Sometimes (most of the time????) the misfortune that we experience is of our own making. The work on our 5th wheel trailer had been completed with a nice new air-conditioning unit installed ~ works really great, by the way! As I was hooking up to the trailer, I had an accident which bent the tailgate of the truck. Now I have to admit that my first words were not of "thanksgiving"! Anyway, we were delayed almost another week before we could leave the St. Louis...

We'd spent a number of days in the St. Louis area just dealing with repairs to our trailer and other business, but we decided to explore the area that Saturday. We found out the town near Daniel Boone's homestead and death and burial places was having a 200 year anniversary festival, so we decided to check it out. We drove out into the country from where we were camped. It was farmland, very green and picturesque. The festival in Marthasville was kind of windi...

Hannibal, Missouri was a 2 hour drive north of our campground in Cahokia, IL. We arrived in town close to lunch time. Since we were experiencing problems with the trailer AC we took Roxie with us. By phoning the Mark Twain Museum we found out a local groomer was available to "board" her so she'd be safe from the afternoon heat. As a bonus, the groomer had a cancellation and Roxie got a bath, haircut and nails done - what a spa treatment! We had lunch in one o...

Today, we decided to drive up to Springfield, IL to visit the museum and grave of Abraham Lincoln. It was a wonderful warm, sunny day for the visit. On the drive to Springfield, we saw a lot of farmland with wheat ready to harvest and waist-high cornfields. It was easy to see that we were closing in on our objective. Right next to the freeway was a large white industrial building with a sign painted on it, "Visit Mr. Lincoln's Hometown - Springfield, Exit 98B...

Today, we spent the morning doing chores. We ate an early lunch, then headed out to explore St. Louis. We thought we'd start with the Gateway Arch and a riverboat ride on the Mississippi. It is hard to believe that the Gateway Arch is 50 years old! It opened on June 10th, 1967. There is quite a renovation going on of the grounds of the arch that won't be completed until 2018, so the Visitors Center is now in the Old Courthouse a few blocks from the arch. What a n...