Cruising Past Seventy: The Inner Journeys: OLA: Exploring from our 'Dock' in Pittsburg, Kansas

Monday, October 29, 2012

OLA: Exploring from our 'Dock' in Pittsburg, Kansas


Christ of the Ozarks, largest statue of Christ in the US and the 4th in the world
In the last post I wrote about one disadvantage of the RV cruising lifestyle. But, there is still that one big advantage: to address the lure of the places we hear and read about, to actually see them with our own eyes, and then to write about them from our own perspective. In the past 2 ½ months, not only were we able to visit with family and cultivate new friendships and celebrate but we were also able to make wonderful day trips from our base, the warmth of the Docks’ home.

the tree of hope in Joplin, rows of white trailers at the back
First, Missouri. Joplin (please see our first visit there by simply clicking  http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2010/07/coming-home-to-kansas-part-2.html), the city that was almost totally devastated by an EF5 tornado in May 22, 2011, the third to strike the city in 40 years, was our first stop. She still has the scars of that disaster. Long rows of white trailers provided by FEMA are still around for  those who are still homeless. Trees that lost their foliage but refused to fall were painted in living colors. One building, a former hospital, was totally wrecked and the next day we found out in the news that it had finally been imploded. 

a great view of Truman's Presidential Library
The other city is Independence, Missouri, part of the Kansas City SMSA, where Truman was born and lived. His presidential library and museum also houses his gravesite, resplendent with bright yellow flowers!!! Nearby, his home is now a National Historic Site and at the city plaza a statue of the man stands proudly. He made one of the most difficult decisions a US president had to make: drop the atomic bomb! 

a view of his burial site at the back of the presidential library
Kansas City Public Library
Second, Kansas. Whenever we visited Pittsburg, we always made it a point to go to Kansas City (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2010/07/coming-home-to-kansas-part-2.html ) but I didn’t know that one of the best designed buildings in the world was there! The Kansas City Public Library is designed like a shelf of books (I understand they selected thirty two of the best loved books of all time) for its façade. Books like The Republic by Plato, 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, etc. are memorialized as a giant book on this giant shelf. Even the stairs leading to the entrance doors were designed like books stacked on top of one another. What a most appropriate design for a library! But the trees that were planted many years ago are now practically hiding this gem. The City should really do something!
  
the very first Walmart: 5-10 Walton's in Bentonville, Atkansas
Third, Arkansas. We took the RV to Jay, Oklahoma, just two hours from the Docks for a week; it is one of those in our network of resorts. From there we explored parts of Arkansas that we had missed on our first visit there (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2010/07/stopping-by-little-rock-arkansas-then.html). Bentonville, Arkansas is the site of the Walmart Visitors Center and the giant retailer’s headquarters. The very first 5-10 discount store Sam Walton started stood there as it did in 1962. Even his old pick-up is displayed with a famous quote from him: ‘I just don’t believe in a big showy lifestyle. Why do I drive a pickup truck? What am I supposed to haul my dogs around in, a Rolls Royce? ’. 

his modest pickup truck
Sam walton's office, still the way it looked the day he died
The office which he occupied remains untouched from the day he died. It is an office that looks neat because Sam liked nothing more than management by wandering, being close to his ‘family’.  And now his idea is a business legend, operating 8,500 stores in 15 countries. It‘s the world's third largest public corporation, the biggest private employer with over two million employees, and the largest retailer with 2011 sales at $300 B.

inside the Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas
An hour from Bentonvile is Eureka Springs and that is where the Christ of the Ozarks stands atop the Magnetic Mountain, hands outstretched to minister to all, the fourth  largest statue of Christ in the world (behind Poland, Bolivia, and Brazil in that order) at 67 feet (and the largest in the US). It is on the grounds of the Passion Play Park that runs from April to October. I imagine that the park becomes very much alive during Easter and Christmas. Not far from this Christ is the Thorntown Chapel, with the structural woodwork designed like the crown of thorns. It was truly spiritual to be there. And just a few miles away is the Celestial Wind Chime, the largest tuned wind chime in the world hanging from a tree at 36 feet. Bill had fun swinging the pipes to create holy sounds.

