May 8, 2013 - Red Oak II

Independence, MO. Nostalgic for the simpler way of life he experienced during his early years, in 1987 Lowell Davis began buying the homes and businesses of his beloved Red Oak, MO. He moved them 23 miles to his Fox Fire Farm near Carthage, MO and restored them to their original grandeur - a place now known as Red Oak II. There is a blacksmith shop, where Lowell's great-grandfather practiced his trade, the Feed and Seed Store, the old Phillip's 66 Station which was originally located on old Route 66 near Red Oak, the General Store, a church...

May 7, 2013 - Independence, MO

Have not really talked about Kansas City but we love the town and upscale shops in Country Club Plaza. The plaza, designed by J. C. Nichols, has the feel of an open air market in Seville, Spain. (obvious Spanish and Moorish architectural influence. ) There are 12 towers looming over terra cotta rooftops with the most notable being a reproduction of Spain’s Giralda Tower. Intricate mosaic murals abound as do terra cotta planters filled with gorgeous flowers. You must stop at Hall’s Department Store first built by Hallmark Cards founder Joyce...

Oct 29, 2012 - Independence and Arrowhead Stadium

Independence has not been good to me, sinus infection working on me hard. I have not been a good tour guide this stop. Nielsons came down Saturday and we did get together for a little mall walking and then some BBQ ribs at Gates, world famous BBQ. Been in town over 35 years with HI, HOW MAY I HEALP YOU shouted at least 4 times each minute. Don't know how the ribs were cause my ears were hurting so bad. Football Sunday with the Chargers in town. Great day for people watching. Believe the pro crowd is more devoted than the college crowd as...

Sep 12, 2012 - What Do 3200 Miles, $900. and Ribs have in Common?

Staring our morning off with a tour of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library, we entered a beautiful building filled with artifacts from our 33rd President. From a replica of his Oval Room to stories about his life and Presidency as well as many artifacts, we were treated to many things we had forgotten or never known. His parents were farmers in the Independence area and his grandfather led wagon trains west from Independence to California. As a boy, Harry was a smart student but not well liked, so spent most of his hours by himself...

Jul 11, 2012 - Lewis & Clark Once Again Crossing Our Travel Route

From Campus RV Park – Independence, MO Since we began our travels and have criss-crossed many of the states it seems our path very often keeps meeting a select few of the notable names in our country’s history time after time. Today on the banks of the Missouri River we again caught up with one of America’s well known history makers…………..William Clark of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. We had time left in our stay here to take in one more of this area’s history sharing attractions. There were a couple of estates and mansions of wealthy early...

Jul 10, 2012 - Wrapping Up Truman's Independence Story

From Campus RV Park – Independence, MO Our week in Independence is quickly coming to an end so today we had one more “Truman” attraction to explore……….the Truman Family Farm today part of the National Park Service Harry S. Truman National Historic Site. The farm is located 11 miles southwest of Independence in Grandview, Missouri. After spending a short time of his childhood on the 600 acre family farm Truman returned in 1906. At the age of 22, Harry Truman gave up a comfortable bank job in Kansas City to help his father run the farm. The...

Jul 9, 2012 - Enjoying A Presidential Library & Museum

From Campus RV Park – Independence, MO Where else but here in Independence the city he loved and the place he proudly called his home would President Harry S. Truman elect to have his presidential library built? His strong love for this city was made very apparent when he elected not to seek a 3rd term as President writing……”I have had all of Washington I want….I prefer my life in Missouri”. So it was in July 1957 the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum was dedicated in his hometown of Independence. Today we spent almost 4...

Jul 8, 2012 - Checking Out Baseball's All Star Venue

From Campus RV Park – Independence, MO Since we scheduled this stop on our travel plans several months ago, we realized that the MLB All Star Game would be played in Kansas City during our stay. Unfortunately tickets to All Star events such as this are usually on a lottery basis (unless you have BIG bucks to spend) and/or you have to purchase them as soon as they go on sale…….neither of which we did! So we will watch on TV and know that it is being played just 7 miles away! We did however decide to drive out to the Truman Sports Complex...

Jul 6, 2012 - A City "Wild About Harry"

From Campus RV Park – Independence, MO First I need to give credit where credit is due. My comments about the deteriorated neighborhood surrounding this RV Park will have to be amended to only include the portion to the south. Upon leaving the park today (heading north) we realized was nothing compared to what we drove through on our arrival. Today was a very nice drive through older but very well kept homes on our way to Independence Square. Now that has been clarified in case some Independence resident happens across the journal and takes...

Jul 5, 2012 - Still In Missouri

From Campus RV Park – Independence, MO Today we traveled 150 miles north to our present location in Independence, MO just east of Kansas City. We will be here a week checking out all the President Truman attractions. If you have read our itinerary on the home page of the journal you are probably asking…..thought it said we had two weeks in Independence? You would be correct but as we arrived at the park, we decided to only pay for one of the weeks and see exactly what our stay here would entail. As far as attractions in the area and just...

Nov 15, 2011 - Independence, MO - Nov 14-15

November 14, 2011 Today we had a massive, long drive and we decided to leave early. I had hoped to take a route which went slightly north through Wyoming and Nebraska but as the weather wasn’t looking great I decided to take a slightly quicker route which went right the way across Kansas. We got up at 5:30 and packed and got everything in the car. The paths around the hotel were not very well lit and it was a bit hazardous getting everything to the car. The car had a snow covering which we had to wait a while to clear and as we were waiting...

Jul 26, 2011 - Day 32-Independence, Missouri

Today we visited a number of interesting places in the Independence area. The first one was the Temple lot which is owned by the Church of Christ, Temple Lot (they say that "local" is more appropriate for the name of their Independence group. After walking the temple lot area (visually, it is just a very large, grassy area (about 2-1/2 acres. There are a couple of the corner stones on display that were found during excavation for the Community of Christ Temple (previously Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church of Christ,...