CAVE CITY EXPEDITION!

 A friend told me she had passed this sign on Highway 167 in Cave City, Arkansas, dozens of times,  but never gave much thought to what it represented.  

Although the sign was not familiar to me, I had been wanting to attend the Cave City Watermelon Festival for a long time, and, therefore, was following their Facebook page, to get a schedule of events.  Seeing that a new event (a tour of Crystal River Cave) had been added in 2023, made me eager to learn more!

From the Facebook page, I learned that there was a limited number of tour spots available, and all of them had already been filled.

But thankfully, the owner of the property was so encouraged by the overwhelming response to the tour opportunity, that she and her family decided to offer more tours, even after the weekend of the Watermelon Festival had ended.  This photo is of Irma Carrigan, who became my contact person, for arranging to tour her amazing property. 

And much to my delight, some of the famous watermelons were still available in Cave City, on the late summer day of my visit! So, of course I bought one!

On the day of my tour, Irma's granddaughter, Lexi,  led the tour .  It was very helpful that she was wearing a voice amplifier microphone, so that everyone could hear, even though they were not right next to her.

We learned from her that the buildings were constructed in the 1930's, which is also known as the era of "The Great Depression", in the United States.

We learned that Hubert Clarence Carpenter , a native of Cave City, bought the land at the mouth of Crystal River Cave, in 1934, for the purpose of building a tourist camp.  The front of the tourist camp is shown in this photo, as one sees it when they are driving on Highway 167.  

As you can see from the vintage postcard below, the basic structure of the attraction has not changed.  The clue that the postcard was "vintage", was the fact that it only required a one cent postage stamp!  The description on the back reads, "Crystal River Cave Camp on Highway No. 11.  One of Arkansas' wonders.  The coolest place in Arkansas for a vacation to suit the whole family."  When one remembers that it was built before the arrival of air conditioning, its location near the entrance of the always chilly cave, may have contributed to the boast that it truly was the "coolest"  (temperature-wise) location for a balmy summer evening in Arkansas!  In fact, Crystal River Cave Camp is said to be the oldest motorcourt of its kind in Arkansas!

Mr. Carpenter put a local stone mason, named Prince Matlock, in charge of construction of the facility.  Mr. Matlock built the elaborate stone exterior of mainly local fieldstone.  If local stone also had quartz crystals, they were highlighted by use in arches, as in photo shown below.

The builders made sure this was a "top of the line" tourist camp, by making the cabins have an arch-framed carport, entrance lamppost, exterior chimneys, decorative parapets along the roofline, and patios with low walls:

There was also an outdoor, wood-burning fireplace, that could be used for cooking:

Records indicate that the builders paid locals 50 cents per 15-gallon washtub full, for the round geodes that came from nearby Sharp County.  Some examples of the larger of these geodes can be seen accenting the A-shaped roof line and door/window openings in this photo:

Smaller geodes were used to line the area under the arches:

Geodes are also prominent above this arch.  Note also, the rock arches constructed over the rain gutters.

I was amused at the makeshift device the tourguide used to point out particular features---the metal handle of a vintage flyswatter (now, most fly swatters are completely plastic!)  No high-tech laser pointer would seem appropriate for a historical structure almost a century old!  The guide is pointing out the crystal rock and geodes that the stone mason used to make one of several cross designs on the buildings.  The guide told us the builders were people with a strong Christian faith background.  

The photos below show two of several cross designs on the exterior.  Can you see how one of these crosses has a masonry outline, and one does not?   Thick wide mortar between stones was part of the style of some stone houses built in the 1930's in this area.  They were nicknamed "giraffe houses" because of their resemblance to the pattern seen on giraffe skin.                              

Here one can see that pieces of petrified wood were used in the masonry.  Notice also the large orange-colored round stone, incorporated into this column.  These are called "Prim Round Rocks" because of the Arkansas location where they are most commonly seen.  They are large, spherical sandstone boulders, commonly ranging in size from one foot to four feet.

The tour guide mentioned that according to legend, there is at least one rock from every state in the union, as it numbered in 1934.  Perhaps the builders wanted the guests to have a way to "connect" from what ever state they traveled from---like these arches "connect"one building to another, without serving any real purpose, other than a pleasing design to showcase more geodes!

