St Louis 22nd July and 23rd

Dillard Grist Mill, Missouri

Red panels are tin, pressed to resemble brickwork, reused from another building

Part of waterfall near mill race

Red Bluff, Mark Twain National Forest: Huzzah Creek

Ginger enjoying a rest

Gary in typical pose taking photo's

Luna Moth

View from campsite

Several types of Fungi around the camp in the woods

Old Courthouse, St Louis

The Arch, St Louis

Views from the observation area at the top of the Arch

Mississippi river in full flood

Museum beneath the Arch to commemorate the exploration and settlement of western land

Thursday 22nd July:

Set out from Springfield along the I-44 towards St Louis. Visited Dillard's Mill on the way, this was a grist mill powered by water from Huzzah Creek. The original mill was built 1850's on a separate spot and destroyed by fire in 1895. This mill was built 1908 in it's current spot. Too late to see inside the mill which has much of the original machinery, mill stopped working in 1956. Originally used to mill flour but ended it's life milling cattle feed. What interested us was the tin cladding which obviously had been re-used, but where did it come from? Most of the tin was pressed to resemble brickwork but whoever fixed it on the wooden frame was not interested in achieving a pleasing aesthetic finish.

Whilst walking around the outside Ginger and I looked at various small pieces of rock strewn about and obviously not from this immediate area. The rocks were covered in small crystals and in concretion form which I thought would be calcite. Ginger had other ideas and thought they were quartz. Not having seen quartz in this form was rather sceptical however a couple of days later she finds a web site that details Drusy Quartz.

This type of quartz covers crystals from very tiny up to jewelry sized pieces. Forms on a substrate such as an agate and can be coated in Titanium, Platinum, Gold and Silver. No such luck with the samples we saw, however very sparkling and from a natural geode formation.

Set up camp at Red Bluff, again a primitive camping ground high up over looking the creek, opposing bluffs and surrounding wooded countryside. Once camp set we drove down to the camp supervisor to pay our dues ($10), plus we bought a cord of wood from him to augment Gary's supplies. Had another great fire that night, perfect for cooking on and later - the marshmallows.

Paddled in the creek and took pictures of the bluffs, named due to the red iron staining on the off white rocks. Had a chat with some visiting kayak's, as I found all over the USA my accent was a great ice breaker. As you can see from the photo's there was a variety of fungi present in the surrounding woods.

Our pitch was one of three high up on the bluff, the rest being much lower down and close to the creek. The 2G's showed me where they had camped before, by the creek and since their visit (in the last 2 to 3 weeks) it was clear that floods had washed right through the lower levels - pleased we were well out of harms way then! Nobody else near us on the top so bliss, spent the evening enjoying the view, watching the sun go down and moon and stars appear. Saw a few fireflies but less in number than on the 2G's last visit.

As we were at the top of the bluff we had a brief spell of a breeze from below, very welcoming and cooling - temperatures during the day were again in the high 90's with high humidity. No animals tonight just the ever present cicadas.

Friday

Sat and watched the turkey vultures riding the thermals in the morning whilst having my morning cup of tea. One of the treats of camping is the early sunshine and the ability to listen to the dawn chorus when the cicadas are quiet and the birds take over. Reasonably early rise as we still have 3.5 hrs of driving to do for a treat. Ginger spotted the luna moth on a nearby tree, what a lovely creature the largest moth to be found in the USA.

The treat turned out to be a 630 foot high arch covered in stainless steel panels. This is the Gateway Arch and is part of the Jefferson National Expansion Museum. We had planned to spend a half day here but the complex was so interesting we stayed the night at a local motel on the outskirts of St Louis.

The arch is a monument to the westward expansion of the USA and details the Lewis & Clark travels up the Mississippi. What makes this arch interesting, civil engineering wise, is that it was designed in 1947 but due to the Korean war construction did not commence until 1963. The arch was completed in 1965 with the first public viewing two years later.

