HOME!!!

We weren't sure at first.  The motorhome would not start this morning.  Not sure what that's about, it wasn't the battery.  We had problems last year with it not starting and that turned out to be the starter switch.  Perhaps it has returned.  We had to call someone to come help us.  Once it got started we drove straight home.  Well, we did stop at Walmart to unhook the car before we got to our house and by habit turned the key off.  Oops, it wouldn't start back up again.  We fussed with it for a while and it finally did start.  We were so lucky this whole trip, no problems at all until just now.  Whew!!!!  Knock on wood.

We were surprised to see there is still about a foot deep of snow on our yard!  More snow here than we saw all the way home.

It's good to be home.

Almost Home

Minnesota!

Almost!  We came as far as Albert Lea, Minnesota.  We stopped here to say hi and have dinner with family.

Tomorrow we'll go the rest of the way home. 



Captain Kirk



This morning we stopped at Riverside, Iowa.  That is the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk of the Star Ship Enterprise.  We HAD to stop and take a few pictures. 



We really didn't miss this





Mount Pleasant, Iowa

It was SNOWING this morning when we left Burlington.   But we didn't let that stop us from moving about 20 miles west to Mount Pleasant.

There is a nice new RV park here with all the hookups, including Internet and cable TV.  Our water tank is empty, as the last few places we stayed did not have water available. 

Mount Pleasant is a pleasant little community with a really big Old Threshers Heritage Museum.  This was way more interesting than I expected it to be.  And besides the tractors and threshing machines, there were also many other antique displays.   Everything was in two really large buildings. . They were open, but since it's the off season the lights were not turned on, so I wasn't able to get pictures of the other antique displays.  They were happy to let us in, but did not charge us the admission fee.   

Every year, in September they have a five-day event on their property which is like the state fair, with a campground on site, flea market, vendors, and big name entertainment.

Burlington, Iowa



Snake Alley view from top



Still slowly creeping north.  In Burlington, Iowa, today.  We went to explore the city.  We couldn't find much in the way of interesting history, but we did find Burlington's most famous landmark named the "Crookedest Street in the World" by Ripley's Believe It or Not.

Snake Alley view from below

Snake Alley originally provided a short cut from Heritage Hill to the business district.  The bricks were laid at an angle to allow horses better footing as they descended.

We are keeping an eye on the weather at home as well as the flood conditions.  We know there are several roads closed already because of the flooding, but hopefully ALL roads home won't be blocked.



Keokuk, IOWA

I think we started north too soon.  It's nasty weather in Minnesota and it's not so hot here either.  Hopefully, after the weekend things will improve and we'll go home.


Chief Keokuk

Today we're in Keokuk, Iowa, a town of about 20,000 on the Mississippi River.  It will freeze here tonite, but at least it's not snowing (yet).  I think there is snow in the forecast for the weekend.

We explored the city for a while.  On the river's edge there are some wonderful big old homes and nearby there is a big park with a statue of Chief Keokuk.  He was more of a politician than a great Indian chief.  He talked his people into not fighting the Americans, and was moved off to a reservation in Kansas.  The town is named for him because of his friendship with the Americans.


Lock & Dam #19



Then we went to the visitor overlook of Lock & Dam #19.  It was built in 1913, and at that time was the largest electricity generating plant in the world.  It was rebuilt in 1957 and has a lift of over 38 feet.





La Grange, Missouri

Slowly moving north.  But I'm hearing things about a blizzard in northern Minnesota???  We'll wait another week before we cross that border.  It's even supposed to be in the freezing temps right here over the weekend.

No pictures and nothing to blog about today.  We're finding campgrounds around here are closed for the season, and won't open until April 15.  But just because they say they are closed doesn't necessarily mean you can't camp there.  Last night we stayed at a private campground in Hannibal that was closed.  There was someone in the office and they were happy to take our money.  We were the only ones in the campground.  Then again tonite, we are in a state park that is not yet open for the season, but we can still pay discounted off-season rates.  There are two other campers here in the park with us tonight.

