COTTER VICTORY ARCH EXPEDITION!

I had the wonderful blessing of participating, for the 18th year in a row, in an event called the White River Marathon for Kenya, ( www.whiterivermarathon.com ), and I was an entry in the 5K division:

The race started near the high school in Cotter, Arkansas, and an electronic device was set up to record those who started:

The race director held a small USA flag while a talented vocalist sang the national anthem, followed by a prayer, spoken by pastor David Johnson.

For the last several years, I have sought out the Johnsons at the race so we could get a picture together, which has become a pre-Thanksgiving tradition, since the race is held the Saturday before Thanksgiving:

After the start , the runners are pictured "fleeing" the starting line and heading for the highway intersection.  I was able to photograph their start, because the 5K started after the marathon runners start:

I was not participating in this event to get a first or second or third place prize:  Rather, I was participating to show my gratitude for being able to walk at my age; so, I decided to enjoy the journey, by photographing some of the pretty fall colors I saw along the trail:

The date for the 2022 event is Saturday, November 19, so start your training now, so you will have a measurable goal, to work toward!

For those who do not know, "5K" stands for five kilometers, and is the equivalent of 3.2 miles.  In contrast, a marathon is 26.2 miles. 

Here is a photo of a remarkable woman, (Karen S), that I originally met in my First Place 4 Health class.  It has been inspiring to watch her journey toward better health, and this was her first time to participate in a 5K event!

The race advertised that it would have the world's largest victory arch, because finishers would go under the arch of the historic bridge at Cotter, Arkansas. 

 

 

I wanted to make sure I got a photo of this concrete"victory arch", because this is the site where my parents had their first "date" ( a Lead Hill school field trip), back in the 1930's. 

After I finished the race, my insurance agent, who lives in Harrison, came up to congratulate me (he had finished a long time before me!)

Later, I was able to get a photo of him, his wife, and son.  What a joyous occasion to have your family be your running mates!

When you have completed the race, you get to look at the activities beyond the finish line:

One of the first things you receive on the other side of the finish line is your necklace medallion to signify you completed the event:

If you were designing a "victory arch" to signify what you are striving for in this life, what words would you write on your finish line?  I started meditating on this question, as I was trying to learn one of my First Place 4 Health (www.FirstPlace4Health.com) memory verses that says, "But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness."  I Timothy 6:11

 A company that manufactures inflatable arches drew up this model of an arch that illustrates what our memory verse says we should pursue:  righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.

I want to flee from the bad things listed in first Timothy, and instead pursue the qualities shown on this First Place 4 Health victory arch:.  Doing so will give me "Miles of heavenly smiles"!  Tricia

GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER EXPEDITION!

This is the sign you will see as you make the turn into the George Washington Carver National Monument ( www.nps.gov/GWCA ), near the small community of Diamond, Missouri:

 

The GWC (George Washington Carver) Museum building, and other sites at the National Monument, are located on the property that originally belonged to Moses Carver, near the town of Diamond, Missouri.  The town gets its name because the plot of land where it is located was (roughly) the shape of a diamond. 

Once inside the building, you will see this engraved plaque, that quotes the Congressional Hearings that established the monument.  The establishment of this particular U.S. National Monument is significant for many reasons, including the fact that it was the first National Monument ever established to honor an African American. 

There is also a bulletin board near the entrance that gives the most up to date info on visiting the facility:

The museum tells about his history, includes many exhibits, and so I was very thankful to be given a tour by the museum's director, who was very helpful in pointing out the most significant artifacts that we could concentrate on seeing, during our somewhat brief visit here.  

As you might expect, this is a fantastic destination for school field trips.  The many interactive exhibits, artifacts, items of nature (hidden in drawers and behind doors) and "touchable" objects, help keep up the interest of those with short attention spans.

