Having a Great Time in the Show Me State

We left the shrill of the cicadas for the hustle and bustle of the big city. It's always such a big transition going from pokey back roads to the "pedal to the metal" attitude of most interstate drivers. (Does that sound like an old fart?) First up in St. Louis was visiting the arch. We were both so impressed with the elegance and simplicity of the design. The pictures really don't do it justice. The grounds, especially the tree covered river walk was very much appreciated, especially since it was in the high 90s. We had no idea there was so much going on inside the arch. The themed "Western Expansion" museum was well done and included beautiful photography, fun audio-animatronic historical figures and interesting stories. We took the very claustrophobic tram up to the top and had great views of the city and Mississippi River. Who knew this was the highest national monument at 630 feet?! We also really enjoyed the IMAX film on Lewis & Clark, narrated by Jeff Bridges. We braved the stifling heat to tour the Old Courthouse where the Dred Scott decision was handed down. Again, saw an interesting movie about the decision and its ramifications on the Civil War. The frescos on the ceiling were really cool too! I was toying with bike riding the river walk, but it was just so darned hot that we decided to go in search of a late lunch/early dinner instead. We wanted to eat at Sweetie Pie's, a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives suggestion, but it was closed. Instead we found a great Soul food/Jamaican place called, "M I hungry?" Between the two of us we had, Jerk chicken, BBQ rib tips, red beans and rice, candied yams, greens and corn cakes. The owner was an adorable young woman who was so sweet and inviting. She was very generous with her portions and kept bringing us samples. Do not be fooled by the pics of this place, it's a little gem and one of the reasons we love road trips so much. By this time the temp outside was almost reaching the triple digits and we decided enough sight seeing time to find a body of water, any water, to soak in. We checked our Missouri State Park guide and headed for Graham Caves State Park. It was a beautiful park, but the so-called river was more like a muddy ditch so instead we opted for a private rv park we spotted earlier. We both had longingly looked at the rather expansive pool and agreed it was calling to us. Another upside is that wireless internet is provided, which gave us an opportunity to try out the video conferencing feature on the iPad with my folks. It was a blast to see them and they got to hear the deafening roar of the cicadas. After a l-o-n-g soak in the pool, a great soul food meal and a fun sightseeing trip I can see why they call Missouri the Show Me state. Tomorrow more history calls and we plan to see some Churchill and Truman exhibits. See today's pics - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Kan Do RV Park, Danville, MO

Cannonball Express

Ned here again. We headed out of Davy Crockett State Park this morning with out sites set on Jackson, Tennessee, the home of Casey Jones. Debi had warned me for several days that she thought the Casey Jones Village might very well be a serious tourist trap, and that I shouldn't get my hopes up. I assured her that I liked trains, and that a trip to a silly museum sounded like fun. I even researched the ballad of Casey Jones for her, which is why Casey is still known today, and we offer the best rendition here for your listening pleasure.click here for the balladWe noticed a theme, however, in the personalities of the three folk heroes (Ty Cobb, Davy Crockett, and Casey Jones) whom we had seen honored in the last three days. Like the other two, Casey seems to me like a very head-strong sort, with an aggressive streak that bordered on psychotic. The museum makes a big deal about what a hero he was to have died while saving the lives of all the passengers during his famous 1900 train crash, while he was at the controls. What is obvious to even the casual observer, is that the damn train never would have crashed in the first place if he hadn't been fanatically driving it way too fast to make up for lost time. The side benefit of the museum stop was that we ate lunch at one of the little cafeteria style buffets in the cutesy little store across from the museum. This included very authentic southern cooking items of fried chicken, black-eyed peas, turnip greens, and corn bread. This being a Sunday afternoon, it turns out that LOTS of locals eat here after church, so we were treated to some excellent people-watching of everyone parading through in their Sunday finest. Soon we were headed out of Tennessee and across the Mississippi River, into Missouri. We were interested to see how the "boot heal" of Missouri looked, but found it to be very flat agricultural land, covered with rice, corn, or wheat fields, and looking very much like some of the farm land in Central California. One surprise in this area was to drive into the little town of Kennett, which proclaims itself to be the hometown of Sheryl Crow, the singer. Heading north toward our present location, we enjoyed the rolling and heavily wooded hills as we entered Missouri's Ozark region. We're camped tonight in a really nice campground where we we able to cool off this afternoon in the rather shallow, but refreshing clear creek that runs through the park. Our campground is being serenaded by tree loads full of cicadas with their sometimes almost deafening roar. Debi is a bit grossed out by the hundreds of dead cicada carcasses that liter the ground. The Ozarks are never boring! See today's pics - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Sam Baker State Park