The guide told us the designs behind, and on either side of her, were intended to look like flames, shooting out from a torch.

The guide also said that the Smithsonian Museum had offered to purchase one of the stones used in the masonry, because it was a face effigy.  They said they would replace the original with a duplicate.  However, at this time, the owners had turned down their offer.  Can you see a "face"?

The stone masons used their craft for things besides just buildings.  They made bird baths (now holding a fern), retaining walls, numerous arches, and chimneys.

In some cases, the stone masons used the natural features near the cave entrance to form a base for their arch:

Although indoor restrooms were not included in the original tourist camp lodging, some of them later on, had a restroom added by converting the small carport into a rest room.  Likewise, I was glad to see a men and women's restroom was available near the cave entrance, for those day visitors who came to tour the cave.  The restroom building can be seen to the left of the arch.

Besides the developer wanting to be sure his Christian faith was evident in the facility design, he also wanted to page homage to the Native American heritage of the area (Remember their highway entrance sign, depicted a Native American in full regalia?).  It is said that Native Americans used the cave for centuries as a gathering place, followed by pioneers who came to settle on the land.  The builders used arrowheads they found, in some of the exterior wall designs, such as this "sunburst" design on one of the porches. 

After the tour of the exterior structures, it was time to descend into the cave:

The tour guide relayed legends and facts about the cave to our group:

Although it is hard to see because the water is so clear, this photo below shows the Crystal River, as it flows through the lower room of the cave:

It is said that no one has ever found the beginning or the end of the Crystal River that flows through here.  However, the locals have observed that the river levels rise and fall in sync with the rise and fall of the Mississippi River, which is 150 miles away.  Notice the pipe submerged in the water?  In the past, the Crystal River supplied drinking water for the local school.  There is a historical advertisement from 1902, announcing that sales from a lemonade stand set up for the annual Fourth of July picnic, would be used to buy a windmill, to pump water from the cave.  History records also indicate that the room we were standing in served as the "town refrigerator", where many pioneer families stored their milk, butter, and perishables, to keep them from spoiling (this was before the advent of electric refrigerators). 

 

 It is doubtful that warning signs such as the one below were there during days of the pioneers, but if a visitor to the area in present day is interested in seeing the property, they will need to know it is not a completely wheelchair-accessible place:

Seeing all this fascinating rock work seemed like the perfect visual aid for one of my First Place 4 Health (www.FirstPlace4Health.com) memory verses that had the word "rock" in it. "Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock."  Matthew 7:24-25   The Crystal Cave Tourist Court is definitely built on a rock!

Although a cross design is significant to me because of my Christian faith, a cross design like the one below might be significant to a geologist, simply because of the numerous geological specimens within its borders.  I felt very

blessed to have the opportunity to visit this "geologists' delight", and it gave me "MILES OF SMILES"!  TRICIA

"LOST AND FOUND" EXPEDITION!

 

LOST AND FOUND DEPARTMENT

Have you ever lost something, and then, have to make a trip to the "Lost and Found" department of a business or park?  I certainly have---lots!

Hotel Del Coronado-lost Canon camera in California

Hiking stick in Shawnee National Forest in Illinois

Hiking stick in Redwoods National Forest in California

My iphone at Dead Horse State Park in Utah

Hiking stick at Buffalo National River in Arkansas

Branson Boat Ride-lost prescription sunglasses in Missouri

Life jacket at a Branson Water Park in Missouri

Special book of my husband's at Missouri airport

Winter cap that I lost while hiking in the Ozarks

Favorite sweater that I left at a restaurant somewhere Out West

Debit card provided by my medical insurance company

Monogrammed jacket that I left at a family member's home

Monogrammed Yeti travel mug that I left at a family members home(see below)

Lost car at a gigantic parking "field" at NASCAR track in Kansas

Purse and wallet that I left at an out of town home I was visiting

Lost my toddler's shoes, because I absent-mindedly hid them in the oven, when doing a quick clean up, for an unexpected visitor to my kitchen 

Lost my toddler's sneakers, when I accidentally left them at a cousin's house we were visiting (the funny thing about this incident, is that the very generous cousin returned them to my grandparent's house, stuffed with twenty dollar bills!)   Toddler's father joked, if we had known that was going to happen, we could have left his much larger cowboy boots, instead of tiny sneakers!)

