Carthage, MOSep 29, 2008
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Sunrise this morning in Kansas
It seemed this morning like we were up and leaving at the crack of dawn, and I guess, in fact, we were, but it was 7:30! The sunrise was beautiful this morning. We had a few raindrops as we headed due east towards Nevada. No, not that Nevada - Nevada, Missouri. Only they don't pronounce it Nevada here. It is pronounced with a long A in the middle as in "way". Ne-vay-da. We stopped for a trucker's breakfast and we didn't even understand what the waitress had said until we realized she was talking about Nevada. John loves the prices here. $5.00 for pancakes, eggs, sausage AND bacon. It will be the only meal I eat today though - way too much food - but it sure was good. We splurge once in a while.
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Gas is also way cheap here. John paid $3.20 later this morning and this afternoon, we even saw it at $3.15 a gallon. John was happy that he did not fill up first thing this morning in Kansas at $3.40 a gallon.
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We turned south at Nevada, MO, heading towards Joplin. We are staying at the Big Red Barn RV Park in Carthage which is about 20 miles north of Joplin. This is a Good Sam, Passport and an Escapees park - all three of which we belong to and our rate for the night is $15. It is very pretty with lots of trees and nicely landscaped. It is close enough to the Interstate that we can hear the traffic but there is good cable and Internet. We rate this park an 8.
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Tomorrow we will head towards Branson and stay in the tiny town of Forsyth, where my step mom still lives in the condo she shared with my dad. I am very apprehensive of returning as I have not done so since my dad died. I keep telling myself I can do this.
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John said that he couldn't believe we were actually in Missouri. We have now been in a total of 12 states and three Canadian provinces since February. Each state has been a surprise. We keep thinking that the heartland will be flat and boring and it is anything but. Kansas, Nebraska and now Missouri are all so green and beautiful and covered with hilly countryside and trees. There is nothing here that is flat and boring.
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One thing that distresses me are billboards all along the highways touting the dangers of meth and drugs. When you talk to the locals, they say that the drug problem is huge here. You would think that would not be the case in the heart of middle America- Kansas. Even Oprah has a show on today about heroin addiction in middle America. Heroin is now cheaper than any other drug and is prevalent in this part of the country. The kids get bored and start using drugs and before long, are addicted to the big stuff. It is so scarey and sad. I remember when the worst thing kids did was drinking. California has such a bad reputation as being a place of excess where everyone is out of control. It seems strange to hear of places like Kansas and Missouri as having drug problems. So sad.
