Z is for the Zoo in St. Louis

I can’t believe we’re at the end and I can’t believe I managed to post every week, but here we are at letter Z.  There was no doubt in my mind that I’d be sharing about the wonderful St. Louis Zoo.  It’s ranked one of the top zoos in the nation and it’s FREE!  That’s not to say there aren’t attractions within the zoo that you must pay for, like the train or the opportunity to pet stingrays (the stingrays and the Children’s zoo are free during the first hour of the day).  There is a fee to park in the zoo’s lots, but you can park in Forest Park for free and walk in.  (While you’re in the park, you can check out the Art Museum, the Science Center, and the Muny).

The zoo really has it’s roots in the 1904 World’s Fair (ever see Meet Me in St. Louis with Judy Garland?).  The Smithsonian Institution commissioned a large flight cage for visitors to walk through and see rare birds.  The city purchased the cage when the fair closed and within a decade more than 70 acres around the cage were designated for zoo land.  

My memories of the zoo began in the 70’s when  big changes were occurring at the zoo—up to this point the animals had been housed in cages and the elephants and chimpanzees performed in shows.  Now cages were being replaced with large pens with moats and most of the animals weren’t expected to perform (they recently added back the sea lion show).   Here’s a great example with a glass window allowing us to see the hippos above and below the water surface.  Yes, there are fish in the water—a sign nearby explains the symbiotic relationship.  Let’s just say the water would be a lot murkier if the fish weren’t doing their jobs and leave it at that.

As a young Earth, creation-believing family zoos can be tricky places—there’s always a concern that the signage will reference evolution and millions of years.  I noticed most of the animals simply had their common name on the enclosures (see below).

That’s not to say they aren’t learning opportunities.  In good weather there are several stations to touch fur or study a skull, etc.  There are also several permanent displays like the jungle classroom with its chalkboard of a cheetah….

The zoo realizes that while moms would like to focus on the educational aspect of the zoo, kids just want to have fun (and get some wiggle out of their systems).  You can find several sculptures around to climb on or crawl through.

 

Last year’s new exhibit was a tunnel through the sea lion pool.  Here’s Schnickelfritz seeing if he can hold is breath as long as these pinnipeds.  He’s turning red, don’t ya think?

This last shot was taken inside that flight cage that started the zoo so many years ago.  It’s still standing strong.

 

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Y is for Young Clydesdales

I’ll begin this post with a confession.  I was planning to write about the Youzeum—a health/anatomy- themed, interactive museum in Columbia, Mo.  But when I went to find hours and prices I found out that it had closed just two years after our chance to visit.  I could write about the sign of the times--no wonder childhood obesity and diabetes are rampant…. someone finally comes up with an engaging and fun way to  learn about their prevention  and the place closes for lack of attendance.  Instead, I’m thinking off the cuff and the only thing Y post I could come up with is Young Clydesdales.

I’m sure you’re familiar with the Budweiser Clydesdales, even if you never drank the product…they star in parades and Super Bowl commercials around the country and probably the world.  The Anheuser-Busch brewery began in St. Louis and  Missouri happens to be home to their breeding farm.  The Clydesdales and I go way back.  Remember the map from the Ulysses S Grant home?  The Grant’s Farm (owned by A-B)highlighted in yellow is home to more than 50 of the gentle giants.  They keep  young ones just weaned from their moms as a way to get them accustomed to crowds, as well as retired hitch horses (15 years and older).   As a little girl I used to feed them handfuls of grass over the fence (if that’s a no-no, I’m sure the statute of limitations has run out by now).   You can take a 90 minute tour of the stables and get your picture taken with one of the retired hitch horses for $25, but you can walk through the stables on your own for free.  By the way, Grant’s Farm is a free attraction, but parking costs  $12.

