Travelin' Man

My world has just gotten bigger! Over the past 4 1/2 days, I've traveled all over Missouri and visited my 7th state - Arkansas. Now, I think Arkansas looked an awful lot like where we were in Missouri, but they said it was a different place. I guess it doesn't matter.

Here's how my latest trip happened... First, Mom and I drove to Carthage and spent the day there. We went to Pizza by Stout with Ainsley and her mom - it was their first time! We even had time to go rummaging with Great Grandpa Henry & Great Grandma Niecey. Mom got some pretty cool treasures and some great toys for me!

We left on Friday afternoon to head for the 'sticks'! First, we stopped in Winona, Mo to find my first geocache! I wasn't sure what to expect, so I didn't expect much. It was a good thing, because it wasn't a big deal at all. What's so exciting about a little tube with a piece of paper in it? These big people get excited over the silliest things! Anyway, here we are where we found it - right in front of Bernadette's Hair Fashions.

Maybe I should tell you why I was in Winona and who these people with me are. Well, this was what we called 'Heritage Weekend'. Great Grandma Lessie, Grandpa Van, Great Aunts Joni & Marcy and Mom and I all took a trip to southern Missouri see where Great Grandma grew up and where the rest of our family is buried. Our next stop was Big Springs, MO. That it was! The water was cold and loud and there were lots of rocks to climb on. Rumor has it that Great Grandma used to come here on dates!

Next stop, Doniphan. You've never heard of Doniphan? Well, I bet you've never heard of a lot of the other towns we went to either. We visited Burr, Calm, Farewell, Warm Springs, Johnston Chapel, Myrtle & Thayer too. I kept hearing Grandpa say, 'now this is a nice town we're coming to, wasn't it?' They'd tell me a town was coming up but then I would blink and miss it. Their towns down there aren't quite as big as where we live.

We had supper with Great Grandmas friend Delois at her farm and I got to see and hear the cows close up for the first time! I though they were pretty funny!

I got plenty of snuggle time with Great Grandma!
Here we all are, including Great Great Uncle Ray. He's Great Grandmas brother and he decided to come meet us too. This is the Eleven Point River and this spot is called Stubblefield Ferry. Unfortunately, this is where my Great Great Great Grandpa Bennett met his demise. His wagon got stuck in the mud crossing the river while he had a load of lumber. He had to take the horses off and get them to shore and then unload all the lumber off the cart. After he got the lumber to shore and hooked up the horses to pull the wagon out, he was real cold. He caught pneumonia and died a week later. I don't understand why he was messing with all that - my daddy's truck will hold lots of lumber and there's a bridge right down the river.
While we were gone, I got to meet relatives and I also got to go 4-wheelin' for the first time. We went to find another geocache thing and it was way back in the woods. It was wet and muddy and fun! I was thinking it's a good thing I don't have any teeth yet because they might have bounced right out of my head!

It's been a long road - we've driven over 700 miles in the past few days but it's sure been fun! More adventures will come but for now, I'm glad to be back at home with my daddy.