We have been through a few more states and had more adventures! We left mountainous Colorado for the open roads and plains of Kansas. It was a nice change to have less traffic and straight, smooth roads. One of the first things we noticed as soon as we crossed the state border: most drivers wave at you as they pass by! So of course, Pete took this as his new way of life, and waved to everyone we passed. It quickly became a combination of annoying and hilarious, and sometimes we waved as a whole family to the cars passing by. They probably thought we were a weird family, but it was fun to see if they would wave back or imagine that we at least gave them a bit of happiness they could take with them that day.
We knew we needed to make a stop in Kansas, but we weren’t sure where, since neither of us has been there before. We looked online at campgrounds all over the state, when we saw the “Gunsmoke” campground in Dodge City. The famous Dodge City: the home of cowboys and shoot outs! It was perfect for a quick two night stopover on our way through the mid west. This was one of my favorite campgrounds. It was designed like an old western town with store fronts, had nice big RV spots, and a pool. Our first night we were tired and hungry from the drive, and we ordered a pizza to the RV. I wasn’t sure if it would be possible, but it worked! I was nervous he wouldn’t find us (I also REALLY wanted that pizza), so I stood outside to flag the delivery guy down. I am sure everyone in Kansas thinks we are crazy at this point, but, hey, we are just passing through.
On our full day in Dodge City, we drove down the road to visit the Boot Hill Museum. It was a really nice place with a general store and saloon, and old buildings from the 1800s that were neat to walk through.
After the museum we cooled off at the pool!
After our quick stay in Kansas, we drove to the Knob Noster State Park in Missouri. It is a little east of Kansas City, so we would be able to easily drive into the city for barbecue and other things. We stayed there for four nights, and took day trips to visit Osage Fort, try some barbecue, and see Incredibles 2.
The fort was really interesting. It was a “living history” museum, so there were people dressed up in authentic clothes and walked around like it was the 1800s.
We took a detour one afternoon to see Incredibles 2. Great movie! It was also extra fun because one of the main characters name is “Evelyn”.
One of my goals for the summer is to do some hiking. The Knob Noster park has several hiking trails, so I decided I would be ambitious and try the 6.5 mile McAdoo Trail. I loaded up a little pack with waters and a granola bar, and Pete drove me to the trail head at about 1:30 in the afternoon. I learned some things on this trail: NEVER forget bug spray, and probably don’t go on equestrian hiking trails if possible. I was definitely the only person who went on the trail that day…Holy spider webs!! And since it was also an equestrian trail, it was pretty torn up in parts from the hooves, and extra muddy where the creeks crossed the trail. I was at least a mile and a half in when I stepped across a creek, misjudged the firmness of the ground on the other side, and stepped up to my ankle in soft mud. It pulled my shoe right off my right foot. I just stood there, frozen, considering my options. I quickly realized I didn’t have any options, and the feelings of regret weren’t going to do me any good at this point. I had been hiking for a while and I was alone, so all I could do was pull out my muddy shoe. It was FULL of mud. And my sock and lower leg were covered in mud. I managed to get down to the very shallow creek and did my best to dump the mud out of my shoe and rinse off what I could. I squished my soaking wet sock into the muddy shoe, and moved forward.
The trail was mostly wooded and didn’t have much elevation change. There was a grassy area and wild flowers, and I saw animal tracks and a couple deer. Overall, I don’t regret the hike because it definitely was an experience (but I hiked pretty fast and completed the 6.5 miles in a little over 2 hours).
After Knob Noster, we drove a couple hours to the Lake Of the Ozarks State Park. We decided to stay there for a week so we could get a bit of a break from travelling and explore the area.
Evelyn really enjoyed riding her bike every day to the playground.
We saw lightning bugs in the evenings.
We went to a couple different restaurants on the lake. Overall it was a relaxing time. We decided a whole week without internet and spotty cell service was a bit too much, though, and we were definitely ready to move on to the KOA in St. Louis.
But first, laundry!
We had a great time in St. Louis. We did the required trip to the Gateway Arch. Apparently the new museum under the arch had opened just a week prior, so we were lucky we got to see it. It was a really interesting museum and had some really neat special effects, including a touch-screen Oregon trail game that of course we had to play!
We bought tickets to ride to the top of the arch. It was quite the experience. Five people in a tiny little barrel up a four-minute ride to the top of the arch. “Stay at the top as long as you want!” said the tour guides. Well, there’s a reason why they say that. There’s no way you can stay up there long.
Four minutes up, three minutes down! The views were amazing, but I was glad to be back down.
After the arch, we walked across the block for a quick lunch. I got a St. Louis traditional food: toasted ravioli!
That evening we visited our good friend, Mike, his beautiful wife, Lindsey, and their super cute baby girl twins. It was a great time reminiscing and eating St. Louis-style pizza from Imo’s!
7/11 is our anniversary (easy to remember), and this year was our 10 year anniversary. The KOA campground we stayed at was 1.5 miles from Six Flags, so we decided it would be fun to spend our anniversary at the theme park! This Six Flags also had a water park. We aren’t water park aficionados, so figuring out the logistics of changing and lockers was a little challenging. Once we figured it out and got on the tubes, we had a great time!
Our next journey took us on a drive through Illinois, Indiana, and into Kentucky! Pete found a state park between Louisville and Lexington for a couple nights.
He spent several years growing up in Lexington, and we took Pete’s childhood tour to his old house and school.
To be continued….
Mountains to Climb 
It was great to see all of you – it’s been way too long!
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