Give 'em Hell Harry!

Big Lake State Park, MO

Our big event of the day was to visit the Harry S. Truman library and museum. Being a Poly Sci major, political junkie and history buff visiting the Presidential Libraries are always on our list. Trivia question...no googling the answer - What does the S. in Harry S. Truman stand for? (Answer at end of today's blog). The Truman library aptly resides in Independence, MO, Harry's home town. From the outside it looked very mid-century and non-descript.

 

Once inside, we were blown away with the depth and engaging experience this museum provides. There were tons of inter-active displays and areas. On first entering one encounters a mural depicting the Missouri expansion. BTW - Harry did several brush strokes on the blue sky in the upper right corner.

After watching a movie about Truman's presidency you begin a walking timeline thru the museum. It does a great job setting the stage for what situations Truman inherited. What makes this museum so cool is that it's not just giving you propoganda or Truman's side of the facts, but asks for your input as well. After an exhibit on WWII and Truman's decision to drop the bomb, your input is solicited as to what you would do. I flipped through the book and saw hundreds of different responses. My fave was one written all in Japanese. Anyone care to translate?

 

The boom and growth period of post WWII was really well done. The posters and re-enactment of this period in America was awesome. Loved the TV shows, Life Magazines, typical American kitchen, etc. This part of the exhibit focused on Truman's domestic policies and the post war boom.

 

We also walked through a "cave" area, cold and very bleak looking, which set the stage for post WWII overseas. So interesting to see the struggles of Italy, Greece, France, and most of Europe after the war.

 

 

There was another section on Truman's foreign policy focusing on the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan. Here's Ned watching a movie about the start of the Cold War.

My favorite part of the Truman Museum was an area called "The Decision Theatre". You sit in an area that feels like a court room jury box and there is a "yes" or "no" button for each person. At first you feel like you're in an interrogation room with the one sided glass. As the show begins different scenarios are discussed and everyone gives their opinion on how they would handle the situation, via the button. At one point interrogation spotlights come on overhead and you are being grilled by Sen. McCarthy. This was so creepy, yet really gave you a chance to ponder and think how you would handle some of the situations that Pres. Truman was confronted with. Here's a pic of Ned and I being interrogated. (Kinda funny that I'm shooting a picture of myself, and of couse, Ned who takes these things waaaay too seriously).

There is a beautiful outside courtyard that has an eternal flame and the graves of Pres. Truman, his wife Bess, and their daughter Margie.

Another level of the museum depicts Truman's personal life starting from his childhood. There is so much to share and so much trivia that my head is still swimming. Little nuggets: Truman wrote over 1300 letters to Bess beginning when he was 10 years old. He stated that this was his hardest and longest campaign; Truman was the first Civil Rights President signing an executive order to desegregate the Armed Forces; both his grandparents were slave owners; he graduated from high school which was a big deal in this part of Missouri - at that time most just went til 7th grade;

There was also an entire section on his re-election campaign. They showed a map of his "Whistle Stop Tour", all the places he traveled in the country by railway. Hey...we think Harry stole our Winnie map!! (compare that to the one on our adventureswithwinnie website).

Note that he didn't travel to the Southern States at all. That was Strom Thurmond country who was a Democrat, supporting segregation, who was running against him.

 

Here's the original Winniemobile.

If you're ever near Kansas City I definitely recommend a day for the Truman Presidential Library.

And the answer to the trivia question is:

S - stands for just S.

 

Well after spending the majority of the day at the library one can work up quite the appetite. Even tho we were technically in Missouri, we're just a stone's throw from Kansas City. You know what that means don't you? BBQ!!!! We drove into Kansas and found Smokey Joe's, rated as one of the best Kansas City BBQ's. It's in a Gas Station. We thought that by arriving in the late afternoon it would be pretty empty. Au contraire. The line was almost out the door!

 

Ribs, pulled pork, brisket, beans, coleslaw and Texas toast. Best damned BBQ of the trip. Kansas wins, with Martin's in Tennessee a very, very close second.

 

 

 

 

 

We're now camping at the very Northwestern corner of Missouri. Yes, it is definitely mid-western camping. The downside is we're pretty much in a mowed meadow. The upside is there is almost no humidity!! Well, 56% feels like nothing to us.

Tomorrow starts a pretty exciting part of our trip. In 1929 Ned's Dad's family piled in a modified Chevy Truck, traveling on the Lincoln Highway, headed for Puyallup, WA. Ned has the journal that his Aunt Laurie wrote and we are going to retrace the journey. I'm so looking forward to going on the Russell Roadtrip of 1929! So for now, I'm signing off and will turn our blog tomorrow over to my travel buddy. Ciao!

