Exploring with Marlon's Dad

Today we went up near Rea, Missouri to pick up Marlon's dad, Monty. He would be our tour guide today.

First, we went to observe the Bluegrass Ridge Wind Farm. This facility is located near King City, Missouri.

The 27 Suzlon S-88 turbines are some of the largest and most powerful in the world. Each stands 260 feet, has 3 140 foot long blades and has the capacity to generate 2.1 megawatts.

Here is a video of the turbines in action. Right now the square is black, just click on the play button and the video will begin.

Next we headed to Conception, Missouri. There we were going to eat lunch and go on a self-guided tour of Conception Abbey.

Monty had recently been on a guided tour of The Abbey with a group from his Baptist Church and thought it would be a neat thing for us to see. And as evidenced by the following pictures, it WAS very impressive.

This church was originally completed in 1891. Upon its 50th Anniversary in 1941, Pope Pius XII designated the church of Conception Abbey a minor basilica. This honorary title was given to churches which were considered spiritual centers and Conception Abbey was the first such basilica west of the Mississippi River.

In 1999, a two decades long Basilica renewal project costing $9 million was completed.

Look at the size of those organ pipes! The smallest one is about the size of a pencil. The biggest one is almost big enough a man to stand in.

Monty and Doug stop for a picture outside Conception Abbey after lunch and tour.

The next stop for the day was in Clyde, Missouri. There we would be taking a guided tour of the monastery of The Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.

There was a room full of tapestries which we were not able to take pictures of, but the rest of the tour was open for pictures.

This is a room full of relics. What is a relic? Basically, relics can be physical remains of saints or items such as clothing which have been touched by saints.

This is Saint Beatrice, the Martyr. This relic display contains actual parts of the saint's body, including the bones of her hands and feet.

This was one of many bejeweled solid gold items in the monastery.

Next we went to view the inside of the church at the monastery.


Our tour guide, Sister Jacqueline, poses with Marlon and his dad. Sister Jacqueline has been a nun for 53 years.

Next Monty took us to Maryville to show us his gravestone.

Monty's wife, Marlon's stepmom, Jeri, joined us later to go to dinner.

For more pictures of the destinations in this post go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2007/august/spending-the-day-wi/ .

To be continued...

Next Stop-Sharp RV Park and Trina's House

Today we arrived at Sharp RV Park. It was situated about halfway between St. Joseph and Marlon's sister Trina's house in Savannah, Missouri.

Here was our site. It was one of only a few pull-thru sites in the park.

We sat on the upper level of the park overlooking the motorhomes and fifth wheels on the lower level.

Here we ran into something we hadn't ever seen or at least noticed before---these creepy webworms.

Apparently webworms are common in high humidity areas and areas of extended heavy rain. These can be found in the northern USA and all the way down into Texas. They are pretty harmless to mature trees but can strip a sapling of all of its foliage.

The Cuckoo Bird is a common predator, opening the nest with its downward-curving bill and dining on the occupants.

Speaking of Cuckoos, that evening we went to Trina's house for hot dogs and swimming. This is Trina.

This is not a hot dog. This is Casey, Trina's owner.

Here's Mason, Trina's grandson, ready for the pool.

Mason's mom, Jennifer, thinks she may have a kidney stone.

Jennifer's husband, Shannon, decides it's time to cook the dogs.

Mmm...acid reflux here we come.

Marlon finds time to take a dip so he can soak Doug.

Nighttime comes and the water wars continued as Doug and Mason were pitted against Marlon and Dillon, Mason's older brother.

Trina takes comfort in knowing no one has the cojones to turn the Super Soaker on her.

The next day we came back to Trina's house for some more visiting.

Then Marlon and Trina attempted a deep knee bend.

They almost made it.

For more pictures of the pool party and Sharp RV Park, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2007/august/swimming-and-dinner/ and http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2007/august/stayingatsharprvpar/ .

To be continued...

Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure-Salina, Kansas

Today we ventured 38 miles west (yes back toward where we had already come from) to visit Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure.

Rolling Hills opened in 1999 with a zoo and then added a wildlife museum in 2005.

This Chilean Flamingo was searching for a feast.

Here are a couple of black tailed prairie dogs braving the heat.

I (Doug) crawled through a tunnel in order to enter this glass cube to view the American Black Bear (we think). The bear can be seen way back behind the glass cube on the left. We waited for him to come closer but he was otherwise involved.

It was too hot for Marlon, so he paid $3 to ride the train through the zoo all day long.

Actually, it was a great way to get the feel of the layout of the zoo. It also saved us a lot of reading as the driver of the tram told us pretty much everything we would ever want to know about every animal in the park.

This little guy is a capybara. Capybaras are the largest rodents in the world.

The giraffe catching us peeking through the trees.

Just like humans do, this orangutan fell asleep while reading.

This log must have been filled with a tasty treat as the chimpanzee would insert this stick in a hole in the log and then lick the stick. Yum!

When we got on the train to go to the Museum at Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure the driver told us it was so hot that there was only 2 other people in the zoo (this was at 3:00pm). Doug appears to be ready for some AC.

This is a "Lion King"-like exhibit in the museum.

Marlon tries to get a signal to make a phone call.

Marlon visited Rolling Hills Zoo and all he got was this picture of himself beside a sign that says "I visited Rolling Hills Zoo, Salina KS."

Now that our visit to Rolling Hills was over, it was time to head back to the RV and get ready for the next morning's journey on to St. Joseph, Missouri to visit Marlon's family and friends.

To see the rest of the pictures taken at Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2007/august/rolling-hills-wildl/ .

To be continued...