Fantastic Caverns, Springfield, MO 2010

Did any of you see the episode of CSI that was filmed here?
Tomorrow we are off to Chicago to visit Sara. I cannot post any pictures on my blog while I am at her condo as I can't connect to her computer. It is a work one. I can check my e-mail.
I'll get back to posting pictures May 17th when I move onto St Louis again.

Fantastic Caverns, Springfield, MO 2010

Isn't it amazing? I still love to look at them.

Fantastic Caverns, Springfield, MO 2010

To the left are 2 massive columns. Above are beautiful stalagtites & stalagmites. I could have touched them; they were so close to me - that's a no, no.

Fantastic Caverns, Springfield, MO 2010

This cave was discovered well before the Civil War. Mr Knott was hunting & his dog found the cavern. He advertized for explorers to document what was inside. Below are the names of the 1st explorers, who were 12 women. Can you believe that!!! He didn't tell anyone during the Civil War for fear that it would be used by either the Red Coats or Blue Coats & be destroyed.
It was opened after the war but didn't come to popularity until Prohibition. The Cavern was used as a Speakeasy. To the left is the stage where people performed.

Fantastic Caverns, Springfield, MO 2010

Patsy enjoying the ride while having a cup of coffee. You can see what we road in.

Fantastic Caverns, Springfield, MO 2010

look at all the detail on the stalagtites, stalagmites, columns & draperies formed by the drippings off the ceiling

Fantastic Caverns, Springfield, MO 2010

Above is one of the caverns we drove into. To the left are a stalagtite forming - you can see the folds of the draperies.

Fantastic Caverns, Springfield, MO 2010

This morning we stopped at the Fantastic Caverns just 10 miles outside Springfield, MO as we headed to St Louis. If this were the 1st cavern I had seen, I would have thought that it was great. This time Patsy was right. For us, it was a tourist trap; afterall we saw Carlsbad Caverns, which is the premier of all caverns in the world. To the left is the opening of the cavern. We road around the cavern in a long jeep open wagon. It is 1 of only 4 in the world where you can be transported.

Springfield, MO going home 2010

This is the bedroom & bathroom.
Tomorrow morning we are going to take a tour of the Fantastic Caves just outside Springfield & then set off to St. Louis.

Springfield, MO going home 2010

This is the kitchen area & below is the livingroom. Patsy found the History Channel. You can see the balconey where the sliding door is.

Springfield, MO going home 2010

This is the hotel we are staying tonight. I have stayed in many Residence Inns but this is the largest one, except for Chicago Downtown. It was beautifully landscaped & each unit had a balcony.

Palo Duro Canyon Amarillo 2010

a final look as we were coming out of the canyon. We left for Oklahoma City, got there about 6:30pm & had dinner at Pearl's, a great seafood restaurant.
Tomorrow we are off to Springfield, MO.

Palo Duro Canyon Amarillo 2010

on the canyon floor

Palo Duro Canyon Amarillo 2010

Two views of the canyon

Palo Duro Canyon Amarillo 2010

People were hiking & camping all over the canyon. I was a little worried about getting out to take photos, especially after I encountered this fellow in the road. I asked Patsy to pick it up & hold it while I took a picture of it. He wouldn't. Can you believe that? It would have been a great picture!!! Do you know what kind of snake this is? Look at his tail. Also his mouth was open - you can see his fangs.

Palo Duro Canyon Amarillo 2010

the colors of the rocks

Palo Duro Canyon Amarillo 2010

This must have happened during the war with Mexico

Palo Duro Canyon Amarillo 2010

I hope that you can see just below the top in the middle a tower of rock. This is called the lighthouse. It is the most famous monolith in the park. It is a 3 mile hike to get to it. I didn't do it.

Palo Duro Canyon Amarillo 2010

This is the beginning of our journey - looking over the cliff at the canyon below

Palo Duro Canyon Amarillo 2010

This morning before we left for Oklahoma City, we went to Palo Dura Canyon. You could drive you car down in the canyon. It was about 1 1/2 hr drive. It was well worth it.

