Pea Ridge National Military Park

Forty minutes northeast of Fayetteville is Pea Ridge where the National Park Service commemorates the 1862 battle which assured Missouri would remain in the union. Over 26,000 soldiers fought here and over 2000 perished as the North vanquished the Confederates after a disastrous first day of battle.



A paved 7.5 mile one-way road tours the battlegrounds and is open to bikes, so we biked the extremely hilly route, stopping at the various interpretive signs. A very informative movie is also available at the Visitor Center. Then the 88 degree weather impelled us to stop for shakes at Sonic.

Fayetteville Farmer's Market

Fayetteville's Farmer's Market offers a lot more than the Wauconda market I attended Thursday, but of course the growing season starts quite a bit earlier down here and more is ready for harvest at this juncture. Anyway, the market was bustling with people and dogs (why so many bring their critters, I can't answer, but they were all well behaved.) Lots of little kids were also present, especially around the water feature. Vegetables and flowers of every type were for sale at reasonable prices, and street musicians entertained in several places.





The nearby Town Center had this sculpture, the World Peace Prayer Fountain, an 8000 pound globe with "May Peace Prevail on Earth" inscribed in over 100 languages. This work of art involved 8000 hours of labor and the entire globe can be spun on its axis with minimal hand pressure.



Below is Ellen in her new Toyota Prius hybrid.

KC Birdie

This is KC (Kisses and Cuddles), Ellen's cockatiel. At first KC is a bit shy...



...but eventually warms up to you.

In Fayetteville, Arkansas

I made the long drive to Fayetteville without difficulty and was rewarded upon arrival with a sumptuous dinner of barbequed rotisserie leg of lamb, Greek potatoes, and carrots. Ellen is certainly a master chef and enjoys the preparation and cooking as much as I enjoy the consumption.



She also enjoys raising many of her own vegetables and spices. The photo below shows some of her crop of tomatoes, and she also has green peppers, basil, rosemary, sage, and oregano.

Shootout on Main Street

Wauconda is unique in that it hosts an annual rodeo on a dedicated rodeo grounds. Not unusual out West, but this is the suburbs of Chicago! Today was the kickoff of the weekend's festivities, and in conjunction with the weekly Farmer's Market, the Bristol Plains Pistoleros staged a gunfight reenactment on Main Street.

Black Bart and his gang arrive and immediately rob the Widow Jenkins as she travels Main Street with her five children. Bad, bad Black Bart! You should be ashamed of yourself. But wait -- here comes the marshal to the rescue.


Oh, oh! Black Bart shot the marshal!



But don't fret for the stalwart local citizens strike back and...


...the deadly shootout commences. With the forces of good overcome the black forces of evil?



Yes!!! Black Bart is hit and falls...



...and dies, making the town safe once again!

More Germany photos

Here are a few more sights you probably won't see in the USA.



These are Cadillacs set in concrete in this Berlin sculpture (perhaps a suggestion of what we should do with our American gas-guzzlers?)



The Berlin photo above claims to be the narrowest office building in the world. I believe it is a mere 9 feet wide. (Well, cars are smaller and homes are smaller in Germany, so why not office buildings?)



Johann Sebastian Bach's first job as choir director/organist was in Leipzig's Thomas Kirche, so a statue of him outside the church is expected, but inside they had a small museum including some of his handwritted musical manuscripts. It really gives one a sense of history!

The next 2 photos are from Munich's Hofbrauhaus' show.

Three of the band members harmonized on several songs using these long Alpenhorns. Wonderful sound, but not something you'd hear over here.


The dancers are using full axes to chop wood as part of their dance. A few minutes of cleanup were required to sweep up the shavings after the act.

The following sign doesn't really say what you might think. Rather, it bids people "good travel" as you depart the hotel in Gengenbach in the Schwartz Wald (Black Forest).

Palatine Concert Band Performance

Another beautiful evening and another outstanding performance by the band. Last week they played their two "hired" gigs at the Evanston and Wilmette Third of July and Fourth of July celebrations, but tonight they were back in their home venue at the community park amphitheatre.



They played all upbeat numbers, show tunes, marches, and some of the patriotic fare from last night, including a standing ovation. Great job!

Germany photos 2: Sights you won't see in the USA

Castle and cathedral viewed from the Rhine River:



Several of the 509 steps taking you to the top of the second highest church tower in the world, the Cologne Cathedral. Its twin 515 foot towers are only 2 feet shorter than another German town's towers. How many footfalls did it take to wear down these granite stairs?



In the town of Hamelin, renowned for being the setting of the Grimm Brothers fairy tale, "The Pied Piper of Hamelin," this young flautist was entertaining crowds outside the visitor center.



A sight I hope we never see: This was a fortified entry to the former East Germany from West Germany, a place with walls and guard towers and these vehicle inspection lanes.



At the Sloss Sanssouci in Potsdam, this fellow was selling hot dogs from his inventive and practical, self-contained, one-man hot dog vending apparatus, complete with umbrella since it was raining.



We complain about gas prices here. In Germany, the price was 1.36 Euros per liter which calculates out to about $6.50 a gallon. Swatch and Mercedes Benz have combined talents to develop and market the Smart car which is a big seller there. About the only place in our country where you can see it is in NYC's Museum of modern Art. Here are two examples of this vehicle.






