Road Trip 2015 Illinois-Missouri

We leave from Mt. Vernon, Illinois, which is east of St. Louis on I 64, travel through Eastern Illinois (St. Louis), and across Missouri to Independence.

This part of the United States is again flat with not even what we would consider a hill. Beautiful farm land and well kept farms.

This farm is outside of St. Louis.

Entering St. Louis, Missouri. We decided this was as close as we needed to get to see the Arch.

Crossing the Mississippi River in St. Louis on the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge. We were so interested in the unique bridge we forgot to look at the river.

Leaving the suburbs of St. Louis and about to cross the Missouri River.

Heading west on I-70. We will be in Independence in time to do some sightseeing.

We toured the Liberty Jail, and the LDS Visitors Center (which ironically is located across the street from the Community of Christ Temple). See our pictures of the jail at Road Trip 2015 Liberty Jail.

We also ate dinner at STROUD'S, a place famous for their fried chicken in a city known for their steaks and BBQ. They serve a huge amount of food family style. My meal came with mashed potatoes and gravy. When they brought out the food, the bowl of mashed potatoes was big enough for a family of five with gravy to match. Shirley and I both had green beans with our meals which was served in another large bowl (again more than either of us could eat). Can't complain about lots of good food!!!

Comments

Lake Creek Trail

Several years ago (probably more like 8 or 9) Shirley and I went camping with friends in the Lake Creek Campground, Salmon Challis National Forest, (about 60 miles from our home in Mackay, Idaho). Our friends went some where with their kids fishing, so we decided to check out the trail to the chain of Lake Creek lakes: Round Lake, Long Lake, Big Lake, Rough Lake, Golden Lake, etc.. Well we got up the trail about 6 miles or so and the trail being so rocky and rough and because we were both on one 4-Wheeler, we decided to turn back to camp. Also, no one knew where we were because we left after our friends had gone and we had been out several hours. We never got to any of the lakes, and always wondered what the rest of the trail was like and what the various lakes looked like. Well, a few weeks ago, we got to find out! Our son Dirk called and said that he and his family would like to go camping for the weekend. They wanted to camp at the Lake Cr...

Yellowstone Park is in Idaho?

I am an Idaho resident by birth and have lived in Idaho most of my life (spent about a year in Utah but am trying to forget about that - I was only 3 years old at the time and had no choice). I have always said and continue to say there is no National Park in Idaho. Oh sure! The map of Yellowstone Park shows a small portion along the Wyoming border as being in Idaho, but how many people know how to even get to this portion of the Park? If you look at the above map, there are no attractions at all listed in the Idaho part of the Park! There are no major roads from Idaho into the Park. Main Park entrances are from either Montana (3 entrances) or Wyoming (2 entrances) Any way, my wife Shirley and I have been taking our children and grand children to Yellowstone Park for forty years using one of the main Park entrances. This year three of our sons who live in Idaho talked us into going with them and their families into the Idaho part of Yellowstone. This is ho...

Jesse McCaleb

Jesse McCaleb Jesse was born on Christmas Day, (December 25) 1837 in Roane County, Tennessee (west of present day Knoxville) to James Newton McCaleb and Susannah Hope. Jesse was one of 7 children. There is not much information about his childhood except for census records showing that the children may have been deserted by their parents and their being raised by close family members. Jesse left Tennessee (at the age of 20) in 1857/8 going to Camden County, Missouri (southeast of present day Kansas City). The 1860 census records list Jesse as living with the James Vernon family (James' wife Harriet was Jesse's first cousin). It was here that Jesse met his second cousin and future bride, Anna Boyd Vernon (Harriet's daughter, who in 1860 was 13 years old). Jesse was working as a clerk in the mercantile owned by James W. Vernon, but when the Civil War broke out, he enlisted in the Confederate Army at Camden County, Missouri and ...

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