It had been raining here in Austin for days, and the weather forecast for the upcoming Fourth of July weekend didn’t look promising either. We had originally planned to set off on our extended weekend tour on July 3, right after Celina finished work, but the rain was so heavy that we postponed our departure until the next morning. It wasn’t much better then, but at least it was daylight. So off we went… out of rainy Texas and toward Oklahoma, because there’s a Hard Rock Cafe casino there where we can get some new pins.
Tulsa, OK – 4th of July & Hard Rock Cafe
Halfway to Tulsa, somewhere above Fort Worth, the rain eased off a little, making driving a little more relaxed and meaning that there weren’t so many cars decorating the right and left sides of the interstate and having to be pulled out of the ditches by the police and fire department. Some drivers obviously don’t understand that you should drive a little slower in such rainy weather with the usual summer tires without tread, even though they’ve had several days to practice. When we crossed the border into Oklahoma, the weather was finally sunny and pleasantly humid, which gave us the idea of making a stopover. We decided on Turner Falls Park, because there is supposed to be a castle ruin there that might be suitable for photography. However, the park was so crowded and, because of the holiday, also extremely expensive ($20 per person + parking fee) that we decided against this option and continued on our way to eastern Oklahoma. We reached our destination in the early evening, bought a few pins, food, and drinks, and went to our accommodation to watch the 4th of July fireworks from our hotel window.
Tulsa – Route 66, Mustangs
Because Tulsa is located on Route 66, we spent the following morning visiting some notable landmarks such as the “Blue Whale.” A herd of mustangs (which normally roam freely) also caught our attention, but they are currently unable to roam quite so freely due to a large construction site.
Three-country corner &
George Washington Carver National Monument
Because it was already noon, we decided to continue our journey to… well… the east. Celina had found a landmark where the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri meet. That sounded cute, so we set the destination on our navigation system. We realized that we had forgotten to update our navigation system, because instead of heading for our destination, we found ourselves driving around it on various country roads. Our navigation system was essentially circling the destination, and it was only Celina’s cell phone navigation that led us to our desired destination.
On our way, we saw a sign for the “George Washington Carver National Monument.” What does George Washington have to do with this area? To find out, we decided to drive there. And lo and behold… it has nothing to do with George Washington (the president), because it’s called the George Washington Carver National Monument, only we somehow didn’t take the name Carver seriously. Anyway, we learned about another important person and his work as a botanist, chemist, and inventor in agricultural research.
Roaring River State Park, MS
We continued on through the state of Missouri. We had expected relatively boring and slightly hilly countryside, but we were pleasantly surprised by mountains, forests, lakes, and winding roller coaster roads that were challenging for the driver.
Our next stop was at Roaring River State Park, located in a deep, narrow valley surrounded by a striking and rugged landscape. The park has a rainbow trout breeding facility where visitors are allowed to fish. The natural surroundings and a deep blue spring provided our photographer with a picturesque backdrop.
In addition, even though you wouldn’t know it from looking at the quiet little pond, it is officially the deepest freshwater spring in North America, with a depth of 472 ft (143.8 m)
Branson, MS
It was gradually time to find accommodation for the night, so we decided on the next largest town that our hotel reservation app offered us. This gave us the unexpected pleasure of getting to know Branson, also known as the family-friendly Las Vegas. We hadn’t expected to see such a bustling city here in this rather quiet and rural part of Missouri. Just like its “big sister city,” Branson has artistically designed casinos, theaters, lots of go-kart tracks, and everything else that makes the hearts of gamblers and families beat faster. So, we learned something new, and it was nice too.
Top of the Rock
The next day we went to “Top of the Rock” (not in New York, but in Taney County), where we rented a “race car” (max. speed 7 mph) to take a golf cart cave tour and go in search of waterfalls. Here, our photographer was able to let loose once again, and admittedly… it was really something special.
Dogwood Canyon Nature Park
After that, we drove to Lampe in Missouri. Here, we went on a mega tour with river crossings, waterfalls, and finally saw buffalo again, including their young. It was really cool and highly recommended.
Mining & Hot Springs, AR
The next day took us back to Hot Springs, Arkansas, where we had already been last December. Originally, we wanted to dig for crystals in a mine in a suburb, but when we got there, none of us really felt like sitting in the sand in the blazing sun and what felt like 40°C heat. So we drove straight into town. This time, the weather was a little kinder than on our last visit, and the rain waited until we had finished our sightseeing tour. Last time, it wasn’t possible to visit the bathhouses because of the crowds of tourists. This time, however, it was quite manageable, so we were able to take a look inside one of these facilities. It’s somehow reminiscent of Karlovy Vary in Czechia…
We slowly made our way back home, accompanied by persistent rain showers. We decided to make another stop in Dallas because driving in this weather is quite tedious. Besides, there is a Titanic exhibition there that is worth seeing.
Dallas, TX – Titanic
After a very hearty breakfast at Denny’s, we made our way to the exhibition. Here, we could view replicas of rooms and other areas of the ship, as well as everyday objects. It wasn’t uninteresting, but somehow we had expected a little more.
And now, in bright sunshine, we finally headed back home, where it finally started raining again as soon as we entered our apartment. Just a Water Trip…
PS: While we were happily traveling, there were severe storm surges in our area, in which rivers quickly turned into raging torrents and swept away everything in their path. Water levels in the rivers rose to 8 meters in some cases within 45 minutes, and many people (especially a children’s summer camp) were swept away and some have still not been found…