Fall Foliage Train Ride

Last Wednesday, November 10th, Danny and I boarded the Arkansas Missouri Train for a Fall Foliage tour or the Mountains between Springdale and Van Buren.

Upon arriving to exchange our free passes into tickets, the ticket manager asked how I had received the tickets. When I told her that I won the grand prize drawing at a Circle of Life Hospice Volunteer Luncheon, she said, "Well, I'll upgrade you to First Class." Wow! Those tickets are $90 each! What a pleasant surprise and what a great time we had!

The first class car had tables with table cloths and comfortable chairs to sit in. Larry Long, the conductor was attentive to our needs and brought complimentary soft drinks and snacks to us. He also was full of funny stories and gave us two complimentary 5 x 7 photos of us.

Here's a shot Danny took as I returned from a trip to the restroom.... that was a different experience as the train sways and dips.

This is a photo a fellow passenger took for us. We sat side by side facing forward so that we could both see the same scenery and not get motion sick.

We traveled over three wooden trestles .... one was 125 feet over the valley and very long. Our good friend's dad helped build that bridge years ago. He was caught out on the trestle once when the train was coming.... thankfully, he was able to get on one of the extension areas to avoid being hit by the train. Those extension areas were built to hold water barrels in case the train's cinders popped out and started a fire as it crossed over the trestle.

The photo above is of I-540 as we passed under it.

Here's the depot in Old Van Buren. We spent almost 2 1/2 hours exploring antique stores and shops in Old Van Buren. I almost bought a set of Campbell's soup mugs and sandwich plates. They were so cute, but I don't really have room for them nor do I need them.

We had lunch at "Sisters" restaurant. Loved the Tuscan decor, and the plate lunch of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and green beans was tasty. We split a huge piece of coconut pie.... YUM! SOOOOOO GOOD!!

Here's a shot of downtown Old Van Buren. Quaint!

The sun came out some as we traveled home and provided opportunities for a few neat photos.

Larry, the conductor, took me out on the last car's porch to take a picture of the tunnel as we exited it. Boy, it sure was dark for a long time as we passed through.

After an 8 hour trip, we arrived back in Springdale around 4:00 PM. I must say this train ride was a real pleasure to me. I just loved the experience and would recommend it to all. I think going first class made it so much more enjoyable, and I don't know it would have been that good if we had been riding in the coach car. Thanks, Circle of Life Hospice for this pleasant day!

Now, Danny and I are at home waiting, waiting, waiting for Courtney and Keith's call that baby Maggie Lynn is being born. Our next trip will be to Memphis for her birth.... so until then, see ya!

Andy Williams' Christmas Show in Branson

There's just no place like Branson! On November 8th & 9th, Danny and I met Carolyn and Les for a short overnight trip to see to the "Andy Williams Christmas Show".




I know, I know, he's 83 or 84, but he still has a super show and the four of us so enjoyed it that we're hoping to make it an annual trip.... that is until Andy isn't able to perform anymore. The songs were old and sweet.... the film clips from the past were touching.... the variety acts were amazing and entertaining. Maybe you have to be of a certain age to really enjoy it, because there were very few there who were younger that we are. That's OK though....... we could at least understand what was being sung, and the music wasn't so loud that we needed ear plugs!!



The grounds of his theater are expansive and beautifully decorated for the holidays! Here are the four of us just before going into the theater.

Inside, there were beautiful Christmas trees everywhere and poinsettias galore.

The stage curtain depicts a lovely snowy scene to get you in the Christmas spirit. The auditorium is huge... it will hold over 2000 people. I do believe that every seat was filled, and this was just one night of the Christmas season. You do the math.... our seats (which weren't premium seats) were $43.50 x 2000! Wow!

Waiting for the show to begin.

Here's Andy! He still has a lot of charisma, can tell some funny stories as well as sing wonderfully, and he received a standing ovation at the end

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We stayed over night at Brookwood Inn which serves delicious peach and blackberry cobbler, cookies and ice cream each evening from 9 - 11 following the shows. We had just a couple of "small" samplings before turning in for the evening.

Tuesday morning after breakfast, we shopped in the stores in downtown Branson. At the Five and Dime Store, we found a three prong towel rack that Carolyn had been searching for, and I found a cute little tea bag/spoon rest that I had been searching for. You wouldn't believe all the stuff in that store!

