Journeys With Judy

Thursday, June 21, 2012

MO visit with family

May 17^th, 2012

I arrived at my niece’s house in MO on the 17^th of May after five months of not staying in one place more than two weeks. I was looking forward to just resting and re-cooping from all my dawn till dusk photography and photo editing late into the night.
Well my visit turned out to be almost as hectic as the prior five months. This was my longest visit with family in the last 45 years. I think we tried to make up for lost time with all the planned and unplanned activities. We had a wonderful time visiting near and not so near natural and historical locations. And of course we shared lots of meals – lots and lots of meals.
One of the parks we visited was Trail of Tears State Park. If you ever find yourself in Southeast MO I highly suggest you pay a visit to the visitor center at this park. There is no entrance fee to the park or visitor center. There is a fee for camping. The campground is on the banks of the Mississippi River with hookups. The visitor center has a 20 minute movie explaining the story of the “Trail of Tears”. It is very well done and brings a personal touch to the story by following the lives of a Native American grandfather and his granddaughter who were forced from their homes then forced to march hundreds of miles to a relocation area. Many Native Americans died during this atrocity. We also visited Taum Sauk mountain, the highest point in MO. We spent a day walking around the huge pink granite boulders at Elephant Rock State Park. We visited museums and nature centers.

This and the next couple of posts will contain photos of my visit.

Family Portrait Taken at Nieces House
Great Niece and Great Great Niece are missing from this photo.

Great Niece Heather with her daughter Kaleena Mae
Kaleena has both hands. I used my iphone and the shutter speed was slow.

Beauford Covered Bridge

Bollinger MIll and Beauford Covered Bridge

View From Highway 61 MO

Scene on Highway 21 MO

Elephant Rocks State Park MO

Niece Marie at Elephant Rocks State Park

View From Taum Sauk Mountain
The highest Point in MO 1,772 ft

Tug Pushing Bardges up the Mississippi River
Looking North from Trail of Tears State Park

Tower Rock has been carved by the Mississippi River. It has a Oak, Pine, Hickory, and Beech forest growing on the limestone tower. It is located near Cape Girardeau MO.

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Branson 3rd Edition

May 16^th, 2012

While in the Branson area I visited the College of the Ozarks. This is a four year fully-accredited college. The school was established for students of both sexes who are academically capable but financially unable to enter a public or private college. Each full-time student works at one of 80 campus jobs. The remaining portion of the student’s expenses are made up of scholarships provided by gifts and contributions by donors. The college has a beautiful lodge were some of the students work. Hotel management is one of the areas of study. Other students work at the grist mill that sells fresh ground cornmeal and whole ground grain to the public. There are agricultural jobs and jobs selling fresh canned jams and jellies to the public. During harvest times students sell fresh vegetables. No graduating student leaves the college owing any money to the school.
And for you birders it’s a great place to bird watch. The campus has several water features. www.cofo.edu
Here are a few photos from around the campus.

Keeter Center and Mabee Lodge - College of the Ozarks

Keeter Center and Mabee Lodge at the College of the Ozarks

Water Wheel at the Edwards Grist Mill at College of the Ozarks

Edwards Grist Mill - College of the Ozarks

Flower Garden - College of the Ozarks

Williams Memorial Chapel - College of the Ozarks

School Truck at the Tractor Museum - College of the Ozarks

John Deere Tractor in the Tractor Museum - College of the Ozarks

Branson 2nd Edition

May 15^th, 2012

One of the things I enjoyed while in Branson was a trip to the Butterfly Palace. This is an environmentally controlled building with butterflies, plants, birds, and reptiles from around the world. Here are a few examples.

Butterfly 1

Butterfly 2

Butterfly 3

Butterfly 4

Basilisk
Green basilisk lizards can avoid danger by darting across water. They have specially designed feet and a unique running style that keeps them from sinking.