The legs are equilateral triangles narrowing from 54 to 17 feet per side. The arch is hollow and both legs incorporate a unique tram system. At the top there is an observation area with small windows, one gets a splendid of the city on one side and the Mississippi and outskirts from the other. The river was in flood when we visited and one had a good birds eye view of the extent. According to the blurb the trams rotate by 5 degrees as they travel keeping them upright as they descend up the arch. The small compartment, seating 5 persons has small windows in the doors to enable you to see the inside construction of the arch. Travelling in the tram was a slightly weird feeling knowing that you start off in a vertical plane and by rights should end up in a horizontal plane. The designer was given 2 weeks to come up with preliminary design and he has based it on marrying the Ferris wheel concept with that of the cable car - ingenious.

I bought a small brochure called "Building the Arch - the improbable dream". It is primarily pictures but what I found fascinating was the way the arch was constructed. Remember this was in the mid 60's and I have tried to think of iconic structures we were building at the same time? Each span kicks off from heavily reinforced foundations and at the outset the tolerances were set very tight. The designer allowed a maximum of one sixty fourth of an inch at the top, to allow the insertion of the keystone part. To counter the heat factor all surveying was undertaken at night. Whilst fitting out aircon had to be installed early as temperatures reached 115 degrees, something they had not allowed for.

At that time the crawler cranes could only install the first 6 sections so the constructor came up with an ingenious tracked crawl system which climbed up the outside of the leg. I think that it was an incredible design, each leg had to be self supporting no matter what the weather and conditions, and be able to lift and install each new section with no other assistance. In late October 1965 the final section was installed but only after the two legs had to be jacked 2.5 metres apart. Due to the heat the southern leg had to be doused in water to stop the steelwork expanding too much. Watching the short film of the construction process whilst there was no fatalities neither did the construction workers use much safety equipment. A beautiful structure and one to be proud of.

Underneath is a vast area housing the Museum of Westward Expansion a third of which chronicles the exploits of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The whole museum is well set out with plenty of material to read. Around the left hand side of the wall space is an extensive time line charting the history of the USA during the 19th Century with both text and pictures. This took over an hour to read and contained over a 100 pages of text. Most of the important events are captured but no doubt there are more events that could be described. Throughout the floor area there were dioramas of life in the 19th century; indian, cavalry, mountain men, farming, mining, pioneers and their families. Read quite a bit and took some photos of some of the exhibits and could have spent more time just reading all the information present.

Just had time to visit the Old Courthouse which is across the main road and is a part of the museum. Original building was erected 1826/9 and within 10 years was considered too small. So a new building was constructed beside and around the existing to allow continual use. Since then several phases of remodelling has taken place. Inside and out it is a beautiful building and they have included three examples of what a courtroom would have looked like at differing periods. Not had time to read the booklet fully but the Dred Scott trials of 1847 and 1850 featured heavily in the information provided. Not aware of this trial but to quote the booklet "Dred Scott became and has remained a symbol of injustice, oppression, and the battle for individual human rights gone awry" This was about two slaves seeking their freedom whilst being moved around between states by their owner. Very complicated issues and whilst the courts did not give them their freedom they were passed onto a family who did. This case was key in that it dealt with the rights of a person know matter who they were and led to the eventual abolition of slavery, rights to vote for all and womens rights being identified and upheld - all very heady stuff.

Next stop - Transportation museum

Blue Spring, Missouri 19th July for 3 days

Bluffs opposite the spring and swimming hole

Kids tent - my home now!

Luxury tent with standing room and breakfast bar

Gary & Ginger at the Grand Gulf State Park

One of the very pretty Dragonflies we saw

View of part of the collapsed canyon

Down inside part of the collapsed area, not virtually clear of rock, saw a wasp nest high on the bluff

Mammoth Springs

One of the two outflows from the springs.

Good flight from Honolulu, change over in Dallas worked a treat only took 20 minutes so had time to spare. Met at airport by Gary and Ginger and after picking up my bags we went for breakfast. What a treat, bacon, eggs and hash browns, American style of course plus biscuits and gravy. The biscuits are more like small scones and ought to be light and fluffy and the gravy is more like a white sauce but made with the grease off of sausages. Different and could get used to the idea. Then it was back to the house and rest of the day spent in chat. Gary and I worked out that we had not seen each other for something like 15 years and that was only a fleeting visit. Met Alek, Ginger's 15yr old son and learnt that Katie and Lanie, her two daughters are with their father in Chicago for the time I am in Springfield. Had a great evening just chewing over events between the four of us.

