Today’s report is going to be a short one. After experiencing so much good weather at the beginning of our trip, things are catching up with us. It’s okay as we are so grateful that the weather was good when we were in Colorado, Utah, and South Dakota, we can stand some rain (we are glad that it is not snow).
We saw a large, beautiful American flag waving in the wind and talked about the differences that we have seen in the culture, prosperity, and love of homeland across the country.
We have seen the toll that nature takes on the outbuildings on farms and ranches. It must be a huge endeavor to keep these structures sound.
In Nebraska, everyone had a Nebraska shirt, hat, or jacket. The same held true in Missouri, only it was Kansas City wear.
We were trying hard to find something to see today and when we saw a sign for the historic Blackwater, Missouri, and Arrow Rock State Historic Site, we left I70 and started a new adventure. Well, historic Blackwater was a very small town with a population of 199. We were amused by the windmill that stood in the middle of the main street in town.
There wasn’t anything open for us to visit so as we left town, I took a photo of the Blackwater train station.
We traveled another six miles until we reached the Arrow Rock State Historic Site Welcome Center.
I walked in and asked the woman behind the desk if I could see the Rock without making the 1.5-mile hike that was advertised on a sign outside the welcome center. She replied, “we don’t really have an arrow rock. The name came from the flint that they used to make arrowheads. You can hike down to the river and see the flint in the rock.” Boy, was I surprised. I took a photo of the great fall display near the door to the center.
On the way back to I70, I saw a goose on the side of the road. I stopped to take a photo and the goose was joined by two ducks.
I thought, okay, at least it is some kind of animal (bird). They stopped in front of a pen at a home and there were three ostriches in the pen. I was able to get a photo of one of them (not my best, for sure).
The rest of the day, it rained, rained and more rain. We have changed our travel plans once again. We were going to go south to Ozark, MO and then get into the Ozark Mountains. I could not find anything to do in that area other than touring an underground cavern in a Jeep. Weird but we think that it would have been neat. Our new plan was to head north and then east towards St. Louis, Missouri. We are staying the night in St. Charles, MO. Tomorrow, we are going to Louisville, KY and to spend some time with Ronnie’s niece, Patricia Helm, her husband, Jimmy, and their children.
From there, we are going further south to Gatlinburg, TN and then follow Rt 441 through the Great Smoky Mountains. We want to visit Cumberland Falls Resort State Park (called the Niagara Falls of the South), Asheville, NC and hope to visit Ronnie’s brother, Ken and his wife Paulette in Charlotte, NC.
I looked out our hotel window while I was writing this and noticed a huge and beautiful casino not far from us, the Ameristar Casino. It looks beautiful at night.
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