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Nancy's Notes

Wed, 04/01/2020 - 14:06
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One more Stockton to go...

There’s only one more Stockton to visit in the U.S. It’s a little crazy to think that we’ve been to California, Utah, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Georgia and Alabama on this Stockton U.S.A. Road Trip, and now there’s Stockton, Missouri to visit before going home to Stockton, Kansas. And you know what? I’m really anxious to be home.

This week while we were in Alabama, we have done more sightseeing of this area as I’ve never been near the Gulf Coast before. Again, for land-locked Kansans, this is a whole new world. We’ve explored the Mobile, Alabama area, and just got a tiny bit of all this area has to offer. Obviously this needs a trip, for real, on its own! We went across the Mobile River to tour the USS Alabama, and then ended up driving clear down to Dauphin Island and taking the Mobile Bay Ferry across to tour Fort Morgan, the 19th century military fort. Amazing. The aerial view of it on GoogleMaps really caught my attention and made me want to tour it.

The time had come to head north on the final leg of our trip. As usual, there were choices for how to get there, and both options offered over 700 miles of driving through places we’ve never been before. But I was interested in seeing a bit of Memphis, so we left early in the morning and headed up Hwy. 45, a fairly decent fourlane highway that cut through farmland and forestry. After a very nice 4-1/2-hour drive towards Tupelo, Mississippi, where we would link up with I-22, we started seeing signs for the Elvis Presley Birthplace in Tupelo, so we just had to go view the tiny little white house where the King of Rock & Roll was born. It was mid-afternoon when we left his birthplace, and we realized how hungry we were. We were ready for some southern barbecue, and Bishop’s BBQ Grill popped up on the map. We had to get it to carry out because their dining room was closed due to the pandemic. Good thing we are on a “virtual” trip. We don’t have to worry about coming into contact with the virus traveling this way! As we enjoyed the barbecue meal at a picnic table under some shade trees, we knew were in barbecue country!

It was a nice two-hour drive after lunch that took us up to Memphis, and even though it should have been rush hour, traffic was fairly light on the Dr. Martin Luther King Expressway, 10-lanes wide! Definitely a sign of the times—so many businesses closed for business due to the pandemic. After seeing the birthplace of Elvis Presley, the next big thing was Graceland, and a person just should not go to Memphis without touring Graceland, but the place was closed indefinitely due to COVID-19. It really is time to get home!

We crossed the Mississippi River and realized it was also the Tennessee/Arkansas state line and soon found a nice American Inn & Suites in West Memphis to stay for night. With about six hours of driving the next day, we planned on getting an early start in the morning. The drive was, I must say, the most boring section of the entire trip. Nothing but flat, barren farmground, with hardly any trees. I kinda feel sorry for people who live in these here parts after all the beautiful country we have driven through. It was the longest six hours of the trip. Plus, most of it was just two lane highway. Finally we crossed into Missouri, the fifth state to drive in since leaving Stockton, Alabama.

We knew we were getting close to Stockton when we saw Stockton Lake, and we thought it must certainly be the pride of Stockton, Missouri. It is beautiful here, would be even more so if the trees were all leafed out. It’s a real gem after what we had driven through to get here! The lake is right on the edge of town, so it’s easy to imagine that life here centers around the lake. Because of the timing of our travels, we were fortunate as we called ahead the day before to get a cabin for the night at the Cabins at Stockton Lake. This is a group of 32 rental cabins on the west edge of Stockton Lake. We found the main cabin to check in, and they put us in Canoe Corner, giving directions to keep on going past the main lodge to Bikini Boulevard and turn left onto Memory Lane. Our cabin is at the corner of Memory Lane and Cabin Cove Lane. I’m liking it already. We find our cute little cabin, and I want to live here. For real.

At the main lodge they told us that a couple of the eating places have closed because of the coronavirus, but they were pretty sure we could call in an order from Sundaes Fast Food for carryout only. Their claim to fame is that they serve farm-to-table beef, “guaranteed fresh from the farm within 30 days.” It was a cute little joint, and easy to see why it’s a popular place.

We get back to our cabin and eat out on our front porch, just happy to finally be outdoors on a beautiful evening. Inside our cabin there was a book about Stockton, Missouri, so we were able to fill up on a few facts while we filled up on our burgers. Stockton was platted in 1846. It was originally named Lancaster, was then renamed to Fremont in 1847 in honor of John C. Fremont, and in 1857 it was renamed again, in honor of Robert F. Stockton, the U.S. Navy Commodore who has a couple other Stocktons named after him. The town, situated about 40 miles northwest of Springfield, lies just west of the Stockton Lake Dam, which we would be able see from our front porch if there weren’t large houses across the street that cost a whole lot more than our cabin. We learned that on May 4, 2003, a large, destructive tornado severely damaged the city of Stockton. After decimating the historic business district and damaging or destroying over 250 homes, the tornado proceeded east through the countryside. The storm also caused the deaths of three Stockton residents and injuries of numerous others. As we drove into Stockton from the lake area, we noticed trees that looked like they had been mangled from a tornado; now we know they were.

We talked about staying another day to explore the area but decided we have just about had enough exploring to last us a while, so we decided to start our return home the following day. But before we left, there was one more thing we wanted to see in Stockton. Housed in Stockton City Hall is an Art Gallery featuring a diverse selection of works by local and regional artists. The exhibits change quarterly and feature media from contemporary to traditional paintings, drawings, photographic works and sculptures. We were glad we had found out about this and were able to view this beautiful art gallery before we left town. What a really neat thing they’ve got going here.

As we set our GoogleMaps for Stockton, Kansas, we were happy to be on our way, returning to the No. 1 Stockton in Kansas! Be sure to check in next week as I wrap up our travels! This has been fun. It’s not been real, but it’s been real fun.