Sunday morning was spent at their Episcopal church, well attended and afterwards enjoyed a soft drink and was introduced to a number of friends. Rest of the day spent loafing around and speaking to mum on the phone - always tried to keep our Sunday morning phone ritual. Felt very tired probably due to the jet lag and effects of the long four days sightseeing excursions in Hawaii. Did have the pleasure in visiting Wal-Mart. During the evening discussed options for the week and was keen to get out and about. Only thing is that the temperature is unseasonably high at +90 degrees and a humidity of +75% - ouch!!! Met all four cats: Getzger is an Abyssinian and has his own F/B profile and was the friendliest of the four. Tubby is a Burmese and was very cautious about being friendly; Blue Kitty and Sprinkles are Maine Coons (this is a new variety to me and is worth looking on the Internet), Blue Kitty likes to sit behind you and wash your hair whilst Sprinkles was again cautions as to when you could touch her.

Monday through to Wednesday

Late start but finally off with all the camping equipment - excitement what!! Destination was Blue Spring on the Jacks Fork river. This is listed as a primitive camp site as there are no electric hook ups or water stand pipes etc only a loo block. Gary had told me about these blocks so was interested in their construction which is all RC concrete split into a base, walls, a roof(with tile effect finish) and two cess pits. Two great pipe stacks at the back vent the loos - all very effective. Ginger and Gary (hereafter known as the 2G's) had been here before and we crossed our fingers that their favourite site was available. It worked, mostly day visitors in the car park with one other site occupied. Each site is well screened and set apart so really minimal interference. Was given a very quick lessen in identifying poison ivy which can cause skin burns and irritation, then it was down to set the camp up and get the wood ready for later. The 2 G's have a large tent whilst I had the kids tent which was big enough for my bed and a few odds and ends. Thankfully it never rained hard as I was touching both sides when in my bed (at an angle across the tent!)

Blue Spring's name is due to a fairly large spring flowing into the river at a point where there are bluffs (small cliffs 200 foot high max) and a swimming hole. The kids were jumping off of rocks into the hole and having a good time. Away from the spring the water is warm and free flowing. The 2G's also have a large awning that was erected over the table and benches provided (one at each camp location as well as either a fire ring or bar-b-que). There are several Government bodies who provide and look after camping grounds and offer a variety of levels of camping - from the primitive to the all inclusive that cater for the large trailer vans and caravans one sees on the roads. Those that are sited around lakes also have jetties and ramps for access for all the various boating activities. During my visit I did not see any sailing or wind surfing though, but Gary confirmed that some of the larger lakes one may windsurf.

Once camp was erected we were all very hot and sticky so it was off to the river and swimming hole. The river current was not that strong and the water was lovely and warm. Had a walk upstream to see some of the bluffs, mostly ankle deep with a few areas where is was chest deep around the river edges. Plenty of fish in the river and mostly unconcerned but we did come across one area where the fish were agitated, we quickly deduced that this was a spawning area due to the clean areas of shingle amongst the small rocks, so stayed clear. Bluffs are well stained due to minerals being washed down them. The hard capping layer was well defined as were the soft layers beneath. Some very large chunks of rock had been undercut and tumbled into the river causing the river bed to erode and form deep pools. Tricky in walking up the river bed even with a type of plimsoll on. What was a delight was the variety and number of butterflies and dragonflies we saw. On the float downstream they would often settle on your arms or the noodle. The decision was that we would retrace our steps tomorrow and then go farther upstream to try and find the nearby road bridge. However as the day was getting on it was back to camp to get the fire going.

It had been a very hot and humid day and really the evening/night did not cool down that much, far too hot to sleep inside a sleeping bag. Plenty of bugs around so had to use Gary's bug spray - even had to spray up to walk across Ginger's lawn to the shed due to chiggers - they crawl up your leg and bite you in all sorts of places, previously Gary found one on the end of his <<<<>, Ginger apparently was quite amused, a rare find I believe. At one point in the evening Ginger spotted an Armadillo which came right through the camp between us and my tent. Even though we had our torches on the animal because it has poor eyesight did not seem to worry until it caught some whiff of either the fire or us. Sat bolt upright looking in our direction, was very clear to see. The nose was testing the air and the animal must have caught a good whiff as it suddenly jumped in the air, spun 180 degrees and disappeared into the bush. Apparently Armadillos jump when frightened which is why one sees so many as road kill, jump just the right height to be hit by either lorry or car bumper.