Here we are standing before a mural on one of the downtown stores. Just before we parted ways we chowed down on Krispy Kream Doughnuts, YUM! Great trip!

Love these two great friends! So thankful we get to spend time together even though we live so far apart!

On October 23 Danny and I hit the road again after being home 4 days! This time we drove to Tyler, Texas to attend West Erwin church of Christ's 125 Anniversary and to visit with our dear friend, Linda.

We arrived around 4:30 and met Linda at Jones Elementary School where she is the librarian and media specialist. She wanted to give us a tour of their fabulous new school! This place is as nice as most universities! The library was equipped with an online catalog, a number of computers for research and a media room where computer classes are taught by Linda using a computer generated "Smart Board." They even have a conference room where Jones' students can have live interchanges with students from other countries. Wow! Things have changed since I was a part of Tyler ISD!!

We spent the evening with Linda and her mom who cooked us a delicious meal. I gave them some laughs as I tried to walk a tight rope while playing on Wii. I never have been called graceful, but this was pitiful! We so enjoyed catching up with each other and staying in her home overnight. Thanks, Linda, for your hospitality.

October 23 - In the late afternoon we met Carolyn and Les for supper at Jason's Deli! We enjoyed the meal in spite of tornado warnings for that very area. Fortunately, the tornado passes us by. We followed Les and Carolyn to Silver Leaf Villages (at least I think that's the name of the resort) and stayed with them on Saturday night in their timeshare condo. Good friends to put us up for the night, right? Thank you, Les and Carolyn for hosting us for the evening. Does this sound like we are "free loaders"?

October 24 - Here are some pictures of the 125th Anniversary of West Erwin.

Elmer is still greeting members and visitors alike at the door just as he did when we lived in Tyler. We were so encouraged to see so many of our beloved Christian friends and be blessed with a wonderful worship service of over 800. Jay Lockhart presented another uplifting lesson and the singing was beautiful. The fellowship meal following services was delicious (Brisket and Chicken with all the fix'ns) and gave us another opportunity to visit with our friends.

Love these folks! They mean so much to us!

Maggie, Jay Lockhart, and Cathy Scroggins

Ray and Carolyn Wommack

Julie Ables, Jane and Bob Clemmons!

Jay Lockhart was the minister at West Erwin for around 20 years... maybe longer.

As usual, we were some of the last to leave following lunch.... just so hard to leave those who have meant so much to us through the years.

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Abilene, Texas

As planned, we drove to Abilene and arrived on Sunday evening in time to pick up Jason at the University church of Christ building. He was just returning from a weekend youth retreat. Was he tired? You bet! Wouldn't you be after planning, orchestrating the logistics, and leading two retreats (Friday/Saturday for Junior High & Saturday/Sunday for High School) in one weekend? So proud of our son and glad he has chosen to serve our LORD as a youth minister.

Even though we love Jason and Karla so much, you wouldn't know it from the pictures that we took.... none of the two of them and lots of Kaila and Alexa. Go figure....

Any way, here are a few favorite pictures of us with the grands!

Look who went to sleep!

Kaila working on her chair! She's such a doll!

Alexa.... now is she beautiful? She's beginning to interact with you and is such a treasure!

Nana and the Grands, or maybe I should say the wiggle worms! Thought I was going to drop one of them before Papa could take the picture.

Papa and the Grands... Kaila had an ear ache and needed some TLC. Papa could sure help with that!

We had so much fun staying with them and relishing Karla's great cooking! Papa and I even babysat and gave Jason and Karla a chance to get out for lunch one day. On Wednesday morning we headed for home. It was hard to say goodbye knowing that we won't get to see them in person until Christmas. But talking to them on Face Time is wonderful and helps keep us in contact with our children! So glad that Jason & Karla and Courtney & Keith all have the ability to Face Time now! Make the distance so much more bearable....

Well, so long until I post the next blog...

Fall Foliage Adventure

There's just something deeply satisfying about a walk along a forest trail among golden falling leaves and hearing wind rustle through leaves!! That's exactly what Danny and I did this past weekend! We joined our good friends, Mike and Linda, for another RV trip in southeast Oklahoma.