The Jesup Agricultural Wagon is considered one of GWC's greatest contributions to the Cooperative Extension program at the Tuskegee Institute.  Developed in 1906, it was a mobile classroom that allowed Carver to teach farmers and sharecroppers how to grow crops, such as sweet potatoes, peanuts, soybeans, and pecans.  These crops were being encouraged at the time, because the soil in the South had been depleted from the over-planting of cotton.  A photo of the wagon is below:

 

The benefits of the Cooperative Extension mobile teaching methods in Alabama, were adopted by other states, including my state of Arkansas. My grandparents who farmed in north central Arkansas had raised cotton at one time, but then tried their hand at raising peanuts (Most likely, after learning about their benefits from the Cooperative Extension service's County Agent).  My Uncle Warren G used to tell the story that Cousin Don ran away from our grandparents farm one time when he was a kid, because of his disdain for harvesting the peanut crop my grandparents were growing.  However, this early farming experience must have had a positive effect on Cousin Don, because now, one might consider his California backyard as "God's Little Workshop" (A phrase coined by George Washington Carver) !  He is raising peaches, apples, figs, avocados, and a variety of vegetables!  It is interesting to speculate that his California garden might be linked to the Arkansas cooperative extension agents that traveled around to rural farms, to teach them how to improve their farming methods, after seeing the success of George Washington Carver's "agricultural teaching wagon" in Alabama! (See photos below of Cousin Don with his "crops" in July, 2021)

One floor of the GWC National Monument museum has an expansive event space, that can be reserved for large group activities that need an indoor location.  In addition, there are outdoor spaces suitable for picnics, nature walks, and a visit to the homestead where GWC was raised.  

 

The classroom space below, designed for students on field trips, is one reason this location is such a popular destination for schools.  As you would expect, it is especially popular during our nation's annual Black History Month. 

 

Before I actually made a personal visit to the GWC National Monument, I assumed there would be an attempt to "cover up" or "down play" the role that GWC's Christian faith had in his career.  Thankfully, I was wrong! 

I was so glad that the museum had an exhibit portraying the importance of GWC's Christian faith, that I took closeups of some of the statements:

 

One of the exhibits included the well-worn Bible belonging to George Washington Carver.

When accepting one of the many awards he received for his scientific work, GWC was asked how in the world he came up with the 200 different ways to use peanuts.  His reply was, "The Bible."  As the folks present scoffed at his remark, one said, "So show me where in the Bible it talks about how to use peanuts."  GWC replied, quoting James 1:5 that says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him."  So GWC said he asked God, "God, give me wisdom of what to do with all these peanuts!"  God answered his prayers!

GWC called his laboratory at the Tuskegee Institute, "God's Little Workshop", partly because that is where he did his botanical experiements with various plants God has created for mankind.  He is quoted as saying, "I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in."

I am including the photo below of one of GWC's paintings, that is on display behind glass, at the museum, as a reminder to mention that (  Even though the reflection interferes with seeing the content of the painting), you can access a complete library of GWC's artwork at the website of the National Archives.  He is quoted as saying, "Nothing pleases me more than to take my pencils, paint, brushes, sketch book, pastel board, etc., and spend a day in the woods."

The photo below shows some of the needlework done by GWC, that is on display at the museum.

As you can see from this photo, there is a wealth of information that you can learn by reading every word of the many exhibits around the museum.  Since my group was on an itinerary with a limited time at the museum, I did not get to to read as much as I would have liked, but www.wikipedia.org has volumes written about this amazing scientist!

One of the important artifacts at the museum is the Bill of Sale for George's mother.  There is no certain date for when GWC was born, other than to know it was before the Civil War ended in 1865.  When he was a child, he and his mother were kidnapped.  Later, Moses Carver was able to get back young George, but not his mother.  Therefore, Mr. and Mrs. Carver raised George as their own child. 

 

The photo below gives additional information about GWC being born into slavery, and the very circuitous route he traveled to receive his education.  Eventually, he earned his college degree in Iowa State University. 

The museum has a laboratory where students can conduct experiments, when they come for a field trip.  The laboratory was  an important aspect of GWC's career, after he was recruited by Booker T. Washington, to head up the botany department of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. 

This was my first time to see the phrase "Chemurgist".  GWC was a chemurgist, which means he practiced chemurgy---the chemical and industrial use of organic raw materials. 

George Washington Carver died on January 5, 1943, in Tuskegee, Alabama, where he is also buried:

 

I would encourage readers to visit the George Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, Missouri.  This is just one of MANY attractions near Joplin, Missouri.  It is less than 20 miles, and less than a half hour of driving to get from Joplin, to this National Monument.  For more information on additional interesting places to visit around Joplin, check out their website at www.VisitJoplinMo.com .  My visit there gave me "MILES OF MO SMILES"!  Tricia


 

OZARK NATIONAL SCENIC RIVERWAYS EXPEDITION!

This photo, that shows our group on the first day of a three-day kayaking extravaganza, was taken by a kind and thoughtful stranger at the launch site, so that all the gals could be in the picture.  We were kayaking the lovely Current River, that is part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, in Shannon County, Missouri.