We were very lucky and pleased to see the armadillo, still talking about it when Raccoon decided he would investigate our food locker. This is a fairly large container with a tight fitting lid, not raccoon proof though. Ginger chased it off, the animal sat in the bushes just looking at us for a short period before disappearing. However he was back in a short time and this time I had a very good view of a raccoon's bum sticking out of the food locker. We shooed him away and did not see him again, but in the morning his paw prints were all over the bench and table cloth. Due to brown bears, raccoons and skunks the food and perishables have to be locked in the car overnight.

One of the treats whilst camping was the toasted marshmallows between two square sweet biscuits and a couple of pieces of chocolate - yum yum - melted chocolate ran down my beard, but that is what beards are for :-)

Up bright and early, sun shining and still the noise of the cicadas rang out. Different lot to the night before I think, those at night did not seem so loud as I could hear raccoon sniffing around - well I hope it was him.

Morning was spent visiting the Gulf State Park and Mammoth Springs. Missouri and the Ozarks in particular have a number of springs that are fed from water percolating through the limestone and dolomite rocks. Gulf State Park is a small canyon that is made up of a number of caves and underground rivers. These are formed by the action of the mildly acidic waters eroding the cracks and crevices in the rock formation eventually to form a cave system. This particular area it is thought that some 10,000 years ago the roof collapsed along one particular section of cave/underground river system leaving a rather deep and long canyon. The sides are near vertical (130 feet high) and the length is nearly one mile long. The river disappears at one end back into the ground to emerge 9 miles away at Mammoth Springs. This is so called because up to 9,000,000 (million gallons USA measure) gallons of water flows per hour - spectacular or what. Only a small part comes from the canyon so the majority is from other underground sources.

Enjoyed a walk around and in the canyon following reasonably well marked trails, whilst no water was flowing when we visited I understand the canyon can fill up to about the 100 foot mark, and then take several days to drain away. We were able to walk along a short section of the original floor of part of the cave, in this part much of the roof has been broken up and washed downstream. It must have been dramatic to have witnessed whole sections of roof collapsing into the then underground stream.

Once we had tired ourselves out walking around the canyon we then drove to Mammoth Springs which is just over the state line in Arkansas (pronounced Arkansaw).

Rainfall in southern Missouri seeps down into the water table and underground aquifers and flows through a vast system of passages and cavities. These cavities come together to form a main channel which reaches the surface at the town of Mammoth Springs. The emerging water forms a 10 acre spring pool that drains and flows over two stone dams. The spring generates a flow of 344 cubic feet per second and emerges at a constant temperature of 14 degrees C or 58 degrees F. The spring itself cannot be viewed because it's mouth is more than 21m (70 feet) below the surface of the large spring pool. One could feel the coolness from the flowing water which was very welcoming. We think we saw an otter at the side of the lake that is fed from the pool, but on reflection much later decided it was a muskrat.

Back to camp via Wal-Mart where some noodles were purchased - used as a flotation devise and are very similar to pipe lagging but come in pretty colours. Quick change then took our noodles up river, and walked about a mile or so. At one point we came across some high bluffs with a very wide and deep swimming hole so needed the noodle to help me swim across. Whilst we never made it to the bridge we could plainly hear the traffic over it so determined we were close. We were faced with a prolonged set of rapids, we found walking through the various rapids difficult mainly due to the lack of depth of water and slipperiness of the rocks below. We were also quite tired by then so decided to float our way back. Even on the way back we had to walk through the rapids and lost our footing several times - sore on the butt I can tell you.

Took our time floating back and had a good look at the make up of the bluffs. Some of the layers were well honeycombed and it was easy to spot the several large overhangs. At some stage in the future these will collapse into the river. You really get a fish eyes view of the bluffs and Ginger spotted several wasp nests high up whilst we were floating across the wider pools. Buzzed by several wasps which are bigger than ours in the UK, kept underwater when they were around. Floated past our beach to view the spring, found that it was gushing out from the side of the bluff. Standing in the water my upper body was warm but lower half very cold. After a few minutes Ginger pointed out a snake that was in the water by the spring. This was fine until it decided to swim towards us and then disappear from view. We exited out of the water very quickly as she could not tell if it was harmless or not - here snakes can bite whilst underwater so caution is required.

