FALL ARRIVES IN MISSOURI

The colors of fall are beginning to show up all around the countryside, especially in the colorful displays of pumpkins and mums. The trees are still green, but now have tinges of red and yellow.

The hills of Missouri and Arkansas always hold plenty of fall festivals each year, and we love hitting as many as possible, including the Octoberfest outside of Cape Girardeau which took place this past weekend.

For a small town, the Cape has lots of historical sites to interest and entertain visitors. Downtown is particularly charming because of the murals on the seawall (which would otherwise an ugly concrete monstrosity that blocks views of the Mississippi River) as well as on many of the buildings around town.

North of town is an area where Eastern Native Americans spent frigid winters on their march to Oklahoma in 1837, 1838 and 1839. They traveled by wagon and horseback, but many were forced to walk the entire route. A trip to The Trail of Tears State Park is a beautiful and educational spot to learn more about this unfortunate piece of our country's history.