On the first day, we put in at Cedar Grove, which enabled us to float past the old Welch Hospital, which I wrote about in an article published on July 14, 2017,  called "Current Events Expedition".  (You can see that article by looking in the archives section of this blog).  I learned when researching the 2017 article, that the Welch hospital was built over a cave entrance.  Also, there is a placard at the site that gives the history of the hospital, along with photos and sketches of what it looked like when originally built. 

The only remaining edifice of the Welch Hospital, are the stone walls shown in this photograph.  The roof has long since disappeared.  At the top of the steps, there is an unofficial path that leads the explorer up the hill, and on to the top of the bluff, that overlooks the spring and river. 

The Welch Spring gushes out with such force that it assures the Current River is floatable year round!  Welch Spring contributes an average of 121 cubic feet of water per second to the flow of the Current River.  To put that number in perspective, remember that a basketball is approximately one cubic foot.  So imagine 121 basketballs coming towards you PER SECOND!!  I have trouble catching just one basketball when it is thrust at me, so to think of 121 basketballs thrown at me at one time is a little overwhelming!

Maybe that is why I was a little apprehensive about kayaking past these rapids where the Welch Spring flows into the Current River.  However, I steered far to the right of the "intersection" (along with the other row of single-file kayakers in my group), and navigated through the challenge without a rollover!  (The tongue-in-cheek phrase among kayakers, for a rollover, is "to become a swimmer".) So, I could re-write that sentence to say there were "no swimmers" at the Welch Spring---which is a good thing, because the sign from the park service clearly indicated NO SWIMMING, and NO FISHING, at this environmentally sensitive area.

Since this is an NPS riverway that is popular year round, it is not surprising that we encountered other groups along our voyage.  I took this photo of one such tourist, and if you saw the movie "Deliverance" you may know what this tee shirt message is referencing!

I took the picture of the back of this man's shirt, as he was photographing his friend jumping off the bluff into a deep swimming hole of the river:

 

I live in Arkansas that boasts being the home of the first national river---which is now called Buffalo National River.  So I was a bit confused when reading that the Ozark National Scenic Riverways also claims to be a "first".  (However, the NPS property for this area is an IUCN Category V, meaning protected landscape/seascape).  The below photo shows the sign you will see along the highway, as you enter property that has been designated for public use by the NPS.  The Ozark National Scenic Riverways was created by an act of Congress in 1964, to protect both the Current and Jacks Fork Riverways.  The park was dedicated in 1971.  It is promoted as the Midwest's best float streams, in part due to contributions of some of the nations largest springs.   The list includes Welch Spring, Cave Spring, Big Spring, Blue Spring, and Gravel Spring.  It has the U.S.'s largest concentration of First Magnitude Springs, which are defined as having an average flow of more than 100 cubic feet per second, in dolomite rock.

After an enjoyable day on the river, our group came back to the Timber Lodge, where we were staying.  You can find out more about this property, by going to the Shannondale page on Facebook.

Although some would call Timber Lodge "rustic", it has the main things I was interested in---electricity, indoor plumbing, and WiFi!  Most people in the group were using their cell phones for photography and Internet access, as there was very limited---to non-existent---use of of them for talking to anyone!

After our potluck supper on Tuesday night, several in the group used the three 25 cent pieces (aka, quarters) we had been told in advance to bring, to play the game called "Left, Right, Center". 

Using U.S. quarters for this game is totally appropriate since there was a SPECIAL quarter issued in 2017, highlighting the Ozark Riverways!

On the second night of our trip, we had the unique opportunity to hear from a local storyteller and author---Rick Mansfield. 

You have heard the phrase "telling ghost stories around the campfire", and that is literally what happened!  Rick portrayed the ghost of the deceased "Caretaker of the Current River", a Mr. Luther Rowlett. (The white hat signifies when the "ghost" is talking vs. when Mr. Mansfield is talking).

By weaving many Ozark sayings, doings, and traditions into his "ghost story", we got a hint of the culture of these Ozark mountains in days gone by.  As you can imagine, we gave him a big round of applause for his endeavors at the end:

Those who wanted to, could purchase some of the books he has published that tell even more stories !!  Rick's wife, Judy, assisted in showcasing some of the books he had available for sale.  You can find out more about his work and volunteer activities , on the Rick Mansfield Facebook page.

