The Stockton Lake Black Walnut Festival is one of the best area festivals in the Fall. It started out with a good meal at our favorite Enrique's Mexican Grill in Stockton, Missouri.
The next stop was Hammons Emporium on the Main Street intersection downtown. It is a unique gift shop that also has all the black walnut products for sale. We always love to have one of the several choices of black walnut ice cream and a gourmet cup of coffee before we watch the parade and walk around all the vendors.
We were positioned on a second story balcony of an apartment complex which gave us a great overview of the festival area and is near the end of the parade. It was also in the shade which is why we didn't choose the position we did last time which was in front of the county courthouse about a block away. That was the best spot to see and hear the best performances of the bands and other entries. Next year Keith and I will get there earlier and find a piece of shade before the crowd takes it all.
A great viewing area with friendly apartment tenants allowing us to share their second story covered deck. We can even see Hammons Black Walnut Factory from here (metal bins, upper right) and it would be a short walk to take the tour after the parade as we also enjoy all the vendors located at the bottom of this hill.
I took so many pictures and videos including several of my favorites here. It lasted about an hour. My cousins said they don't have parades in the Czech Republic and they don't see any national pride as we do by displaying national flags. I was also dismayed when Paul asked me if all the many church buildings he has been seeing on this trip are used for religious services? This is a very different experience for them!
There are many different kinds of watercraft on these lakes and people will find anything to get them to the water!
So many area schools were represented and children lined the streets to pick up candy that is thrown out from the people on the floats and vehicles.
A small part of the various motor car/bike clubs in the area. Americans love their vehicles!
My smiling sunny selfie loves a parade!
So many emergency vehicles displayed with sirens blaring! Here are the Shrine Club in one of the older fire trucks.
With so many children riding in many flatbed trailers, you would think there wouldn't be many left to catch the candy thrown out!
This ball team is an example of how NOT to ride in a flatbed trailer with legs dangling over the sides! We witnessed a horrific accident when one young boy sitting next to a moving wheel had his leg pulled under the trailer and he was run over twice! The parade came to a sad end as EMTs did their job in front of the large crowds. We found out later that the boy did not have any internal injuries but sustained a broken leg and large cuts to his face, shoulder, and buttocks. This certainly put a damper on the mood for all and it happened right in front of us. We will never watch from this location again for the bad memory! After we got home, we opened a few bottles of wine and waited until the evening news to know that the boy was going to be alright. Nobody slept well that night.
After the accident was cleared and we gave our statements to the police, we walked the short distance to the Hammons Black Walnut Factory a couple blocks away. We made the outside part of the tour and walked around the grounds. It was hot and we were thirsty and sad from the accident. We were relieved to be inside with air conditioning and cold water to drink to see the processing of black walnuts. Here are pictured a lady nut-picker and a stack of boxes loaded with finished bags of black walnuts. I have wrote much about this process in previous blogs and you can find out everything you could possibly know and more than you can imagine from their website: Hammons Black Walnuts
The next day was Ha Ha Tonka State Park Day
This was the perfect time to get into nature and there's no better place to calm the soul and get some invigorating exercise than Ha Ha Tonka State Park which is a short 30-minute drive from my home. It is my favorite state park that I visit often and year round. Above are Paul and I in front of the spring source. This is one location that fills the Lake of the Ozarks with cool, clean water.
So we begin the 300+ steps upward from the spring winding around the hills until we end up at the castle ruins. It is a beautiful and invigorating hike that I like to do even in the winter for exercise. The view is always changing and the winter allows much more scenery exposed without the tree leaves. I just have to watch out for icy steps because there's water coming out of the rocks in many places. But today that is not a problem.
The view of the parking lot where we began and the spring below.
The Castle Ruins
I have written much about my trips to Ha Ha Tonka in this blog over the years. If you want to know more about the park and what it has to offer here is the website: Ha Ha Tonka State Park
I always find something alive and beautiful at Ha Ha Tonka State Park and I'm so very happy to share the experiences with my Czech Cousins!
The water at the spring is always cool and full of life. The colors are never the same for this pure and fresh water. It is always uplifting to see and experience!
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