A few things I forgot to mention about my trips over the last few days.; things that I saw uniquely Midwest that you don’t see much, if at all, the farther west you go.
I saw a sign Sunday during my drive was for a tent revival down some dirt road. And no need to even ask, I did not go – no interest, not even a morbid curiosity.
Flea markets. These places are amazing to stop at so show up with some cash! You can find virtually anything in a flea market, and some things at decent prices. Used to be better deals but the internet seems to have made some things more expensive. You can find curiosities, collectibles and rarities and you will spend hours browsing.
There are so many differences in culture across the country and it is interesting to see those variations as we travel. You just have to bear in mind that you may see things you don’t agree with but it’s all part of the learning experience. Believe me, I saw plenty of things I do not agree with.
I decided to go on another adventure right after I had an early lunch. I was headed to Aldi, one of my favorite grocery stores, and while in the area I decided to drive a bit farther and go to Wilson Creek National Battlefield.
This was one of the Civil War battlefields and was the site of the first battle west of the Mississippi River. Missouri was in an interesting position during the fight against slavery and there were many who wanted to stay in the Union.
I watched a video in the museum theatre and learned much about the battles. It was the first battle of the war where a Union general was killed. If you visit the battlefield I highly recommend touring the Visitor’s Center. The film was interesting, and if you are into Civil War history and guns you will really love it and the displays inside.
There is a driving tour with several stops along the way and some really interesting interpretative signs as you take the tour. You can drive, walk or ride the road, and they even allow horseback riding on designated horse trails. There are many trails to hike, and I walked several miles and did not see everything. But, I did see many things at the stops:
As you drive around you will see fences like these above. The interesting thing is, there are no wires, nails or fasteners of any kind holding them together. The split rails are just carefully stacked.
I stopped at this first stop along the tour to take a hike inn the woods to see the site of an old mill. It was a nice hike but I never saw any remnants of it or any other buildings.
The second stop was at the Ray family house. It is the only period structure left in the park.
Across the road was this structure that I thought was a cellar but it was actually a “springhouse” which made since since you could actually see the water rippling from the spring flowing in the back left corner of the water inside. this was from 1851 or so, the same time period as the house and they had built it. Pretty cool building methods.
The next spot was a hike back into the trees where the command posts were, and there were many trails to walk. I would like to go back to get to some of the trails I did not see.
After that I stopped at a stop that talked about an area some troops were stationed with cannon.
The next stop had “that feeling” while walking around. It was called “Bloody Hill”, and apparently it was with good reason.
This was a longer trail but I saw lots of history along here and you really get to see just what conditions they were dealing with as far as the trees, grasses, and hills.
Mass gravesite 
At the end of the trail is a monument to General Lyon, the general killed that I mentioned earlier. The trail does split off to an old cabin but I will have to do that next time. Again, the place is covered with trails and they are in very nice shape and easy to walk.
There were two more stops that I did not get pictures of. One was an overlook where the battle started and ended. I’ll get a picture next time.
If you are into history, Cilvil War or not, this place is quite interesting and a very nice park you could make a day out of exploring. You can learn some stuff and see everything in a day here while you are visiting in the Springfield area.
That is all for today’s post. What started out as a trip to Aldi ended up being another adventure! I have been wanting to visit this place, though…I just had not gotten to it until today.
Not really sure what tomorrow holds yet. I do have some more places I want to visit!!
