On the Road Again...Part Five

Friday, May 23

Today is the start of Memorial Day Weekend.  And yes, we are traveling.  Not the best plan!  We left Findlay this morning around 8:00 am and are headed to Branson, Missouri.  It's a beautiful morning, bright and sunny.  A picture perfect day.  We're headed to Terre Haute Indiana where we will spend the night.

A wonderful surprise!  We had an easy travel day.  Traffic was moderate, especially for the start of a long weekend.  We breezed right on through Indy...  and arrived early afternoon in Terre Haute.

I-70 in Indiana has to be the roughest road we've ever traveled!! Shake, rattle and roll for about 100 miles.  Looking forward to smoother roads tomorrow!!

We stayed at this KOA this past August when we were headed to Branson.  It's a fairly nice KOA, though over priced (but within reason as far as KOA's go).  We paid $45 for the night, water and electric only.  The pads are gravel, and shorter than some we've stayed at.  They're on the narrow side, with grass in between the sites.  The park is surrounded by trees.  Because it is an older KOA, it's not exactly "big rig" friendly.  But we managed quite nicely.  They recycle at this KOA and they also offer an air compressor free of charge.

It seems rather odd to us to be headed south for the summer rather than north.  For the last five years we have spent part, or all, of our summer on the Spirit Lake Reservation in North Dakota.  We decided this past summer that a change was needed...  New adventures await us in Branson!

Saturday, May 24

We left Terre Haute this am under sunny skies.  Traffic was light, I-70 was much smoother.  Thank goodness!!  Terre Haute is close to the Illinois border, so it wasn't long before we were back on central time...just when I'd gotten used to eastern time!!!

We'd planned on stopping at a rest area just east of the St. Louis bypass, but unfortunately it was closed.  By this time the sunny skies gave way to clouds.  We continued on through St. Louis, where we crossed the Mississippi River...

love this bridge!

the Mighty Mississippi

the corn fields have given way to rocky and hilly terrain

By this time we were starving.  We were looking for a rest area, truck stop or any large parking lot.  We exited off of I-44 in Eureka looking for McDonalds.  The first place we came to was a large parking lot at Eureka High School.  We stopped there and grabbed a quick lunch.  

We were less than 70 miles from our destination.  Shortly after we stopped, it began to rain.  We had a brief downpour, then it turned to a light rain.

It was still raining lightly when we arrived at our destination at Ladybug RV Park in Cuba, Missouri. 

Ladybug is an Escapee Park; they give a 15% discount to all members of Escapees.  The lots are long, but narrow with gravel pads.  The park is located in a wooded setting, so it's very pretty.  We also stayed here last year on our way to Branson.  We're staying here until Tuesday.

Sunday, May 25

The weather of the day is Hazy, Hot and Humid!! We're enjoying it after the cool weather we've experienced for most of the month.

After worship this morning (we worshiped at Cuba UMC, a very friendly, albeit small, congregation) we decided to take a walk through the historic part of town.  The weather was perfect for a nice walk, warm and sunny.

great tree to climb up and sit a spell...

a sampling of the murals

The city of  Cuba was founded in 1857 and was named after the island of Cuba.  As you can imagine, there are some very historic buildings located here.

Holy Cross Church.  The construction of  this Ozark field stone church began in 1936

the Wallace House.  constructed in 1885, the house has been completely restored

stopping to smell the roses

memorial obelisk honoring those who have given their lives in service to our country.  too many names...

love this roof!!

The old Route 66 goes right through Cuba.  The city's twelve murals have attracted attention far and wide.  The Missouri legislature has proclaimed Cuba, "Route 66 Mural City."  The murals have been featured on television shows as well as in magazines and newspapers.

It all started in 2001 when Peoples Bank commemorated its 100th birthday by painting a mural of the bank's first cashier and long-time president.  It also depicts the town's first Model T...

notice the "route 66" sign? it appears on all twelve of the murals

A few of our favorite murals...

Senator Harry Truman campaigned in Cuba for re-election in a very close 1940 primary.  He attended Cuba's Homecoming Fair, which is a century-old tradition...

Amelia Earhart made a forced emergency landing in Cuba on September 4, 1928.  Finding no damage to her Avro plane, she was able to continue on her journey...

This mural depicts Al West, Cuba's mayor from 1946-1958.  During this time, the city purchased the electrical system, paved and lit streets and extended its water and sewer systems...

The Millworks recreates the look of the 1948 Roberts-Judson Lumber Co. Millworks Building.  The building was the site of custom woodworking and sheet metal production...

There are several Civil War murals.  These murals depict conflicts between the troops of Confederate General Sterling Price and Union General Thomas Ewing in September 1864.  The battles started at Fort Davidson near Pilot Knob, Missouri and ended with the rescue of the Union Troops in Leasburg, Missouri...

In November 1948, Academy Award actress Bette Davis and her husband arrived in a Packard station wagon at the Southern Hotel.  Reporter Wilbur Vaughn asked for a photo.  Refused, he snapped a photo anyway and was chased by Davis' irate husband.  He escaped and the photo appeared in the Cuba News and Review.  This mural depicts the actual photo that Vaughn snapped.

this mural is painted on the Cuba News and Times building...

Paul T. Carr built this cottage style filling station in 1932.  The oil company actually did choose '66' as part of their logo because Route 66 was being constructed with the intent to make traveling faster.  Phillips 66 gasoline would expedite this.  The Bill Wallis family preserved this building, taking it back to its original design, including the roof...

Lots of history to be sure.  We thoroughly enjoyed our walk through the city of Cuba.


Tuesday, May 27

It rained almost all day yesterday and into the night.  We awoke to a warm, muggy morning.  Time to pack up and drive the rest of the way into Branson.  It will be a short day, about three hours on the road.

We had a touch of rain while on the road, thankfully it didn't last long.  Just long enough to raise the humidity.

We stopped at the coolest rest area EVER!  It's located on I-44, just northeast of Springfield.  It's pegged as the last rest area in Missouri...

looks like any normal rest area...

until you walk inside...

information center

the sidewalk leading through the picnic area is painted to resemble Route 66 

picnic shelters all up and down the "road"...

It was a quick and fun stop!!!  We continued on our way, and soon we were back at The Dewey Short Visitors Center in Branson!!  We have the same lot as we did this past fall when we volunteered here. We'll be volunteering here at the Dewey Short Visitors Center until the end of August.  We're looking forward to new adventures!!!