Waubonsie State Park, Hamburg, Iowa

May 14 - 16, 2017:

Our cat Alice watches our every move and when we start to pack up, she slinks across the floor to the bed and buries herself under a pillow.  We actually try to do things quietly so we don’t traumatize her so much.  Once stopped in a campsite for a few minutes she will then come out and act totally normal.  Cat’s are very weird !

The ride today was about 140 miles on route 36 west to route 29 north, all highway with lots of traffic, including many RV’s.  I was beginning to wonder why so many RV’s on the road when I saw a Nascar sign on one which triggered my memmory.  There was a Nascar race on Saturday at Kansas City and I believe it’s one of the tracks you can camp at, which I would like to do sometime, but Twinkles would hate it. 

The ride was horrible, really windy and so much traffic along that route, is Mothers Dat a big travel day ?  Anyhow, we arrived at Waubonsie State Park around noon.  They have a 3 PM checkout time here and many had not left yet, but there were many open good sites.  I believe this is our first Iowa State Park and it’s a nice one.  We have a large almost level site with electric that buttes up against the forest.  Water spigots, a show house and a dump station are close by.

Waubonsie State Park derives it's name from chief Wabaunsee meaning "Beginning of Day" of the Potawatomi tribe who resided in the area.

Chief Wabaunsee

This geology is rare and only exists here and in another area in China.  It is known as the "Loess Hills" and extends for about 200 miles in the Missouri River Valley in Iowa.  As the Glaciers passed through a deep layer of finely ground soil was left behind which blew into huge dunes, very similar to more common sand dunes.  Plants eventually took root in the soil dunes and  they are now covered with vegetation sort of hiding them from view.  However when you hike here, it soon becomes obvious with its steep ups and downs and narrow ridge lines just like sand dunes.

Route 2 is the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway

There are several hiking trails here with lots of ups and downs as this is a dune field that was sculpted by wind and erosion that is now covered by forest and grasslands.  There are several overlooks where you get an incredible panoramic view of the prairie, far below, stretching out into the distance.  These plains were originally all grasslands and the home of the Buffalo.  The soil is fertile and the settlers plows converted it to grain fields.  We did several hikes within the park that follow the dune topography both on the edge of the ridge line and in the forest.  There are many trees that we haven’t seen in a long time. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loess_Hills

An overlook on the trail looking out onto the flat prairie lands

The trail is a narrow path with steep embankments on each side

We were surprised to find Yucca Plants blooming

These flowers were very prominent in the forest areas

The Columbine's were flowering very nicely

There was this pit house built into the hillside

A 1920's era car in the woods, it was a near impossible
place to get a car into these days

In the afternoon, I take a ride back over the nearby state line into Nebraska to Nebraska City.  Much to my surprise, I found the downtown area to be a beauty.  This is another city that had much going for it being on the Missouri River and having a rail line passing through.  Their most famous resident was J. Sterling Morton who started Arbor Day in 1872, something I remember but haven’t heard about in a long time. They do have several Orchards around town and have tree sculptures around town in various places.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebraska_City,_Nebraska

Many old advertising signs repainted in town

Art sculptures around town with an arbor day theme

Another advertising sign

Several old fraternal organizations met here

Nice large mural in a downtown park area

A really nice Eagles Club neon sign

The Oregon Trail came through downtown

I love this Corn starch sign

Eli Windmills were made in town and there is a museum

I also went to the town of Hamburg a few miles from the campground which is a small farming community.  A few blocks of the original downtown buildings remain and the “Stoner Drug Store” with it’s original lunch and soda fountain area.  There are several  old buildings with beautiful stained glass windows in the upstairs, very unusual that I haven't seen anywhere else.  A few of the brick buildings have been sprayed with a thick coating that I suppose was an easy way to renew a buildings appearance, but now doesn’t look so good. 

The Colonial Theater

Interesting stained glass windows

Very ornate building metalwork

Hamburg Iowa mural

The Blue Moon Cafe beckoned but I didn't go

The Grain Elevators in Hamburg, Iowa

There was a severe storm warning last night and we had a hum dinger of a thunder storm with heavy rain, but luckily no hail.  It’s that time of year when the weather around these parts of the country gets scary.  While at the Loess Hills Visitor Center the attendant made sure I looked at the flood photos from 2011.  The Missouri River had flooded that year and everything for miles around was under water.

Our next stop is a few miles north to Omaha, Nebraska;

Twinkles and Slick  

What do Missouri Star Quilting and J.C. Penny have in common

May 12-13, 2017:

We leave Lewis and Clark State Park head west on route 59 to St. Joseph, Missouri where we take route 36 east to route 13 north to Hamilton, Missouri.  Hamilton is a small Missouri town famous as the birthplace and early childhood home of Department store magnate J.C. Penny.  The modest boy hood home still stands at its original location in the downtown area.  Across the street is local public Library with the J.C. Penny Museum.  The 500th J.C. Penny store is about one block away and is now part of the Missouri Star Quilt empire.  Missouri Star Quilt Company received the “small business of the year award” for 2015 by the US Small Business Association.  They have transformed and revitalized this downtown into a destination place for the quilting hobbyist. 

