Road Trip, Part 1

Well, so much for posting every day. The last hotel didn’t have wi-fi. Missouri hasn’t entirely caught up with the 21st century…

So, update on my trip. The first day didn’t contain much. Six hours of driving from Texas into Arkansas. Nice weather for travel. Everything went fine. We were glad to crash for the night.

That was Friday. On Saturday, we slept in a bit. Then we hit our first battlefield. The Pea Ridge Battlefield in Rodgers, AR. For those of you who aren’t up on your Civil War history, Pea Ridge was fought in early March of 1862. The Yankees were running the Rebels out of Missouri in order to gain complete access of the Mississippi River and so cut the Confederacy in half. The fleeing Rebels stopped in a little place called Pea Ridge. The Yankees met them there and dug in. However, the Confederate general decided on a bold but stupid move. He marched his men all night behind the Yankee troops. Smart. He cut off his supply lines. Not smart. The following day gave the Rebels a great victory, but they lost two generals and half the army was left without a leader. The following day, the Yankees sent an artillery barrage into the Rebel camp. Without supplies, the Rebels could do nothing but turn and run. It was the last major stand they would take in the western part of the Confederacy.

The Pea Ridge Battlefield from the overlook.

Jenny and I standing by one of the many cannons.

Our next stop was the George Washington Carver National Memorial in little Diamond, MO. And like a diamond, it was a treasure well worth finding. For even though our nation seems like it is turning further and further from its Creator, nothing in that museum hid the fact that Mr. Carver gave all the glory of his knowledge and greatness to his Creator. Not only is that park beautiful, it a reminder of how great our God is and how humble we should be.

The Reflection Pond.

One of the many quotes by Mr. Carver throughout the park and museum.

That evening we crashed at a hotel in Mt. Vernon, MO. The next morning we visited a church in town and then returned to the hotel to nap and read. Truly a much needed day of rest. For the next day – today – it was on the road again.

Most people know something about Laura Ingalls Wilder and the Little House on the Prairie. Nestled on a ridge in the little town of Mansfield, MO is the house where Laura and her husband settled with their daughter Rose for the last seventy-or-so years of their lives. It is also the location where she wrote her famous Little House books that have entertained children for generations. It is a lovely little place to visit and remember all the joy you had reading about Laura, Mary, Carrie, Grace, Ma, Pa and Almanzo over, and over, and over again.

“Rocky Ridge”, as Laura called her house in Mansfield.

The Rock House, built by Rose for her parents on another part of their land. They lived there for eight years. Although they did not like it much, it gave Laura the time away from her usual busy life to sit down and write the Little House books.

And now we are in Savannah, TN. Brought here safely by our Creator who watched over us through bouts of wind, pouring rain, dark skies and lightning later today. Tennessee. Where kudzu covers everything. Where red brick houses and porches with swings can be seen. Where I remember my childhood. And tomorrow we set out to explore its most famous battlefield: Shiloh.