Wednesday, 28 April 2021
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| today's route |
Knowing that today's route would take a full day of driving, we got on the road just before 7:00. I first drove the few miles from the campground into Camdenton. Though I'd seen the courthouse there a couple of days ago, this time I managed to get a photographable view of it.
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| Camden County Courthouse in Camdenton |
After I mentioned the other day that I hadn't seen any passing lanes in Missouri, today I came across 4 of them. Very welcome on these narrow, winding, hilly state roads.
I passed a road called Up and Down Drive.
I came to the Pomme de Terre State Park, which is on the Pomme de Terre Lake, which was created from the Pomme de Terre River. The State thinks the name came from French explorers in the region who saw the local Native American tribes digging up a root that looked similar to potatoes - hence the name "pomme de terre," French for potato. Various websites say this area is underused because it's relatively unknown, but that it has great muskie fishing.
I drove through a long series of serious hills, past green fields, farmhouses, cows and horses.
In one field I saw a pickup driving through the cows in the field and I saw 2 cows make a maneuver I wouldn't have thought a cow could do. Remember the scene in Pretty Woman when Richard Gere takes Julia Roberts shopping and tells her to get rid of her gum, so she spits it out into the gutter, narrowly missing 2 women walking along the sidewalk? That maneuver the women had to make to avoid the gum - that's what I saw these cows do. I swear.
Hermitage
We came to the town of Hermitage, pop. 467, which was - yes - named for Andrew Jackson's home, The Hermitage. And it's the county seat of Hickory County which was - yes - named for "Old Hickory" himself.
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| Hickory County Courthouse in Hermitage |
This courthouse, built in 1896, didn't have the kind of impressive front door I usually associate with county courthouses. I drove around all 4 sides of this one, just to be sure this really is the front. But 1896 was a long time ago, this is a small county, and oddly this county went for many years without any courthouse at all, when fires destroyed the previous ones. So I guess these folks prefer to put their money someplace that will do some good, besides just being for show.
Back on the road
Today I saw lots of flowering dogwood.
And in the 250 or so miles I drove today, I saw 14 Trump signs/flags. Well, Missouri is, after all, the show-me state.
I was driving on a 2-lane road through farming country when I saw 5 Amish children cutting through a fence to get to the road, just as a semi without a trailer was coming by. The girls waved and the boys jerked their arms down, and the nice semi driver obliged by blaring his horn for them. My thought: life happens all around us, but we don't always get to see it. And sometimes seeing it is the unexpected gift that this trip has given me.
I saw a billboard funded by the state that said, "Despite what you've heard, naloxone does work on fentanyl. Carry naloxone." The State says opioid deaths are steadily increasing in Missouri, and in 2018 1 in each 56 deaths was due to opioid overdose. I'm impressed that they're trying to do something constructive about it.
Warsaw
Coming into downtown Warsaw (pop. 2,127 in 2010), I passed Chuck's Bail Bonds - "Don't Get Stuck, Call Chuck." Which would have helped me locate the county courthouse if I'd needed the help.
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| Benton County Courthouse in Warsaw |
Warsaw has an establishment called the Cow Pattie Restaurant. Not the most appetizing name I've ever heard. But the downtown area seems fairly prosperous and pleasant-looking for a small old town.
Back on the road
Heading west from Warsaw on MO Hwy. 7, I crossed 2 arms of Harry S Truman Lake, with bridges I hadn't expected. The first was the longer of the 2 - Osage Arm - and the bridge is known locally as the Mile Long Bridge, because it's 5,128' long. The other - Grand River Arm - is somewhat shorter, though I can't find a length online. Not only had I not expected these bridges, but they were both 2 lanes only (1 for each side) and I couldn't follow my usual practice of taking an inside lane to avoid my fear of bridges. I had to drive across both long bridges, without warning and without protection. But I did it.
Halfway between the 2 bridges is the Truman State Park. Also lots of RV "resorts" and motels and storage places. Also the unincorporated towns of Racket and Coal, and the village of Tightwad, pop. 64 in 2010. I looked up the origin of that name and came across a great deal more, including the Tightwad Bank that has depositors from all 50 states (so they can use the checks with the bank's name on them). Here's the article that explains the town. https://missourilife.com/tightwad-for-a-day
MO 7, by the way, was a seriously rough road. We hit some bumps that jolted us much more than usual.
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| That metal piece hanging at an angle is an over-the-door rack that's always hooked over the other closet door. One of the bumps we went over was so serious it somehow made this rack come unhooked from the door and land, as you see, half on and half off the other door. With that kind of dislocation, I'm astounded we didn't have some actual damage to the RV. Or to us. |
Clinton
The town of Clinton, pop. 9,008, seems like a city but with an old-fashioned downtown and courthouse square. I saw 4 people standing on the sidewalk, praying, across from the courthouse. Just regular people, they looked like - not a political statement or anything.
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| Henry County Courthouse in Clinton |
When I was trying to leave Clinton, I got sent on a strange detour that took me several miles on narrow residential streets, then suddenly on a 2nd detour when a bridge on the 1st detour was closed - and then no signs saying the detour was ending or which way to go to resume my original route. This detour depended entirely on local knowledge. I came to a T intersection that said I had come to a street I wanted, but I had to guess which way to turn. Luckily I guessed right, but it was disorienting.