Twinkles is ready to shop

Nice quilt mural on building

There once was a Train

Missouri Star Quilt seems to own about everything here

We ate at both and they were good

The boyhood home of Jimmie Penny

The J.C. Penny Museum was located in the public library and was a great collection of personal items, old photographs, letters, books and other memorabilia from his amazing life story.

He learned at an early age

One of his first stores

He developed into a master at promotion

He lived a good and long life for 97 years

 On arrival we were told that campsites were available at the local American Legion for $20 a night.  We went over and talked to the man mowing the lawn who told us to pick any spot, but to please wait first until he finished mowing. It’s a quiet site except when people drive fast on the gravel road behind us and unusual once when a  Mennonite couple rode past in their horse and buggy.

On first impression, Main Street Hamilton is looking fairly prosperous these days since this quilting boom has occurred.  I then eavesdropped on a conversation, between a local and a tourist, in which I learned that not everyone in Hamilton is 100% happy about the changes to their little town which has been taken over by the  Missouri Quilt Company.  I kind of wondered about that and it was interesting to hear it.     

While Twinkles was roaming the town shopping and soaking up the quilting vibe, I went to J's Burger Dive, roamed around downtown and then hung out in the “Man Cave”.  They have thought of everything to the point of making a room for the husbands of the quilters to hang out while their wives shop.  It is outfitted with big comfortable recliners, TV’s, a pool table, various male oriented magazines and even has decent WiFi.  It’s great idea as there is nothing more disruptive to a woman’s shopping spree than an uninterested man hanging around.  Main Street Hamilton is looking fairly prosperous these days since this quilting boom has occurred. 

Several women were sneaking in, they need better security

There are a few good restaurants here catering to the Quilters, who by their size tend to be sedentary and heavy eaters.  There is also a craft Brewery, Levi Garrison & Sons Brewery, which we found to be excellent and sort of wasted in this town.  They really do roll up the sidewalks here at about 7 PM except for the Brewery which stays open to 10 PM on Friday and Saturdays nights.

The Tap Room was very nice and the beer great

I felt a little out of place, it's so conservative

After Twinkles had satisfied her quilting pleasures, we took a ride to the neighboring town of Kingston.  There isn't much to Kingston now, except the County Courthouse and old boarded up buildings across the street.  The sign in front told how Kingston had replaced "Far West" as the county seat of Caldwell County.  Far West was a Mormon town site until friction developed between the Mormons and the non-Mormons leading to violence and the Mormon War.  The Mormons were soon forced to leave the area.

The Court House

Next stop is Waubonsie State Park, Hamburg, Iowa;

Twinkles and Slick

On the Lewis and Clark Trail

May 8 - 11, 2017:

Our journey took us from Topeka, Kansas to Rushville, Missouri and the Lewis and Clark State Park.  It was all on routes 4 and 59 passing through mostly farm land and small towns with huge grain elevators. The farm terrain was very hilly and all the cultivation was following the contours of the land.  These farmers kind of maneuver around the fields like artists to achieve this which prevents soil erosion.  Artist Tomas Hart Benton displayed this in many of his famous paintings. 

Rushville Missouri is the nearest town but there isn’t much to it these days although the little ramshackle downtown could easily be turned into a museum.

I just can't get enough of these massive structures

Thomas Hart Benton

We seem to be following the 1804 Lewis and Clark, Journey of Discovery” expedition without really planning to do so.   The State Park is situated on a lake that Lewis and Clark explored and named in their journal, calling it “Gosling Lake” for its abundant waterfowl.  This Lake is known as an Ox-bow Lake and is common along the meandering Missouri River when the river course changes.  This is a beautiful campground with electrical hookup only, but water spigots are plentiful, there is a good shower room and a dump station.

Nice monument to the Lewis and Clark expedition
on the lake front

Gosling Lake as it looks now, this area is all very low lying
and prone to flooding

The green area on the map was the land obtained in
the Louisiana Purchase at the time of the expedition

We have a nice open green campsite

Lewis and Clark also camped about 5 miles away on a creek they named “Independence Creek” as they celebrated July 4th there.  There is a small park at the site although it is not marked or maintained much these days.  Considerable effort and expense went into building this years ago with a walking bridge over the Creek connecting to a trail and a couple of interpretive signs explaining how this was once a major village area of the Kansa tribe.  It seems that money, most likely state and federal grants becomes available to build these sites, but not to maintain them.  The towns sadly don’t have the money for maintenance and aren’t motivated or creative enough to fund raise or organize volunteers unless it involves stick and ball sports.

