Fort Gaines, Dauphin Island

Another stop on our vacation to Alabama was Dauphin Island. While on the Island we toured Fort Gaines. This is one of the many forts that are located on the barrier islands along the gulf of mexico. This one was built in 1821 and is most well known for the battle of Mobile Bay and the famous order of Union Admiral David Farragut : Damn the torpedoes-full speed ahead!
As you can see from my photo, the views from the fort alone are worth the price of admission.

USS Alabama

I totally recommend visiting the USS Alabama (Battleship Memorial Park) in Mobile, Alabama. We visited the gulf last week and this was definitely one of the highlights. The first thing that strikes you is the size of the battleship. The tours on the ship are self guided and as soon as we went below decks there was a distinct smell, a bit like the smell of aircraft, but unique...I am guessing unique to WWII Navy ships and maybe even ships today; a bit musty, electrical and historical all together. I know this is one of my Grandpa Murphy's favorite places probably because he served in the Navy during WWII on the USS Sampson ( Destroyer DD-394) and the USS Milledgeville (Frigate PF-94). I thought that he would surely recognize the smell of the ship and I thought of him when I saw the motion picture locker since one of his duties in the Navy was showing films on board in addition to radio operations and various repairs of electronic equipment. All of this reminds me I should call him, he just turned 86 on Monday...
Anyway, in addition to the Alabama they have a hangar of historic aircraft that I found interesting and they have a B-52 and B-25 on the grounds....and I almost forgot...they have a submarine too the USS Drum, but as you can see from the picture Teddy was a bit in the red zone on this morning due to the heat and a seizure that afternoon we didn't know was coming. But, we managed the park and would love to go back.In fact, the only reason we went to Alabama this year was because Teddy liked to say Alabama and decided that it was his favorite state...so since he was motivated to visit, we used this to take the longest vacation since he was born and it all worked out pretty well. Teddy insisted that we both buy USS Alabama ball caps and we both wear them all the time now!

Trail of Tears State Park

Last weekend we traveled down to Trail of Tears State Park which is just north of Cape Girardeau, MO. It was an easy drive from our home in suburban St. Louis. We were pleasantly surprised by this park. The museum was nice and explained the story of the Trail of Tears and how this park was part of the trail where the Cherokee crossed the Mississippi River.
The park grounds comprised a large area and the park had more trails than we had time to take. We took a nice trail to an scenic overlook, where we enjoyed a nice view of the Mississippi and a could easily see all the way over to Anna, IL.

Kansas City!

Last summer we won 4 free round trip tickets to ride on Amtrak. We finally took advantage of them last weekend and took an overnight trip to downtown Kansas City. It was Teddy's first train trip and he really loved it. He held up amazingly well on each of the 5 hour train rides. He especially liked walking back to the Cafe Car and picking out treats to bring back to his seat. Our host daughter Sarah from Germany went with us and also really enjoyed her first American train trip.
Teddy had been looking forward to Kansas City for a long time. KC is supposed to have more fountains than any other U.S. city and as my readers know, Teddy loves fountains. Luckily, he was not dissapointed. There were fountains everywhere and as many and different types as he could handle. One fountain on the Crown Plaza even danced to music on the hour!
We ended up staying at the Westin right in Crown Plaza and luckily for us, right near all of the fountains. Other highlights of our trip included Fritz's restaurant, which featured burgers loaded with hashbrowns delivered to your table by a small train! The National WWI Museum was surprisingly good and has a really nice tower from which you get an excellent view of downtown. But, speaking of views, the thing that I will always remember was the view of downtown from our 14th story hotel room...it was really spectacular! And one more thing: We also met Sue's cousin Joey and his girlfriend Daria for dinner and a night tour of the Plaza fountains.
--Teddy is really growing up and we managed the trip, had a lot of fun and made some good memories.

Jefferson Barracks Park

In 1986, when I was 17 years old, I
visited Jefferson Barracks Park with my friend Shane on our way to pick up his sister in Illinois. We had found the park looking for a place to view the Mississippi River. Little did I know then what a big role the park would later play in my life. In 1997 my wife and I moved from Springfield to St. Louis and we lived in an apartment only a few miles from the park. We immediately took to the place and began walking there every weekend morning and many evenings as our schedule allowed. After Teddy was born, we began walking with him at the park. Teddy's first walk at JB was in his stroller when he was 2 months old, he still had his TPN bag attached to his PIC line, back when everyday was life and death; now he romps through the park like he owns it...a big healthy 10 year old boy. We have had a lot of great times at JB and it is probably my favorite place in the whole metro area of St. Louis. We have met a lot of nice people there over the years, other regulars, like Mr. & Mrs. Hill (pictured). They walk the opposite direction as we do, so we often run into them and talk for a few minutes. Teddy is always excited to see them and they make a big deal out of talking to Teddy and praising our dog Buster...really special people.