Back on the road
For the 2nd time today I saw a turtle in my lane, and for the 2nd time I barely missed it. Both times I wanted to stop and get it out of the roadway, and both times it was impossible because of the traffic.
I passed through Calhoun, pop. 469, that bills itself as Jug Town USA, which turns out to be because of local pottery products. In the mid-1800s there were as many as 6 pottery businesses operating at once, and their products were shipped all over the country. There's still at least one such business - Jugtown Pottery, established 1917 - that's gearing back up for business now that the pandemic is coming under control. I understand the point of the name, but it calls to my mind moonshine jugs, not today's nice pottery products, so It's almost as if they're devaluing their product. But that's just me.
I started heading due north on US 65, passing large cropfields. Some still had last year's hay bales sitting on them, others had been recently plowed.
We got to Sedalia, pop. 21,387, where I'd been a couple of weeks ago, and where I was seriously counting on finding a place to stop and have lunch and take a break. But Google's routing took me completely around it - we were just barely skirting the edge with fast food places and tire shops and gas stations, but no parks or churches or neighborhoods where we could stop and rest. We were out of town and back in the country before I'd even realized we weren't going to be going through town. So I kept driving but I was feeling tired and hungry and guilty for not taking better care of my critters who were all feeling like I was.
I've noticed that many places in MO aren't open all year. Many have signs or online notices saying they open on March 15th or April 1st each year. I wouldn't have thought the weather would be that bad in this state, but maybe it's a problem for all these rural areas - getting supplies and keeping the roads plowed and convincing tourists to come despite the weather.
Marshall
When we got to Marshall, pop. 13,065, my first priority was for us to take a break, which we did. Then we looked for the county courthouse.
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| Saline County Courthouse in Marshall |
Marshall has another claim to fame that's on one of the corners of the courthouse square: the former home of Jim, The Wonder Dog. Really.
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| this is Jim |
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| this is about Jim |
You can see that Jim's statue is in a nice little garden, and all around the garden are signs explaining why Jim was a wonder dog. I wouldn't dream of depriving you of them, so here they are.
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| 1. Jim the hunter |
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| 2. Early signs |
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| 3. Other performances |
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| 4. Unexplainable feats |
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| 5. Well known |
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| Pearl's stories |
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| 7. The final chapter |
Back on the road
This was built in 1975 and was not without controversy. Some local residents thought a modern design unsuitable and submitted alternative plans. But the county was already committed to the designer of this building and this is what they got. Well, it's likely not got a wealthy tax base here.
Continuing north, I noticed that I've seen lots of fields that had corn in them last year, but so far haven't seen any that look like they've been replanted. Do farmers just let the cornfields sit fallow for a year? I thought they planted some other crop that would revitalize the soil. And maybe they have, but the fields don't look like it.
Near Brunswick, pop. 858, "Missouri's Pecan Orchard on the Missouri River," I saw an odd sight. Three dogs, all different sizes and breeds, trotting across a plowed field, looking as if they knew where they were going, but I couldn't see that they were going anywhere except the road I was on. It reminded me of those stories I've heard about animals making cross-country trips on their own, with movies like The Incredible Journey, which I haven't seen but apparently should. I'm sure they all belonged on the farm they were crossing, but it's not a scene I've ever seen before. Farm animals have always before been in the farm yard, or with the family, or in a pickup - like that.
At Keytesville, pop. 471, I found one of the more unprepossessing county courthouses I've seen yet.
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| Chariton County Courthouse in Keytesville |
I turned onto MO Hwy 5, and apparently ran smack into Amish country. I passed 7 signs in only 22 miles warning me of horse-and-buggy outfits being possible and reminding me to "Share the Road."
Marceline
And then I was back in Marceline, pop. 2,233, Walt Disney's hometown. I remember that when we came through here before, I'd decided to put off touring the Disney museum for another visit. Well, I knew tonight's campground wasn't far down the road from here and decided this was the time for the tour.
Except when I got there, the nice man at the door told me a ticket for seniors was $9, and I didn't want to pay that much. I'd've paid $5, or maybe even $6 at a stretch, but for some reason $9 was just too much. Disney's family only lived here for 4 or 5 years, and although he seemed to cherish those years himself, I just didn't believe the museum would have enough to intrigue me $9 worth. Products from the Disney studios were a major feature of my childhood and I'm very grateful for the memories. But I guess my interest in Walt Disney the person is limited.
I did buy a t-shirt, though. And the dogs and I walked around the same town square we'd walked around 2 weeks ago when it was under a load of snow. Easier to walk this time.
And then we drove the 20 miles down the road to tonight's state park.
Back to Pershing State Park
The camp hosts listened to me explain about how I had a reservation for tonight but not the next 2 nights and how the folks at the main parks office had told me to just come and hope for the best, and then they spent some time figuring out how to make that happen. And they did. So I had the campsite I wanted for 2 nights, and the one next to that for the 3rd night.
And I got my waste tanks emptied and the dogs walked and got us all set up just in time for the heavens to open up into some very heavy rain. And thunder. I'd left Gracie's Thundershirt on her all morning but took it off in Marshall - the day was getting warm and I hoped we were past danger of thunder. So when it started back up again, I put her shirt back on her and turned up the AC to drown out some of the noise. Poor thing. Both Dexter and Lily get nervous with thunder, but Gracie is obviously terrified. It was a tough night for all of them.
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