November 11th - 23, 2025 - Northern Lights - Garage Electric - Powell Hall - Cat Door - Wake - Window Shades -Electric Panel - Water Heater

My Blog Reflection

You have not lived a perfect day, even though you have earned your money, unless you have done something for someone will never be able to repay you.

Ruth Smeltzer

November 11, 2025:

Due to unprecedented weather conditions, we were able to see the Northern Lights in Perryville, Missouri. Crazy. Here is a picture from our deck.

It was a marvelous event and many others in the area were able to get better pictures. Several years ago we were in Iceland and there we could watch the Northern Lights dance all over the sky for hours. What an amazing phenomenon.

November 12, 2025:

Back to work on Alexa's house. With Alexa's help the exterior cut-off switch was installed and the conduit all connected for getting electric to the garage. Cutting a hole for the conduit in the asbestos shingle on the garage went a lot easier than I anticipated. Here are a couple of pictures. On the house we just mounted the new shut-off box over the old outlet opening.

November 14, 2025:

John came over and we fished the wire through the conduit. After that was completed, and all connections made for power in the cut-off switch box, we now had an outside GFI outlet on the house that worked and electric into the garage. We then strategized about where to run electric in the garage for lights, outlets, and a future garage door opener. A trip to the hardware store will be in order.

After we were finished with the electric, Alexa got busy digging a trench for the downspout drain to run out into the back yard. My job was to make two trips to the hardware store to purchase two ten-foot long pieces of pipe and to make sure the pipe was pitched down so the water would drain out.  Rain is coming next week so it was a good time to get this pipe installed.

November 18, 2025:

John came over and we ran the electric inside the garage. We installed a light on a switch near the door. We installed two wall outlets and an outlet above for a future garage door opener. Having electric in the garage will be quite useful.

In the evening we went with John and Carlene to Powell Symphony Hall in St. Louis to attend a lecture by Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian opposition leader and author. For his outspoken views against the Putin regime he was sent to prison in Siberia for 25 years of solitary confinement. President Biden got him released in a prisoner exchange. He was poisoned twice and survived. To this day he fears for his life. His story was quite moving.

I hadn't been in Powell Hall for over fifty years. It has been extensively remodeled and is magnificent with everything in red, white and gold. We had mezzanine seats and arrived WAY early. My pictures were taken before most arrived. 

The lobby:

Orchestra seating:

We had Mezzanine seating:

November 19, 2025:

I have been watching Facebook Marketplace for a cheap dresser or chest of drawers for Alexa to use in her shop area to store tools, hardware, etc. This morning I spotted a double dresser with mirror out on the curb here in town with a note that it was free. Alexa and I jumped in the truck and headed over to the address. There it was sitting in the rain. It was a nice double dresser from the 1940s in great shape. All the drawers were there and all in perfect working order. We disconnected the mirror and loaded the dresser into the bed of the truck. With all the drawers pulled out we easily moved it into the basement and into Alexa's shop area.

We stuck it back in the corner but she may rearrange things later as her work shop develops. What a find! It even had a glass top! I don't know how long that will last in a shop though.

The project for the day was to install a "cat door" in the back door so that the cats can get to their litter boxes on the sun porch and lay around in the sun out there. Here is a picture of the back door before. 

The cat door has to be installed at the cats' shoulder height. I was concerned about cutting so much "meat" out of the bottom of the door but had no choice. Here is a picture of the cat door installed. Alexa put food out on the porch. The cats went through so that was good.  I have some turd brown paint we can paint the wood spacers we had to use on the door to mount the cat door.

By email I was notified that the roller shades Alexa ordered had arrived at Ace Hardware. We made a quick trip to pick them up for installation tomorrow.

In the evening I went out to the Seminary for Fr. John Gagnepain's wake. He and I go back 62 years when I was a high school freshman at St. Louis Preparatory Seminary South. He was Vice-Rector and barely out of the seminary himself.  In my junior year he taught me Chemistry. I remember that that year he let Bill LaGrand and me make wine for a science project, trusting us seventeen year olds not to consume it. Under his supervision he did, however, allow us to "taste" it. It was awful. It would never be "Communion Wine". LOL  He was a wonderful man and a great teacher but had been ill for quite some time.

November 20, 2025:

The roller shades we ordered for Alexa's house only came in one size. The project of the day was to cut six down to fit the windows. All were cut without a hitch (other than one of the cats wanting to be on top of the shade on the table as we were measuring and cutting). Alexa now has privacy! 