JB has lot of wooded areas along the trail and lots of deer, birds and Teddy's favorite: snakes. I also love how rich in history the park is. It first opened in 1826 as a military post and served that function until 1946. Lots of famous military leaders served here over the years including William T. Sherman, Robert E. Lee and the one I most often think about walking over the same ground as we do now: Ulysses S. Grant.

The park is also home to several small museums that are really nice, one of which is the temporary home of the WWI medallions which inspired me to research and speak about Ulysses Tebbs. Just to the south are some of the original barracks buildings and a large Army Reserve/National Guard Base (see the photo above) and just a little further to south is Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, which is one of the largest federal cemeteries in the nation and happens to be where 6 members of the Hetzler Crew are buried.

After walking here about 100 times a year for 13 years, we have a long history with the park and more stories than will fit on this blog entry. We highly recommend a visit to the park and cemetery.

Wilson's Creek National Battlefield

This morning we visited Wilson's Creek National Battlefield near my hometown of Springfield, MO. Teddy really enjoyed the museum, film, trails and markers in the park. As you can see, we had perfect October weather and the trees were peaked in color.

Wilson's Creek was the 2nd major battle of the Civil War, taking place on August 10, 1861 in hideous heat and humidity. 5 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor for their heroics in this battle. During the battle, Union General and rising star Nathanial Lyon was killed in action; the first general to be killed in the civil war. This battle was all about whether Missouri would remain part of the Union or join the Confederacy. Outnumbered, the Union lost this battle, but fought well enough to set up a Union victory early the next year at Pea Ridge, Arkansas that would keep Missouri safely in the Union for the rest of the war.

In the photo you can see Teddy at the sight where German-American General Franz Sigel and his St. Louis German-American troops mistook confederate forces for friendly, gray-clad Iowa troops. The mistake was costly for the Union in this battle and the audio to which Teddy is listening quotes the Germans in their confusion: Sie haben gegen uns geschossen! (They are shooting at us!) In the early 90's I was a volunteer at this park, which helped me get on as a seasonal Park Ranger at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Wilson's Creek is still one of my very favorite places to visit.

Union County Historical Society and Museum

My research into Donald Davis, the tail-gunner on the Hetzler crew that was shot down over Germany during WWII had come to a dead end. Because of his fairly common last name, I was having no luck finding any of his family members in southern Illinois. Then I called the Union County Historical Society and spoke with Pat Meller (pictured). She said she would ask around at church and other places. A few weeks later she called me with the name and address of Donald's brother William. She has also facilitated two meetings with me and Donald's family as well as helping to set up my speaking engagement this fall. Local historical societies serve a valuable function for researchers. This isn't the first time that I have been helped by historical societies. Linda Price of the Onaga Kansas Historical Society helped me do some of my research on Harold Hetzler and helped set up my speaking engagement last summer. The Union County Historical Society also has a museum that has a lot of interesting artifacts. The museum is located in Cobden, IL. Phone for hours: (618) 893-2865

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site

Here is Teddy on top of Monk's Mound. This mound is 92 feet tall and was made by Native Americans about a thousand years ago. Teddy considered the climb up the mound a race, which he, of course, won. This park is just across the Mississippi from St. Louis. There is also a nice museum, gift shop and trails around the smaller mounds. Amazingly, according the their website, in the year 1250 AD Cahokia was a larger city than London! Click the picture for a link to the official website.

George Washington Carver National Monument

Last weekend we visited George Washington Carver National Monument. It is located in Diamond, Missouri and it is a very small National Park. I first visited the park in 1979 when our 4th grade class visited on a field trip. I really loved the little museum, gift shop and the trail. I was happy that Teddy enjoyed it too. You can see him here next to a statue of the young Carver that you come across along the trail next to a nice little stream. So, next time you motor west (or east) on I-44 near Joplin, go just a few miles south on US 71 and take a small history and nature break. Click the picture for the official National Park Service website.

Museum of Transportation

On Father's Day, we visited the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis County. They were having their annual car show. I was especially interested in this old C-47 that is on permanent display at the museum. It was built in 1944, participated in D-Day and was an airliner for awhile before being drafted back into military service. The plane carried Harry S. Truman as a passenger at least twice and is now in retirement here at the museum. Teddy enjoyed the museum and the car show and really liked the old tugboat on which we are standing.