Salina, Kansas to Odessa, Missouri, then on to St Peters, Missouri

Just an overnighter in Odessa, but 207 miles closer to our destination. We left Salina wishing that we had booked one more day there. We ran out of time to visit a museum dedicated to the Orphan Trains of the turn of the century. Fifty three miles due north of Salina is the town of Concordia and the National Orphan Train Complex. Between 1854 and 1929, some 250,000 orphaned, abandoned, and homeless children were placed throughout the United States and Canada from crowded Eastern cities of the US. Books have been written and the movement studied to a great degree, and for the most part, the goal of placing children in good foster homes was accomplished, but horror stories persist. In any case, we were close, but didn't get a chance to visit the complex dedicated to these children.

So, here we are in Owl Creek Market and RV Park, site 51,71. The trip through Kansas City was reasonable, as long as we paid attention to the signage. At one point I 70 east was reduced to one lane (by design) so traffic was a bit jammed up. With off ramps and side roads shooting off in all directions, we needed our A game!

They assigned us two sites due to our length, The park is under construction, with more sites being added and the existing sites are being improved with concrete pads to park on and improved utilities. Additionally, the name is being changed to Country Gardens Market and RV Park. The market at the entrance is full of country style goodies, cheeses, jams and jellies, as well as a selection of clothing items and souvenirs. It's a nice, upscale store and the staff is very friendly.

We had planned on leftovers for dinner, but a local restaurant was recommended, so we had to try it. Located on Old Highway 40, T and T's Good Farm Cooking serves an extensive menu of "good home cookin'" Donna enjoyed a Catfish filet dinner and I chose the Chicken Fried Chicken. Both came with side dishes. We both ordered a smoked potato when we discovered that it's a potato baked in the same smoker used to slow roast Tri Tip and pork shoulder! It was delicious! Perfectly baked and with a smokey flavor, it was a specialty item that we've not encountered before.

A good night's sleep is anticipated, and then it's back on the road tomorrow.

It's tomorrow already. Fast, wasn't it?

192 miles of Interstate 70 got us to the St Louis suburb of St Peters. Even though we're 30-some miles west of the city, we feel like we're right in the middle of it!

St Peters has developed some land north of town for a park. A fairly large lake, event center, and an rv park are located there. Nicely landscaped and well maintained, it's a great place to spend a couple of nights.

Site 422 was assigned to us, and it's lovely. Near grass and a 4.2 mile path around the lake, Sasha should be happy, and that's all that matters, yes?

Sasha and I did about a mile on the path this evening, and she met some friends along the way. Many locals come out for a bit of exercise after a long day. 

We're here for two nights, getting up the courage to attack St Louis! A ride around town this evening didn't show us much except for thousands of homes, the usual retail establishments along with some local stores, and hundreds of new housing units being developed south of town. This truly is a growing area.

The weather has been wet most of the day today, and thunderstorms and rain are in the forecast for tomorrow. We may just stay in and relax.

Next stop: Illinois.