 

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Catching the Katy Trail

Location: Knob Noster State Park, MO

It poured buckets last night, but luckily had stopped by early morning so that I could get in my morning run and do a little park exploring. It was too wet to bike, but nonetheless we had fun walking the park and snapping pictures. This was our second attempt to find the headwater springs of the Current River. Five years ago it eluded us and again today, even though we did find the trail. Okay, another excuse to come back. Here's a picture close to the springs.

 

Montauk State Park is a fisherman's paradise. Just love seeing the little kids fishing next to their dads. So sweet.

 

This looks like a Norman Rockwell setting with the fishermen in their waders with the mist of the Current River rising around them.

 

We continued our travels in Missouri traveling due north through countryside and rolling hills. Most of the towns in this part all have German sounding names such as Vienna, Westphalia and Freeburg. We made a quick pass through the capitol, Jefferson City,a sweet looking town along the majestic Missouri River. It's been a rainy overcast day so I haven't been able to capture many pictures of the towns. Hopefully, this will give an idea of what some of them looked like. (We also had a stop in Columbia to deal with a car issue, some kind of knocking noise. No one could find anything wrong with Winnie so along our way we went!)

One of my favorite things, next to road trips of course, is to bike Rail-to-Trails (RTT). Missouri has a renowned RTT called the Katy Trail. It's over 200 miles and mainly follows the Missouri River. In doing research I read one of the prettiest parts of the trail was starting at Rocheport. This quaint little town, population 235, mainly consists of Bed and Breakfasts and sandwich shops catering to the biking community. Hey Megan, what do you think of this railroad car, converted to a little suite, for your land?

 

We started our ride at the railroad station in town and road along the Missouri River. This bike ride was over the top amazing!! The gods continued to smile down on us and we had overcast skies, but no rain on our ride!

Some things we saw along the way as far as nature was concerned: 3 snakes, turtles, bunnies, badger, baby beaver (we think), white-tailed deer and two many bright red cardinals to count.

Here's Ned riding along the Missouri River. Unlike the Mississippi River which is constantly bustling with barges and towboats going up and down the river, this part of the Missouri River is quite peaceful.

 

 

There was also some interesting history along this trail. This is where Lewis and Clark camped over 200 years ago on June 6, 1804.

This trail is so beautiful with a canopy of trees covering it. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me was to ride this trail!

We've clocked over 200 miles bike riding on this trip...so far!

 

 

 

 

There were also several caves and a really creepy looking stone house built into the cliff. I had no desire to go exploring, but curiosity got the better of Ned and he peaked in. He said he wouldn't recommend it for an overnight stay. The floor was covered in water.

We also rode through an old railroad tunnel. You could hear the doves cooing inside. I refused to notice if there were bats as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And let's not forget the llamas!

By the time we finished riding it was a lot later than what we thought...close to 5:30. We still had an hour or so until we reached tonight's campground. Mmm, good time to stop and get dinner along the way, and of course, quench my thirst after that ride.

I'm posting the blog now at dinner cause I don't know if we'll have cell connection at the campground...yeah that's it...it has nothing to do with the size of this humongous margarita!

 

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Bouncing from Spring to Spring

Location: Montauk State Park, MO

Missiouri is one of the most naturally beautiful states. We decided to spend the next 4 days exploring more of Missouri. Today was all about driving the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. In 1964 Congress authorized the 134 miles of rivers as the first national scenic riverway. Significant for its scenic, free-flowing Current and Jacks Fork Rivers, its caverns and its high volume springs, how could we pass this up?

 

Mid morning we arrived at Bollinger Mill and covered bridge. There was a 90% chance of rain today. I don't know how we've managed to luck out this trip, but as seemed the norm, it stayed dry most of the day. Feeling very blessed. The humidity, of course, is off the charts!

We arrived a little before they opened and were entertained by a group of boys in a blow up swimming pool, that they were using as a raft, horseing around in the water. They were just a little ways from the falls and kept throwing each other out of the raft and swamping each other. It was the essence of summer.

This is also one of the 4 covered bridges in Missouri.

The next springs we visited were Big Springs. OMG - the colors, the mist floating above the water, and the amazing volume of water bubbling out of the ground made it seem more like a Disney exhibit than something natural. This is the clearest water I've ever seen!

280 million gallons of water a day, enough to fill up a football stadium in 33 hours, pours out of this spring! It is the largest freshwater sping in Missouri and one of the largest in the U.S. I swear we haven't altered any of these pics. Just so ridiculously gorgeous.

 

 

 

 

Continuing up the Current River, we explored an off shoot called Jack's Fork. We had visited this spring and mill several years ago and were looking forward to seeing it again. Yep, Alley Mill is even more beautiful than we remembered.

