September 27 Arrival in Independence, MO

Note the sweatshirt

Packing up to leave is not fun and it’s depressing on top of that. We’ve pretty much got it down to a science so it doesn’t take all that long unless there’s a low tire or something. We left the campground just after 9 so that wasn’t bad. First stop was the George Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, MO. It’s in a bit from the main road but not difficult to get to. They have a nice movie on his life and a small display. You can take a ¾ mile trail to where they think his birthplace was. I had no idea he had discovered 300 by-products of peanuts and 100 from sweet potatoes. He never married and taught for 47 years at Tuskegee Institute. He actually wanted to be an artist but was persuaded to get into Botany since we was so interested in plants and art, he could combine them. He never sought a patent or wealth from any of his discoveries and lived in the same single room at Tuskegee and earned the same pay for all his years. He was a humble and giving man.

It warmed up

Next stop on our way north was Fort Scott in Kansas. The fort is a National Historic Site as part of the National Park Service and was built as a frontier fort due to the westward expansion. The life of the fort was 1842 to 1873. When the government no longer needed it, the building we auctioned off individually and it became a part of the town of Fort Scott. The officer residences became hotels and other buildings were bought for storage. Over time many of the buildings were burned down or fell from lack of care. In the 1950’s a reformation group was formed and the buildings were repaired or reconstructed. Not all of the buildings are there but most are. We watched the movie of the fort and then walked around to the various buildings and took our share of pictures. We couldn’t linger much at sites today since Molly and Xena were in the truck. It was not hot out so with the windows cracked they managed fine.

Last stop, Independence, MO at the Campus RV Park. Bill was kinda nervous about the campground due to the neighborhood we drove through and that it is literally right in town. It’s a very nice small park with only 30 spaces. Full hook ups, cable, WiFi and Bill said the bathhouse is very nice. It’s in a really good location for sightseeing, that’s why I picked it. The bad part is that they only have back in spaces, so that was going to be a challenge. The campground manager took us to the site and he directed me, and I was just about in and asked if he could just do it. He backed it right in after I had it close. I was just tired and my right eye was hurting. I didn’t much care for the interstate road we had to circle Kansas City on and the butthead drivers that won’t let you in after you signal forever. Of course we hit town at 5 so that was not good, but I managed to change lanes and get off at the right spot without incident. Although I did run over the curb twice at Fort Scott as the lane into the parking area was very narrow and curved, but it did no damage.

We set up the cactus and our signs tonight since we’re here for 4 nights. I grilled pork chops, made spaghetti squash with butter and Parmesan cheese and made instant mashed potatoes in honor of my good friend Karen. Bill walked Xena then did up the dishes so we’ll be good to go in the morning.