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The two RV Gypsies
ready for their 14th Segway tour - this time at Dogwood Canyon - a
super-cool way to experience the Nature Park! This was a round-trip
tour (4 miles total) on beautiful trails to the Glory Hole, a blue-green
pool where big trout reside. But first the two RV Gypsies listened to
a safety speech, which is always a good thing, no matter how many times
they have ridden on a Segway. |
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Below: Karen Duquette does
not bring her big camera on Segways, so Lee Duquette carries a small
camera and snaps a lot of photos while gliding on his Segway. For some
reason, the quality of these pictures was not quite as good as they
normally are. There were a lot of backlighting situations. This entire
place is so much more beautiful than these photos reflect. |
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Below: Long Pine Crossing
Covered Bridge across Little Indian Creek in Dogwood Canyon Nature Park,
Stone County, Missouri. The covered bridge was built by the Amish Community
in 1992. Length 80 feet. |
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Below: The Hope Wilderness
Chapel, completed in 2002, is a replica of traditional places of worship
from the 1800’s. Handcrafted by Dogwood Canyon staff members,
the chapel features local materials including native short-leaf pine
logs, rough-sawn oak flooring and an eastern red cedar ceiling. The
chapel’s back wall, made entirely of windows, frames a picturesque
view of one of many waterfalls at Dogwood Canyon. This creates the ideal
backdrop for your special day. The Wilderness Chapel seats 120 guests
and is available for weddings, vow renewals, meetings, and special services.
Jim, the person giving the two RV Gypsies a Segway tour on this date.
also officiates the weddings held here. The winding staircase going
down to the basement was closed off. The picture is blurry, but still
interesting to note that the staircase exists. |
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Below: View of a waterfall
behind the Chapel, as seen from the back balcony of the Chapel. Some
weddings are even held on the patio below instead of inside of the church.
NOTE: (Karen Duquette's shirt lists all the places the two RV Gypsies
have taken Segway tours. After the tour, she will add Dogwood Canyon
onto the shirt - ride #14). She has made shirts in several different
colors. And of course, there will be many more Segway tours as time
continues on. |
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Below: As the two RV Gypsies
continued their Segway tour, many of the crossings were at the base
of small waterfalls created by dams or “weirs” to provide
oxygen flow for the trout. Lee Duquette snapped a few of them as he
rode by on his Segway. |
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Below: The two RV Gypsies
at Thunder Falls - (again backlighting) |
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Below: Among the more fascinating
archaeological sites in the canyon are several caves. Some were low
on the ground such as the one shown below, and some were located high
in the face of a steep bluff. Researchers located ancient Native American
cave burials here during the creation of the park. The caves themselves
are not open to the public, but can be seen from the tour road loading
through the park. |
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Below: The Segways stopped
for a view of Great Spirit Rock Shelter. |
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Below: Then the two RV Gypsies
walked up to the spot shown in the photo below on the right, just under
the waterfall. |
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Below: Of course, Karen Duquette
had to feel the cool water as it dripped down the face of a stone wall. |
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Below: The weather and sunlight
position did not provide the perfect setting to capture the water glistening
in the sunlight as it poured down the cliff from above, but nonetheless,
the photos are still interesting. |
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Below:  Karen
Duquette reached out towards the water flowing down in front of her.
Of course she knew her arms were not long enough to actually touch the
water, but thought maybe a drop or two of water would JUMP her way.
(REALLY?) |
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Below: From the cliff side,
the two RV Gypsies thought the bridge across the way was amazing as
its opening reflected into the creek and formed the illusion of a complete
circle. |
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Below: The Segway Guide, Jim
said the bridge is called Bear Bridge because one of the rocks in the
center of the bridge looks like a bears face. However, it is hard to
see in the photo below. |
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The two RV Gypsies forgot
what Jim said the plant show below was called. If Jim goes on this website,
hopefully he will e-mail the two RV Gypsies the name of this plant and
the other one below. Anyway, he said it was good for someone who maybe
got into poison ivy. Guess the two RV Gypsies need better memories. |
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The two RV Gypsies also do
not remember the name of this plant. But when it has berries, the berries
are said to be edible, but the plant leaves would be poisonous. No thank
you. The two RV Gypsies are not recommending anyone to eat anything
mentioned on this page. |
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Below: One of the highlights
of the tour (besides riding a Segway) is the beautiful blue-green pool
called The Glory Hole - a beautiful pool of clear water fed
by a waterfall. Jim gave the two RV Gypsies time to get off their Segways
and they explored the scenic spot and climbed a few stairs to the overlook.
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Below: The unique, natural coloring is
created by the water depth and the reflection of light. |
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No fishing
is allowed in this special place, so the giant rainbow trout grow to
unbelievable lengths. |
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Across from the Glory Hole,
is an area where Karen Duquette fed the fish. It was really funny because
as soon as the fish food hit the water, dozens of fish were in a frenzy
to eat, and water actually splashed up on Karen. |
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Below: Turtle Rock Bridge.
This was a bumpy ride on the Segway and the two RV Gypsies had to ride
very slowly across it because Jim said sometimes the bounciness could
cause the Segway to shut off. Of course, that did not happen to the
two RV Gypsies. |
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Below: At the end of the tour,
there was a big boulder shaped like a buffalo. Karen Duquette wanted
a picture with their tour guide, Jim. Then Jim took a photo of the two
RV Gypsies "riding the buffalo". |
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The ride back was non-stop,
and the two RV Gypsies glided on their Segways at a faster speed. This
was a trip with really amazing scenery. Jim was a wonderful tour guide,
and the two RV Gypsies really enjoyed every second of the tour. They
did not know that the park also offered an "Advanced tour"
which is longer, or they would have signed up for that. They did not
see any mention of that in brochures or on the internet, and Jim only
mentioned it at the end of this trip.
Oh well, the two RV Gypsies will remember this if they get back in
this area again. Thanks Jim! |