But I promised this was going to be a post about “young” Clydesdales, didn’t I?  Nearly dead center between St. Louis and Kansas City on Highway 70 is the Warm Springs Ranch, the official breeding farm for the Budweiser Clydesdales since 2008.  Their herd (100 strong) has breeding mares, foals and stallions.  $10 tours of the ranch are offered April – October daily (at 10 am and 2 pm) except Wednesdays and you’ll want to visit in the spring when the babies are being born. Tickets sell out fast so you may want to purchase yours online rather than arrive and find they’ve sold out.  You’ll have the opportunity to pose for pictures with one of the adults and you can take pictures of the babies with their mamas in the foaling barn.  After touring the barns, seeing the semi trailers in which the hitch team travels, and getting to see the wagon & harnesses up close be warned that guests over 21 will be offered a sampling of the beverage these horses represent.  You may want to leave the tour at this point and check out the gift shop.

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X means “Watch out for trains!”

I promise—this will be my biggest creative stretch of the ABC series, but really who can come up with a town or attraction that starts with “X?”  What immediately jumped to my mind was the X in the middle of a railroad crossing sign.  I have this theory that all little boys must go through either a dinosaur phase or a trains phase (perhaps both).  For my son it was trains, and to be honest the phase is over 9 years old and still going strong.  He’d wow the crowd of older men at the model train shows by pointing out cantenary systems or recognizing a shay locomotive (thank you I Love Toy Trains videos).   He started with a wooden Thomas set and has graduated to his own Lionel.  We’re always looking for opportunities to add trains to a vacations or weekend excursions.  Here are a few we’ve found in Missouri.

The Museum of Transportation

The museum is actually a part of the St. Louis Parks & Recreation department.  Founded over 70 years ago with just a mule-drawn streetcar is now displays planes, cars, a tugboat, and more than 70 locomotives!  (There are plenty of passenger cars and cabooses too).  If you want to learn about trains this is the place to go.  The static displays have plenty of signs and labels to learn about the trains themselves or the operating parts (see the picture below).  My son’s favorites are the Big Boy and the Aerotrain.  Admission is $8 for adults and $5 kids ages 3-12. 

The Missouri River Runner

Amtrak offers daily service between St. Louis and Kansas City.  A fair portion of the track does indeed run along the Missouri River, offering majestic views of the bluffs.  Along the way you can stop in Hermann (known for its German heritage and wineries) and the state capital.  It is unfortunate that the St. Louis end of the trip does not stop at the majestic Union Station any more (as it did when I was a child) but you can still see and experience a golden age of trains’ station on the Kansas City end.

Branson Scenic Railway

While the city is mostly known for it’s live music shows along Hwy 76, you can travel east to the old town of Branson and there catch a 40 mile ride through the hills of the Ozarks.  The train uses working freight lines and has to work around other trains so you won’t actually know if you’ll be heading north or south until departure time.  If you’re in town to see the Christmas lights you can take a special Polar Express train (some folks even come in their jammies).  They serve cookies and hot chocolate, read the book, and you’ll be visited by the hobo from the story and the man in red.  You can check their website for pricing and schedules.

Scale Railroads (Little Steamers)

Maybe your family isn’t ready for a big train ride yet.  Well, there are other options. Have you ever seen a picture of Walt Disney on his miniature train, the Carolwood-Pacific Railroad?  You don’t need Disney’s wealth or Imagineers to own a train like this and you don’t even need to own one to ride.  There are several clubs and parks across Missouri that offer weekend rides.  If you’re really interested in trains these clubs are always looking for volunteers to maintain or even lay down new track and trust me when I say these enthusiasts love to talk about their engines.
The Kansas City Northern Railroad offers rides on weekends and holidays May-September for a mere 50 cents on its half mile track.
The Magic City Line is a mini-train run near Moberly, MO.  It runs on Sundays April – October with a $2.50 fare.  The MCL has over a mile of track. 
The St. Louis Live Steamers offers free rides one Saturday each month April-October (follow them on Facebook for dates)  They’ve been busy expanding their track so I’m really not sure how long the ride is right now.
The Wabash, Frisco & Pacific Railroad has a 2 mile trip along the Meramec River.  They run every Sunday afternoon from May-October and ask for a $4.00 donation per rider (under 3 is free).
There are other small gauge tracks in the state but most seem to be private clubs.  If you’d like to learn about them (or the ones in your state), the Discover Live Steam has a thorough listing with contact information.