The road leading to Independence Creek passed
this really unusual old stone barn

A reconstructed Kansa Indian village mound house

Independence Creek probably looks about the same today
as it did when Lewis and Clark saw it ?

 The city of Atchison, Kansas is about 5 miles away across the Missouri River.  Atchison was a vibrant Missouri River port and became a major outfitting place for settlers heading west. The economy then really took off with the coming of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad.  There aren’t many river boats these days, but it still remains a vibrant freight yard for the current Burlington Northern Santa Se Railroad (BNSF).  The City’s business district  sits in a valley at the confluence of the White Clay Creek and the Missouri River.  As a result, the city has been flooded many times in it’s history, they didn’t do much planning back in those days.  Most of the residential areas of the city are now built up on the surrounding hills and bluffs overlooking the river.

Welcome to Atchison sign

View across another creek named by Lewis and
Clark called the "4th of July 1804 Creek"

View of the Missouri River

Old Railroad bridge in foreground and the newer
Amelia Earhart Bridge in rear

Railroad building next to tracks

Nice downtown view

Atchison was founded by David Rice Atchison in 1854 as a pro-slavery town during that very turbulent period prior to the Civil War.  The most famous resident of Aitchison was Amelia Earhart who was born and spent her youth in her grandparents beautiful house on a bluff top overlooking the river. This house is now open as a museum and is a major attraction. The Benedictine College is another impressive institution in Aitchison that began in 1863 with the Benedictine Sister.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atchison,_Kansas

Amelia Earhart display at the museum

Amelia Earhart House

I couldn't bypass the Aitchison Historical and Railroad Museum located in the old freight building as the original Station was torn down in the 1950's.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Atchison,_Topeka_and_the_Santa_Fe

Abraham Lincoln enjoyed Atchison too

The founder of Atchison was a devoted pro-
slavery supporter but went on to become
a very influential Senator 

The destruction of the Free State Hotel

This was an incredible story, even Ripley thought so

Display on William M. Boular

Atchison Corn Carnival was a huge event

Old Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Steam Locomotive

Trains and grain elevators seem to be perfect together

I happened to see this Robin feeding the young ones

Another very interesting nearby city is St. Joseph, Missouri which like Atchison gained growth as a river and rail shipping center.  It is actually considerably larger than Atchison with much more industry.  Twinkles dropped me off downtown for a few hours where I had a photographic feeding frenzy while she went shopping. This worked very well and I think we will do this more often in the future.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Joseph,_Missouri

The Missouri Theater in St Joseph

There are many large factory building such as this remaining

This jewelry shop with its beautiful sign was a personal
favorite of mine, hope someone will save it

St Joseph has a series of huge murals, this one is
on the pioneer days

This Mural was on the Civil War

I thought it interesting to see a building exterior in the
process of being restored, what a difference !

"Always on the job" security alarm on
the bank exterior

Oldest building west of the Mississippi to continuously
operate as a Bank

The Pony Express operated from here
in its final month

In New Jersey, everywhere you go it’s claimed that George Washington slept there, while along the Missouri River it’s Lewis and Clark camped here.  As I visit another nearby town, Weston Missouri, I find that they stopped here to repair a broken mask on their boat.  

Originally Weston was the most prominent city in the area, even bigger than Kansas City,  with the Missouri River and Railroad connections.  The city was booming until the Missouri River changed course and moved 2 miles away.  As result, Weston escaped progress, it’s beautiful buildings survived and today it remains a beautiful small town with much of it’s downtown on the "Register of Historic Buildings" list.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weston,_Missouri

Buffalo Bill was here too !

Super nice downtown buildings

The Saint James Hotel

Downtown street view

Dutch pottery shop was incredible

Old cigar making business started in 1937 using local farmers
tobacco is still in operation

Weston Brewing Company is the second oldest brewery
west of the Hudson started in 1842.

O'Malley's Pub is probably the coolest pub west of the Hudson !

Great old barn along the road I couldn't pass by

There is an amazing Brewery in Weston started by a German immigrant in 1842 which became very productive and popular.  It promoting itself as the 2nd oldest Brewery west of Hudson River and sponsored the first Kansas City Royals baseball team in the early 1900’s.   The Brewery came back to operation in 2005 as the Weston Brewing Company with the America Bowman Restaurant and O’Malley’s Irish Pub operated in the original Brewery building.  There are five brick lined cellars underground that were originally used to lager and chill the beer in large oaken tanks.  Today there are two pub cellar rooms on two different levels that you get to by walking down stairs and through tunnels.  After a few pints of beer could this be hazardous ?  The lower cellar room is without a doubt the most incredible pub room, super cool !  The brick walls and ceilings, the darkness and Irish decorative elements throughout make this pub really special, you gotta go to Ireland to find anything better !

Next stop is a visit to the "Missouri Star Quilt Company" in Hamilton, Missouri,

Twinkles and Slick