I'm Going to Rip My Hair Out! (Or yours)

Another nod to a great roadside attraction: 

The American Farm Heritage Museum in Greenville, Mo

I continue to head west.  I am making great time, and plan to be able to hit St Joseph, MO by late afternoon, enough time to make a slide through the Pony Express Museum and to snap some shots of various sites that related to that short lived method of mail delivery.

Best laid plans.

Cruising west along Rt 70 in Columbia, Mo a guy in a blue pick up gets up next to me and is making gestures.  I look in all my mirrors, and what do I see?  A smoking tire from the trailer on the drivers side.  I immediately start moving over and slowing down, and that's when I see the tire start to flop around.  Like all not so good but well ruined tires do. 

I call the person who is responsible for the trailer, the one I am towing it out for.  Who calls U Haul.  Then I call U Haul, and trailer owner again.  And the Columbia Police since I am in a dangerous place.  And we call again, and the police call.  Everyone gets a different story. 

And on top of that, the radio says it is 95 degrees and climbing AND the heat index is more like 105.  And they caution people to stay out of it.  And I am broken down on the side of a busy highway surrounded by blacktop.

Two make a LONG story shorter, two guys in a U Haul truck finally show up to change the tire.  They were told by dispatch that there was an "abandoned" trailer on the highway.  I follow them back the the local UHaul where they check the entire trailer over.  They tell me the load is making the trailer box lay on the back springs.  They also tell me the trailer is flagged as 'overdue.'  Oh, great, just what I want to hear.  This whole fiasco ends up taking something like close to two hours.

These guys tell me that dispatch for breakdowns in a joke.  They are not happy, since they seemed to get b--------ed out every call they make. 

It's getting hotter.  And the cicadas are out, and dive bombing at us.  Yucky things, the size of small softballs, OK, VERY big moths.  Scary looking. 

I am finally on my way west again.  BUT there is no way I can make it to the museum in St Joe before it closes.  I decided the head that way anyway, find a place to stay and visit in the am.

HUGE flooding of  the Missouri River west of Columbia.  I swear the river is 1/2 to 3/4 mile wide.  They are talking about blowing levees.

I head to Kansas City, which strikes me as a very dirty city (sorry, Kansas city) and start heading north on Rt 29 towards St. Joe.

I see the signs for Independence, and the National Frontier Trails Center.  Many of the emigrants heading West left from Independence. 

I pass a few casinos sitting on the Missouri.  They are also in trouble and I have heard on the radio that they floated some out of the area.  I also pass the final assembly plant for Harley Davidsons.  They have tours, if interested.

These are the original stables where the Poly Express ran out of. 
Now it houses the museum. 
Bet there would have been some neat things in there is I could have SEEN THEM!
The Pony Express ran from April, 1860 to October 1861, only 18 months. 
They were put out of business by the railroads and then telegraphs.

Statue across the Street from the Museum

OK, this is just so DARN Cute!

"That dirty little coward, that shot Mr Howard and laid poor Jessie in his grave."
That's from the song, the story is that Jessie was straightening a picture and Bob Ford shot him in the back.
Thought he would be a hero for killing Jessie, didn't work out that way.

OK, crappy picture taken from the truck.  But I couldnt' stop.
The Santa Fe Trail and the Pony Express followed the same route along here in St Joe area.

It's after 6 when I pull into St Joe.  I make a pass through the downtown area, and ride by the Pony Express Museum, snap some shots.  I also take a ride by the house that Jessie James lived in when he was shot (by the coward) Bob Ford.  See the pictures above. Then I look for a place to stay.

No idea why on a Monday night, the dozen odd hotels in the St Joe area would NOT have an (accessible)  non smoking room left!  since I am towing and have tons of stuff, I can not just park this truck anywhere.  The closest room I can find is 35 miles away.  Heck, that's just a waste of time and fuel.  So, I make the decision to get back on the road, and travel until I am tired, do the sleep on the way thing that truckers everywhere do. 

So off I head towards Topeka.  All in all a pretty crappy day.  Makes me glad I bought that bundle of sage at the Bucksnort.  I am sure going to smudge this truck when I get to my trailer destination!