We are in Wakonda State Park.  It used to be a big gravel pit.  The gravel excavation left the park with six lakes.  So now it's a popular fishing place as well as a popular spot for annual waterfowl migrations.  There are several Canada geese here and some ducks now.

Hannibal, Missouri



Tom Sawyer's House and the Whitewashed Fence


We went about 30 miles north this morning, to the historic town of Hannibal, Missouri, home of Samuel Clemens (Mark Twin) and Tom Sawyer.  We have been here before, but it was nice to see it again.  The city has done some upgrades since we were here last. 

Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn



We walked around town for most of the day.  We saw Tom Sawyer's house, Huck Fin's House, Becky Thatcher's House, and much much more.



Mississippi River



After that we drove to a park near by and sat at the overlook for a long time and soaked up the sunshine.  The high today was 82 degrees!!!  nice.  People are so friendly; we visited with other people there including one lady from Waconia, Minnesota! 



Watching a Barge Being Filled





There was a great view of the Mississippi River.  We watched while the grain elevator across the river was filling barges.





Bowling Green, Missouri

Railroad bridge on the Mississippi

 We're in Bowling Green, Missouri today.  We'll only stay one night as I have no cell phone service and the Internet is very poor.

This is supposed to be a good place to see bald eagles in the winter.  We drove down to the river and sat and watched for a while, but didn't see any.  We did see this railroad bridge pivot bridge and a barge passing thru it.



Lock & Dam #24



We stopped at Lock & Dam #24 in Clarksville, but nothing was happening there.  It's such a beautiful day, we didn't mind.  It was 80 and sunny. We just enjoyed the day.

Really?

Weldon Spring Site, and St. Charles

About 20 miles from Times Beach (where contaminated soil destroyed a town) is the Weldon Spring Site.  In 1941 the Army, under a state of emergency, acquired 17,232 acres of land here for the production of explosives to use in world War II.  576 citizens were given 45 days to move out of their homes so they could flatten the land and build a TNT production plant.  In 1957 the land was converted to a uranium processing plant for use in the Atom bomb. Then in 1967 the Army decided to use the plant for production of "Agent Orange" for the Vietnam War.


Weldon Spring Disposal Cell



After all that, the land was severely contaminated, there were barrels of unknown chemicals and materials, and the water was toxic.  It took several years and several different technologies to treat the contaminated materials.   What was left is buried here under this big pile of rocks and other materials.  The disposal cell covers about 45 acres and provides long-term isolation for 1.48 million cubic yards of chemical and low-level radioactive waste.  The "last rock" was placed on the cap of the storage cell on October 23, 2001.



Weldon Spring Site Interpretive Center


There is an interpretive center here that does an amazing job of explaining exactly what happened over the years since they forced those people out of their homes for all this.  They say that the amount of radiation coming from this pile is less than what you would receive standing in your own back yard.  Completely safe.  We did walk to the top of the pile, nice view up there.

View from top of the Disposal Cell



Main Street at St. Charles



Next we went to visit the historic town of St. Charles, first Missouri state capitol state historic site.  This is a popular tourist destination.  The old main street goes on for several blocks and is filled with nice shops, restaurants and other historic attractions, many housed in original 18th and 19th century buildings. 

Louis & Clark and their dog, Seaman.



1n 1804, at the request of President Thomas Jefferson, Lewis & Clark left from Saint Charles to explore new lands from Saint Charles to the Pacific Ocean. 



Route 66 State Park

where we are tonite

We felt we should leave the casino parking lot, so we found a state park that was open about 30 miles west from where we were so we moved there.  After we got checked in and set up we discovered there is another state park very near here.. that one is Route 66 State Park.  So we headed over to that park to see what we missed out on.  We will explore Babler State Park tomorrow.



