Hollister, MO (Branson) and Turkey Creek

It rained most of Saturday and was very foggy this morning so the ground was soaked.  We were wondering if we'd have any trouble getting out of the grass site onto the paved fairground road.  A motorhome near us that tried to leave yesterday had to be pulled out.  I kept the truck in 2 wheel drive as at test and she slipped & turned the grass to mud but we made it out OK. 
We made the 160 mile trip south up and down & up and down the Ozark hills to Hollister, adjacent to Branson.  We are in the Escapee Turkey Creek park, the last time we were here was late 2007 just after we started RVing.  Great memories!  Tomorrow Stan & Connie are due to arrive.....party time! 

The Samboree had 3 nights of entertainment, here's the first nights country music group.  We must be getting old because we didn't go to either of the other nights entertainment.

Here's a shot of the vendor area behind the stage.  All we purchased was a LED reading bulb and a new squeegee.  We spent lots of time with Mike and Debra, Judy made supper for all of us the day  they arrived and Debra made supper the evening before we both left.  We also went out once for Mexican chow but spent lots of time visiting.  We felt that the schedule info supplied was not very accurate or detailed so we missed the drawings we were interested in.  There was LOTS of talking about and awards given to Good Sam chapters but we don't belong to any so this wasn't of any interest to us, neither was the chapter and area organization.  We all attended on seminar about cleaning the outside of your rig.

 

Our first Samboree & Gurberburgers

Today we made the 71 mile trip to Sedalia, MO for a Good Sam Samboree rally.  We have never been to a Good Sam rally and this one was in the right time & place.  We were going to go in next to HH friends Mike & Debra but they had some truck troubles in PA and we don't expect them until Thursday. 
We went out to a late lunch, ludin, at the Wheel Drive Inn.  Very good burgers but we didn't have the guts to try their specialty, the Gurberburger.  It's a hamburger with all the fixins plus peanut butter.  Judy asked for some peanut butter on the side and tried it, she said it was good.  Not my cup tea!

Jesse James Museum & Farm

Today we traveled to Kearney, MO where the James family had their farm and Jesse was born and raised.  The original 1820 farm house is the structure on the left, the taller structure on the right was added on after Jesse James was killer.  The Pinkertons were tipped off that he and his outlaw brother Frank where there visiting their mother and snuck up early (12:30am) and threw a flaming ball into the house which exploded and blew one of his mothers arms off and killed Jesse's young step brother.  To the local loyal southerners The James were heroes and to the Union sympathizers' they were criminals.  The James brothers were not there at the time and were quite upset, 3 months later Frank killed the neighboring farmer, a northern sympathizers, who they suspected tipped off the Pinkertons that the brothers were at their mothers home that night.

After Jesse was shot his mother buried him on the farm so she's be near him and protect the grave site.  A few years later when she was considering selling the farm she had his body moved to the Kearney cemetery.  The above tombstones at the farm are new replacements as souvenir hunters chipped the originals away.

This just one of many displays in the museum next door.  The boots on the bottom left were the ones Jesse wore when he was shot.

 Here's the James family plot in the Kearney cemetery.   He's next to his wife Zerelda.  This also his mothers name, his wife was his first cousin and she was named after her aunt, Jesse's mother.
The last picture is Archie's grave, he was Jesse & Frank's young step brother killed by the Pinkertons fire bomb.

Harry Truman Museum & Library

                     Today we spent a few hours at the Truman Museum & Library in Independence, MO.

                                Here's Judy exiting the Truman oval office under a large mural.

                                                Again, no flash pictures were allowed.

                                          Judy thought Harry was short but he's still taller!

Harry & Bess (along with their only daughter and her husband) are buried in the Museum/Library courtyard.

It was a very interesting visit.  we started with a 45 minute video of Truman's life, from the son of a bankrupt farmer, to bank clerk, to WWI artillery officer, to clothing store owner, to local politician, to senator, to VP to president.  One of his goals, unfulfilled, was national health care, sound familiar?  It was quite interesting that all the political crap going on today is not new.  This leads me to understand politicians through history are all crooks.  Seems to me they have had way too much practice and experience.  

WWI Museum and Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank

Behind the monument tower is the Kansas City skyline.  You can take an elevator almost to the top and then 45 stairs, we passed.  The museum entrance is under the tower, this is an excellent museum and quite large, more than we expected.

                                                 Here's KC from behind the monument.

                                       I didn't want to use the flash so the pictures are dark. 
                               It was quite interesting and we learned quite a bit about WWI.

                            Across the street is the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank, our next stop.

The gold bar is worth almost $591K, unfortunately I could not figure out how to get it out of the case.  We were not allowed to take pictures of the employees actually working with stacks and stacks and stacks of bills.  There were automated carts (names Huey and Dewy) moving between the rooms and a warehouse with racks and rack of pallets of bills.

Lees Summit, MO

Today was a short travel day, 91 miles, to Lees Summit, MO; SW of Kansas City.  We leisurely got up and packed, went across the street to McDonalds for breakfast and it started to rain, it's now 4pm and still raining.  We are in a very nice & roomy Jackson County Park that use to be a Corps of Engineers park.  When you leave the CG you are in suburbia and the big city outskirts.  Inside the park it's like being in the country and peaceful.  I suspect it will change this weekend when the locals fill the place up.