We started our day by visiting Ozark National Scenic Riverways:

We drove down to visit Big Spring:

Big Spring releases over 3,400 gallons per second.  The flow dissolves 175 tons of limestone per day, which colors the water blue-green:

Back at the RV, I discovered a bubble in one of the RV tires:

I swapped in the spare:

We continued west to Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield:

The site preserves the failed attempt of the Confederacy to secure Missouri for the South:

After the failure at Wilson’s Creek, Southern forces retreated to Arkansas, where they were finally defeated at our next stop, Pea Ridge National Military Park:

The battlefield:

Decades before the Civil War battle here, Native Americans were forced from the Southeast to Oklahoma along what became known as the Trail of Tears:

We continued to Bentonville, Arkansas:

It was here that Sam Walton opened his first variety store.  The store is now the Walmart Museum:

We think of Walmart as a free campground that happens to sell stuff.  Turns out housing RVers is not Walmart’s primary mission:

The museum was really interesting:

We continued west to overnight at Appalachia Bay Recreation Area, home of Motorcycle Island. Fun is scheduled for tomorrow!

See the alternating yellow line on the trip map for today’s drive.