Small Towns - Big Stories

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.  Discover." -- Mark Twain

Small towns in America have some of the most interesting histories. They are easy to miss and we often drive by without a second glance. One such town was Carthage, MO. Here were our experiences.

The Ozarks are a beautiful place and the history around Springfield is fascinating. We journeyed to Carthage, MO to buy a few things for our RV. Once shopping was done, we took a driving tour of this historic town. There were over 20 Victorian homes dating back to the 1800's on the tour.

This was also the site of the first full scale land battle of the Civil War. The battle preceded First Bull Run by 16 days. The Census of 1860 found 6,883 residents in this county. By the end of the war only 30 were left. The others had been killed or had fled.

I took a picture of the court house and posted it on this website. We went to lunch at Three To Eleven Restaurant located on the town square. The food was great! All in all a nice day to be out and about.

Next, a trip to Branson. We went to the Andy William's Christmas Show in Branson. It was great! We laughed, cried, and sang with Andy throughout the whole show. Maybe a little backtracking, I suppose. But, I do remember when Andy had his Chrismas show on TV -- many years ago. Anyway, it was fun... This trip we were on time for the IMAX movie "The Lewis and Clark Expedition".

Journeying back to Branson, we rode the Duck. It is Branson's original Land and Lake Show. We enjoyed a unique sightseeing adventure, rode to the top of a mountain for a scenic view of the Ozarks, took a beautiful Lake cruise and spent 80 minutes full of fun and valuable local information. Captain Crunch was our captain. He had a good sense of humor and kept us entertained throughout the trip. Captain Crunch let Cindy "take the wheel" while on Table Rock Lake. No damage or loss of life occurred during Cindy’s term at the wheel.