We start our day driving to Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield near the small town of Republic, Missouri. We arrive at about 1030 and are happy that it does not appear that we will encounter rain. We enter the visitor center to find that there is a movie starting in just a few minutes. We take our seats and learn about the Battle that occurred here.

Carol in the Green

Carol in the Green

This was the sight of the second major battle fought in the Civil War and the first battle fought west of the Mississippi River. We also learn that Nathaniel Lyon, a Union General , was the first General killed in the Civil War. After the film, we tour the small museum, with some Civil War artifacts, and then head out.
There is a 4.9 mile paved loop road that stops at many of the battle sites and there are several hiking trails as well. The park service has a cell phone number you can call at each stop, plug in the stop number, and hear the history of that location. This was really nice as it allowed you to walk, listen, and imagine what had happened in the surrounding area. We hiked to the site of an old mill, toured the Ray House, which became an impromptu field hospital when the battle moved into their cornfield, and an old cabin near Bloody Hill where the major battle was fought. Over 500 men were killed and 2000 wounded, in nearly equal amounts on both sides. The Confederates won the Battle but we’re too disorganized and ill equipped to pursue the Union troops. They were also unable to stay in the area and this allowed Missouri to remain under Union control.

The Battlefield has been kept in its natural state without the multitude of monuments and markers you might encounter in the east. We enjoyed our time here and learning a part of our history that we were not familiar with.image

We left the battlefield, had lunch, and started our drive further east, towards the town of Metropolis, Illinois, on the Ohio River. The state route we traveled was through the heart of farm land in Missouri and then through a portion of the Ozarks. We stopped to do a few geocaches along the Ozark Trail. While there, we met a couple from Kentucky, who told us we needed to stop at Lambert’s to eat. It was along the way in Sikeston, Missouri and an institution. We decided to take their advice.

When we arrived at Lambert’s, there was a line of about 50 people. We decide to wait and see how it goes. Shortly thereafter, they opened another section of dining and we were seated in no time. Lambert’s has been around since 1933 and are known for their home style cooking, pass arounds, and Throwed Rolls. Yes, I did say Throwed rolls, and yes they do throw them to you. In fact, the guy was a little ambitious with his distance in throwing one to Carol, and hit the woman behind us in the head. Quite humorous I thought. They have people walking around with apple butter, molasses and sorghum for the rolls, as well as several side dishes, which are all you can eat. The chicken fried steak and meatloaf that we ordered were large and delicious. Priced reasonably, we could see why this was a popular place.

With our full bellies, we wobbled back to the car and continued on to Metropolis. I had joked to Carol to look out for superman, and when we were driving through town, we saw a sign that said ” Giant Superman Statue” which required a right turn. I couldn’t pass that up so we made the detour. The statue was cool and then just up the street, they had Clark Kent’s car, a phone booth, and Superman flying off a building. As it was close to 8 o’clock, the superman museum was closed, so we can’t comment on that. Time to get to Harrahs and our room. We will sleep well knowing that superman is here to protect us.