Traveling On...

For those who did not believe that I can still ride a horse




We are on vacation in WI so I may not be able to access this site too often until we get back home. I appreciate all the positive comments so far.
I will try to share with you some of the web sites I discover from time to time. This site has mostly conservative Christian music and you can listen as you work or play on line. If you have trouble bringing up the music, click on the box regarding Norton firewall and follow the instructions. The web site is old christian radio.com

The Heat Is On!!!

Here in Jacksonville it is really hot this week. I hear it is hot all over, even Chicago had a high of over 100 degrees the other day.

We are hoping for cooler weather up north as we travel to Wisconsin in a few days to visit Stephen, Leah and Natalie. Looking forward to seeing them again!! We may visit Chicago while we are there - the Navy pier, the aquarium, and also the Pacific Garden Mission, which is where the radio drama "Unshackled" is recorded.

Family prayer requests:
Uncle Kelsea is recovering from heart surgery (five stents);
Aunt Robbie had a stent put into an artery in her kidney and we are praying that medicine for her heart will take effect;
Cousin Peggy is recovering from knee surgery;
Cindy and I will be flying to Wisconsin Thursday.

Ozark Folk Center at Mountain View, Arkansas

Our vacation was winding down by Thursday, July 14th. We headed over the mountain roads once again to Mountain View, Arkansas. After stopping for lunch at Jo Jo's (the best catfish in the area), we toured the craft village at the Ozark Folk Center. Here you can watch as the people work just as our ancestors did 100 years ago. I really enjoyed the "old tyme print shop" with an 1885 hand press, since I work in the printing industry. Other buildings included pottery, weaving, spinning, woodworking, and even a blacksmith. We finished the day at the concert where the local musicians played, and there were special performances by the "Great Smokey Mountain Cloggers". On Friday, Stephen and his family headed back to Wisconsin. We would spend another two days in Horseshoe Bend and Mountain View before heading home to Florida. We even drove to Mammoth Springs to check it out for a visit the next time we come this way and also crossed the state line over into Thayer, MO, just to say we had been there, I guess. We were able to spend Sunday with many family members in Pine Bluff before traveling back to Jacksonville. Be sure to ask JoAnn about the "hillbilly wedding" sometime.

Rhonda and Layton at the Trading Post

Natalie says "Oooo"
Inside Blanchard Springs Cavern

The beautiful mountain view of the Ozarks in Northeast Arkansas, on the way to the Ozark Folk Center and

Blanchard Springs Caverns

On the fourth day of our vacation, Tuesday, we headed off to visit Blanchard Springs Caverns. These are the only "caverns" in the US that are actually run by the US Forest Service. Discovered in 1955-1956, they were opened to the public for visits in the mid-1970's. There are three tours avail, the Dripstone Tour, which is stroller and wheelchair accessible and has the prettiest sights. The others are called the Discovery Tour, which has 700 steps, and the Wild Cave Tour, which requires you to crawl through the cave in places. Obviously, we did not take this tour, we took the Dripstone Tour and it was beautiful!! After leaving the tour, we also visited the area where the springs come out of the side of the mountain, a nice picnic area, and a spot for swimming in the cool 58 degree water.
We left the springs and headed for the Trading Post Stable to go horseback riding. Rhonda and her son, Layton, drove up from Sheridan to join us today. Our guide was a 13 year old guy named Levi - and he led us up and down the mountainside for about an hour and a half. We had fun and left with some stories to tell!
We ended the day with a visit to downtown Mountain View, where the mountain folk gather to play Ozark folk music on their banjos, fiddles, and guitars. We will head back to Mountain View later in the week for more music.

Crown Point Resort

On vacation in Arkansas, Sunday and Monday, July 10th and 11th

We spent these two days enjoying the Horseshoe Bend area and the Crown Point Resort. If you want to get away from it all, this is the place to go.

Check it out at: http://www.crownpoint-resort.com/

Located on Crown Point Lake, we could swim in the lake, or the outdoor pool; also at the Rec center, the indoor pool, hot tub, and fitness center were enjoyed.
For church, we visited the First Baptist Church of Horseshoe Bend. The preacher had mannerisms that reminded us of Grandpa Franklin, such as singing hymns as if he were directing with a closed fist. In the afternoon, we traveled over to Ash Flat, AR (about 30 mins away) for lunch at Meacham's Restaurant. The food was very good and they have the "best onion rings in the world". While in Ash Flat, we also picked up groceries for the week at the "Arkansas Mall" (Wal-mart). We celebrated Stephen's birthday on Monday afternoon with a spaghetti supper and chocolate eclair cake. Happy 26th Stephen!!

Dry Bone Road

We left Jacksonville on Friday night, July 8th, and drove to Arkansas. We arrived at 7am Saturday morning, almost 13 hours. Brandon and I took turns driving but I must confess that Brandon did most of the driving. That afternoon we went to the wedding of Amy and Josh York. The wedding took place at 2pm at Meadowview Southern Baptist Church in Sheridan, AR. Stephen, Leah and Natalie arrived from Wisconsin in time for the reception. Most of the Baggett clan was there to meet Leah and Natalie for the first time. After helping clean up the reception area and putting the church auditorium back together, we headed for the Crown Point Resort in Horseshoe Bend, AR. This brings me to one of the highlights of our vacation, thanks to Mapquest. The directions sent us to "Dry Bone Rd" and then to "Strawberry Valley Rd." Well, as soon as we turned down Dry Bone Rd, a dirt and gravel mountain road, I told Brandon to stop, that we did not want to go this way. Of course, he said "but Dad, we're on an adventure!" We drove slowly up and down the mountain and over the Strawberry River about four times, and finally we made it back to the hard top. The only problem, we ended up coming in the opposite way to the resort. BUT, we made it!! Note to Tim - call Mapquest and complain!!!

Welcome to the Franklin and Baggett family blog

This is my first post on the family blog. I will be posting highlights and pictures of our Arkansas vacation in the next few days. We left Jacksonville on Friday night, July 8th, and scooted through the tunnel at Mobile Bay, AL, early Saturday morning - before everyone evacuated Mobile as Hurricane Dennis approached. We returned home on Monday afternoon, July 18th. "A good time was had by all"...