 

Can you believe these colors?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We took a short hike around the grounds. They discovered an Indian arrowhead here that was dated from about 12,000 years old! Looks like we're not the only ones to appreciate this area. Here's Ned next to one of the caves.

Continuing along the Current River we next visited Round Springs. While quite beautiful, its volume and colors just can't compare to Big Springs or Alley Mill and springs.

 

 

 

 

I just love hanging out and enjoying the country feel of Missiouri.

Our final stop of the day was Montauk State Park, the headwaters of the Current River. We visited here about 5 years ago and have always listed this as one of our favorite State Park in the country...that's saying a lot! When we arrived, as luck would have it, the skies opened up and boy did it pour! This didn't give us any opportunity to explore the park, but it sure helped pick out a campsite that wasn't under water! Here's a picture of the Current River with the mist rising above it. Taken after dinner when it was just drizzlin.

 

We decided to have dinner at the "lodge". It's a step back in time for sure, circa 1960's. Ned had the local trout and I had Ozarks catfish. Montauk State Park is quite picturesque, with the mist rising from the river, lots of fisherman in full garb - hip waders, vests, and reels and lots of Amish families with traditional clothing and bare feet.

This is our 7th cross-country roadtrip and we have things pretty much down to a science as far as organizing things. The one thing I'm always battling is no ccounter space, literally none. Ned tonight came up with a brilliant solution. He turned a cutting board into a detachable extra shelf. Did I mention how much I love this man?!

We're really looking forward to biking and hiking this park tomorrow. Fingers crossed for good weather!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Mighty Mississippi

Location: Trail of Tears State Park, MO

We tried to find the most obscure roads to get from Tennessee to Trail of Tears State Park in Missouri. We knew we'd be crossing thru 4 states today and driving where several big rivers converge. Fun! We ended up taking the history trail through Tennessee. We passed by several old ore furnaces used during the Civil War.

 

Ned suggested we stop into Fort Donelson in TN and what a good choice it was! Fascinating Civil War history. This is where Ulysses S. Grant won his first big victory and earned the nickname "Unconditional Surrender Grant." The battle that took place here was instrumental in the South losing the war. The Union took control of several important waterways, thus controlling the shipping lanes and enabling them to takeover Nashville. We really enjoyed the Visitor Center/Museum and the movie explaining all this was awesome.

As we were touring the battlefield and National Park, as luck would have it, a huge barge came drifting down the Cumberland River on its way to the Ohio River. I just love this shot of Ned standing next to the mammoth cannons with the barge slowly making its way up the river.

This river (Cumberland) feeds into the Ohio which converges into the Mississippi. Really gives you a perspective on just how mighty the Mississippi is!

 

This spot was so gorgeous we decide to have a picnic lunch here. Nevermind it was 99 deg. in the shade.

We took the trace thru Land Between the Lakes and crossed into Kentucky. (So far this trip we've seen two beavers run across the road. One in Cherokee and one today in Kentucky. Pretty strange, I wish I had caught them on camera.) We crossed onto the Southern tip of Illinois at Fort Defiance near Cairo where the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers converge. Here's exactly where we are on the map! Pretty cool!!

That's the Ohio River on top and the Mississippi River on the bottom.

 

 

This is also the place that Lewis & Clark camped out for 5 days in 1803 teaching each other how to use a sextant for celestrial navigation and surveying before they took off on their big trip.

 

 

 

 

 

Fort Defiance from Debi Russell on Vimeo.

Dang...the power of these two massive bodies of water converging is impressive! Here's our first attempt at posting a video on the blog. Hope it works!

We continued up the Great River Road (GRR) along the Great Mississippi, finally crossing over into Missouri. We really enjoyed exploring the town of Cape Girardeau. Like many towns along the Mississippi River they have a huge river wall to protect the town from flooding. What this town did that was unique was paint several murals alongs the wall depicting the towns history. It goes on and on for several blocks and is quite impressive!

And another close up of one of the murals. This one is depicting when President Taft came to town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ned along the wall reading about the murals

We're camped tonight right ON the Mississippi River. We tried to camp here two years ago when doing the GRR Road trip, but it was completely flooded. The first thing Ned did upon arrival was hop on his bike and head down to the river. He's like a kid enjoying watching the tug boats push the barges upstream. It's going to be a lot of fun to hang out tonight and watch life on the river. The only downside is there's a railroad track about 10 feet from our campsite. Sure hope this isn't a working railroad! We talked to the campground host and he said that the river is expected to crest in two days and most likely they'll be evacuating the park.

 

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