The evening threatened thunder and rain but all we got was a brief few gusts of wind with lightening in the distance. Gary has a radio that they tune into the local severe weather forecast. One tuned in the radio will automatically send out details if the weather turns for the worst. Great fire again - must blow my own trumpet as nobody else will!!! - oh and we finished the whiskey, good job tomorrow night we will be home.

Wednesday we broke camp and the 2G's were keen to find the route down to the shingle bar opposite our campsite. Once found we parked the car and walked along the single beach which had been the main route for the river at one stage. Saw a lot of crayfish, or crawdaddies as they are called in the pools plus butterflies and dragonflies. Where the shingle meets the bluff one can scramble up to the top, Gary did but said the view was masked by trees, Ginger and I stayed below and watched a fish with a very long snout - a Gar. According to the Internet they are related to the Bowfin (came across this in Pearl Harbour) and emanate from a fish found in the Eocene Period. Gary said they were small examples and boy was he right - later on he took me to Bass -Pro shop, an outlet for all things outdoors. They have live alligator Gars which are absolutely huge.

Next stop was to visit Ginger's parents (Jim and Carole), who live on an 80 acre farm near Thornfield. Had a lovely time and good feed, Jim is now retired but I get the feeling that he works on his hobbies most of the time so has plenty to keep him occupied.Talked quite a bit about the lumber industry and was shown a rather interesting book on the way it done in the late 1800's, early 1900's. Early evening we said our goodbyes and headed up the road to Springfield, I think Alek and the cats were pleased to see us.

Tomorrow, well the 2G's have another couple of treats in store, this time in St Louis so it is camping time again.

My last day (16th July) in Honolulu and as usual it is clear blue sky and baking hot. Found a small local laundry shop and agreed to deposit my stuff at 0600 hrs ready for me to be able to pack and vacate my room. The lady who runs the laundry had some beautiful Hibiscus plants in the side alley.

Once hotel sorted it was back on the streets and to get out of the sun for a couple of hours I visited the local U S Army museum. Very interesting exhibits including a disappearing gun, which was sited in the Battery Randolph, part of Fort DeRussey. This was an american invention the concept being invented 1860's based on observations from the Crimean War, but what of the 1886 Armstrong (UK) disappearing gun sited at Taiaroa Head, Dunedin NZ? This is meant to be one of the first breech loading guns to be built and was before the Buffington - Crozier model of 1896!

My time time in Hawaii is done and dusted, finally made it to the islands and had a ball with plenty to see and do. Still did not get to laze on the beach, or enjoy many of the other multitude of pleasures/sights that are on offer here, four days is not enough. Off now to Springfield Missouri via Dallas and an overnight flight, hopefully breakfast in America (as they say) with Gary and Ginger.

Oahu Island - Where Aloha begins

Aloha to all, my final full day in the Hawaian Islands. Today it is a trip around the island of Oahu, home of Steve Garrett and Hawaii Five-O, why Five- O, well they are the 50th state to join the USA.



Hanauma Bay - 2 photo's

2 views of the windward side of the island, very craggy and each of the ribs are where water has eroded softer material, in a vertical plain.

3 photo's from the lookout at Nuuanu Pali

Byodo-in Temple

Mokolii Island, referred to as Chinaman's hat, by Kualoa Ranch

Final set of pictures are from the Dole Pineapple Plantation

Well not such an early start today, pick up was 08.30. Have been given a map and we are going to drive around the eastern shore line, half of the northern shore then drop back down to Honolulu via the middle of the island, really between the two mountain ranges of Waiane and Koolau. It was through the Koolau mountains that the Japanese fighters flew on their surprise attack of Pearl Harbour, and the notch was duly pointed out!

