Djurdjevic - Personal Photos - Missouri, May 2007

23 Jan 2011

Updated May 2, 2007

Exploring Springfield...

...and the environs

SPRINGFIELD, May 2, 2007 - I have never been to Springfield before, so I was looking forward to exploring it, even if it had to be in the rain. As it turned out, the rain had abated somewhat. So that was not a problem. But I expected more from this city of 150,000. I really had to work hard at exploring the neighborhoods to find places that were really beautiful.

Let's start with the downtown... an area where you would expect a city to showcase the best of its history of culture..

Here it is... the above seem to be the most prominent buildings in downtown Springfield, surrounded by lots of unused parking lots.

Other than that, the Hammons (baseball) Field (above) seems to be the only other site worth mentioning. An aerial view of it (rightmost photo), taken at a start of a baseball game (borrowed from the city web site), shows the one time those parking lots seem to be used.

Another thing that surprised me about downtown Springfield is this huge mosque. It seemed about as prominent as any other downtown building. I don't know if its size reflects the size of the Muslim population of Springfield, but its presence in an area of the country that some still regard as a part of the Bible Belt is a good example of multiculturalism penetrating the Heartland of America.

There are, of course, Christian churches, too, and this is one example. Interestingly, the name of this church is rather generic. The sign in front of it reads "Christian Church."

...which, of course, includes a big football stadium. But you may have never before seen a college football stadium taken literally from the ground up. My camera was only about one inch off the ground when this shot was taken (left). There was a lone jogger, too. He seem to be struggling to complete a lap around the field (right).

At this stage I realized that if I were to find some pretty parts of Springfield, I may have to head out of town. Having been told that the nicer neighborhoods are in the southern part of the city, where my hotel was, too, I drove in that direction...

Indeed, I came upon a pretty lake (Springfield Lake) in the southeastern reaches of the city.

On a hill back of the lake, I came across this new development - "Lakeridge Estates." Most the houses were ugly "tract mansions." I picked out the above two as the best among the average new designs.

After that disappointment, I headed out of town. Literally. I realized that I was not likely to see anything aesthetically pleasing inside the city limits. So I started driving on farm roads.

Even here, I came across occasional "tract mansions." But pretty nature scenes around them softened the look.

Here's the view, for example, that the above house enjoys (left photo). Not far from there, I came across some more pastoral views of the farmland south of Springfield. And then I found something that ended up being the highlight of my afternoon...

Just as I was lamenting a lack of horse and other livestock on these green pastures, I saw this pinto. He (later on it turns out it was a she) saw me to. And started toward me...

We became fast friends, as you can see, even though I had neither apples nor carrots to offer her.

And then it was time to say goodbye. She walked back up the hill toward the barn, grazing on fresh grass along the way.

As I headed back toward the city, I reasoned that have got to be some nice neighborhoods around that lake. There usually are, in places like that. After some searching, my effort paid off...

I first spotted these pretty grounds, that turned out to be the last resting homes of the Missouri veterans.

There was even a river nearby... probably called James River, as a southern Springfield freeway that runs parallel to it bears the same name. In some places, the trees closed completely over the road, making it seem like a tunnel, the way some of our favorite rides were in Western Australia on a road called Wildwood.

If you look carefully just to the left of that tree trunk, you will notice a little motor boat carrying a fisherman (in orange). Another idyllic scene, I thought.

And then I came across a Wildwood Road. No kidding. I could not believe my eyes. Just as I was reminiscing about a Wildwood Road 10,000 miles away, here was another one. And this is finally where I saw some pretty homes.

My favorite house was that French provincial look-alike in the rightmost photo. And yes, as you can see, all these homes were right on the Springfield Lake.

And that's all she wrote from Springfield... and from the "Show Me State." Going back home early tomorrow morning.