Pacific, MO

Originally called Franklin, the  name was changed the following year when the Atlantic-Pacific Railroad laid tracks through town. Regular rail service from Pacific to St. Louis began in 1861.  General Price (we learned about him at the Battle of Pilot Knob) also attempted to capture these lines to reach St. Louis in 1864.   The town holds a Railroad Day Festival every year in the summer.  Other times you may just want to stop at the picnic pavilion near the tracks where they’ve installed a monitor to see the train traffic along the lines and listen to the engineers and dispatchers talking.
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W is for Walt Disney’s Hometown

Missourians have had a major role to play in the history and culture of our country.  We’ve had writers like Mark Twain and Laura Ingalls Wilder (who wrote all her books in the state).  The President Truman, who dropped the A Bomb and ended World War II, was a Missourian (why do you think they signed the peace treaty on the U.S.S. Missouri?).  In this ABC series, we’ve also discussed Dred Scott, George Washington Carver, Daniel Boone, and others.  But perhaps the man who’s had more impact on the pop culture of the U.S. is the man who called Marceline, MO his hometown—Walter Elias Disney.  After all, visiting Disneyworld has practically become a rite of passage for American youth.  A previous generation all ran around with coon skin caps singing “Davy Crockett” and “The Mickey Mouse Club” songs. 
Disney didn’t live in Marceline long—only four or five years, but the memories lasted a lifetime.  When Walt made the movie So Dear To My Heart, the barn in the film was built to resemble the one on the Disney farm.  Marceline is supposedly the inspiration for Main Street in the Disney parks. It was here on the side of the family home that Walt created his first cartoon—using tar to paint a pig on the whitewashed “blank canvas.”  His father gave him a whippin’, but his aunt gave him paper and pencils. The rest, as they say, is history.

Walt didn’t forget Marceline and the town didn’t forget Walt judging by the municipal pool and elementary school that bear his name. He came for the dedication of both. When the pool was opened, Disney brought the premier of The Great Locomotive Chase for the town’s cinema.  He and brother Roy stood outside to shake hands with everyone.  When the school opened he bought the playground equipment and a flagpole that had been used in the 1960 winter olympics.  He even brought a Disneyland flag, making the school the only site authorized to fly it outside the park itself.
If you travel to Marceline, you’ll want to visit The Dreaming

Tree—where a young Walt and his sister Ruth would spend afternoons imagining.  Only the trunk of the original tree  is left but in 2004 a Disney grandson planted a sapling from its seeds now called Son of Dreaming Tree.  Not far away is a replica of the family barn where Walt first delved into show business selling tickets to his barn circus for 10 cents each.  Visitors today are encourage to leave a family friendly message on the walls and beams inside.
The original Disney home still stands.  It’s a private residence so be respectful if you visit.  The lady of the house is the curator of the Disney Hometown Museum (Disney stayed in her family’s home when he came for the pool dedication because it was the only one in town with air conditioning).   Anyone who knows Walt Disney knows his love of trains, so it’s only fitting that the museum in his honor is located in the town’s former depot.  There is a guided tour of the first floor, where you’ll find family letters and personal memorabilia (most of it came from the Disney family, not the corporation).

Upstairs is the heart’s work of one artist, a man named Dale Varner who spent nearly 40 years building his own model of Disneyland.  I’m sure he could have sold it anywhere, but he chose to donate it to the Hometown Museum.  He had originally planned to keep working and adding pieces to the display, but passed away the next year (so some of the pieces don’t look as finished as others).

I dare you to look at this for any length of time without humming that song!

