Salt licks, quilt barns and Jim
Criss-crossing the Missouri is becoming a habit and that's how our day began. No fancy-schmacy breakfasts today, but a perfectly adequate Hampton Inn buffet set us up for our journey to KC: Kansas City.
There was hardly any traffic and for most of the way, we had the road to ourselves. I was on armadillo watch!
The name Boone has cropped up frequently and has caused us to remind ourselves who exactly Daniel Boone was, since our US history needed a refresher. Here, we found ourselves driving through Boonville and once again, the Katy Trail was there alongside the road.
The rest of the town looked a little bleak, though there was a cute mural!
No, we didn't need another transport museum just now, and I offer the picture below without further comment.
Onwards then, towards Arrow Rock, the next place on my Hero's list for the day.
Whilst I'm thinking that a "moderate to steep" trail might not be the best choice of activity in these temperatures, it appears everyone else was merely planning to go to the visitors' centre - phew!
Whilst in there, we learned of the valuable natural resource of the area - salt. For many years salt production had been a primary source of income, evidenced in so many local placenames in this area, known as Boonslick.
The visitors centre was a great inroduction to the salt production process and the lifestyles of those living here. Needless to say, it was this fine log cain quilt that caught my eye.
It was just a short walk down into the village from here and the markers commemorating the Santa Fe Trail.
I wasn't actually so interested in the shopping opportunities but we were all drawn to the cool shade of the awning. It was approaching lunchtime and the temperatures were soaring.
Mind you, as soon as someone pointed out a cute yarn store in there, I thought it was an excellent idea to take a closer look. With some yummy sock yarn on sale at half price, my Hero was soon in there too, making his choice. Assured by the saleslady that one skein would be enough for a pair of socks, we left with two different colours, but now I've looked more closely and spotted each one is a mere 70g, I fear I'll need to consult my knitting guru (hello Marion!) for suggestions of a plain colour to combine with each. Stripy socks will be cool and yes, a bit of a change!
Thankfully, we'd parked the car in the shade and we were back on the road.
Whilst at Arrow Head I'd picked up a brochure. Time to look out for barn quilts again!
According to the map, there were a few along our route so I put down my knitting and got my camera ready.
The first one was the "farmer's daughter" pattern because the farm had been passed down from mother to daughter through generations and the current owner has four daughters who will inherit it in time. This was all explained in the brochure which made it all the more interesting.
We were soon in Marshall, about which we knew nothing...except that it had been home to Jim. Not any old Jim, though: Jim the Wonder Dog!
A mural celebrated this local hero with scenes from his life.
A garden commemorated this local hero too. Beautifully maintained with a stature of Jim in pride of place, the pathway bore the names of supporters, many of whom were canine fans.
Sadly, in much the same way as the other towns we'd driven through this morning, Marshall was a somewhat empty place. Having said that, there was a huge factory complex of some sort - food products, I believe.
Out along the road again and another quilt barn - this time, the North Star, chosen for its relevance to the Underground Railroad which has quite some relevance in these parts.
bit further we came across the last one for today: A May Basket on the barn right on the roadside. No story with this one, unfortunately.
It adds interest to a drive, looking out for these designs and we enjoy seeing them, There are fifty or sixty in this area, mostly on side roads, a little bit off the beaten track so we don't get to see them. What fun it would be to do the whole route - might take a week, though!
We had one last stop on our list: the Lexington Civil War Battlesite. Though the State Park Visitors Centre was modern and really informative, we didn't find the story told to be 100% balanced and left feeling that both sides really ought to have been given an equal hearing.
With Kansas City on the horizon though, we were ready to put our feet up and relax! Another grand day enjoyed, another Hampton Inn awaited us and we have fun in store for the next couple of days here.
But first, dinner!