While I was at the house Alexa told me there was no hot water. I checked and the breaker was tripped. I reset it, not thinking much more about it at the time. I thought the breaker may have gotten bumped when we were working in the electric panel box earlier.

November 21, 2025:

It is required that all electric panel boxes have the circuit breakers marked so that you can identify which breaker controls which circuits throughout the house. Most of the writing in the electric panel box in Alexa's basement was illegible or marked wrong. We also moved a circuit or two to the new subpanel. Today I used a new Klein tool I purchased to trace circuits so I could mark them in the box. I used my label maker so I could place the labels over the old (mostly wrong) writing. 

While at the house I also installed a wooden handle I made to pull the cellar door closed. I also and put a heavier "S" hook on the chain that holds the door when opened from hitting the house. The cellar door when open puts a lot of strain on the chain and hooks due to its weight. 

Alexa advised that the water heater was still not working. I checked and once again I found that the circuit breaker was tripped. With my multitester I tested each of the heating elements in the heater. Both appeared to be working properly. I flipped the breaker back on and upon arriving back at the water heater there was a VERY LOUD POP. I checked and the circuit breaker was tripped again. Obviously there is an electric problem causing a dead short. I quickly unscrewed the cover where the incoming power wire connects to the water heater wiring. Upon lifting the cover smoke came out and this is what I found.  Definitely not good. 

Inside this power connection cavity there was standing water on the top of the tank just below these wire connections. This obviously caused a short in the wiring. A few days before Alexa had noticed some water standing on the top of the water heater near the pressure relief valve. Obviously water from the valve was leaking inside the water heater.

One of the 120 volt lines was burnt to a crisp and the other didn't look much better. No matter how I twisted I could not get either wire nut off to work on making a new connection. It was as if they were welded together. I had to cut the wires. Luckily you don't see something like this very often.

After cutting the wires coming out of the water heater I was left with extremely short wires to reconnect to the power supply. Using new wire nuts was out of the question. My first thought was to crimp connectors to the water heater wires and make pigtails to connect from there to the incoming power wires. I then happened on the idea of using Wago connectors. These are a relatively new type of connector that allow each wire to be pushed into the connector and then locked down for a strong connection. I just happened to have a couple of them from some other project. Here is a picture of the Wago connectors installed. I did a strong pull test on all wires to make sure all were tight.

I reinstalled the cover and turned on the electric. All appears to be working properly. 

I was concerned about the water found earlier around the pressure relief valve. I decided to take the valve out and put new pipe dope on the threads to seal it, or, if the threads looked bad, to purchase a new valve. Using a pipe wrench with an 18 inch cheater bar, I was not able to budge the pressure relief valve. Even with Alexa holding the tank the best she could, the tank would still move when I put pressure on the wrench. The tank moving isn't good when it is connected to the water pipes. It will be a problem if the valve continues to leak because water will once again seep down and gather back at the electric connection cavity. We will watch it very closely. I had Alexa check for any water leakage before she left the house in the evening. There was none.

November 22, 2022:

Upon arriving at Alexa's the first thing I did was go down to check the top of the water heater for any sign of water leakage from the pressure relief valve. There was none. It was all dry as a bone. I smeared some caulk around the base of the valve so that if any water did come out of the valve, it could not seep into the tank top below and pool up in the electric junction cavity again.

We then made a trip to Ace Hardware to get some drawer slides to make pull-outs in one of the kitchen cabinets. I gathered up several tool boxes I had left at the hose for projects which were now finished. Before I left the house I again checked the water heater and there was not a drop of water on top. I'm wondering if maybe the water heater hadn't been used for a while and when the water heated up it leaked out of the spring clip on the top of the valve until it re-sealed itself. We will keep an eye on it.

I had placed the second roll of linoleum that was left in the garage by the previous owner on Facebook Market Place for sale. A lady came by and purchased it early this afternoon.  One less thing to trip over in the garage. LOL

The handrail on one side of the front steps is extremely loose. We have the same rails on the porch in our place in Florida and I had the exact problem there last season. I fixed it by driving wedges between the post and the socket it attaches to on the step. I then covered the entire area with JB Weld and painted it. Today I drove a couple of wedges in on Alexa's handrail and will cover the entire area of the post and socket with JB Weld weather permitting tomorrow.