 

 

I’m telling you these models look as good or better than the one’s I saw Walt Disney himself share on TV.  This man should have been an imagineer.

The Disney Hometown Museum is open Tues-Sun from April through October. You may want to come in September when the whole town celebrates Toonfest.  Before I close, I want to thank Mr. John Browning of John and Sigrid’s Adventures for letting me share his photographs.  Visiting Marceline is still on my bucket list so I’ve only virtually visited via his blog (which you can visit to see even more images).

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Ville de Ste. Genevieve

Okay, I’ll admit up front that I’m stretching a bit to get my letter “V” post, but “ville” does mean town in French and Ste. Genevieve, MO was founded by French settlers.  It was in fact the first settlement in Missouri (we can’t just say west of the Mississippi River because of Spanish settlements in the southwest).  The city’s website lists its founding in 1735 but it may have been as early as 1722 or as late as 1750. The region had something for everyone among the early settlers:  Saline Creek and the springs provided as source of salt, there was an abundance of lead to be mined, and the river bottoms provided some of the richest soil for farming.  The original location for Ste. Genevieve was a few miles to the south, but destroyed by flooding in 1785.

If you’ll recall my T is for Thomas Hart Benton Murals post, I mentioned the artist correctly painted the colonial home as being built with vertical planking.  You can still see examples of that architecture in Ste. Genevieve.  Three of the five remaining “poteaux en terre” (Posts in the ground) style homes in the nation are here. 


You may want to start your tour at the Bolduc House and Museum.  He was one of the richest men in town (from growing tobacco).  The home was built in 1792 and survived the series of New Madrid earthquakes in 1811-12.  The director of the museum was a homeschooling parent and they have monthly activities for homeschoolers as well as a day camp in June.



"Photograph from the street of the Amoureaux House in Ste Genevieve MO" by Andrew Balet - Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Our next stop, the Bauvais-Amoureux House was built in the same year (1792).  (Note: some sources spell the name as Beauvais). The focus on this stop will be a woman named Pelagie.  She was a “mulatto” and born a slave in the Vital Beauvais household, but fell in love with a white man named Benjamin Amoureux.  The two snuck across the river to Illinois and found a priest to marry them (illegal in 1830).  The widow of her former master freed Pelagie and her infant son in 1832, but that did not end her struggles.  Her children for example, all free, could not attend school because it was illegal to teach a mulatto to read or write.

Next stop is the Jacques Guibourd Historic House built in 1806.  The story here is about the owner’s harrowing journey to arrive in Ste. Genevieve in the first place.  He had been working and living in St. Dominique (now called Haiti) when the slave rebellion of 1791 broke out.  His own slave remained loyal, sealing him in a cargo barrel and loading him onto a ship bound for France.  France wasn’t any more peaceful—it was the height of the Revolution.  He ended up leaving his homeland and settling in this French-Speaking ville along the Mississippi River.  The tour of the house also features the architecture, from the posts in the ground to the beam supporting the roof in the ceiling.
The best way to visit all these homes (and others) is with a Passport to Ste. Genevieve—all the sites for only $15.  Of course you can visit the homes individually and pay an entrance fee at each if some interest you more than others.  In addition to the permanent tourist spots, there are several French inspired annual events:

• La Guiannée—on New Year’s Eve the French settlers dressed in costumes and took to the streets singing a beggar’s song for favors.  There’s a great YouTube video that explains the custom and you can hear a recording of the song from 1957.
• The King's Ball—was originally the French’s way of celebrating Twelfth-Night.  Today attendees dress in colonial attire and dance to traditional music.  Now the ball is held in February and there are some ties to Mardi Gras.
• The French Festival is held each June with more dancing and music, French foods and wine tasting.  You can have tea with Marie Antoinette (who has everything to do with France and nothing at all to do with Ste. Genevieve as far as I can tell.
• And finally Jour de Fête in August has nothing historical about it, but it’s a great craft festival.

