Category Archives: Missouri

Skywatch Friday – Spring Break at Branson, Missouri Edition

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King Kong is on the loose again. This time in Branson, MO.

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For a small town in the sticks Branson sure has a lot of traffic!

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The family is on Spring Break! Lots of stuff happening with us so no staycation for Spring Break. Staycation mostly turns out to be nocation for us so off we went.

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We went to see the Titannic Exhibit. Very, very interesting and you will have to take my word for it since they insist no photos or videos. I’m going to follow those rules. If I was in your house I’d follow your rules!

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Then off to the grocery store. This scene lets you know that we were not in Oklahoma. No I don’t have a drinking problem. I drink just fine!

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Can you believe how cheap televsions have become. All you peeps from the 60’s and 70’s remember the orange faces on television? And how you would talk about somebody “They have a Sony.” Sony was the gold standard and the pricing was high. And now you can get a 32″ television for $150. Wow!

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I love grocery stores. Lots of photo ops there. Remember when Beanie Baby’s were all the rage. Pretty ho hum now, huh?

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And the tabloids! They are wonderful. Anybody out there detoxing their glands? Be sure and not tell me about it.

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You want a tip? I’ll give you a tip. The big attraction in Branson is Silver Dollar City and it costs $64 per person to get in. If you can go on Thursdays, Country Mart Grocery stores in Branson will sell you tickets for $30. Now that is a deal!! Dont’ say that I never saved you any money.

Skywatch Friday

The Marjorie Powell Allen Chapel at Powell Gardens

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The Marjorie Powell Allen Chapel overlooks a small lake at Missouri’s Powell Gardens just east of Kansas City, Missouri.

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It is a beautiful building in a beautiful setting. It is basically wood and glass set on a rock foundation. It soars into the sky and is very light and spacious.

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It was designed by E. Fay Jones (1921-1994) who designed similar chapels in Eureka Springs and Bella Vista, Arkansas. Mr. Jones was an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright. The architecture school at the University of Arkansas bears his name.

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I don’t know the first thing about architecture but I do think the design is very graceful and simple in form but sumptuous in details.

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What a view! You can rent the chapel for a wedding if you wish.

I found the chapel to be very inspiring. Have you been to an inspiring place lately?

Inspired Sunday – Kansas City LDS Temple

A couple weeks ago while driving through Kansas City on my way from Tulsa to South Dakota I saw a very striking building next to the freeway. I took the next exit and made my way to it.

#lds #temple #kansascity #roadtrip nobody builds a temple like the #mormons

Turns out that the building was a brand spanking new Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) Temple. Ground had been broken in 2010 and it was dedicated in May 2012. 

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The thing about the LDS Temples is that once they are dedicated they are not open to the public at all. Beforehand though they offer tours to the general public. I toured the Oklahoma City Temple in 2000 before it was dedicated. The exterior was not as spectactular as this one in Kansas City but I was struck by the exquisiteness and craftsmanship of interior in both the building and the furnishings. Here is a link to a chuch site that explains the purpose of temples among other information.

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Here is another site that has a lot of information about the this temple in particular and temples in general. Turns out that the LDS Church dedicated two other sites in Missouri back in the 1830’s before the church and is members were driven out of the state so the temples never got built. So the dedication of this temple was especially meaningful to members of the church.

Inspired Sunday