Crystal Brook, Gladstone and Laura

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Sunday 5th June 2011
John worked all week again and Saturday was a rest day so Sunday was our day out.
So we headed off down Eyre Highway to Crystal Brook - again a very old quaint town - had morning tea here - a little cold in the wind. Lots of well maintained quaint old homes - it is so good to see people so proud of their heritage that they look after the old buildings.
Crystal Brook is the gateway to the southern end of the Flinders Ranges so I think we have just about seen the whole length of the Flinders Ranges from the south all the way to the North at Arkaroola.
The area around Crystal Brook is rural with wheat and sheet farming so the scenery all around this area was very pretty with some fields already covered in green and some fields just getting ready for seeding.
The early rain and good follow up rains in this area has given the farmers hope for a very good season. Saw the Big Goanna in the main street, these goanna's are native to this area.
Then a short drive to Gladstone where the factory of Trend Drinks is the last remaining small soft drink manufacturer is SA where they still make the drinks in an old tin shed which is over 100 years old. Unfortuantley it was not open on Sunday.
Then off to Laura where the poet C.J. Dennis of 'Sentimental Bloke' fame spent some of his child hood and has a statue in the main street in his honour. The poem 'Laura Days' was penned by C.J. Dennis to celebrate the towns Golden Jubilee in 1932. This town is also very quaint with most of the shops down the main street still the original buildings.
After lunch we had a two scoops each of icecream made locally at the Golden North Dairy in Laura.
Lunch was at the Old Bakery at Stone Hut (8 klms north of Laura). The resturant is behind the original small old bakery. Stone Hut was a pioneering town which began its life as a stagecoach town with Cobb & Co calling in on its way from Clare to Port Augusta and is well known for it's old bakery.
The pie's were home made and just fantastic as was the home make Vanilla Slice - Yum Yum!!!!! Sorry we forgot to take photos as we were too busy stuffy our faces with the yummy pie's and icecream.

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