Traveling across America – Part One
Our journey started on a red road, those scenic highways throughout the United States that afford more personal encounters with the culture, the people and its beauty. We followed the significant and sobering Trail of Tears initially on Highway 35 in Alabama, heading north. We journeyed this expanse of suffering through Alabama, Tennessee and parts of Missouri. I contemplated this trail, and its purpose and couldn’t help but suppress the anger I felt at what happened underneath the rubber that took us across the very same path so quickly and with ease. I was so troubled thinking about the atrocities that the Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Seminole Indians had to endure during that forced relocation during the 1830s. Four thousand Cherokees died on the Trail of Tears from cold, hunger and disease.
Then my thoughts were redirected as the expansive and unexpected sight of the Tennessee River came into view. The river is defining the communities, as we drove through each small town, interconnected by this magnificent waterway, its banks flanked on both sides with agriculture and commerce.
Our first overnight stay was in Florence, Alabama in a Walmart parking lot, which is always free. The next morning we headed out to a place called “Big Springs” campground in Van Buren, Missouri. This area is part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways established in 1964. This landscape is a three-dimensional watershed. Water runs across the land’s surface in streams and creeks, down through cracks at different levels and in underground rivers. Big Springs was born and became part of Missouri’s first state park, established in 1924. I found this camping spot on the banks of the Current River quite by accident in a very comprehensive and cost-saving resource, “The Wright Guide to Free and Low-Cost Campgrounds.”
I was reminded again of our American Indians as they traveled these hollows, grew crops and hunted buffalo in the area that we know as Big Springs, Missouri, another reminder of our Indian forerunners and how brilliantly they utilized and sustained their environment. This spot got its name from clear, brawling waters which seem to force their way to the surface, their confinement too much and for too long.
Big Springs is the largest spring in Missouri and third largest in the world, bringing 236 million gallons of water to the spring daily, enough water to fill Bush Stadium in St. Louis three times in 33 hours. The depositing of 72 tons of crushed and dissolved limestone and dolomite yearly helped to form over 400 caves in the area and give these magical waters their name. Dissolved minerals cause the water to become a deep cerulean, like the surrounding sky but more profound, as it gurgles out of the ground, rest in large pools and eventually joining the Current River.
Fun fact: do you know the difference between buffalo and bison? I just learned that the difference between both of these lumbering creatures is that the American bison is native to North and South America and Europe. The buffalo of long ago, a wild ox, originates from Africa and Asia. North American bison have a beard, while their Asian relatives (buffalo) do not. The bison became a regular sight throughout the rest of our journey, witnessing these stodgy but deadly animals in South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.
At our next brief stop for gas we paid the least amount per gallon so far at $2.98 in a town called Campbell, Missouri. This nearly vacant community touted that they are the “peach capital” of Missouri. I thought Georgia and California had that title covered. I didn’t see orchards of any kind as the main street was the highway we were traveling on and saw very few homes.
One of our next stops, and my favorite so far, was a visit to the Laura Ingalls Wilder home in the tiny little town of Mansfield, Missouri. She authored the famous series of books about her childhood pioneer life while in her 60s, and they became the books that started my love of reading and writing. She became a celebrated cook, prudent homemaker and welcoming hostess at Rocky Ridge Farm. Unbeknownst to me, she was a journalist and traveler as well in her earlier years, writing for the “Missouri Ruralist.” Quite the hostess, she entertained royalty and famous people often. Laura and Almanzo Wilder traveled 650 miles to establish their first farming homestead in Mansfield, Missouri, growing apples and raising chickens in this beautiful but isolated part of the United States. Known in the Ozarks as a farm activist, a poultry expert, and a country columnist, her books were based on stories she encountered and experiences she had on the American prairie. Their only child, Rose, also became the bestselling author of the Rose Lane series. Until recently the key to Laura’s cooking, her recipes, were lost among yellowed, waterlogged papers. They discovered her notebook, recipes scrawled on the reverse side of letters from her literary agent, pasted clippings from newspapers food columns or magazines as well. Nothing speaks more about a person than one of their tried and true recipes (see below).
So far, my journey across America has been filled with fun facts, learning and seeing so many new things. This is what traveling across America is all about!
Recipe: Perfect Lemonade (From Laura Ingalls Wilder Cookbook)
*During Laura’s childhood, lemonade was a rare treat. She was known to serve this often to hot and weary travelers and visitors. On page 137 her cookbook states that the rind makes the difference.
Perfect Lemonade
3 lemons Approximately 1 quart of boiling water 6-8 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar Sprigs of fresh mint (optional)
1. Grate rind from 1 lemon and squeeze the juice from all three.
2. Put rind, juice, and confectioners’ sugar in a 1-quart heatproof jug.
3. Fill jug with boiling water. Stir and let stand until cooled.
4. Serve over ice with a sprig of mint.