Road Trip to Maine - Still rolling along 08-17-16

I have to look at the calendar to  see what day of the week it is!  There is a sameness, you know.  I guess I would read someone's travel blog to see if something exciting happens.  But you may want to stop now, because nothing exciting has happened yet on this road trip.  I got off the highway in Salina, KS, to find a quilt shop.  With the help of the telephone ap "WAZE" I found the address, but there was no sign of a quilt shop.  It gave me a chance to see the sad state of downtown Salina, which is like so many downtown areas across the country.  There are boarded up windows, lots of for rent or lease signs, and nobody on the sidewalks.  Anyway, I retraced my route and got back on I-70.  I am in Independence, MO, tonight where it was 93F at 6pm and a little more humid than Colby, KS, but not bad.

There have been a number of times that I felt that I was going to drive off the edge of the earth.  Just looks like a road to nowhere. 

 

There are passing cars to look at - or cars that I am passing.

There are quite a few Wind Farms in Kansas - these are the huge turbines and they were not moving very much.

And there are trucks that pass, or, more likely, that I pass.

There are occasional clumps of cottonwood trees growing in a streambed

I had just been thinking about Ruth McDowell when I saw this off ramp sign.  Spooky.

This is my lap.  I ought to put this picture on the refrigerator door.  Or maybe on the wall over the bathroom scales.  This was an accidental picture - made me laugh.

And then I arrived  in Kansas City, MO, where the traffic signs are notoriously misleading.  Especially trying to follow I-70 over the river.

 

That white arrow that points straight up is I-70 and I carefully lined up in the center lane.  But the center lane divides and I divided the wrong way and ended up going north instead of east.  So, I got off at the next exit, went under the highway, took the ramp going back the other direction.  Over the bridge back into Kansas where I took the next off ramp and went over the highway and back on the onramp going east.  This time I got in the right lane and made it onto I-70.  I'm sure that most of you will be familiar with this exercise done somewhere in the world.  I  believe I did it once before, maybe in 2011 when I drove this route.  I had not however, done it in rush hour traffic at 5:15pm.  Not as bad as the 405 in Los Angeles, but bad enough.  

There is Kansas City, MO, on the other side of the Missouri River.  The traffic wasn't so bad until I got on the other side of downtown, then it was stop and go almost to Independence, only 17 miles inside the Missouri border. 

 

Tomorrow, Missouri and Illinois, maybe even Indiana.  Just six days left

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On-the-Road to Kansas City, MO 05-27-11

Here is a view I rarely have!  I am riding in the backseat of Ruth Power's sedan and her husband Charlie is driving.  I missed the side view mirrors and the brake pedal, but Charlie is a good driver and I was comfortable.

In the past I was surprised about these layers of rock under the top layer of soil.  They show in the road cuts all along the highway. 

We were en route to the Arabia Steamboat Museum in Kansas City, MO. http://www.1856.com/ It was amazing and I enjoyed it very much.  Arabia hit a submerged snag (a walnut tree) and sank in 1856.  It was found and excavated in 1990's by five local men.  The steamboat was carrying supplies up the Missouri River to the settlers all along the river up into South Dakota, so there was a little bit, or a lot, of everything needed to build homes and communities in the "wilderness".   Pictures are allowed without a flash and I took many of many different things.  I'm posting images of "sewing" things because most of those who read this Blog will appreciate them.

Every item displayed has been frozen after being removed from the ship uncovered in 45 feet of mud and silt in a cornfield which was once the path of the river.  As time and workers are available the items are cleaned and dried and some are put on display - it is somewhat like an old fashioned general store.  The guide said they have about ten more years of recovery and conservation of the "stuff" still froze.  Clockwise above starting from top left are many types of buttons including glass from Austria and printed china from the US, a bowl metal buttons and buckles, half of a bowl of many sizes of needles, thimbles, hat pins, ink bottles (don't know about the taller bottle), gold pen holders (the old fashioned nibs fit in one end and were dipped into the ink bottles).   

Here is a closer view of the buttons in the bowl at top left. 

Of course, those people out on the prairies needed hats and there were stacks and stacks of them.  All have been frozen, thawed, dried, cleaned and reshaped.   As a be-hatted person I can appreciate this!

There were many containers of beads to use as trade with the native Americans and for ladies decorating hats (and quilts?).  This display was about the other items the natives wanted in trade.

We were there for about 2-1/2 hours and I could have looked for several more hours, I think.  But I was about dead on my feet and so were Ruth and Charlie.  We refreshed with some ice cream and headed back to Carbondale, KS, about an hour and 20 minute drive today.   Just a few sprinkles of rain along the way.

 

Of course, we had to visit the facilities.  And I had to take a picture of this cute little soap dispenser - and myself in the mirror.  Do I look tired?  I am exhausted tonight and am going to bed as soon as I post this Blog.  It is only 10:30pm!