We arrived Friday afternoon and found that we had adjoining sites at Secluded Acres RV Park just north of Broken Bow, OK and across Highway 259 from Beaver Bend State Park. The sites were tree shaded and level..... always a great advantage when RVing! After setting up camp, the four of us drove through the state park to compare the RV sites and to see what fun activities were available for the weekend.


Linda prepared taco soup for dinner that evening, and then we sat around the camp fire catching up on news of our families.... We realized that the four of us have taken 5 vacations together... to Pensacola Beach, Washington D.C., a Caribbean Cruise, to Branson, and now to camp in Oklahoma. Hope there are lots more in store for us!


Saturday morning we drove to Talihina, OK, to begin our drive along the 54 mile long Talimena Trail, which ends in Mena, AR, thus the combined names to make up "Talimena". What beauty! There were 26 "Vistas" to see mountains and valleys! We stopped at most of them to take pictures and enjoy the views.

At one stop we took a 0.3 mile hike to find an outcropping that had gorgeous views (or so the brochure said)..... I was the one who insisted that we hike, so I was kidded quite a bit, when we never found the outcropping and lost the trail completely.... we looked pretty funny tromping though the woods! Glad we could hear traffic from the road.

Around 3:00 PM we came to Queen Wilhelmina State Park and Lodge. The view from this mountaintop lodge/restaurant was spectacular.

We ate at the restaurant and then hiked to Lover's Leap. Below is Danny showing his romantic side and his "Undying Love" for me by carving our initials (along with many other couple's carvings) in the platform's railing.

The second half of the mile long trail was pretty rugged, but we huffed and puffed until we got back to the lodge.

Linda and Mike climbing over the boulders.

Here's a shot of me that Danny snapped on the trail.

We discovered an old black and white police car once we reached the trail's end in Mena, AR.

Sunday morning we drove to De Queen, AR, to worship with fellow Christians. It was an uplifting service and the members were very friendly. After services we ate at a great Mexican food at a local restaurant before heading back to our fifth wheels.... about 30 miles away. We passed the restaurant below and Danny thought the name "Dairy De Queen" was hilarious.... what do you think?

Sunday afternoon was filled with state park activities. There was a great wood carving/timber museum that gave us insight into how people of that area made a living and lived. Here are a few pictures of us enjoying the museum together.

This sign made me really appreciate God's gift of the tree.

Here's Danny learning about the timber company's community and the work that was accomplished by the CCC back during the depression.

Here's a sample of wood carving and wood working that I found especially amazing.

This 100 year old log cabin showed the way a family lived back then. Pretty meager and there were lots of daylight showing through the cracks in the walls and floor. We are a blessed people who now live in America!! Don't we look like pioneers?

Mike and Linda rested on a rustic bench while Danny actually sharpened his pocket knife on a grinding wheel that was on display.

Following the museum tour, the four of us went on our third hike of the weekend. The trail wandered beside a stream and through the woods. The falling leaves, huge rocks, a hollow tree, a covered bridge were so pretty, and it was refreshing and soothing to our spirits.

One of many beautiful trees on the trail.

The hollow tree we found.

Although this canoe trip wasn't Danny's favorite activity, I found it absolutely wonderful!! The bluffs along the river went straight up and the water was soooo still! The bluffs and trees were reflected in the river as though it were a mirror.

I wasn't much help in guiding or paddling the canoe, and Danny was concerned that we would capsize. The water wasn't deep at all.... in fact there were lots of huge boulders just under the surface. We saw a few people fishing, but don't think they caught anything.

As Danny was taking his life jacket off, he accidentally knocked his sunglasses into the river. The water was so clear and shallow that he was able to reach them.... YAY!

We drove to the dam to take a look at Broken Bow Lake. Here'sa picture of the lake to show you how beautiful and peaceful this area is.

Broken Bow Lake

By this time, it was late afternoon, so we headed for the RV park. Danny grilled some great hamburgers and hot dogs for our supper. We ended the day talking around another camp fire and heard a coyote in the distance.

Great, Great weekend! What beautiful weather we had! Thank you, Linda and Mike, for planning this trip for us! Let's make it an annual event!

Here's a photo of Danny and Mike getting our fifth wheel unhooked and ready for the trip home. We took off around 10:00 AM on Monday morning and arrived home by mid-afternoon.

Until our next trip, God's blessings to you.