But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7
Our search for sunshine led us to Buckhorn Campground at the Lake of the Arbuckles near Sulphur, Oklahoma.
Camping in the woodsLake of the Arbuckles
It soon became apparent how Sulphur got its name. As we drove through the town’s valleys, our nostrils were assailed by that familiar rotten egg smell. It turns out that Sulphur has natural springs that are high in elemental sulfur. While public mineral water fountains are available in Sulphur, we didn’t try the water this time. Thankfully the noxious smell tended to hang in low spots and didn’t permeate the whole area.
While we were there, we explored nearby Chickasaw National Recreation Area.
A spring from the rocksA spring that bubbles up into this pool
As we hiked the trails, we watched armadillos snuffling through the woods. These little creatures buried their noses in the ground and bulldozed their way through the forest, eating dinner as they went.
He looked at us, scurried deeper into the woods, and continued his lunch. Thankfully, we didn’t see any but they might have seen us!
After our time in Oklahoma, we went back to KC so we could vote absentee. We had planned to vote before our trip south, but we failed to remember that county offices would be closed on Columbus Day. Although the miles add up, we didn’t mind returning to KC to perform our civic duty.
When we are in Kansas City, we get to see some of our kids and we get to worship with our church family. When we are on the road, some Sunday mornings we watch our church’s online services and sometimes we find a local church to attend. It’s encouraging to meet fellow Christians throughout our country and it’s fun to experience how different churches worship the Lord. Upon arrival at one church we visited, we were each given a small paper lunch bag which contained our communion elements. In the churches we have attended, communion is celebrated with a small wafer and a sip of juice. However, this church gave us a generous wafer and an eight ounce can of grape juice. After the communion meditation and prayer, the sound of popping can tops echoed throughout the sanctuary. It took several swallows to drain the juice can. At first, the copious amount of juice made us chuckle but on reflection, isn’t that what Jesus offers? His blood was shed to cover all of our sins, not just a sip of them. He invites us to drink deeply and be filled with His love and His grace. An acronym for grace is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. We left that service with a fresh reminder of God’s riches and Jesus’s abundant, overflowing love for us, thanks to an eight ounce can of Welch’s Grape Juice.
Since our last update, we have been to Kansas, to Kentucky, to Illinois, to Kansas City, to Arkansas, to Texas, back to Arkansas, back to Kansas City, back to Kansas, to Oklahoma, back to Arkansas, back to Kansas City, back to Arkansas, to Louisiana, to Mississippi, and now we are in Florida. No wonder we are tired!
First, to Kansas. We traveled to our hometown to see our parents and to enjoy a family picnic celebrating the safe return of Cy’s cousin from a tour of duty in the Middle East with the Kansas National Guard. We are grateful for family members and friends who sacrificially serve (and served) our nation and our communities. As we approach this coming election, we pray that the sacrifices made for our country’s freedom in the past won’t be lost at the ballot box.
From Kansas to Kentucky: As one of the first cold spells of fall moved into the Plains States, the weather forecast was warm for Kentucky. We camped at Big Bone Lick State Historic Site near Covington, KY. Big Bone Lick was the site where early explorers found elephant bones in 1739. In 1807, William Clark spent three weeks there on an archeological dig for President Jefferson. Now, the park has a bison herd and several hiking trails. While we hiked a little, we did more touring on our motorcycles of scenic backroads. Since we were in Kentucky, we decided it would be a good time to visit the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum. The Ark Encounter is a monumental place and worth visiting. The true-to-Biblical-dimensions ark demonstrates scientifically how Noah, his family, and all of the animals could live on the ark with enough food and water for the duration of the flood. The engineering of this replica ark is impressive. The Gospel was presented clearly, reminding visitors that just as in the days of Noah, so it will be when Jesus returns. Jesus repeatedly says, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” We pray people are hearing the good news of Jesus and responding with humble hearts. The Creation Museum was impressive too. The days of creation and the fall of man were depicted in life size dioramas. We even got to attend a session with Ken Ham, the founder of Answers in Genesis, which is the organization behind the museums.
Pretty roadsThe massive Ark EncounterThe interior of the ark.
After Big Bone Lick, we moved camp southeast to Fort Boonesborough State Park. Daniel Boone and his men established this fort in 1775 as Kentucky’s second settlement. The fort has been recreated so we spent a rainy Sunday afternoon there. We met a gunsmith who makes flintlock guns by hand with the same tools used in early America. Impressive! We also chatted with the blacksmith who fled corporate America to learn blacksmithing and eventually wants to become the fort’s gunsmith. While we chatted, he fashioned an iron hook that he kindly gifted to us. We use his kind gift in the trailer to hang our rain jackets.
