Mountain View, MO

So, you may be wondering, why would the Rossmans stop in Mountain View, MO?  Well, first of all it was on our way westward and also because it is listed as one of America’s most Scenic drives and part of the beautiful Ozarks in the Mark Twain National Forest. 

Summersville Mill

The first stop was Summersville Mill.  This mill was constructed in 1886 as a grist mill.  It was restored in 2009.  It is currently open only for specials events so we only snapped a picture of the outside.  If interested in more information, see https://www.visitmo.com/summersville-mill.asp.   

I’ve never been in one place that had so many streams bubbling up out of the ground.  The Ozarks have the nation’s biggest number of springs.  The calmness of the surface of the Blue Spring belies the fact that it produces more than 85 million gallons of water per day.   There is was a cave nearby that we didn’t visit because we had Bear with us and it was far beyond too hot to leave him in the Jeep. 

Blue Spring

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alley Springs Mill

Alley Spring Mill was built around 1890 and used the waters of the spring to grist mill. The building is overseen by the national forest and we were able to go inside the mill to learn about early grist milling practices.  This was probably one of the most scenic of the mills we visited.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rocky Falls

We didn’t realize that Rocky Falls was a huge “locals” place.  When we arrived there, it was standing room only.  Kids and adults alike were romping in and around the falls on a day that reached nearly 90 degrees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were surprised at how much elevation the Ozarks have.  At one point my altimeter registered 1,100 feet.  Several times as we crested one of these “hills, we pulled over to take in the views of the sceneries below.  The views were breathtaking.  I can imagine that in the fall when the leaves change, this drive is probably bumper with people doing their annual “leaf peeping” (a northeastern term). 

A View from the Top

We are now staying in Nevada (pronounced ne-vay-da by the locals).  We will be visiting Harry S. Truman’s birthplace and Fort Scott. 

Until later, we wish you all well.

Katherine Rossman

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heading Back West

We ended up spending a little more than 4 weeks in Nashville. 

Family Photo

We started out with a private memorial at my father’s gravesite.  He passed away last March and is now situated in a plot next to my mother near Huntsville, Alabama.  We had an opportunity to visit with my sister Debbie several times and also to have dinner with my brother, Jerry and his wife Sandra.  I have Debbie to thank for pointing us to some of the more interesting sides of Nashville. 

I have to admit that my expectation of music on lower Broadway was a disappointment.  There were more honky tonks that you can visit in one night.  We chose to go early in the evening on one night and the places were already hopping.  My disappointment came in the lack of original songs that were played.  Basically everyone sounded the same. 

Corey Jackson at Tootsies

 

We did manage to go “The Listening Room” where we heard 4 song writers play/sing their songs.  The night we were there, it was four guys playing and singing their original songs.  No country here… more pop, rock and blues.  The most enjoyable part was hearing the writers talk about how they came to write their song.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ryman Auditorium Back Stage

We also visited the Ryman Auditorium and took the back stage tour.  The original use of the building was as a church.  Interestingly, this church was built with pews set up in a circle around the preacher who stood at center stage.  When the building was converted to be used for entertainment, they halved the building.  In essence, the back half began to be used for the back stage and dressing rooms were added.  Also, there was a second tier of seats added that the original church didn’t have.  I would highly recommend this tour if ever in Nashville.  It’s much more that just about country music.

 

 

Statue of Athena inside the Parthenon

We visited The Parthenon.  This is a full-scale replica of the one in Athens, Greece.  It was originally erected for the 1897 Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition.  It was only supposed to be a temporary structure for the exhibit, so it was made of wood lath, brick and plaster.  It eventually became an eyesore.  In 1920, the city authorized that it be reconstructed but with permanent materials and was reopened in 1931.  It is quite something to see.  I was most impressed with the structure of Athena inside on the upper level (the lower level is fine art).  The gold gilding contains 8 pounds of 23.75 carat gold.  This was also well worth the visit.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Historic House, Franklin, TN

Historic House, Franklin, TN

The town of Franklin will take you back in time.  We took a walking tour to see and read about the historic homes in the town.  I’m sharing just a couple that we found most interesting.  Plus the downtown was very quaint with a lot of shops and restaurants.  It reminded me a little of Bend except it had a town square in the middle, a very traditional Southern “thing”.

Before leaving Nashville KOA North, we got a rock chip in our new windshield we had just replaced.  Because of the heat, it immediately split and was not repairable. We had two replacements in less than a month, a very costly but unavoidable expense.

On July 20^th we uprooted and started heading west.  Our first stop was Paducah, KY.  Why Paducah?  Just across the board north of Paducah is a scenic byway in Illinois, Shawnee National Forest.  There we made stops at Garden of the Gods, Cave-in-Rock State Park that we could access due to the flooding of the Ohio River, and the Illinois Iron Furnace.

Garden of the Gods, Shawnee NF



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cave-in-Rock Path into the Swollen Ohio River

 

Illinois Iron Furnace, Shawnee NF

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Downtown Paducah

The downtown area is very active.  It has a great history museum and a number of good restaurant and pubs.  The town touts 3 breweries. We were surprised that most eateries had musicians play in the evening.  Most of what we heard was blues. On the last day we were there we visited Paducah Beer Werks and talked to the bar tender.  When we mentioned the blues he said that he writes and plays music when not tending the bar.  He told us that Paducah has quite a plethora of songwriters and musicians for a town of 25,000 people.

 

 

As of two days ago, we landed in Mountain View, MO at Ozarks RV Park.  But we’ll save this visit for a later date.

Until then, we wish all our friends well.

Katherine and Mike