Heading to Sedalia

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Today’s plan was to tour the waterfront area of St. Louis including the Gateway Arch, Jefferson Westward Expansion Museum, etc. The constant rains in the area caused the Mississippi River to rise so high it flooded some of the streets in the area. After taking several detours we finally found the RV/Bus parking lot. It was closed for some type of construction. Oh well. Instead we went to the Harrah’s Casino to have lunch & decide what to do next. The lunch was very good. Much better than the other casino’s we’re tried over the years. As always, we both overate. That’s Ok though. This morning we both weighed ourselves and we were right at our target weights. The last trip out, we bought a scale to make sure we weren’t putting on weight from all the really tasty regional foods we enjoy.
Decided to avoid the Interstate Highways as much as possible, for the rest of the trip. Our destination for the day was Hermann, MO. One of our camping books showed that Hermann had a city RV park. We took SR 94 West from St. Louis; a part of the Lewis & Clark Trail, following the path of the Missouri River. Two years ago we were in this area following the L&C Trail but did not do this part. We stopped at a rest area by the Katy Trail State Park. The park is built on the former corridor of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (MKT or Katy). At 225 miles, this is the longest developed rail-trail in the country.
The ride from St. Louis to Hermann was through very beautiful, hilly, farmland. Corn, alfalfa & vineyards. Unlike Ohio, Indiana & Illinois, the corn had been planted here. It was about 6” tall. This area has dozens of vineyards. I never thought of MO as wine country. Drove by the grave of Daniel Boone and through the town of Dutzow, the first German settlement in MO. Hermann, our destination, is also a German community. There is a Hofgarten, the Deutschheim State Historic Site, German bakeries, restaurants, etc. A very pretty Old Town and waterfront park. We parked at the waterfront park for a while hoping a barge would come along. No barge. We did see some barges along the MS River when we toured the locks yesterday. Some of the boats can push as many as 15 barges at a time. We never saw one that big.
The Hermann City Campground is part of a larger recreation complex. After dinner, I took Gopher for a walk. We watched a girls softball game for a while. On another part of the field, the Little League teams were having photo day. Some kids were playing basketball. Hermann is middle America through and through. We’ve enjoyed communities like Hermann during our trips all across America. I imagine that the insanity of Washington DC doesn’t matter much in Hermann. It certainly doesn’t matter to the children.

Friday, May 22, 2009

On the way out of Hermann, we stopped at the Battocletti’s Bake Shop. My goodness. I got what I thought was a crumb cake. It was but unlike the crumb cake I was familiar with, it was filled with custard. The apple cake likewise, was filled with baked apples. We both agreed this may have been the best ever bakery we’ve been to. Also bought a loaf of dark rye bread for sandwiches. A guess we’re lucky we didn’t stop to eat the goodies until about mid-morning. By that time we were almost an hour away from Hermann. Too far to go back for more. 
We continued to Jefferson City, the capitol of MO, and the City campground at Binder Park. A very nice park and campground. Full hookups for only $14/night. An excellent value. Last night we paid $30 in Hermann. Camping out West in Forest Service, National Park and Corp of Engineers campgrounds has spoiled us. If a campground costs more then $10 to $15/night we think that’s too much.
Our friends Alex & Brenda Rutchka pulled in today. On Sunday we’re going to the Escapade together. Meeting up with two other couples in Sedalia.