Mammoth in Missouri Day 4

 Thursday 10/21

Today was the big "reason" for the trip--a visit to the Laura Ingalls wilder home site at Rocky Ridge Farm. But first we had to stop off at the trout fishing stream, park store and nature center.  All these things typically close at five, and I didn't want to get back from the homesite just to find everything else closed.

The trout fishing here is magnificent. There are millions upon millions of anglers standing hip-deep in the water or standing on the edge or standing on a fishing pier, teasing the fish with flies and soft bait. Oddly enough, some parts of the stream (Nauvoso river) are restricted to only soft bait. Do flies make it too easy?

We stood and watched one old guy pull in two in rapid succession. But later we watched a few more upstream, and realized they were completely surrounded by fish. With crystal clear water flowing rapidly, you could see the fish from the bank.  They were practically swimming in fish.

There were tons of vultures (mostly black vultures) hanging by the shore. And in trees and on bridges and circling the air. I thought that Cedar Ridge park on Belton Lake (near Killeen Texas) had more vultures than the law allowed, but those populations weren't shakes on these. I never ever ever saw the like.

I guess people tossed them the fish guts when they were finished?  I dunno. Molly didn't understand it at all, as to why all these big black birds were sailing around and she wasn't allowed to chase them. She nearly took my arm off trying.

On the the Rocky Ridge Site. The museum was magnificent--tons of artifacts arranged with quotes, newspaper clippings, and loads of family pictures. I spent an hour there and wished there had been more. At the entrance there was a computer set up with two fiddle recordings to choose between, but only two--that was lame indeed. They could have gotten a violin player to run off all of the repertoire they had listed in the exhibit, which was only a fraction of all the tunes she mentioned in her books.

But the fiddle was there, so I got to see it and also Laura's nine-patch quilt. I hoped for the dove-in-the-window quilt, but no.

< The farm house

All that looking at records of dead people got me thinking about my own deceased ancestry. I really need to get to work on that family history I started. Maybe this winter.,..no--definitely this winter.

The Rock House was a little boring, and later I realized why. The people staging the house had emptied it out. There were a few dishes in cabinets, a few quits hanging around, but none of the paraphernalia of ordinary life. They wouldn't have had to use actual artifacts of the time to make the place look real--a quick trip to a flea market would have enabled them to fill up the house with things that resembled the artifacts of Laura and Alamanzo's life.  Some chickens would have been nice, too.

 It was dead--and I wanted it to be alive.

Never mind--I've seen the trees and fields and the farm house built by Alamanzo. I can bring it alive in my mind. With chickens.

I took Molly for a walk down--and up!--this hill twice, Wednesday and Thursday. The second time I nearly made it to the top without stopping, but she insisted on taking a smell break. Good dog!

Vultures for Molly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a little party at the ranger station.

Birds seen:
Pileated Woodpecker, Downy, probably Red-Bellied. Need to research bird calls so I'll know when I hear something I want to see.  Like the Hairy Woodpecker, darn it! Common as mud and I've never seen one.