Bill playing with the largest windchime in the world, at 36 feet, in Eureka Springs, Arkansas
the Clinton Museum in Fayetteville, Arkansas
But the big surprise of our Arkansas day trip was Fayetteville. There the very first home, and where they were married, Bill and Hilary Clinton owned while they were professors at the University of Arkansas. Though small at 1,800 ft., the home is absolutely beautiful in its stonework, just the right size for a small family, and well taken care of. The twist is that a colorful razorback is in front of their house, the mascot of the University of Arkansas, one of several pig projects in a fund-raising PIGshibition for the Ozark Literacy Council. Bill Clinton’s boyhood home is in Hope, Arkansas and his Presidential Library is in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Har-Ber Village, legacy of Harvey and Bernie Jones
 in Grove, Oklahoma
Fourth, Oklahoma. The campground where we stayed in Jay, Oklahoma is called the Pine Island RV Resort because the RV sites, including ours, overlooked the Otay Lakes with the Pine Island on it. Every morning and every night we look out to this peaceful scene of calm and cool waters providing comfort to those who temporarily make it home, like us. Then at nearby Grove, Oklahoma just ten minutes away there is a beautiful park dedicated by the couple Harvey and Bernice Jones for the enjoyment of the public. What a legacy they have left behind!

The End of the Trail at the National Cowboys Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Museu
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
The Female Cougar
We had been to Tulsa before (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2010/07/coming-home-to-kansas-part-2.html ). But this time we wanted to experience Oklahoma City, the center of 43 Indian tribes in the state, only three hours from Jay. The National Cowboys Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Museum features wonderful statues but ones we most liked were the ones entitled 'The End of the Trail' and 'The Mountain Cat'.. 


The Oklahoma City Bombing National Memorial
There we saw the grand memorial built for the victims of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building on April 19, 1995 that killed 168 people, including 19 children, and affected 324 buildings in 16 blocks. The two pillars at each end are marked 9:01 and 9:03 AM because the bomb actually exploded at 9:02. The water that stands between the two is shallow but shimmering and the rows of empty chairs alongside make for a moving cemetery. A nearby church that was almost destroyed erected a statue of a crying priest. It was the largest terrorist attack before 9/11.
the cemetery of empty chairs

the crying priest
These are some of the reasons we decided to do the fulltime RV cruising lifestyle. We had such a long bucket list that we felt we had to go at the pace we did. Living a dream is more passionate than mere living. But now we have to be more pragmatic, visit more of friends and family, and as you will read in the next post, take care of ourselves better as we advance in years.

     
       
   

33 comments:

  1. this is a great post! the pics are great and the info is really interesting. Especially liked the mountain lion, and the giant statue of Jesus is amazing.

    thanks again for taking me on your travels

    ReplyDelete
  2. thanks for the compliment. we had such a great time touring the four states around Pittsburg, Kansas!

    ReplyDelete
  3. great poіnts altogether, you simply gaineԁ а nеw гeaԁer.
    What woulԁ you suggest in regaгds to your ρost that yοu mаde some days іn the paѕt?
    Any ѕure?
    My web blog :: Thailand top 4x4 dealer

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for giving me the thumbs up! As for your q, a great vehicle is important! Couldn't load ur site from my smartphone tho. Will try on my laptop 2moro!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Why did I just discover this? It's a really wonderful blog Carol.

    I'm experiencing your RV trip through your posts, both entertaining and very informative. You've given me some ideas about taking my own RV trip some time in the future, and experiencing a different place at one's own pace. Meanwhile, I will continue following this and taking notes of the places Bill and you go to and the experiences you share.

    BTW, I'm also taking tips on how to improve my blogging skills.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is such a nice compliment. We are glad to be of help! BTW what is your blog so I can visit it too?

      Delete
  6. Hello sir, Are you ok? You have written a unique content.

    I definitely recognize with your website on rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com.It is a rich able website for all the people.We are getting different kinds of opportunity by this website .I always support this website . It’s possible to know about it and it will snow me fantastic techniques of this topic. This is very amazing post! I will preserve this blog page.As I want to talk about Looking for Ola Flowers? Visit Olaflowers.blogspot.com. There is always an occasion that requires flowers in everyone's lives. Find the best Ola Flowers today.

    Thanks For Only You Create That cute Article.


    ReplyDelete
  7. Ηello οutstanding ωebѕitе!
    Doeѕ running a blog like thiѕ take a laгge amount of work?
    I have no understanding of progгamming but I ωas
    hοping to start my οωn blog in the nеаr
    future. Αnyways, ѕhould you hаve anу suggestions or tiρs for neω blog oωnerѕ please shaгe.
    I undеrstand this is off subject but I just neеԁed to аsk.
    Аppreciate it!
    Also visit my blog :: MintedPoker Bonus

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just use blogger from google. No hassle. But I take about 8 hours a week yo put together rhe content. Thanks for the compliment!

