Heading East for Fall Color 2020

 Hannibal has a rich history and played an important role in the westward expansion of the country. The barge and steamboat traffic provided goods to people all up and down the river. We visited the free Hannibal History Museum  and learned about the many famous people who lived here or spent considerable time here.  Of course, Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) is the most famous of Hannibal's residents. Many of the characters in his stories were based on real people from his childhood growing up on the MS River. Mark Twain Boyhood Home is a must see. One ticket includes entrance to several properties including the museum a couple blocks away, Becky Thatcher's House and Huck Finn's house. At the Mark Twain Museum I never realized how many books he wrote, nor how widely he traveled. For that time period of the latter half of the 1800's, he traveled extensively and all his experiences became material for his books and stories. He worked in a variety of occupations as well,...

 The trip from St. Joseph to Hannibal, MO was uneventful and just slightly over 3 hrs. We made a couple short stops along the way but decided to skip any sightseeing. We both felt like getting settled in at the next campground and taking it easy the rest of the day. Mark Twain Cave and Campground So far the Good Sams Club evaluations are pretty accurate. This campground is in a pretty, shady location just a little bit south of Hannibal. Arriving Thursday mid-afternoon, things were pretty quiet and we enjoyed the blue sky and big trees.  Good cell service here (he is probably talking to his agent about doing an advertising job with Modern Maturity! He seems to have this down) Enjoying the peace and quiet Above our site Mark Twain Riverboat Friday night we booked the dinner cruise aboard the riverboat. It was a wonderful evening, warm and the water was calm.  Still docked It was dark after the cruise when we returned to camp. We noticed a lot more people arrived. It wasn't ...

 Pony Express Museum A wonderful find, this museum is stuffed full of implements, maps, life-size images and dioramas of typical scenes of the 1860's frontier town. The story unfolds as you walk through each area.  It is amazing to me how much the Pony Express is a part of our western lore, yet it was only in operation for 18 mos. Russell, Majors and Waddell, founders of the Pony Express Re-creation of the first ride of the Pony Express St. Joseph Park across from the museum This steam train is massive! No trip with Johnnie unless we can explore the local diners. This is a find! We were there for lunch. Not low calorie but tasty! Down home comfort food! Located in the more industrial section of town, this was still a good find! Patee House Museum Patee House Museum was originally a hotel in the 1800's. Over the years it became many different things. It's a huge building that now houses an amazing collection of turn of the century artifacts. Different rooms depict typical bu...

 Arriving after a whopping 2 hr. drive, we settled into the Country Club, well, the AOK RV Park in Country Club, MO. We are just north of St. Joseph and will use this as home base for our tours of the area. A toast to our first day A two hour drive was just perfect to see how the rig travels and make sure all our belongings are secure without shifting. And we didn't leave until noon which means we can get all the last minute things done at home, and leave without wondering "did I remember to turn off the coffee pot?" Our first night was a bit chilly. I had both blankets on my bed snuggled in. When I got up, Johnnie already had the fireplace going. Perfect day for some sightseeing though! The AOK RV Park is a very tidy, privately-owned campground. The sites are all easy to get into, full hook-ups and pretty level. The laundry room is clean, playground is well-equipped and the grass and trees are nice. WiFi is adequate. The only drawback is being so close to I-29 there is ...

 After what seems like an eternity of being stuck at home, we are hitting the road for adventure! I hear music  Born to Be Wild! This is definitely me! Ok, reality check.  I guess traveling in a fully-loaded 30' 5th wheel is not exactly living on the wild side, at least not what I thought that meant in 1972! But for us, it is the wind in our face and the change of scenery which will be a terrific boost.  This is a good way to travel!  I've been saying for a couple months now I had "itchy feet" meaning I need to travel. I'm not sure Johnnie has it like I do, but I definitely have the wanderlust gene and feel hemmed in when I can't go. All our travels so far this year were cancelled. Even this trip was a bit up in the air, pending the good outcome from some Dr. appointments. When we got the OK to travel about a week ago, we went into full scramble mode getting ready.  🙏 Thank you Lord for opening the way for us to make this trip! Be with us as we go. Let us ...