Sun, Sep 2nd –Westward Ho to the Wal-Mart, Lawrence, KS

We left the Hellrungs this morning about 7:00 a.m. and drove over the beautiful Clark Bridge into Missouri. (See photo) The view today along I70 thru Missouri was rolling farmland where some of the corn was already harvested, many XXX Adult stores along the interstate; many billboards about babies, like a picture of a baby with chocolate all over his hands and face that said, “Babies Make Messes, Parents Please have Patience”; small towns all along the way that the interstate went thru like Warrenton and Columbia; many cities have the same names as cities in Virginia (Danville, Stanton, Warrenton, Springfield, Washington) and we crossed the Missouri River 3 times. I doubled checked my Tolson genealogy on the computer and as I remembered that some of the Tolsons migrated to Howard, MO, which is just north of I70 about in the middle of the state near Booneville. The only real traffic we had was when we got to Independence and Kansas City, MO almost into Kansas. Hey, Toto, we ARE in Kansas now!

Sat, Sep 1st – Downtown Alton and Fairmont Horse Races

The Hellrungs took us on a tour of downtown Alton where we went to the square where Douglas and Lincoln had their final debate, looked thru several antique stores and a pottery shop and stopped at a stained glass shop. That evening we went to the horse races from dinner and a little wagering. We didn’t lose too much money!

Fri, Aug 31st – St. Louis Arch and Anheuser Busch Brewery

Today we went up to the top of the St. Louis arch (see pictures of arch and the view we had from the top) and then watched a film on how the arch was made, ate lunch down town and then toured the Anheuser Busch Brewery. We each got two free beer; Chuck opted to try the Michelob Golden Draft and I tried the Mojito—too sweet! We hope to tour the Coors Brewery too when we get to Golden, Colorado!

Thu, Aug 30th – Hellrung's House and Alton, IN

The Campbell’s left for home this morning where they will close on the sale of their lake house at Lake Webster, IN tomorrow. We got to be the last ones to camp there. In the afternoon, we visited the statue of the tallest man in the world—Robert Wadlow who was 5’6” at age 5, 6’5” and 200 lbs at age 10, which made him the largest Boy Scout in the world, and 8’ll.1” and 490 lbs when he died at the age of 22. Then we toured the Melvin Price Lock and Dam and the National Great Rivers Museum where we were fortunate enough to get to see a tow with barges going thru the lock. Go to http://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/ to get information about the daily traffic and tonnage through the locks. Click on “Get lock and vessel info,” then “OMNI Reports”; then “Reports”, and then choose a report to run. Report 3a is popular because it shows the daily vessel lockages. Think about this as you drive the roads of America: 1 barge going up or down the Mississippi is the equivalent of 58 semi trucks that are NOT on our roads! A 15-barge tow, which was like what we saw on the river, is equivalent to 870 semis! You can see just how important our rivers are.

Wed, Aug 29th – What a way to spend my Birthday!

We spent the day on the Hellrungs’ houseboat (see pictures) on the Mississippi River where we motored up the river and then drifted back down. The current was pretty strong and the river very muddy with lots of floating logs because it was considered at flood stage and they had the dam open down river. We saw many tows with barges going up the river. This area of the Mississippi is where the Illinois and Missouri Rivers flow into the Mississippi. The Mississippi flows east at this point in the river too, instead of north/south. We ended the day with a wonderful dinner at the Mississippi Half Step Restaurant in Grafton; melt-in-your-mouth filet mignon with a bourbon mushroom sauce, rosemary potatoes and asparagus!

Tue, Aug 28th – Alton, IL

(Central Time--We gained an hour today.) We arrived at Patty and Larry Hellrungs’ house early in the afternoon where we parked the D’s. (See photo of their house and our "campsites".) We visited awhile and then headed over to Nance and Bob Roths’ house for cocktails and dinner. What a feast—ribs, corn on the cob, cucumber salad, deviled eggs, and strawberry salad and then German chocolate or lemon cake for desert. Oh, and of course we had Patty’s famous Margaritas beforehand! (See photo of a few of the folks at the “Feast”—Jim and Lois Campbell and Larry and Patty Hellrung.)

Mon, Aug 27th – Indianapolis, IN

We drove down to Indianapolis following the Campbells thru a lot of farmland where we had to pass a new combine that took up most of the road. (See photo.) We stopped in Wabash, IN to meet their son, Mark, where he works—Spiece http://www.denimexpress.com/ . Order your jeans or Carhart clothes now. (See photo of Mark, Chuck, Jim and Lois.) Mark gave us a tour of the warehouse and also showed us Mr. Spiece’s collection of animals, Wooten desks, etc. (See photos of animals .) We learned that Wabash, IN was the first town to be lit by electricity and as we drove out of town, we drove over the Wabash River. When we got to Indianapolis, we met the Campbell’s youngest son, Kent. While Lois and Jim went to his eye doctor’s appointment, Kent gave Chuck and I a tour of Indianapolis, including eating at the Mug-n-Bun at 5211 W. 10th St., where we had homemade root beer and a huge pork loin sandwich; touring the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Museum, where we got to ride around on the track; and driving around downtown Indianapolis. (See photo of us at the Speedway.) Later that day, the Campbells and us headed on to Marshall, IL to spend the night in the Wal-Mart parking lot. We had a beautiful full moon and saw an ultra-light plane that flew in front of the moon. (See photo—I wasn’t quite quick enough to get the ultra-light in front of the moon!)