Because we’re an English-speaking country today, it’s easy to forget that a great portion of our land once belonged to France.  If you have French ancestry, Ste. Genevieve is a great place to come and get in touch with your roots.

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U is for Ulysses S. Grant House

If you were taking a quiz and asked which president was from Missouri I hope would be able to answer Harry S Truman, but he wasn’t the only president who lived in the state.  After graduating from West Point, a young Ulysses S. Grant was stationed at Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis.  As a promise to a schoolmate Grant rode out to visit the Dent family at their White Haven estate and pay his respects.  He enjoyed himself so much that he returned on a weekly basis.  The following spring, Julia Dent returned home from boarding school and the visits occurred on a daily basis.  Julia was not the prettiest of the Dent daughters, but she was the best horsewoman.  The couple began to court while riding along the creek that cut through the 850 acre plantation.  When Grant learned he was being transferred in preparation for the Mexican-American War, he proposed.  The couple were finally married in a Dent home in St. Louis in 1848.
Grant remained in the army after the war and was stationed in California for a time.  Julia remained with her family at White Haven and gave birth to their first child, Jesse (eventually 3 of their 4 children would be born in this house).  When Grant resigned his commission (1854), he built a cabin on the Dent property for his young family to live in.  They remained only a few months and returned to the main house when Julia’s mother passed away.  They remained in the home until 1860 when Grant went to work in his own father’s store in Ohio before he returned to the army in 1861.

The Grant’s had intentions of returning to White Haven

as late as his second term as president.  The barn on the property was built to house Grant’s prized horses and based on a design he had sketched on White House stationery.  As it was being constructed, the house was painted a shade of green that Mrs. Grant had noticed and admired among the homes in Washington, D.C. The Grants never did return to Missouri though, instead settling in New York after he left office. 
This field trip was near and dear to my heart.  I grew up just up Grant’s Road and was very familiar with Grant’s Farm, his cabin, and the Clydesdales that were pastured there (Anheuser-Busch owns Grant’s Farm and used to breed horses for their Budweiser wagon team there).

I’d never visited White Haven though.  The property had been sold to a private family and I’d never even seen the house as it was hidden from the road and Grant’s Farm parking lot by the barn.  The property didn’t become available for public tours until the 1990’s.

We began our visit by watching a 16 minute movie about Grant’s life from his arrival at Jefferson Barracks until his death.  He had a tragic ending—he lost the family savings in a bad Wall Street deal and developed throat cancer.  He began work on his memoirs, hoping the proceeds would support his family after his passing.  He finished them just a few days before he died.

Tours of the home are scheduled on the hour and half hour.  The home itself is very sparsely furnished—most of the Grant’s furniture was lost in a fire while it was being stored on the Grant’s Farm property. In addition to the main house, you can tour the summer kitchen/laundry, icehouse, and chicken coop. 

It was interesting to see the contrast between the doors of the family entrance to the home and the slave entrance.  The Dents were slaveholders and Col. Dent even gave a slave to Grant at some point.  Grant freed the man when he moved to Ohio (a free state).  The ranger giving us the tour pointed out that Grant chose to free the man rather than sell him. My mother and I had been taught the Grant was a failure at business and farming and that’s why he had to move to Ohio, but the ranger said if Grant had truly been in such financial straits he could have sold the slave for up to $1500. 
Of more interest to me were the exhibits in the barn.  It may look like a horse stable on the outside, but the inside includes a first class museum.

You find portraits, family artifacts, and interactive displays from various eras in Grant’s life (not so much about his Civil War years). The exhibit below dealt with the four Grant children.  You could listen to memories each child had about their presidential father.  The display case and items of importance to each (one had a microscope while another cherished a story book).
 

