“Ah, September! You are the doorway to the season that awakens my soul…but I must confess that I love you only because you are a prelude to my beloved October.” -Peggy Toney Horton, Writer

Autumn greetings from the Arkansas Ozarks! I hope this finds you well. A potpourri of activities made our first September here fly by–most of them fun, some of them “routine.” Temperatures are finally turning cooler, and there are fewer and fewer people here at the resort as the weeks go by. There aren’t as many boats out on the lake, even on the weekends. It’s nice and quiet.

We saw just one Branson show this month, and it was THE best one we’ve seen yet. The Haygoods are six incredibly talented siblings who grew up fiddling in the backwoods of the Ozarks. A 2-week contract at Silver Dollar City back in 1993 kicked off what’s turned out to be a 30-year run of more than 7,000 performances, with more than 400 of them sold out!! The Haywoods do it all: sing, dance, play more than 20 instruments, and even do their own pyrotechnics. They give only two, 2:00 o’clock performances each year, the rest being evening shows. Sunday of Labor Day weekend was one of them and we were able to get tickets, which turned out to be extra special performance for them: their parents were in the audience. It was everything Trip Advisor reputed it to be, and a lot more. We enjoyed it so much, we already got tickets for their Christmas show in November.

My brother and sister-in-law came down to visit us for a couple of days this month and took a chance staying at the closest place to where we live, Morningside, the Jim Bakker compound in Blue Eye, MO. It’s about five curvy, country miles and 15 minutes away. Even though no references were made to Bakker’s prior PTL club on its website, Dave and I went there personally prior to their making reservations to scope things out.

Morningside is a development community spread across 600 acres and includes condos, townhomes, tiny homes, an RV park, as well as an 11,000-sq. ft. tabernacle and a 150-seat studio from which The Jim Bakker show is recorded. Other than the 15-foot statue of Jesus in the lobby and the fact that in many ways it looks like a Hollywood backlot set of an early 19th century European town, nothing about the hotel seemed too out of the ordinary, and their stay there was fairly uneventful, save for hearing “Have a blessed day!” more than they’re used to.

As soon as they left to go back to St. Louis, we threw enough clothes and toiletries for the weekend in a couple of bags, loaded them and the pups in the car, and took off for Hopkinsville (420 miles away.) Our granddaughter’s volleyball team’s only scheduled weekend game was the very next day, and I had promised her this summer that if she made the team, Papa and I would come to see her play. We weren’t about to break this promise, especially given how hard Maeby worked to make the team! It made her so happy to have us there to watch her play, and that made us happy we made the trip!

Now that it’s cooler–and we can safely leave the pups in the car with the windows down–we recently decided to take a little field trip to Arkansas’ Grand Canyon in Jasper, 61 miles and an hour and a half away. I have a penchant for seeking out unusual tourist attractions, like Walton’s Mountain in Schuyler, Virginia or Stonehenge II in Ingram, Texas. Our curiosity has never disappointed us.

Prior to going, I checked Trip Advisor to see what others thought of it. The only negative comments were from people who compared it to THE Grand Canyon in Arizona, with the majority being overwhelmingly positive. We took the scenic route along Highway 7, which happens to be part of one of the state’s most popular motorcycle routes and one that large RVs are discouraged from taking because of the numerous sharp hairpin turns and the steep descents. It’s a beautiful drive, one that will be spectacular in the coming weeks with the fall foliage, I’m sure.

It was Ozark folklorist Vance Randolph that said, “It’s not that the mountains are so high, but that the valleys are so deep,” and this so eloquently described our destination. Arizona, it is not. But for our little corner of the world, it’s amazing.

Finally, age is catching up with me. A few weeks ago my right-hand thumb began ‘locking’ and was becoming really bothersome, so I was referred for an x-ray to be done at the hospital, in this case, CoxHealth in Springfield, MO. I was stunned that ‘gender inclusivity’ has infiltrated various institutions the way it has, even affecting the registration/intake process for health care. After getting my basic information, like name, address, date of birth, etc, the person-behind-the-glass taking my information paused, looked straight at me, and with a deadpan expression asked, “Female?” I rolled my eyes. I’m too old for this.

Such is life these days. Down is up, and up is down. It is a crazy, crazy world. We just keep on keeping on, one day at a time. So until next time, take care and be safe. Much love and long hugs from us and the pups. ~Maria☺️