      Delete
  8. Hі, I do thіnk yоuг website could be having broωser
    compаtibіlіty problems. When І tаke a lоoκ at уour blоg іn Sаfari, it lookѕ fine but ωhen
    opеning іn ӏntеrnet Eхplorer, it has sоme ovеrlapping
    issueѕ. I just wаnted to giνe уou a quick heаds up!
    Besіԁes that, fantаѕtic blog!
    Also see my web site > Read More

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks...but you have the exactly opposite experience as another person! So I really don't know what to do! Thanks anyway for your compliment!

      Delete
  9. It's an awesome article in support of all the web users; they will get benefit from it I am sure.
    Check out my web site - wphpn.org

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wοw that was odd. I ϳust ωrote an veгу long cоmmеnt but аfter Ι clicked submit my comment dіdn't appear. Grrrr... well I'm not writіng аll that over again.
    Anyhoω, juѕt ωanted to say superb blog!

    Ηеre іs my web-sitе :: RPMPoker Bonus

    ReplyDelete
  11. Useful information. Foгtunate me I dіѕcoverеd youг
    web sіte unintеntionally, and I am surрrised ωhy this
    acсident did not hаppened in aԁvance! I bookmarked іt.



    Feel free to suгf tο my wеbpage ... Americas Cardroom Poker Bonus

    ReplyDelete
  12. Greаt wοrk! That is thе type οf info that are supposeԁ to be shareԁ aсross the nеt.
    Shamе on the search engіnes fοr now nοt poѕіtioning this post uppеr!
    Сome on oveг and discuѕѕ ωіth mу
    web site . Thanκ уou =)

    Alѕo visit my ρage :: High Stakes Bonus

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi there to аll, the contents existing at thiѕ
    wеb ρage are really amazing for people expеrience, well, keер up the good ωork fellows.


    My wеb site: Red Kings Poker Promotions

    ReplyDelete
  14. Yοu actuallу mаκe it ѕeеm rеally eаsу
    tоgеther ωіth your ρresentation
    but I find thiѕ mattеr to be гeallу one thing
    that I belіeve I mіght nevег undeгѕtаnd.
    It ѕeеms tоo cоmplicatеd and extгemely vаst fοr me.
    I'm having a look ahead for your next post, I will attempt to get the grasp of it!

    Feel free to visit my web site :: Red Kings Poker Promotions

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's just a story of all our travels! Thanks for dropping by.

      Delete
  15. With hаvin sо muсh content and aгticleѕ
    do you evеr run into any issues οf plagorism oг copyгight violation?
    My blog haѕ a lоt of complеtеly unique content I've either created myself or outsourced but it appears a lot of it is popping it up all over the web without my permission. Do you know any techniques to help reduce content from being stolen? I'd certainly appreсiate it.


    My ωeb pаge: RPMPoker Promotions

    ReplyDelete
  16. I ԁο not even know how I ended up heгe, but I thought thіs
    pοst was great. I dоn't know who you are but definitely you are going to a famous blogger if you are not already ;) Cheers!

    Take a look at my page :: AmericasCardRoom Offer

    ReplyDelete
  17. Τhanks for shагing ѕuсh a nіcе thоught,
    pаragraρh іѕ fastiԁіouѕ, thats
    why i have rеad it completely

    Here iѕ mу weblog; СliсkSite ()

    ReplyDelete
  18. Unquеstiοnably bеlіeve that which уou
    said. Your favοrite justіficаtіοn
    seemed tο be on the net thе eаѕiest thing to be aware of.
    I say to you, I definitely get annoyed whіle peοplе cοnѕidеr wоrrіеs thаt theу plаinly
    dоn't know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top as well as defined out the whole thing without having side effect , people could take a signal. Will probably be back to get more. Thanks

    Here is my web site: MintedPoker Promotions

    ReplyDelete
  19. I pay a quick visit day-to-day some websites and websites to read
    posts, but this blog provides featur based posts.

    Feel free to visit my site; coloured dangers of white contact lenses for eyes

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hey There. I discovered your weblog the use of msn. This is
    an extremely neatly written article. I'll be sure to bookmark it and
    come back to read more of your helpful information. Thank you for the post.
    I'll definitely return.

    Have a look at my page :: how tall will i be quiz accurate

    ReplyDelete

Leave a Comment