Lost sunglasses that fell into the lake

Lost glove while scuba diving in Monterey Bay

Lost camera tripod

Lost homework that blew into the lake

Lost diamond ring at some still-unknown location

Travel mug that I left at a relative's house in California

Lost pearl ear ring down a sink at a hotel

Lost cloth diaper, accidentally flushed down the toilet (this was 50 years ago, when cloth diapers were still in use)

Flip phone that I left in car of a relative in California

Lost my car in a large parking lot, until a sympathetic stranger suggested hitting the panic button on the remote key to make the horn honk

Lost a twenty dollar bill out of my pocket while riding a two-person bicycle in Ponca, Arkansas

Lost an important reservation slip that blew out of my pocket while riding a motorcycle

Something that has helped me tremendously in finding lost items, is a tip given to me by a hard-core motorcycle rider, at a Christian Motorcycle Association meeting, over 30 years ago.  He shared with the group that he had just learned about "God's Telephone Number".  Of course, we were all intrigued to know what he meant.  He said another biker had told him about Jeremiah 33:3 that says, "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."  So, I started calling on God, asking Him to show me great and mighty things I did not know---like where the lost item was!!  And God answered those prayers so often, that I found I was praying very often about lost "things".  Then I was convicted about how often I was praying for lost "things", and how seldom I prayed for lost "people".  So I made a vow that every time I prayed to God about a lost item, I would also pray the name of a person I knew who was "lost", in that they had not accepted the forgiveness Jesus made available to them, through his death on the cross.   This magnet in my kitchen keeps the verse foremost in my mind:

NEEDLESS TO SAY, I HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF LOSING THINGS!  However, sometimes losing something, is the only way to receive something better:

When you see this photo of a burned tree, do you think "all is lost" for the future of this forest?

Yet, did you know that without fire, this beautiful grove of sequoia trees would not be possible? 

That is because the tiny little seed of the sequoia tree ( as shown in photo below) will not germinate, unless there is fire!

And did you know that if a giant sequoia tree had not "given up its life", this massive sculpture of Paul Bunyon could not have been created?

One of the memory verses for my First Place 4 Health (www.FirstPlace4Health.com) deals with the concept of "Lost and Found".  Matthew 10:39 says "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it."   It is the New Testament version of a "Lost and Found" verse!

My history with the phrase "Lost and Found" caused me to stop and take a photograph,
of the sign I passed, outside a church I saw in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina,  that said "Lost and Found" Church.   I "tongue in cheek" thought, "So THIS is where all those lost items can be found, that I have misplaced over a lifetime !  (Note:  OD stands for Ocean Drive, and not implying that this is an "odd church"!)

So even though I have lost many things, there is one "thing" it is good for me to lose---my tendency to want to control my life choices, versus allowing God to control my life choices.  When I choose the latter, it gives me "MILES OF SMILES" Tricia

Note: In our First Place 4 Health Bible study, called A Better Way, the translation used for Matthew 10:39 says, "If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it."  (NLT) However, with my career background being in Foods and Nutrition, every time I read that translation, my mind went down the thinking-about-food "rabbit hole" (see photo below).  Therefore, I looked for a different translation that did not have the word "cling" in it, and learned the Jeremiah Study Bible version. 

ARBOR DAY FARM EXPEDITION!

One definition of the word arbor is "a leafy, shady recess formed by tree branches and shrubs."  With that in mind, this photo could illustrate an arbor, with a paved path passing through it.    If you want to see multiple examples of arbors, I would encourage you to visit Arbor Day Farm (www.ArborDayFarm.org).

On road trips out west, I have repeatedly driven by the sign in Nebraska City (www.nebraskacity.com), pointing to the Arbor Day Farm, and the Lied Lodge at Arbor Day Farm.  In 2023, I finally had the opportunity to stop and explore the property on my return trip between California and Arkansas.  To be clear, this is not a hotel for people who have told fibs, or "lied".  If that were the case, there would never, ever be any vacancies, because everyone has told some sort of lie during their lifetime!  Rather, it was named after Ernst F. Lied, a successful Omaha automobile dealer who made millions by investing in Las Vegas real estate.  He established the private, nonprofit Lied Foundation Trust, in 1972, and today the Lied name has come to symbolize philanthropic generosity nationwide.  

