Ilene and Robert's driving tour of the mid-south mountains

Most of these pictures are from a drive through the Ozarks, Appalachia and Blue Mountains returning from Tulsa to New Haven. We went to Tulsa for Robert's sister's wedding.

Regrettably, we didn't have the camera out much on the drive down, but a few of the first shots are from that part of the trip.

We visited Ilene's grandparents in Columbus, Ohio.

We took a hike on the Katy Trail along the Missouri River near Jefferson City, Missouri.

This is the first of three times we crossed paths with Lewis and Clark. Can you spot the other two?

Missouri farms near Jefferson city.

45 S.P.F. baby.

Joplin, Misery--Robert's hometown

Main Street Joplin

Tumbling down the plains on the Will Rogers Turnpike

The bride and groom to be

Rehearsal time

We went to the drive-in movie in Tulsa. Part of The Outsiders was filmed here.

Waiting, waiting for the bride.

And waiting

Lookin' good

Robert and his brother walking their sister down the aisle

We left Tulsa on Sunday a.m. and drove through the Boston Range of the Ozarks in Arkansas.

Trout farm in the Ozarks

Spring River in the Ozark Mountains

Hardy, Arkansas--stop in and sample our bigotry.

Beale Street in Memphis

This is not the last ice cream shop on the trip.

The wall of fame in Hardy, Arkansas

Ozark farms

The Mississippi River at Memphis

W. C. Handy

In the Ozarks

Beale Street

The Ozarks Mountains

A museum devoted to the history of the Stax recording studio

John Engelland and the Western Swingers at Robert's Western World in Nashville

One of Robert's favorite records was recorded here--BR-549 Live at Robert's Western World.

Honky-tonk row in Nashville

The Drake Motel--"Where the Stars Stay"

The room where scenes from "The Thing Called Love" were filmed.

The Hermitage--Andrew Jackson's home near Nashville

Gardens at the Hermitage

Knob Creek Valley, Lincoln's boyhood home

Replica of Lincoln's boyhood home in Kentucky

Possibly the cabin Lincoln was born in--probably a hoax.

Shrine were Lincoln's birthplace is housed.

So much reading to keep up with

Choices, choices

One of our nicest days was an auto tour through bluegrass country around Lexington and touring the Kentucky Horse Park, reliving Ilene's horse-crazy years.

We ate at the Waffle House most mornings.

John Henry in retirement, age 35.

Cigar, all-time biggest money money winner, in retirement.

The parade of breeds, in costume

Huntington, West Virginia

Bath time

Shenandoah Valley

Harpers Ferry

The New River Gorge in West Virginia

New River Gorge

Another beautiful day was driving on country roads through West Virginia to see the New River Gorge and then into the Blue Mountains in Virginia and up to the Skyline Drive over the Shenandoah Valley.

Skyline Drive

Downtown Gettysburg

More than once in museums we came across carriages manufactured in New Haven.

The Ohio River in Huntington, West Virginia

The Ohio River, maybe. They're starting to blur together.

West Virginia coal mining towns

The "old bridge" over the New River Gorge

The "new bridge"

New River Gorge

The Appalachians in West Virginia

Down from the Skyline Drive, we stayed in a little town called New Market, Virginia.

Gotta stay hydrated man.

Ice cream for dinner again

Skyline Drive

Harpers Ferry

Shenandoah Valley

Harpers Ferry

Shenandoah Valley

Harpers Ferry

Shenandoah Valley

Skyline Drive

The morning after the Skyline Drive, we drove up through the Shenandoah Valley, visited Harpers Ferry (an interest of Robert's since reading Russell Banks' Cloudsplitter) and then on to Gettysburg.

We spent all afternoon and evening touring the battlefields, taking about six hours to do the three-hour auto tour. We stayed over in Gettysburg and the next morning walked the field of Pickett's Charge before heading west to Pennsylvania Dutch country.