Using his handmade rifles, the gunsmith harvested all the animal pelts in his workshop. After the stress of corporate life caused health issues, the blacksmith found joy in handcrafting metal works.
While in the area, we discovered Ale-8-One soda crafted in Winchester, had a great meal at Carson’s Food & Drink in Lexington, and hiked up to the Natural Bridge and down into Devil’s Gulch. As we traveled to our next destination, we stopped by Buffalo Trace Distillery. All the tours were full but we enjoyed seeing the historic buildings. As we walked the grounds, the scent in the air changed from raw wet grains to the syrupy sweetness of bourbon.
This delicious dinner was a lovely treat!Natural BridgeThis narrow passage led to stairs that let hikers go on top of the Natural Bridge.Steep staircase into Devil’s GulchAlways strive for excellence.
Kentucky to Illinois: We camped at Gun Creek on Rend Lake. This peaceful campground was a great stopover on our way back to Kansas City. We stayed a couple days and rode the flat, straight roads of southern Illinois.
Placid Rend Lake
We went back to Kansas City for some appointments and to continue our land search. Smithville Lake has become our favorite place to stay when in the area. The weather turned chilly while we were there so we made a necessary purchase: a heated mattress pad. Having warmth soak through our chilled bones at the end of the day is lovely. Even if the air in the trailer is chilly, we are toasty in our snuggly bed. Although we continue to watch the real estate market and have looked at several properties, we have yet to find what we are seeking. We trust that God will provide land for us in His timing. Until then, we are Chasing Sonshine.
To be continued. Hopefully soon. Who knew our camp life would be so busy!
After sweltering in the 90+ degree heat of Kansas City, we left Watkins Mill and headed north in search of cooler days. We landed at Honey Creek State Park on Rathbun Lake in southern Iowa.
The campground was great: clean, open spaces with beautiful views of the lake. The dark night sky was perfect for watching the Perseid meteor shower which happened to be near its peak. One night we sat overlooking the glassy lake as a few wispy clouds flitted across the full moon. The bright moon’s reflection on the water reminded Cy of the Alfred Noyes poem, The Highwayman. Since Bill hadn’t heard the poem, Cy read it to him as we sat overlooking the lake. It begins:
“The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees. The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas. The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor, and the highwayman came riding- riding- riding- The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.”
The tragic poem was perfect for that moonlit night. The entire poem can be found here.
Rural Iowa held unexpected charms. We discovered the Welcome Home Soldier Monument, the Albia Freedom Rock, the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, the Monroe County Pyramids, and elaborate courthouses in city squares.
The Welcome Home Soldier Monument is located just west of Albia on US-34. The monument honors all United States Veterans. Twenty-one crosses line the walkway leading into the monument, representing a 21 gun salute. Each state’s flag is flown, along with numerous American flags. The monument is a sobering reminder of the price that has been paid for freedom throughout our nation’s history. The monument included this quote by John Maxwell Edmonds, “When you go home tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today.” We are grateful to all who have served, and continue to serve, our country.
The high cost of Freedom.
The Albia Freedom Rock sits on the Albia courthouse lawn. Painted by artist Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II, the rock is a Thank You to those who serve our country, either in the military or as a first responder. The artist is in the process of painting a large boulder in every county in Iowa. The original Freedom Rock near Menlo, Iowa is repainted every year.
Knoxville has the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame. We really enjoyed the display about John Gerber. He built his #15 car in 1932. By watching others and experimenting, John continually improved his car and found success on the racetrack. When he was in his 80’s, he was restoring #15 with the goal of going around the track just one more time. John’s joy of creating and his quest for a faster engine reminded us of Cy’s dad, Malcolm. Malcolm always has a project underway in his shop. He has built and raced cars and still builds and customizes racing engines for other drivers. He passed his talent for all things mechanical to Cy’s brother, but unfortunately, Cy didn’t learn that skill. Instead of spending time in the shop as a teen, she spent time with a cute guy named Bill.
The Gerber Special #15
In the back of a rural cemetery stand the Monroe County Pyramids. The three pyramids are made of stone, with some crumbling concrete. The largest one has stairs leading down into it. We never learned why the pyramids were constructed or why they reside in the ancient Hickory Grove Cemetery, however, we enjoyed this quirky attraction.
Why do most pyramids leave many unanswered questions?
Lesson Learned: Every location has something interesting, whether it is a moonlit night, a patriotic display, a fast car, or something totally unexpected.
A few of the elaborate stone courthouses. Most of the courthouse lawns had monuments to Union soldiers lost during the Civil War.