Inside the museum



That park was the site of a small town named Times Beach, a summer resort community.  In 1972-1976 the struggling town hired someone to spray oil on the dirt roads to control dust.  It was determined in 1982 that this oil was contaminated with dangerous levels of dioxin.  Also that year the town got flooded.  The entire town of about 2,000 was quarantined, and nobody could return to their homes, ever.  In 1996 and 1997 the government removed 265,000 tons of contaminated soil, built a big incinerator here, incinerated all the contaminated soil, and dismantled the incinerator.   The EPA says it's safe now, and the state of Missouri has turned it in to the Route 66 State Park which opened in 1999.  There is a very nice visitor center and museum there with a big gift shop filled with everything Route 66.  There is a section of the original Rt 66 and a bridge in the park.

St. Louis



St. Louis Gateway to the West



We're in St. Louis now.  We wanted to stay at the RV park at a casino here, but it doesn't open until Memorial Day.  I guess that means we're in the north now????  Oh well, it warmed up to over 80 today, so we won't complain.



The Metro Lite Rail



Even tho the RV park was closed, they let us dry camp in the back of the parking lot.  After a little gambling (just to make the casino management happy) we took the Metro Lite Rail for a scenic drive.  We rode it to the end of the line and back just for kicks.



Great Hall at Union Station


 We got off the Metro at Union Station and explored that a while.  It is a National Historic Landmark of "unsurpassed beauty and elegance".  First opened in 1894 it was the largest and busiest passenger rail terminal in the world.


For my Smashed Penny Collection



Festus, Missouri

North another 80 miles today.  Minnesota keeps getting closer and closer.  We're in Festus, Missouri, tonight.  On the way here we stopped at Ste. Genevieve, Missouri.  It is small historic community on the Mississippi River.  We followed the signs to the visitor information center, it took us to the old down town area...oops... not a good idea for a motorhome, with it's narrow streets, and we couldn't fit in their small parking lot.  We were lucky enough to find a place to park on a side street.  I'm glad we don't have a 40' coach!  We walked around the old main street and looked at some of the old buildings, older than anything in Hutchinson, that's for sure.  Most were now antique shops or restaurants.  Lots of restaurants.  Someone recommended a place called Stella & Me.  The owner has turned her private home into a small restaurant.  The food was excellent, and not overpriced.


Bolduc House



We walked another few blocks and found the historic Bolduc House Properties.  The house was built by Louis Bolduc, the richest man in Ste. Genevieve in around 1792.  This is widely regarded as the first most authentically restored French Colonial house in the nation.  It is now a museum and the garden and some other out buildings.  We were too cheap today to pay to go inside and see it.  We've seen so many old buildings and antiques this winter, we weren't in the mood.

Low Bridge!

We got back to the RV and checked the map as to how to get out of town.  Can't go back the way we came in because that was a one way street.  We figured we could go around the block and head up the next street over, so off we go.  We go around the 2nd corner and..oops!  low bridge!  We need 11.5' clearance and there was only 9' here.  We can't back up with the toad (car in tow) in the back, but we managed to get turned around.  It involved some driving on the grass and being scraped by low branches and almost dropping the car into a drainage ditch, but we made it!

Cape Girardeau

Covered Bridge

We're still in Cape Girardeau, MO.  It has been wet and cold, but the forecast is looking up.

Today, after lunch at a nearby Mexican restaurant, we drove outside of town to visit the Bollinger Mill State Historic Site.  There is a nice old covered bridge there as well as an old mill and some other old buildings.  The buildings were all locked up and won't open until April, but we were able to walk thru the bridge and take some pictures.

Cape Girardeau, Missouri



birds



We have been seeing flocks of birds.  I think they're just waiting for Minnesota to warm up so they can fly home.

We drove 85 miles north and are in a nice private RV park in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.  We may stay here a few days.

Rush Limbaugh was born and raised in this town.  There is a self-driving tour that will take you past the hospital where he was born and his childhood home, his school, and more.  We passed on that.



Painted Sea Wall



We did stop to see the old main street which is well kept up.  One block off Main Street is the Mississippi River.  There is a long sea wall protecting the town from the river flooding.  Along the wall are many murals.  There are many more murals throughout the rest of the town as well.  One section of the sea wall is a historical time line with plaques narrating each mural.



Trail of Tears



 Near by here is a Trail of Tears State Park.  We drove out to see it.  There is a wonderful visitor center there explaining much about the history of the Trail of Tears.

