen it last and I'll be taking guests who are interested in for a visit.

We had lunch and then we went to see Jim Raysik's personal collection of old automobiles. Raysik is the local Chevrolet dealer and has maintained his collection in the old DeSoto Building on the square. The building houses an old fashioned looking car parts area with bubble gum machines and a coke machine that dispenses glass bottles. Very period looking! Here I am in the arch of the museum quality Parts Department.



Our next stop was the Quilt Show put on by the Golden Valley Quilters Guild. We saw lots of lovely quilts and I even bought fabric from one of the dealers.

Our last stop was the Dorman House. This home is on the National Register and has been carefully restored with some of the family's heirlooms and with donated period furniture and textiles. Judge Dorman was a prominent figure in Henry County's early years.

We had a realyl great time touring the Square despite the rain.

Around the property...

The rain has brought plenty of water to our area. A creek runs on our property but for about 11 months out of the year the creek is dry. However, with all the rain we're flowing pretty good.



This is my little creek, which we call Flint Creek after the rocks in it...and our dog, Flint. Usually, it is about a foot wide with maybe 1-3 inches of water when it is flowing. As you can see, its about 6 feet wide and has about 5-10 inches of water!




Richard and I went for a walk to the bridge. Our creek empties into this creek, which then empties into the lake. This creek is usually running with about 2-3 feet of water year-around. At this point, it is about 6 feet deep.



This little entity (don't know if its male or female!) was scurrying across the road as we walked home. If he was in my house, I'd probably run screaming, then gather up my courage, find the biggest shoe I could and smash his sorry ass into oblivion. However, since he was not invading my space I let him live. Lucky spider. Stay away.




We walked past Mom and Pa's house and the deer were feeding. Most of the neighbors feed the deer corn out at the edges of their properties during winter. Because of the unusual weather patterns some of their normal spring and summer feeding grounds didn't produce their usual food. Everyone is still feeding deer for now. In years past Pa stopped feeding the deer about a month before hunting season so they'd stay away and not get shot in the yard by hunters. Hunting has greatly declined in this area so we have quite the little herd grazing.