BTW: If you want more info on why Smart cars are not in our country, but how you could get one, check asmartcar.com

Sunset in Florida

Ever paddled at sunset? Very relaxing. Here we head back to our camp on Mosquito Island (properly named, unfortunately) in Cape Canaveral National Seashore on a 2004 Sierra Club kayaking outing.

Poem #13: Fill Us Lord

Fill Us, Lord

Fill us with Your spirit, Lord,
let Your living waters flow
into our heart, into our soul,
unearned salvation to bestow.

Fill us with Your presence, Lord,
inhabit all who hear the story
of our Living God, adorned
with crown of thorn and glory.

Fill us with Your worship, Lord,
with joyful praise in prayer and song,
our adoration now outpoured
to glorify You all life long.

Fill us with Your nurture, Lord,
sustenance for troubled souls,
trust and courage ever afford,
and blessed peace that ever flows.

Fill us with Your calling, Lord,
infect us with Your Holy ways,
that we may minister far more,
convicting others all our days.

Fill us with Your being, Lord,
ease our minds and troubled breast
with comfort from Your Holy Word
and grace to give us Heaven’s rest.

copyright 1998 by Chuck Morlock

Biking and gawking

Patti, Dave, and I biked early at Moraine Hills State Park to beat the predicted high temps and storms this afternoon, and the Fox River was roaring over McHenry Dam, powered by yesterday's heavy rains, and we saw numerous Great White Egrets and Great Blue Herons fishing around the dam, competing with the human fishermen.



And then this big guy sauntered out of the wetlands, across the parking lot and grass, and dove into the river. He was much larger than my feet and though people flocked around him to gawk and take pictures with their phones, all kept a safe distance from his powerful jaws.

Bambi X2

Got out for an hour ride again before the expected 90+ degree afternoon, and as I came around a bend in the Millennium Trail, I spotted a spotted critter in the tallgrass to the right of the trail and so I stopped. Moments later, probably since I posed no threat, this young fawn, emboldened by my stationary stance, stepped onto the trail, froze, and curiously studied me.



After a minute or two, she slowly ambled across the trail and into the grass and trees on the left side of the trail, presumably to join her mom who no doubt waited over there watching the episode. Needless to say, that made the entire ride worth it.

But then on the return trip thirty minutes later, I spotted Mom in the grass and stopped again. She saw me, watched me, and after a minute, crossed in front of me.



And moments later, the baby reappeared and again scoped me out, more inquisitive than afraid, until a biker came from the other direction and startled her, sending her back into the grass.



It was truly a wondrous ride!!!

90 degree softball again

94 degrees and 20 mph winds - tough softball weather, for sure.

How tall does the third baseman think Steve is?



No matter the temperature, just hit the ball as far as you can and run as fast as you can.



"I've got it!" (Actually the gale force wind had it and took an infield fly ball well into the outfield.)



Game over, so Steve and Kasia and I went for a famous Hackneyburger.

M&M and the Faucet

Everyone knows that faucet water tastes a lot better than water from a plain old bowl. Right?

Gilmer/Fairfield Update #3

The German excursion was wonderful, but I really yearned for my bike because every town we were in -- large city or small village -- abounded with bicycles, and bike paths were everywhere, in the towns and cities, along the rivers, through the forests, and over the meadows. So this morning I went for an early hour-long bike ride before church to beat the predicted 95 degree afternoon. I routed myself over to the intersection reconstruction to check progress. This shot is looking east from Gilmer over Fairfield below. To my untrained eye, it appears the concrete support work is finishing and they are getting close to installing the beams to carry Gilmer over Fairfield.



Below shows the view on Fairfield looking south with Gilmer above on the right and left.

Back from Deutschland!

I'm back! It was a wondrous 11 days in Germany. Now I have over 2000 photos to weed through and enhance, but here are a few to get you started. Len and Marlene and I and 30 others on this Globus tour traveled over 1700 miles by bus through Germany as we visited Frankfort am Main, Remagen, Cologne, Hamelin, Berlin, Leipzig, Nuremburg, Rothenburg, Munich, Garmisch, Oberammergau, Lindau, Gengenbach, and Heidelberg.



Berlin's "mascot" is the bear and they did with bears what Chicago did many years ago with the cows -- with various groups decorating them and later auctioning them off for charity. Here I am with one of the Berlin Bears (though I much prefer orange and blue Chicago Bears!)



Below is Neuschwanstein Castle in the German Alps of Bavaria, one of 3 built by King Ludwig II (the 'Mad King.") It is located in the vicinity of Garmish-Partinkirchen and Oberammergau near the Austrian border. If it looks familiar to you, it's because Walt Disney used it as the model for his castle in Disneyland and Disney World.



While in Munich we attended the show in the Festival Hall of the famed Hofbrauhaus and enjoyed the Bavarian dancers and musicians as well as the beer. Since I don't care for beer (though I did try it) I did indulge with the largest pretzel I've ever seen. As you can see, even my big mouth couldn't do it justice!



Our cruise on the Rhine River was another highlight. Behind me you see one of the numerous castles dotting the hillsides. Though you can't make them out, the hillsides are abundant with terraced vineyards on the steep slopes, the fruit of which becomes the world famous Rhine wines.



Here I am atop Zugspitze ("windy peak") - one of Bavaria's tallest peaks at 9,724 feet. A few feet from me is the border of Austria, so we were in two countries after the cable car ride to the top.