St. Louis to KOA, St. Joseph, MO:  This trip had a terrible beginning.  On Thursday night Mike started the refrigerator in the fifth wheel so when we brought the food over on Friday it would be good and cold.  Got a late start taking the food over because of threatening storms and we had to wait until the service person came over to check out our air conditioner, which we do every year.  Everything checked out there so we got all the food together and headed to our storage place.  The sun was actually shining at this point.  When we opened the refrigerator though, it was not running and there were two error codes.  So, we called our RV dealer and they said to bring it right up, so we hooked up and hauled it up there after much bitching and moaning.  They cleaned out some soot and stuff around the electrical panel and it seemed to work, so back we went to the storage facility, unhooked  and loaded up the food and headed back home.  After dinner the storms hit.  We spent most of the evening in the basement with the tornado sirens going off around us.  Lost our power and groped around with flashlights for the rest of the evening.  But we didn’t have any damage—just a few branches down.  The power was still off this morning so we were all discombobulated.  Had to manually unhook the garage door so we could get out and then hook it back up.  Drove over to the storage area, hooked up and checked the refrigerator and there were more error codes.  So we took off anyway hoping we could get it fixed somewhere on the road and in the meantime maybe buy a couple of coolers.  So we headed out around 9:30 and got to Lake St. Louis after a little over an hour driving and Mike realized he forgot all his meds.  So, we turned around and headed back.  Didn’t unhook or anything.  I just pulled off on the shoulder on the service road outside the entrance of our place and Mike walked up and got all the stuff he forgot.  So, back on the road.  Even after all this we were in St. Joseph, MO, and set up by 5:30.  Just here one night.  Not even unhooking.  Oh, and the refrigerator is working!  Life is good!  And while we were heading out the second time, Johanne Brouillet, our Canadian friend from the Keys, called to see if we were okay.  Apparently they had seen a report on CNN about STL and the tornados.  How nice of her!  At least someone is thinking of us!

Pony Express Stable--St. Joseph, MO

Pony Express Rider--St. Joseph, MO

St. Joseph, MO, is a pretty historic town.  The Pony Express used to run from here to Sacramento, CA.  It only lasted for about a year and a half, but these daring men--boys actually--on their speedy mounts used to fly across the country carrying the mail.  The stations were spaced about 18 miles apart and they ran at a full gallop, pushing their horses to go faster and faster. There were about eighty pony-riders in the saddle all the time, night and day, stretching in a long, scattering procession from Missouri to California, forty flying eastward, and forty toward the west.   They carried letters 1900 miles in 8 days!  Incredible!  Walter Cronkite was born here. His father and grandfather were dentists here.  And, it's the place where Jessie James was shot.  The Patee House is a great museum full of the rich history of this area.

A quote from Mark Twain while on a stage coach trip across country..."We had had a consuming desire, from the beginning, to see a pony-rider, but somehow or other all that passed us and all that met us managed to streak by in the night, and so we heard only a whiz and a hail, and the swift phantom of the desert was gone before we could get our heads out of the windows".