Bell's Forest Dragon from Southern Thailand

Honey Creeper Male from the Amazon

Honey Creeper Female from the Amazon

Tropical Flower 1

Tropical Flower 2

Branson 1st Edition

May 10^th , 2012

I pulled into Branson MO on the 10^th of May. I realize Branson is known for its’ entertainment but I was more interested in the natural resources and history of the area. I visited the new visitor center at Table Rock Lake. This is a must see for anyone visiting the area. It’s three stories tall and one side of the building is all glass. It is a certified green building. The views of the lake and damn from all three floors are wonderful. There are also educational displays inside the building that teach about the natural history and cultural history of the Ozarks. The gift shop is well stocked with books about the plants and animals of the Ozarks and the people who have called the Ozarks home. I visited some of the camping areas in several of the state and Army Corp of Engineers parks in the area. They were all very well maintained and included some sites with full hookups. Some of the sites may be reserved through http://www.reserveamerica.com/.

I took several back road trips during my stay and enjoyed the familiar sweet smells of the MO woods. The woods were full of migrating birds and the usual mix of year round tweeters. The trees were so full of foliage I heard many more birds than I saw. I took a duck tour that included a ride on Table Rock Lake in our amphibious vehicle. We shared the lake with the Showboat Branson Bell. What a beautiful site to see a magnificent old paddle wheel showboat out on the lake.
I did attend two entertainment venues while in Branson. I had a wonderful BBQ chicken and brisket dinner at the Sons of the Pioneers show. Yes that is the group that Roy Rogers sang with and they sang all the old songs. I also attended the “Shepherd of the Hills play”. The play is based on the best selling novel The Shepherd of the Hills, Harold Bell Wright's epic story of love, loss, power, hardship, and the true meaning of life. He wrote the book in 1907. This book put the Branson area on the map as many people who read it wanted to travel to the area where the characters in the book lived. The play is performed in an outdoor arena and includes livestock and horse drawn buggies. Horses are ridden at full gallop across the stage. It’s a very moving story and a must see for anyone visiting the area. Here are a few images from my time in the Branson MO area.

Visitor Center at Table Rock Lake Branson MO

Table Rock Lake Branson MO

Showboat Branson Bell on Table Rock Lake

Down River from the Table Rock Lake Damn

Old Matt's Cabin - Featured in the book The Shepherd of the Hills by Harold Bell Wright - Branson MO

Stage where The Shepherd of the Hills play is performed - Branson MO

Sons of the Pioneers - Branson MO

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Potato Couple

So I was leaving TX on my way to MO via AR. I was taking secondary roads and was just about to enter Kountze TX when I spotted this couple on the side of the road holding a sign that read "FRESH POTATOES". They were soooooo very cute I did a U-turn with trailer in tow right in the middle of the road and parked on the shoulder. They looked at me like I was crazy. I looked at the little red potatoes they were selling and ask how much. They said 30 cents a pound unless I wanted a bushel. Then it was less. I bought 2 pounds for 60 cents. They should be great for breakfast sliced up and fried with a big ole cut up Bermuda or Vidalia onion.
Yum can't wait.
I ask them if they knew what facebook was. They didn't. I ask if they were familiar with the Internet. They had heard of it. I ask if I could take their photo and put it on facebook and the Internet. They thought that would be OK. So here is my cute little potato couple.

Potato Couple in TX

Monday, May 7, 2012

Rookery on High Island TX

Before I left the Bolivar Peninsula I took a trip to the Rookery at High Island. This Rookery is located on a small island in a lake at one of bird sanctuaries in High Island. It's a perfect place for the birds to nest away from their natural predators. Because Hurricane Ike destroyed so many of the trees that the birds use for nesting the caretakers of the sanctuary have supplemented the remaining trees with wooden structures and platforms for the birds to build their nests on. I had such a good time watching the egrets with their young and how the young would interact with the parents and each other. They would really do bodily damage to one another while competing for the food their parent would provide. It was hard to watch at times.
The Spoonbills were late arriving this year so they are just now building nests and laying eggs. I only found one Tricolored Heron nest with an egg - one big blue egg. There is no way these photos can convey the experience of the sights and sounds of a large egret/heron rookery. If you ever get a chance to visit a rookery I suggest you give yourself a lot of time to just sit a take it all in.