 

I was keenly interested in a display about another widely held belief about Grant that may or may not be true.  He is often portrayed (especially in Civil War movies) as a heavy drinker.  The display doesn’t deny that Grant imbibed while he was stationed in California and depressed about the separation from his family.  During the Civil War however, it appears that a Gen. Halleck (Grant’s superior officer) may have started the rumor about drunkenness when Grant was promoted for actions at Ft. Donelson and he wasn’t.  When the rumor was published, Grant’s staff officers wrote it was “the most infamous and malicious falsehood that was ever uttered.”   The Secretary of Wayrsent his own man to investigate the charges and he wrote “To the question they all ask: ‘Doesn’t he drink?’—I have been able, from my own knowledge to give a decided negative.”  It may have in fact been Grant’s frequent migraine headaches or the doctor’s prescribing quinine (which can cause slurred speech and confusion)  that may have led those aware of the rumor to assume he was drunk.
Schnickelfritz wasn’t quite as enthusiastic about reading all the information on the walls, but the museum was prepared for such a contingency.  They had cubbies filled with hats and costumes for kids to try on and a full length mirror in which to view themselves. 

The Ulysses S. Grant home is open daily (except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day).  Admission is free. 
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T is for Thomas Hart Benton Murals

Looking back at our homeschool field trips, most of them have been for history/social studies purposes.  A few have been science/geology related, and some are just for fun.  Other than a trip to the art museum, this may be the only art related field trip we’ve taken and I’ll be honest, it was a small portion of a larger, civics-related trip to the Missouri Capitol.  Notice, that was with an “o” not and “a” so I’m referring to the actual building.  The House Lounge used to be a place for legislators and the committees on which they served to meet.  In 1935, Thomas Hart Benton (a native Missourian and one of the best known artists of the Regionalism movements) was commissioned to decorate the lounge with a mural, the subject being “A Social History of the State of Missouri.”  Benton was given complete freedom in interpreting and executing the theme.

No one can accuse Benton of not being thorough…while he sketched ideas to cover the more than 1400 square feet of wall space, he consulted a six-volume history of Missouri. The outer wall was filled with windows and he opted to paint cornstalks and power lines in the spaces between them.  The other walls would be covered with scenes of Missouri’s history, legends, and folklore.  Visitors were allowed in the room while Benton worked and it someone with a particularly interesting face walked in, the artist might stop to sketch a portrait and that face would end up on the wall somewhere.

When the room was revealed in 1937, the legislators were in an uproar.  Some were offended by the content (Jesse James, the outlaw was given a prominent spot over the doors), others by the bright colors and oversized figures.  One man was even worried that the artist had gone way over budget buying eggs to use in the paint base (Benton had receipts to prove he’d only spent about $10).  There were cries to install curtains or just whitewash over the whole mess, but the furor died down and the House Lounge is one of the highlights of Capitol tours these days. Here are some of the highlights of the panels.

 
Huckleberry Finn and the slave Jim were fictionalized characters of the famous Missouri author Mark Twain.  The steamboat in the background has been christened Samuel Clemens, Mark Twain’s real name.

 

Benton’s tribute to the city of St. Louis.  It’s probably best known as the home of Anheuser-Busch (notice the man drinking, the beer being put into kegs and the bar glass.  The artist did his homework though, St. Louis and surrounding communities had a lot of shoe factories (in fact, my grandparents used to work in one).  The St. Louis City Museum is built in a former shoe factory and the giant 10 story slide is how they used to move product from floor to floor. In the background is coal.

Kansas City is portrayed with its meat processors (ever hear of a Kansas City steak?).  In the foreground, a Bunsen burner reminds viewers of the advancement in  chemical research from the western side of the state. This is one of the upsetting segments of the mural.  The man with his back turned is Tom Pendergast, a political boss from KC who was later convicted of tax evasion. The site of his meeting includes scantily clad show girls in the background. Mr. Pendergast still held a lot of political clout when the mural was unveiled. Probably some of the men he helped elect had their feet held to the fire to whitewash over this image.




Another disturbing, but historically accurate scene deals with the way Mormons were treated in the state.  Their home is being burned and a man is being tarred and feathered.  In 1838, Gov. Lilburn Boggs signed an order to drive the Mormons from the state or exterminate them.  It wasn’t rescinded until 1976.