In 1838  the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act which led to the forced removal of eastern tribes to "Indian Territory" west of the Mississippi (later the state of Oklahoma).  There were actually several trails, one of them came thru this area. 



Caruthersville, Missouri

Lady Luck Casino

North we go, another 30 miles.  This time we are in Caruthersville, Missouri, a small town on the Mississippi River.  There is a small casino here and we had planned to stay in their RV park, but when we got there we found their park was closed because they are in the middle of building a new sea wall to protect the casino from the river and the construction equipment is in the way.  So..we're dry camping in the back of their parking lot.  Will only be one night here, as we don't get any TV signal and, well, we want that.  The building in the picture is actually the restaurant and administration, the actual casino is in an old river boat on the river behind this building.

I put one dollar in a 1 cent slot machine and it was gone in 60 seconds.

Roundhouse Restaurant

We didn't eat here for lunch, we decided on a place in town.  The Roundhouse Restaurant.  It really was in a round building.  It's been there for 40 years.  It's old inside, but the food was good, home made and fresh and hot and not expensive. 

Lighthouse Water Tower

After eating we explored the town a bit.  One focal point is this old lighthouse water tower from 1909, no longer in use, but kept up.

Oh, and finally a nice warm sunny day!! woo!

Blytheville, Arkansas

Goodbye Memphis.  There are more things to see and do in Memphis, but maybe next year.  This morning we headed 30 miles north to a small town named Blytheville.  We chose this town because it has an RV park that is in the Passport America program and we can stay here for half price.

The RV park isn't fancy, but it will do for the next two nights.  It was a windy ride over here, so I'm glad we didn't drive very far.

We need to slow down or we're going to be in the northern winter cold.  The high here was 51 and it's cloudy and windy.  Hopefully the next few days will improve.  We did drive by a few farm fields that were flooded.   But we're not worried about the spring floods here just yet.

This is a small town we're in and not much to see or do.  We got here around noon and decided to go find a restaurant for lunch.  On the internet we found a place called the Dixie Pig.  It had several good reviews from people who have eaten there so that's where we went.  I think it could have been better.  On the way out of the restaurant I noticed a historical plaque on the ground by the flag pole so went to see what it was about.

Memphis 2

We had to be out of the RV park by 11am so we moved it to a Walmart parking lot and took the car back into the city, returning to Beale Street.  There is a dry goods shop there that we were told was a "must see".  We saw it, but were a little disappointed in it.  This time we had our lunch at Blues City Cafe, which is across the street from B. B. King's restaurant.

Peabody Place



A few blocks up the street is the historic Peabody Hotel.  Attached to the hotel is Peabody Place, which is a shopping mall.  So sad, nearly all the shops inside are out of business.  We saw only one clothing store inside, that's it, and the second level was roped off so we couldn't even walk it.

Ducks entering the fountain

The Peabody Hotel is famous for it's ducks.  Every day at 11am five ducks are escorted from their "duck palace" on the roof, down the elevator, and down a red carpet as music plays, to the fountain in the center of the lobby. Then at 5pm they are escorted back.  They are cared for and escorted by the "duckmaster ". 



In the fountain for 6 hours



View from the top of the Peabody

 After the duck attraction we went up to the roof to see the duck palace and to overlook the city of Memphis and the Mississippi River.



Where Dr. Martin Luther King was killed.

Then we hopped on the city trolley and took that to the Lorraine Hotel, the location where Dr. Martin Luther King was killed.  A wreath hangs on the railing by his hotel room.  The hotel is now a part of a big civil rights museum there.

When we got back to the RV we called the Tom Sawyer RV Park on the shore of the Mississippi River in West Memphis, Arkansas, that we had heard was a very nice place.  We got a recording that said they had lots of sites available and to come see them, so we headed across the big bridge over into Arkansas and found the park.. oops... a sign at the entrance said it was closed because of high water.  It was getting late so we found the nearest Walmart Supercenter and we are spending the night there.   Right now there are 6 other RV parked by us, there may be more later.