 

When kayaking on the last stretch of our trip, it was a unique experience to get to paddle into a cave.  All twenty of us would not fit in at one time, so we lined up and took turns going into the cave. This first photo shows me paddling into the cave, and was taken by my friend, Christine.

 

This photo below that  DQ took of me with uplifted hands, shows my jubilation and gratitude, for getting to have this awesome "kave-kayaking" experience! !

Christine also took this photo below of me in yellow kayak and red hat, paddling out of the cave.  Notice how clear the water is, as evidenced by the visibility of the very long submerged log!

 

I like the way the opening of the cave provides a "frame" for this photograph, that shows two kayakers crossing their paddles to form an "X"!

In addition to the paddling, there is another experience in the area that I would recommend you try if you have the opportunity.  The Current River State Park is a public recreation area occupying 1200 acres of land along the Current River, also in Shannon County, Missouri.  It consists of land and buildings originally developed as the

Alton Club, a corporate retreat (used in the 1930's and 1940's) of the Alton Box Board Company, of Alton, Illinois.  It's been included in the National Register of Historic Places, since 2005.  The site includes the main lodge, classroom/pool hall, lower dorm, gym, BBQ house, lake house, manager's residence, and entrance columns.  It also has 9 miles of hiking trails, two small fishing lakes, picnicking facilities, and a location where the public can launch their kayaks. 

Its gymnasium (built in 1940) is unique because of its Lamella Wooden Truss roof. 

The roof consists of intersecting arches, hinged together at their midpoints to form an interlocking network, in a diamond pattern.  Although the Lamella Roof was patented in 1910, it did not become popular until the period between the World Wars, when metal for construction was in short supply .

A different photo of the gymnasium interior shows some of our group listening to NPS volunteer, Barbara Gibbs Ostmann, tell stories about the history of the park over the years.  (I am thankful that I first had the opportunity to meet Barbara Gibbs Ostmann, way back in the 1960's, when we both were involved in the Noark Girl Scout Council.  The area represented by Noark Girl Scouts back then, included her hometown of Springdale, and my hometown of Harrison.) Although the outdoor facilities of the Current River State Park are open year round, guided tours are only available on weekends, during warm weather.  If you want to tour the interiors, it would be best to phone ahead before your visit, to find out if tours are available. 

Even if the interiors cannot be accessed, the scenic views throughout the property would make your visit worthwhile and enjoyable!

Another interesting place to visit in this area is an NPS site called "Devil's Well".  The word "well" describes a deep hole in the ground, and as you can see from the photo below, this is definitely a deep hole in the ground.  Although the steps at the entrance to the location start out as wooden, when they go below ground level, their construction changes to stainless steel.  Although I have been to many places across the USA that include the ominous word of "devil" in their name (e.g., Devil's Tower in Wyoming, Devil's Lake in Wisconsin, Devil's Postpile in California, and Devil's Den in Arkansas), I am always keenly aware of what the headlines would say if I died while at one of these places!  So please make note of the following, if that happens:  "She died at Devil's What-cha-ma-callit", but she now rests peacefully in the arms of Jesus."

Once you reach the bottom, you enter a small opening in the ground, that lets you peer down at the underground lake:

 

Another landmark along the Current River one needs to keep an eye out for is the Medlock Waterfall:

 

The second day of our float trip, we put in at Akers Ferry, Upper Landing.

There is also an Akers Ferry, Lower Landing, and that is the site of the car ferry.  I have yet to see this ferry in operation because when I kayaked past it a few years ago, it was undergoing repairs because of damage done from flooding.  This year, it was the opposite problem.  It was not working because the water level was not high enough.  A local resident we talked to said the NPS was going to have to dredge the river bed at the ferry crossing, so that there would be enough water to float the ferry, with a car on it, across the river to the county road, on the opposite shore.  I hope I get to take my car across on that ferry, when---and, if---it ever starts to operate again.

I took this photo of our group on the third and final day of our Current River paddling expedition.  I have given a lot of thought as to why I SO MUCH enjoy spending time with this group of ladies, and I have concluded it is because we are "LIKE-minded", that is, we all LIKE kayaking!  This serves as a visual aid for one of my First Place 4 Health (www.FirstPlace4Health.com) memory verses that says, "Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one purpose." Philippians 2:2   The Zondervan NIV study Bible expounds on this, saying that unity can exist within a group, without meaning uniformity in thought---rather, in the common disposition to work together and serve one another.  Working and playing together with this group of LIKE-minded friends  gives me "MILES OF (kayaking!) SMILES!!"   Tricia