Springfield, MO

I recently visited my best friend in Springfield, MO.  Anytime the two of us get together, a detailed/printed/at times colored coded itinerary is available...we are planners what can I say!  Thrifting was a definite and I maybe might have purchased so much 1960/1970 items that a box had to be packed and shipped to me back in SC because there was no more room in my suitcase.  My fear of clowns is for real and they can be seen on almost every shelf when thrifting.  However, I found that thrifting in Springfield, while amazing, led to a new fear...dolls.

My bestie will always find something history related for us to see because she is fully aware of my undying love of ALL THINGS HISTORY!  So off to Smallin Civil War Cave!  Did anyone else know that MO is The Cave State...I had no idea.  Smallin Civil War Cave is owned and operated by a couple and they are some of the nicest individuals I have ever meet and their love of history and preserving history is amazing!  They purchased Smallin Civil War Cave in 2004 and opened it for tours in 2010.  They offer guided tours of the cave which last about an hour.  There is a paved walkway with a railing which makes the entire tour accessible for individuals with strollers, wheelchairs, and scooters. 

Smallin Civil War Cave was discovered in 1818.  History of the cave includes the Osage Tribe, the Civil War (cave was used to store Union supplies), and was used by the Baldknobbers (a vigilante group formed after the Civil War).

Also, they offer an Off Trail Wild Tour.  Bestie & I have this on our itinerary for next time.  The Off Trail Wild Tour takes you off the paved walkway and into the water (knee deep) for about a mile past the stop of the walking tour.  If you are ever in the Ozark, MO area, Smallin Civil War Cave is a MUST see!

On my last day in Springfield, we went thrifting, ate yummy food, took a walk in a beautiful park where we came across these historical markers...

John Smith Phelps helped established the first Overland Mall.  Also, he was part of the Civil War and was an Attorney who defended Wild Bill Hickok.  His wife, Mary Whitney Phelps, helped during the Civil War by providing supplies to the Union, nursing wounded soldiers, and having coffins made for the dead until their families could collect their bodies.  Also, she was Vice President of the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869.

I left Springfield, MO on Tuesday but not before my bestie taught me how to knit...yes you read that correctly...I am knitting.  I am currently working on my first scarf...pretty excited!

Happy Travels,
-A