A Gardener's Dream - P Allen Smith's Mountain Home

Day 1

Day 1: Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Join us this morning from the available departure location of your choice, meet your friendly onboard Trailways host and driver, then settle in and get comfortable as we head for Arkansas today. Enjoy rest and fresh breaks, as needed, as well as a stop for lunch, on your own before we arrive in Newport, AR this evening. Have dinner, on your own, before we arrive at the Cobblestone Hotel & Suites for our overnight stay.

Day 2

Day 2: Thursday, April 13, 2023
Enjoy a breakfast at the hotel this morning before departing for P. Allen Smith’s Moss Mountain Farm in Roland. Take a guided tour through Smith’s three-story Greek Revival-style home and learn about his authentic design approach that pays homage to the history of the farm. Explore Arkansas’ beautiful countryside overlooking the Arkansas River while touring Allen’s Terrace Garden, the Hidden Rose Garden, Hydrangea Allee, and his one-acre vegetable garden. Connect to the land as you sit down to a farm-to-table lunch featuring a seasonal recipe from P. Allen Smith’s book, Seasonal Recipes from the Garden. For dessert, enjoy a slice of Allen’s famous buttermilk pecan pie with homemade whipped cream.
Last, but certainly not least, a visit to Poultryville to meet the chickens and other animals. Learn about Allen’s effort to conserve America’s early poultry breeds and why he started the Heritage Poultry Conservancy. While you are there, say hi to your favorite farm animals from Allen’s television show – Trudy, Moose, Smudge & Squeak, just to name a few.
After our tour, we depart for Sikeston, Missouri where we’ll stay for the night. Enjoy an included dinner at a local restaurant before checking in to the Drury Inn & Suites to rest and recharge for a fun-filled day tomorrow.

Day 3

Day 3: Friday, April 14, 2023
Enjoy breakfast at the hotel this morning before departing for the Dogwood and Azalea Festival in Charleston! Enjoy touring the 6-mile Dogwood-Azalea Trail when Charleston glows with the beauty of magnificent dogwoods and azaleas at peak bloom. The dogwoods and azaleas are the stars of this festival, but the day is filled with other exciting events as well!
Have time to shop the Molly French Garden Club plant sale today. Since 1952, the Molly French Garden Club has been supplying area gardeners with azalea varieties that are hardy to the region.
You’ll also receive a private tour of the Joseph Hunter Moore Home. Built in 1899, the HIstorical Society’s Moore Home is a lovely three story home furnished with pieces authentic to the period. In 1977, the generous heirs of Joe and Carrie Moore gifted this beautiful Victorian country home to the benefit of the Society. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the seventeen room house contains seven fireplaces, and is fully furnished including the original dining room furniture and gas chandelier. You’ll also tour other private area homes.
Enjoy browsing the many vendors at the arts and crafts bazaar in Rolwing Park and have a special lunch provided by Southside Baptist Church.

Day 4

Day 4: saturday, april 15, 2023
Have breakfast at the hotel this morning before departing for Mansfield for a visit to the Bakersville-Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company. In the rolling hills of the Missouri Ozarks stands a legacy to the passing of time. The homestead act in the mid-1800s encouraged the Rippee family to move west and settle what is reputed to be the longest-lasting homestead in Missouri. The family raised many varieties of produce, birds and animals, and were quite skilled in the crafts of the region. They traded with the Osage Indians and cared for soldiers during the Civil War in their hand-hewn log-cabin. Bakersville is situated on the original Rippee farm. The Baker Creek Seed Store now stands where the family’s market garden once was. Besides the Baker Creek Seed Store, they also have a donation-based vegan restaurant, speaker barn, an old-time mercantile, herbal apothecary, a natural bakery and blacksmith shop, two music barns, a Western jail, a native rock oven, a windmill, their seed warehouses, and many breeds of historic poultry and livestock.
Have time while here to shop for great seeds plus more and to have lunch at the restaurant, on your own, before departing for Hannibal. Once arriving in Hannibal this evening, we’ll take time so you can enjoy dinner, on your own, at a local restaurant before we make our way back home tonight with wonderful memories of your time spent in Arkansas and Missouri.