November 23, 2025:

The weather did not cooperate for working on the handrail. During the afternoon it was warm enough for the epoxy to be applied but it takes twenty-four hours to totally cure. I was afraid it would not set up properly as the temperature dropped during the night. This fix will need at least two coats of the epoxy and the weather is getting colder so this project will probably be delayed until spring, unless we get a few days of warmer weather.

 

 

November 7th - 8th, 2025 - A Long Awaited Missouri - Arkansas Road Trip

My Blog Reflection

Civilization if a method of living, an attitude of equal respect for all men.

Jane Addams

November 7, 2025:

Early this morning we headed out for a two-day road trip with Bob and Ronnie Hershey. Bob spent a lot of time planning a trip to visit all the major springs on this side of the state. Our route took us from Montauk State Park in Dent County, Missouri, to Mammoth Springs, Arkansas. 

The first leg was a 3.5 hour drive to get from Perryville to Montauk. The weather was beautiful so it was a nice drive. Montauk Spring forms the headwater of the Current River. 

It was fabulous to see. Here are some pictures. The blue color is from mineral deposits in the water and so beautiful to behold.

The water flowing away for the Current River.

Our next stop was at Big Spring. The blue color is from suspended limestone and calcium in the water.

\

Kelly pausing for a photo on the walk back to the spring and cave area.

It is just so amazing that this water just flows out from the limestone bluff.

Our next stop was Welch Spring. It was about a quarter to half mile hike back to the spring along the river. Our first hike of the day. It was a scenic and beautiful walk along the river. 

We talked to the guy fishing. He said he almost always catches some in this area. He just walked in the water in his blue jeans. His legs had to get cold.

In the middle of the following pictures you can see the ruins of a hospital that was built here about a hundred years ago. Tuberculosis patients came here to drink the spring water and to breathe in the moisture from the spring. We believe there had to be a bridge across the spring at that time because the only other access would have been down the Current River by canoe.

I'm terrible at taking selfies and looking into the sun doesn't help but here is proof we were there. LOL

This spring was stunning.

The water flowing from the spring to the Current River.

From there we drove to Round Spring. It is the "round as a silver dollar" sinkhole that gives the spring its name.

You can easily see where the water comes out of the limestone bluff. The deep blue color was everywhere.

The water flowing away from the spring.

Our next stop was Alley Spring. Kelly and I had been here probably close to fifty years ago. At the headwater of the spring is a mill which was closed.

Again the blue water over the deep area where the spring comes out.

A nearby limestone wall eaten away by the elements.

The mill gates were open partially.

Ronnie and Kelly made for a great picture with the beautiful blue water in the background.

The river as it flows away from the spring.

It is disappointing that the pictures do not due the springs justice. They are truly magnificent to see. It is like looking at a picture of the Grand Canyon versus being there. It is just not the same experience.

We were losing daylight by the time we reached our next stop - Blue Spring. AS it turned out it was my favorite spring of all due to its amazing blue color over the sinkhole and bubbling areas.

I will let the pictures be the guide. As we walked back to the spring you could see the blue color.

Unfortunately the evening reflection of the bluff on the water did not allow for the pictures to capture the depth of the clear water. I didn't see a sign indicating the depth but it was clearly quite deep.

The reflection of the bluff didn't allow for a look deep into the spring. We could see through the reflection but couldn't see the bottom. Crazy.

As darkness descended on us we drove back to Van Buren, Missouri, to find a motel room and a restaurant for supper. We had only had a snack all day so we were ready for a hearty meal.

Van Buren only has a population of around 800. It is a huge river canoeing destination in the summer but pretty dead this time of year. There are two hotels in Van Buren and "The Landing" was by far our best choice. This is the main building where we checked-in. It is a new building because the previous one burned down a couple of years ago. We could have stayed in this building but opted to stay in their new free-standing building nearby. Our room was large and very nice indeed.

 

After checking in, and before going to our rooms, we headed to "The Blue Heron Restaurant" on campus. We hadn't eaten all day and were ready for a nice meal. We were not disappointed. The food was great as well as the atmosphere. 

November 8, 2025:

After a good night's sleep we were up at 7:00 a.m. and headed for breakfast at a restaurant in town that Bob knew about. The menu choices were different but we all enjoyed our choices. I had a small order of biscuits and gravy. The gravy was made with beef rather than pork. Something different for sure.