Amarillo going home 2010

Patsy wanted to order the 72 oz. steak but they were all out. The elevated table above is where you sit to eat the steak & all the trimmings. You can see the time in red. Behind that is the kitchen. Only 4 people have been able to achieve the feat. The faster was the 2003 hot dog champion eater. He ate everything in a little over 20 minutes.

Amarillo going home 2010

THese cowboys went around taking requests. I couldn't think of a country Western song neither could Patsy. They were very good. I did know all the songs they played.

Amarillo going home 2010

If there is a wait, you may relax in one of these.

Amarillo going home 2010

On our way to Amarillo, we saw several billboards advertizing the 72 oz. steak at the Big Texan Steak Ranch. If you can eat it & all the trimmings in one hour, your meal is free. We had seen this ad when we had traveled through here before. This time we decided to check it out. It's just off I-40

Flagstaff to Albuquerque going home 2010

This was posted at an Indian Souvenier Shop in Indian territory beyond Grant. I found this very interesting. It was the Continental Divide, but I had never thought much of it before until I read the sign. It seems like the water has a much further way to travel to the Atlantic Ocean from this point than to the Pacific. We are off to Amarillo.

Flagstaff to Albuquerque going home 2010

This picture do not do it justice. We woke up to see it snowing. By the time we had breakfast & got ready to take off at 9:30am, most of the snow had melted. We could see it on the trees; this picture doesn't do it justice. It was one of those Currier & Ives scenes. As we were traveling to Albuquerque, we ran into a hail storm - hail about 1/2 the size of a pea. It followed us but the road was warm enough so it melted. It came down pretty hard & was nearly a white out. We were able to drive out of it & stopped at an Indian souvenier store to look for last minute bargains. When we came out, the hail had caught up with us. We continued moving on, ran out of it again & in the Gallup/Grant area of NM the snow began to accumulate on the ground.. I-40 in NM was being repaired so much of the way we had only one (1) lane to travel in. I didn't know that I could go 3 mph until we hit one stretch of the highway. Traffic was backed up for miles & we inched along. We stopped at another souvenier shop hoping the traffic would clear up. It did until a bit further down the road - a bottleneck again. We pulled over & went to a casino for about a 1/2 hour. We came out to snow flurries. We continued on stopping here & there hoping the trafic would speed up. Thank goodness we only had 325 miles of travel because we didn't pull into the hotel until 6:15pm - we lost an hour somewhere in NM. The temp ranged from 33 to a high of 50.

LHC to Flagstaff going home 2010

Left LHC dressed in summer clothes & arrived in Flagstaff to 50 weather - only 206 miles away. We even saw snow flurries. Tonight it will be below freezing. Look at the snow on the mountain behind our hotel. I quickly changed to cold weather gear. Tomorrow off to Albuquerque.

LHC to Flagstaff going home 2010

Across the street from Lilo's were little Western buildings. Also the Roadkill Restaurant was across the strett but not too many cars there. Lilo's parking lot was full.We know why!

LHC to Flagstaff going home 2010

The inside of Lilo's, Patsy is waiting for his lunch. Note the interior design. It's a German area & there were quite a few locals there.

LHC to Flagstaff going home 2010

Stopped in Sleigman, which is on Route 66, for a rest & a bite to eat. Ate at Lilo's - remembered this place from last year - great food!!

LHC to Flagstaff going home 2010

May 1, 2010 leaving LHC & stopping by Starbucks to get a coffee for the drive - a beautiful, sunny day. Saw a lot of boats gassing up for a day on the water. Later in the week it will be in the high 90's then 100's the following week. That's too hot for me.
By the way I hope that all of you visit AZ. Don't be dismayed by the new law. Actually it is a good thing as the druglords are getting more brazen. Last night they opened fire on a Sheriff in Casa Grande, just south of Phoenix. People down the & below are afraid. Farmers have had to hire protection. I hope that they don't come up to our beautiful LHC. Something has to be done!!! See you all soon.