To quote Vonda's friend, it is indeed another beautiful day here! Last night we finished off our day with meeting Vonda and Greg at Shoney's, in Branson. It was great to be with them both. Today was a bit of a pilgrimage for me. We drove from Branson to Forsythe, where we met a Reece cousin, a descendent of the oldest child of my great-great-grandparents, of Taneyville. This was our 3rd cousin, Shirley Austin M.; great-granddaughter of James Percy L. Reece, of Dickens, Taney Co. Cousin Shirley lives right next to the Dickens Cemetery, at Taneyville. She was able to show me where my great-great-grandmother, Sarah Bills Reece Austin, and her second husband, Robert Payne Austin, are buried. Beside them are their two daughters; both who died in-childbirth, whose husbands are buried elsewhere. These were Lillie V. Austin Schwegler and Callie Austin Lewis. Shirley does not look like the Reeces I knew/know, but her mother and uncles, along with her grandmother and great-uncle bear a strong resemblance to other family members. I told Shirley we have looked for her for 25 years, and thanks to a joint relative, Linda Perriguey, of the Taney Co. list, we finally met up!!! Vonda, Greg and Shirley also all made possible another wonderful experience. My mom and brother are with me. My mom never knew her grandfather, but, she was able to stand on the floor, in the schoolhouse where he and his siblings went to school. The old Dickens schoolhouse is now a private home and we were able to go in and not only visit with the owner, but also see the schoolhouse firsthand. The kitchen floor is the same floor that the Reece/Austin kids would have walked on. You can still see initials carved in the floor, and the places where the desks were bolted down. Boy did that give me goosebumps, over a hundred years after those kids tread the same planks!!! >From Taneyville we drove through Swan and up into Christian Co. on the old gravel road, which is in excellent condition. We drove all the way to just south of Chadwick, where we turned south towards Garrison. This is the area where my mom's grandmother's family lived, The Mitchell and Roberts folks, among the many connected families, Bilyeu, Shipman, Garrison ( which she ties to on both sides of her family ), Mapes, Box, Workman, and others!!! The winding roads are truly beautiful. The trees form green arches over the roads, with views of prairies and farms, valleys, hills, and mountains, limestone cliffs, and wildflowers all over. The Queen Anne's Lace is all in bloom (the wild carrot plant). The green hills appear to be covered with blankets of delicate white lace. We saw eagles, hawks, buzzards, cattle of all breeds, hound dogs, and kids at play. Most of the farms are in good condition & we only saw one junked car by the side of the road. This route is AA from Taneyville to Swan, where it turns into Blue Creek Road. This was a magical day. We did not see the Mitchell homeplace, but will try to get closer to it tomorrow. Tomorrow we are heading for Ozark, Sparta, and Chadwick & Garrison again; the loop that my mom's grandmother's folks lived within. Stay tuned for another installment tomorrow! Jerry Johnston