Instead of a place for liars, Lied Lodge, is a place for those who support conservation.  It is located on the 260-acre Arbor Day Farm (www.ArborDayFarm.org).  Every dime the travelers spend here, goes toward the foundation's mission of planting, nurturing, and celebrating trees.  The lodge has 140 guest rooms, including two suites.  The decor in the rooms is nature-inspired, with the views throughout being scenic and soothing.

The different types of wood used in the interior are all identified, as is the wood used in the guest room decor.  The Timber Dining Room is made from butternut trees.

The upper section of the two-story lobby is made from pecan .  

One can enjoy the ambiance of a fireplace on either the lobby level, or the lower level.

      

The lofty lobby is a perfect space to highlight these beautiful chandeliers:

The souvenir items in the gift shop utilize wood and sustainable materials, as opposed to the items one usually sees in a hotel gift shop:

Wherever your eye looks, one sees creative use of wood in the decor, such as these stackable wood chairs seen in the Conference room. 

Each chair is a work of excellent wood craftsmanship.

Although Arbor Day is a secular holiday, there is no denying that trees are indeed "The Gift of God".  

The Lied Lodge has a sustainable type of heating and cooling system, called biomass. The biomass used here, utilizes wood chips sourced from old wooden shipping pallets.     Guests can take a self-guided tour of the plant, which is open until 7 pm every day.  In addition to that tour,  the Fuelwood Energy Plant Gallery is a walk-through interactive exhibit, to learn about the process of turning trees into energy.

Some visitors have described their visit to Lied Lodge, as having a "camp" feeling.  It could be that singing campfire songs and sitting around an outdoor firepit enhances those feelings! The shrub-like planting between the firepit and the taller trees in the background is a 16-acre hazelnut grove.  It is an experimental plot where researchers are trying to develop a hybrid hazelnut variety that can adapt to a variety of harsh environmental conditions.  Hazelnuts are a good crop to study, because they are eaten by both wildlife and humans. 

Likewise, outdoor dining and picnicking can be enjoyed on the spacious upper porch at the Lied Lodge.

The white house that can be seen across the lawn and within the adjacent woods, is the original home of the Morton Family.  It was here in 1872 that the idea for the first Arbor Day began.  It was started as a way to encourage people everywhere to plant trees.  On the very first Arbor Day. nearly one million trees were planted in Nebraska.  The Morton home is now part of the Arbor Lodge State Historical Park and Mansion, and is under the direction of the Arbor Day Foundation.  It consists of 72 acres and includes the 52-room historic mansion (designed to look like the White House in Washington, D.C.).  Also one can visit an arboretum, Italian terraced garden, log cabin, carriage house, walking trails, plus more than 200 varieties of lilacs. It is possible to follow trails and sidewalks from Lied Lodge over to the state historical park.  J. Sterling Morton came to Nebraska City in 1855.  He and his wife, Caroline, were lovers of nature, and Morton served as Secretary of Agriculture under President Grover Cleveland's administration.  It was in 1872 that he was instrumental in establishing the annual tree planting day, Arbor Day.  The name for the Morton Salt Company, also relates to a descendant of the same family.

A VARIETY of walkways are available, and most are wheelchair accessible.

One of the connecting trails between the Lied Lodge and the historic Morton mansion, has many types of surfaces, and passes through a variety of habitats.

 

This boardwalk goes through a wetlands area,and using the provided hand rail, the rail would even be suitable for guiding a blind person.  The photo below with the railing,  is the image I am using for one of my First Place 4 Health (www.FirstPlace4Health.com) memory verses, that says, "We walk by faith, not by sight." from 2 Corinthians 5:7. 

Another Scripture verse that came to mind as I was strolling through this forest, was Isaiah 61:3 that says, "They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD, to display His splendor."  The "oaks of righteousness" phrase, is a metaphor for living in a way, that pleases God.

This visit to the Nebraska City Arbor Day Farm, increased my desire to live my life so I can be counted among the "Oaks of Righteousness", and it gave me MILES OF SMLES!  Tricia