The real pictures are so large, I’m not sure how well the details will appear in this post.  Although the focus of this scene is the white man trading whiskey for furs (another unpopular, but true scene), in the background is a frontier cabin.  Benton correctly painted it with vertical planking just like the first French settlers built their homes.

The murals have never been modified, only cleaned and restored over the years. Touring the Missouri Capitol is free and the House Lounge is usually open (there may be a rare meeting in there from time to time).  If you’re coming to Jefferson City to study Missouri history of government, please stop by and see this artistic treasure.

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S is for Silver Dollar City

Well here I was, all prepared to share about the Steamboat Museum outside Kansas City for my letter S (The Arabia sank in 1856 and was rediscovered 132 years later—now visitors can see its preserved cargo. which would have been taken by pioneers heading west on the various national trails).  It all would have been very educational I assure you, but it was the week before Labor Day and another homeschooling family offered to take us as their guests to Silver Dollar City, another S destination.  How was I to say no?

Outside the glare of neon signs, the roar of go cart tracks, and the miles of slow moving traffic that is Branson is one of the finest theme parks in the country.  It opened in 1960 with little more than a blacksmith shop, a general store, an ice cream parlor and a few other buildings that served as the background for the staged gunfights performed by costumed staff.  As a promotional gimmick, change for purchases was given in real silver dollars! (They no longer do this, in case you’re wondering).  When tourists spent their silver dollars back home, they often shared where the money had come from—word of mouth advertising.

SDC’s popularity took another giant leap when the Beverly

Hillbillies show filmed five episodes on site in 1969. The ice cream parlor became a hotel and several craftsmen like the blacksmith Shad Heller appeared in the shows.  Shad became the “face” of Silver Dollar City, appearing on all the billboards, etc.  I know there’s a picture somewhere of me getting to meet him at his forge during my first visit  (I was only three).

There’s something for everyone at SDC! Are you into coasters?  They’ve got five now, including Outlaw Run—named best new ride of 2013 and winner on the Travel Channel’s Insane Coaster War.  My Schnickelfritz had been chomping at the bit to get on this ride since we saw it being built in 2012.  That’s him with his hands up in the air in the front row while I’m taking pictures from the safety of the exit ramp.  Notice how empty the cars are?  That’s the advantage of homeschooling –we visit when the parks are empty!  (It wasn’t really empty, but most visitors were there for the Southern Gospel Picnic and not interested in thrill rides).

When you’re through twisting, turning, and inverting and it’s safe to eat again check out some of the stick to your ribs grub.  In case you can’t read the sign, these giant skillets are used for succotash (corn, yellow squash, okra, peppers, onion, and chicken).  Another concoction is green beans, carrots, redskin potatoes, and ham.  It’s not your typical theme park food, it’s home cookin’.  You can also find barbecue and corn on the cob roasted on the grill. 

My favorite thing to do is visit all the craft shops.  They don’t just sell cast iron and hand blown glass, they make it on site!  They generally explain what they’re doing and they’re happy to take questions when it’s safe for them to be distracted.  You can find people working with wood, leather, iron, pottery, glass, and candy all over the park.  There’s even a lathe making baseball bats.  If you’re really into crafts you may want to come during the Harvest Festival in the fall when they bring in an additional 125 craftsmen.

If it’s really hot outside or if you’re into spelunking you’ll want to be sure and tour Marvel Cave (it was the original tourist attraction back in the 1800’s).  For an hour you’ll be walking through the 54-60 degree cave, the temperature actually goes up the deeper you descend and this is the deepest tour cave in the state.  If you’re trying to earn the Missouri Cave Patch, this can count as one of your five caves.  We had a great guide.  During the descent of all those stairs in the Cathedral Room entrance, speakers were playing the soundtrack from Batman—talk about your perfect set-ups.  Eventually a youngster would ask about Batman and the guide would say “No, this is Marvel Cave, Batman is DC Comics.”

