I’ve been wanting to take the Brown Mansion Candlelit Christmas Tour at the Brown Mansion in Coffeyville, Kansas, for a few years now. This year, I got my chance. The Brown Mansion is a great place to visit any time of year, but it was extra magical at Christmastime. Still, if you aren’t in the area around Christmas, be sure to stop by and step back in time. Tours are available throughout the year, and I have done this tour a few times over the years. History of the Brown Mansion I spent some of my earliest years in Southeast Kansas as a young child. The Brown Mansion captured my imagination as a little girl. We’d drive into Coffeyville, and I’d see that enormous white house on the hill; it must’ve been built for royalty. Close. The Brown Mansion was built for a family that gets as close to royalty…
If you’re looking for something fun to do in January in Missouri, why not take a trip to see the bald eagles in Stella, Missouri? Since we live about 40 miles away, we’ve been a few times. Pre-Covid, Stella hosted an Eagle Days event around the third weekend in January each year. I couldn’t find any information for this year, but like our visit last year, you can drive to Stella to see the eagles without the hosted event by the Chert Glades Missouri Master Naturalists, the Missouri of Department of Conservation and the City of Stella. The eagles show up whether there is a festival or not. Remembering Our Visit to Stella’s Eagle Days Veteran’s Memorial Park Again, last year they didn’t have the festival, and I haven’t seen any information for this year. Still, I hope the festival returns one day in the future. In Veteran’s Memorial Park,…
Since we live just a few miles away, we like to make an evening of checking out the Christmas decorations in Carthage, Missouri, every year. In the area’s rich past, American Indians and French settlers called this place home. After the Louisiana Purchase, Carthage became a city and the county seat of Jasper County. This historic city is perhaps most famous, however, for the Civil War; the Battle of Carthage was fought here, and some of the homes in the city date back to the 1870s when the residents rebuilt after the war. These Victorian-style houses are beautiful any time of year, but they are exceptionally magic at Christmastime. If you are into Route 66 and its history, you’ll also find remnants of the highway’s past. In the mid-1970s, Vietnamese-American Catholics established their American monastery in Carthage; it’s now known as the Congregation of the Mother of the Redeemer. Every…
If you’re looking for a fun way to get out of the heat of the sun on a warm summer day, consider taking a cave tour. Cosmic Cavern, near the Eureka Springs and Branson areas, is a great choice when hoping to get a glimpse of the cave formations in the Ozarks. This cave hosts Arkansas’s largest private cave tour; it’s the perfect tour for summertime, even though it also holds the title of Arkansas’s warmest cave at 64 degrees year round! We’d like to thank the Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce for hosting our visit. As always, all opinions are honest and our own. Arriving at Cosmic Cavern As you drive out to Cosmic Cavern, you’ll enjoy a rural road over hills and through wooded areas. This cave attraction fits in perfectly with its surroundings; it’s not overly commercialized. Cosmic Cavern is just a great cave to explore. When…
For Christmas this year, my husband and I decided to take a getaway together instead of buying each other gifts. We do this often, actually, and I am so grateful to be married to someone who loves trips as much as I do. Since Branson is only an hour and a half away, it often works well for a destination for us as a couple. My parents stay with the kids, and suddenly it’s just the two of us on a little road trip. This year, we stayed at a cabin at Silver Dollar City campground near Branson, Missouri. Formerly, the campground was known as The Wilderness at Silver Dollar City. I’ve always wanted to give it a try, so I thought, why not? I was sure to reserve a cabin with a fireplace. If I was going to do this, I was going to do it right. Luckily, that…
Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #WeatherProven #CollectiveBias One of my family’s favorite times of year for a road trip is winter time. Every year, we take a drive through the Ozark hills in Missouri to visit Branson for An Ozark Mountain Christmas. We visit area attractions and watch live Christmas-themed shows as we get into the spirit of Christmas and revel in the beauty of the season. We also finish up our Christmas shopping and eat some of the best country cooking you’ll find anywhere. It’s a special time that my family looks forward to every year. Of course, when driving through the Ozarks in winter, you have to be extra vigilant about road safety. We live in Southwest Missouri, and the weather can change at any moment, especially in the winter. It’s important that my family…