NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE

 "Toto, we're not in Kansas any more!"  But Mike and I WERE there last week.

Mike has had his heart set on a ginormous KS deer for some time. Surely this would be the year.  He found a guide (that he likes enough to adopt) and he made big plans.  And I got to go along!

Hunting gives Mike "space" and he competes against himself/the elements/the wildlife (a manthing).  My needs were satisfied and then some because I got to take books and beads and no schedule.

We drove less than two hours from Fayetteville and were in Kansas.  Actually, we were on the outskirts of Joplin, Missouri.  We were sissy-camping on the concrete RV parking lot of Downstream Casino (exit 1 right on the Missouri and Oklahoma border) and 17 miles from where Mike was to hunt.  

The driveway into the casino is in Missouri, the casino is in Oklahoma, and the parking lot was in Kansas.  I guess they have figured out how to get the taxes divided.... 

Because it was freezing @night, the camping crowd was very sparse.  My security needs were met with lots of cameras and security that drove by periodically.  To encourage visitors, the casino gives you three free nights on the camping space and then it is $15/night.  People brag about the buffets at casinos, so I was satisfied to lollygag in the camper and then buffet at night.  The first night the meal was good, but the air quality made the trip our last.  Mike later talked to a worker who proudly said they spent $250,000 on the air system.  But I don't know how anyone breathes in that smokey air.

The first morning, Mike left "home" at 4:30 a.m. and returned about 6:30 p.m.

I reached my goal of doing nothing, but sadly Mike didn't reach his goal.  He got no deer after sitting 12 hours on a stand in weather that began in the 20's, with wind gusts up to 25 mph.  Mike had layers of down, hand warmers, and a peanut butter sandwich.  Plus anticipation.

Over the four days, Mike saw several bucks...but he was high-grading and wanted to go home with "BigBoy".

He did make several new friends including the casino shuttle driver who was a Quapaw Indian.  Because the Quapaws are from Arkansas...and because Mike loves the Indian culture...they struck up several big conversations.  You may know that Quapaw means "downstream people" (hence the casino name).

A retail opportunity fell out of the blue and into my lap.  Friends had told me of a great place out from Joplin called Sandstone Gardens, a shop on 68 acres which has home and garden decor and a tea room and lots of concrete statuary.  I had no idea that it was @our exit!  The inside was a feast of eye candy and the creative juices flowed.  I found part of Laura and Beth's Christmas there.

 Then on the weekend, we met our neighborhood Community Group in Branson and went with them to Silver Dollar City.

Here are all fourteen of us on the front row of a great production of Scrooge's Christmas.

Sunday morning we had a worship service with a guitar and communion and we all shared the verse that had propped us up longterm.

What a grand time of feasting on God's grace!