Fair warning, it can be strenuous—lot’s of steps up and down, the guides spell out what will be expected of you in plenty of detail so don’t say you weren’t warned.  And before you can even get in line you’ll have to stoop through an opening that represents the tightest squeeze in the cave, just four feet high, for a length of about seven feet.  It is do-able, though.  We had an older lady with two prosthetic legs on our tour and she made it.

Silver Dollar City hosts six special festivals throughout the year:

• World-Fest April 5th - May 4th featuring performers and food from around the world
•  Bluegrass & BBQ May 8th –June 1st Think ribs and down home music
•  Star Spangled Summer June 7th – July 20th  This may just be a new name for Kids Fest
• Southern Gospel Picnic Aug. 22nd - Sept.1st  You can purchase a fried chicken dinner and listen to God honoring music all day.
• National Harvest Festival Sept. 12th - Oct. 25th The craftsmen arrive in droves
• An Old Time Christmas Nov. 1st - Dec. 30th    Five million lights –‘nuff said.

Homeschool weekend falls during the Harvest Fest.  They’ve got special activities for kids of all ages (for an additional fee).  Even if you can’t come that weekend Silver Dollar City has a special rate for homeschoolers.  The normal daily admission rate is $59 (12 and up) and $49 (4-11).  Homeschoolers can get a TWO-day ticket for $47 (12+) and $37 (4-11) with the code 3703.

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R is for Reenactment of Pilot Knob

A little over three years ago, Schnickelfritz and I went to Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis for the 150th anniversary reenactment of The Camp Jackson Affair.   It commemorated the first skirmish of the Civil War to occur in Missouri (just a few days after Fort Sumter).  I mentioned in my post that now was the opportunity to study the Civil War as most battles would be having special 150th anniversary events.  Some would simply be larger, others that don’t normally host re-enactments would be doing so (like our trip to Wilson’s Creek).  I hope you heeded by warning. Now we’re reaching the end of that cycle with the one of the final events, in Missouri anyway –The Battle of Pilot Knob.

In September 1864 Confederate Maj. Gen. Sterling Price led 14,000-15,000 men into Missouri.  His goals were to capture Union supplies and weapons, find sympathizers to recruit, and if possible get the attention of Union forces east of the Mississippi River and divert them from Confederate troops that had already been pummeled.  On Sept. 26th, Price led an attack on Fort Davidson near Pilot Knob.  The fighting went on for several days until the Union commander of the fort, Gen. Ewing ordered an evacuation of the fort.  The Union soldiers snuck out in the middle of the night and when they were safely away a small group of men left behind blew up the powder magazine, denying the Confederates the supplies and weapons they were seeking.  Price’s realized he had lost too many troops in attempting to take the fort and had to abandon plans to capture either St. Louis or Jefferson City.

Sept 27 & 28 will be our first trip to Pilot Knob so I’ve been reading up on what to expect.  On both days, the camps open to the public at 8 AM and the main battle commences at 1:30 in the afternoon.  The museum and sutlers’ tents will be open both days.  I’m particularly interested in seeing the blowing up of the fort on Saturday night!

I have always maintained that one of the best ways for you kids to learn history is by letting them interact with re-enactors.  Most of these men (lets face it, even if the whole family is involved it’s usually the men’s idea) are very passionate about the era or the war they are representing—the study in their “off-season” to be as historically accurate as possible.  And they love sharing their knowledge with kids!  Some even go to the trouble of setting up special days just for students to tour the camps.  Our homeschool group got to fire the cannons at a Lewis & Clark event while another man appealed to the gross factor by explaining field medicine during the Corp of Discovery—the boys LOVED it. 
Pilot Knob only hosts reenactments every third year (they actually waited 4 years to line up with this anniversary), so if you miss this event you’ll have to wait for a while to go again and of course it won’t be a big anniversary year in 2017.   HINT: Bring hearing protection, those cannons can get loud!

I’m linking up with …