Anyway first brief stop is just passed Diamond Head to look at the Pacific Ocean and the people surfing. Great stop, couple of photo shoots then onto Hanauma Bay. This is a bay which was formed within a volcanic cone, when part of the side wall was breached and worn away. Wikipedia has a great ariel shot of the bay. Great for snorkeling as there are plenty of fish and turtles, the bay is a marine conservation area. It is so popular, as is a number of beaches along this part of the coast that you have to get there early and have to pay for the privilege.

We only viewed the bay from above for about 20 minutes but one could see it was very busy. Ever onwards, we rounded Makapuu Point and from this point on we are now on the windward side of the island, meant to be cooler and definitely is greener due to increased rain fall. Couple of islands just off shore, rabbit island (manana) and in the distance some of the other larger islands can be seen - Moloka'i, Lana'i and Maui. On the way we passed a small bay with feverish activity - the latest Pirates of the Caribbean was being filmed, this being the latest in a long and varied history of films being shot in Oahu and the Hawaiian islands.

We headed up quite a steep road through a couple of tunnels to emerge at the Nuuani Pali lookout. We were treated to some great views of both the mountains beside us and views out over the Pacific. We were told that before the road and tunnels were built travellers, on foot and horse/mule had to follow a winding road up and through the valley, often assaulted by the strong trade winds.

This lookout was also the site of a bloody battle that decided who would be ruler of not only Oahu by Hawaii as well. In 1795 Kamahameha sailed from Hawaii and conquered the islands of Maui and Moloka'i before landing on Oahu. The final act of the battle was when local soldiers were driven up the valley and to the lookout area, they had two choices surrender or jump. It is said over 400 decided to jump to their death.

Next stop was the Byodo-in Temple, the building (1868) is a replica of a Buddhist Temple in Uji Japan. The building is set back near the mountains with grave areas on the other three sides, for any number of faiths. As you walk in to the temple grounds and after crossing a quaint bridge the visitor is invited to sound the large peace bell, not as easy as it sounds. Plenty of Koi ponds around the temple with beautiful white raked stones along the front of the building - how do they get them so flat, even and uniform? Huge great Buddha inside, 9 feet tall, covered in gold ans lacquer work.

It was after leaving the temple and before we stopped for lunch the driver told the story of George Vancouver's input to the Hawaiian flag. It is interesting as this flag is the only state flag in the USA to include the Union Flag of Great Britain. Apparently when the islands were under British protectorate (1794 to 1843) it was felt that the flag of Hawaii should include the union Jack to ensure continued trade with the British Commonwealth. The rest of the flag is white, red and blue stripes (3 white, 3 red and 2 blue - representing the 8 major islands). However there appears to be discussion as to the true origins, the level of influence from the British East India Company, the USA and even who actually had input to the design i.e. former officers of the British Royal Navy. It was real nice to see it anyhow.

Lunch was at the Kualoa ranch, just a stones throw from the beach. Not being a film buff my eyes glazed over but I understand quite a number of films have been shot at this location including Jurassic Park -yawn. We were treated to a short trip up the mountain side in a jeep train which gave us some spectacular views down on the bay and Chinama's hat island. This used to be a sugar cane ranch but when the industry died they turned to cattle ranching and outdoor sports centre. One can do pony trekking, all terrain vehicle, hiking etc.

Enjoyed lunch and went for a stroll down to the beach to get a better view of the island. The ruins of the sugar mill was also still visible but did not have time to explore. Mill faltered as they only grew and milled 300tons of cane, at least 500 tons required for profit. Apparently mill powered initially by donkey then by steam.

Carried on up the coast and by this point by the driver was rambling quite a bit so lost what he was saying. We stopped at sunset beach for an ice cream and soda, back drop to the town was interesting. Then it was down the valley between the two mountains and a stop at the Dole Plantation. On the way we saw plenty of pineapple fields but were told Dole is the last grower on the Island and it is likely that very soon they will depart where cheaper labour can be found.

Dole's shop area included a rather large maze, we did not lose anybody so assume that no one tried it as it is reputed to be the largest in the world. They also had a rather pretty exotic garden that I enjoyed with many exhibits to look at and photograph, plus a section showing the different species of pineapple. Plenty to see and do and it would have been nice to bring away some of their produce but my case is already bursting again :-)

From the Dole shop it was back to Honolulu and the hotel and packing ready for tomorrows flight.