Our first stop of the day was at "Falling Spring". From the highway we drove two miles down a dirt road to reach the spring. On that drive we were astounded at the amount of damage in the forest due to a tornado that we learned went through last spring. The tornado path was at least two miles wide and the devastation to the forest was heartbreaking.

It is called "Falling Spring" because the spring gushes out of the limestone bluff.

Next to the bluff, almost a hundred years ago, a mill was built using the spring water flow to turn a large water wheel. At this mill corn was ground and a saw mill was set up to make shingles, boards, and firewood. What we saw was the second of two mills built there.

It made me wonder how they got all of the large gears to this place in the mill in the middle of nowhere. The gears had to have been cast in St. Louis, or some similar city nearby, and brought to this place by wagons. It is hard to tell how long that trip would have taken. It was a slow trip in a car!

The second water wheel was metal and probably built from a kit bought and put together on site. Those people had to have some engineering talent to construct a mill and make all of the gears and water wheel work as needed.

The spring water made a nice pool as it flowed away. So scenic and peaceful.

As we headed back to the highway we spotted a National Forest sign off the road back in the woods a little way. I got out to investigate and found that it marked the "New Liberty Trail", which was the location of a work camp back in the day. The tornado virtually destroyed the trail and signs but I could see concrete foundations throughout the area. All quite fascinating. This map shows the various buildings at the camp which used to exist at this site.



Small placards described some of the buildings.

I gathered that it was some form of training/work camp at one time, again in the middle of NOWHERE.

Our next stop was at "Greer Spring". 

When we arrived the sign indicated it was a mile down to the spring, which is the headwater of the Eleven Points River. It said it took an hour to two hours to make the trip. We debated and decided that we had come this far, why not take this trail on a beautiful fall afternoon? I should have read this sign more closely. It was not only a mile trail to the spring, it was also a 250 feet change in elevation, i.e. 25 stories. 

The trail was a little treacherous for us old folks because of all the roots and rocks you had to navigate around when walking. The trip down wasn't bad but the trip back up, I will admit, was a killer. We walked almost the entire mile down before we even heard water running. Here are some pictures when we got to the spring.

Bob couldn't walk the trail so just Ronnie, Kelly, and I went down. The size of the spring was quite impressive and we greatly enjoyed seeing it. Our enthusiasm waned, however, when we got ready to head back. It seemed like no matter how far we walked, we never got close to the top. Kelly counted seven switch backs on the trail. Benches were only provided in two places to sit and rest. However, we had to stop multiple times to catch our breath and get our heart rates down. We just sat on whatever large rock or log was available nearby. We aren't accustomed to walking up twenty-five stories. In hindsight I would not have made this trek, although there is some satisfaction in having done it and lived to talk about it.

After reaching the car, drinking some water, and enjoying a snack, we headed to our last stop - Mammoth Spring, Arkansas. It is arguably the largest spring of them all. It is located in a state park in the middle of the town. Observing this spring was much easier - a flat concrete sidewalk encircled the entire area.

7.89 gallons spring flow per hour that morning. Not the highest but nothing to sneeze at. The springs bubble up in a number of areas throughout the 10-acre lake.

A nice overlook is provided just outside the Visitors Center with placards describing the spring. At one time it generated electricity but no longer.

A sidewalk is provided around the entire lake so you can walk and see the various areas where the water bubbles up from below ground. 

This is the area where the water flows out of the lake and feeds the Spring River.

 

My travel mates on a bridge overlook taking it all in.

It is just so hard to imagine that all this water has bubbled up out of the ground 24/7 for who knows how long.

 

The trip was at its end. It was time for a nice lunch before making the long drive back home. Bob took us to his favorite restaurant in the area - "Fred's Fish House", located on the town's main drag just a few blocks from the spring. It is a small, unassuming place which cooked outstanding fish for decades. 

Of course, being a "fish house" we had to get the fried catfish. Kelly and I both love fried catfish. This is a SMALL platter of catfish strips, french fries, slaw, and hush puppies. It was all delicious. Kelly and I each ordered a small platter but neither of us could eat it all. We brought a bunch home for another meal.

It was about 7:00 p.m. when we got home. I noticed that my neck was sore. It dawned on me that this was from looking down at the traill for an hour and a half the day before to make sure I put my feet in a safe spot as I walked. I never experienced that before.

It was a great trip with great friends over two beautiful fall days. What more could you want?