vacation’s over!

Our little family vacation is over, and we’re back in Kansas. After spending Saturday through Tuesday in the Missouri Ozarks, we’ve come home to unpack, do laundry, mow the yard and generally recover from all the walking, hiking, swimming, siteseeing, wasp stings, shopping and excitement of travel by car with a nine year old.

Wilson’s Creek was pretty interesting, even for our son Andy. He’s a Civil War buff, and really absorbed a lot of the information about strategy, some of the politics, and of course, the live artillery demonstrations. I enjoyed the history, and the architecture of the few remaining buildings on the grounds.Here’s a picture of me in front of the Spring House, which protected an underground stream that provided water for the family, as well as a cool place to store milk, butter and other provisions.

Ray House, Wilson's Creek Battlefield, Springfield, Missouri

The only other building still standing was the Ray House just up the hill. This simple house was quite proper at the time, and featured wood floors and a private bedroom. After the battle at Wilson’s Creek on August 10, 1862, this house was used as a Confederate Field hospital, treating wounded troops from the South. Andy was less interested in this one, because there was no fighting going on here.

I’ll post more pictures and stories from our Missouri trip in a few days. If you just can’t wait to see them, check out the link to my Flickr page on the lower left of this page.