GET AN EYEFUL: SCENIC DRIVE SET THIS WEEKEND

JACKSON -- You don't have to wait until May to get an eyeful of flowers. Mettie Penzel has 20 acres of them just waiting to be beheld.

"It's as good as you're going to get," she said. "They've been blooming for a week and a half now, and they're still very showy."

Penzel and her husband Carl own the farm of over 2,500 blooming azaleas that will be included in the first-ever Mississippi River Valley Scenic Drive this Saturday and Sunday.

The drive consists of 131 miles of historic and beautiful sites in Southeast Missouri. The Penzel farm, located between Millersville and Oak Ridge, is just one of the stops along the way.

Mettie Penzel said there is a huge variety of Azaleas on the farm, ranging in color from white to deep purple.

People can enter the tour anywhere along the route, but a 56-page tour guide will be distributed at three entry points the Cape Girardeau waterfront, the junction of highways 51 and 34 in Marble Hill and along Interstate 55 at the Biehle exit.

Along the way, motorists can see: the Saxon Hills; the site of an 1839 German settlement near Altenburg and Frohna; the Trail of Tears State Park and Museum; the Bollinger Mill, a working mill on the banks of the Whitewater River; and the Black Forest, as well as other colorful points of interest.

"It's a chance to see this part of Missouri at its most colorful time," said Frank Nickell, director of the Center for Regional History at Southeast Missouri State University.

The history center is coordinating the tour, which is free. Nickell said that, judging from the response the center has received concerning the tour, he expects thousands of people to embark on the journey.

"It's really taken on a steam of its own. We weren't sure what to expect, but it looks very encouraging," he said. "Residents of these communities are proud of their towns, their heritage and their history. This provides them with the opportunity to show it to other people."

Nickell said tour groups and individuals from St. Louis, Arkansas and Illinois, as well as other parts of Missouri, plan to participate in the tour. A 200-member motorcycle club has even reserved a spot on the tour, he said.

At each town along the way, people are encouraged to stop and take in the sites. Events will be going on from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

But if you plan to stop at every town, Nickell said, "You won't make it in a day."

Points of interest in various towns include:

Cape Girardeau River Heritage Museum, The Glenn House, Old St. Vincent's Church, Gallery 100, a craft show and play at the Riverview Banquet Center and the historic riverfront.

Jackson Oliver House, Old McKendree Chapel, historic fire trucks at the Jackson Fire Department and the St. Louis Iron Mountain and Southern Railway.

Burfordville The Burfordville Mill, Old Mill Store and the Little Old Opry.

Marble Hill Civil War campsite along Hog Creek, Massey Log House, Bollinger County Courthouse and jail and Tom Runnel's Cat Ranch.

Patton Displays of old tools, equipment and household items, a tour of the town's Presbyterian Church and a display of handmade quilts at The Fox Trotter Cafe.

Sedgewickville Museum at City Hall and tours of the Lutheran and Methodist churches.

Biehle Buchheit's General Store, St. Maurus Catholic Church and various craft displays.

Uniontown Concordia Lutheran Church and the Rosemont Antique Shop.

Frohna Homemade coffee cake and coffee and the Saxon Lutheran Memorial Church, woodworking crafts and guided tours.

Altenburg Tours of the museum, Trinity Lutheran Church, Concordia Log College and quilt and craft displays.

Pocahontas Apple Creek Presbyterian Church and St. Johns' Lutheran Church, where kettle beef will be served at 3 p.m.

Side trips include the azalea farm, Tower Rock near Wittenberg and the Black Forest.

A replica of a German settlement of the 1800s, the Black Forest is open to the public for the first time in seven years.

Nickell said the center is sponsoring the tour to promote the many historical aspects of the region.

But, he said, "We haven't done anything in such a proportion as this. It should be a really fun experience."

He said the tour may become an annual event.