The Quest For Fall Colors

OUR QUEST FOR COLOR:

"I have miles and miles ahead of me, tales to listen to, time to spend/ Up ahead, the road is bending; wonder what's around the bend.”  - Charles Kuralt

10/17/18

Greetings we are on the road with our camper heading east to find Fall Colors. 

Sadly, Sitka, one of The Boys (our Malamutes), passed away due to a tragic accident. We located a new partner in crime and his name is Koda. He is a 15 week old Malamute Puppy and is a really good traveler. We took three days to travel to pick him up and thus cut our Fall Color trip preparation time down to one day. 

We spent 10/16 getting the camper together, loaded with food, supplies, etc etc. and were close to being ready to hit the road on the morn of 10/17. 

We were up early preparing the house for departure and loading the last of the supplies to the camper. We loaded up The Boys and were off to find fall color. These first couple days will be mostly driving and our first real destination is my parents house located in Bucklin, Missouri. 

The journey on 10/17 was very straight forward with just a couple stops to get The Boys a break. I must say both Kenai and Koda sleep 99.9% of the time while we are driving down the highway. 

We made a quick stop at the Cabelas Store in Sydney, Nebraska, then a rest area and a Fuel stop in Kearney Nebraska. 

Our destination for this night is Mormon Island State Recreation Area located near Grand Island, Nebraska. The fee to camp here is $20 with electricity, there is water available and a dump station. There are nice shower rooms available which are welcome  after a day of driving. 

We pulled in and did a very rapid set up as we plan to get on the road early on 10/18. I made us a quick meal of ham and potatoes with green pepper and onions. The coffee pot was set up and The Boys walked. 

There were some colors here at the camp ground.  FYI - Mormon Island is named for the winter stopover used by Mormon emigrants heading westward, Mormon Island State Recreation Area still offers comfort and conveniences for campers and other travelers on Interstate 80, as part of Nebraska's unique "Chain of Lakes." The first of these areas developed was Mormon Island. This area and companion Windmill SRA near Gibbon are the most intensely developed, because of their ready access to travelers. 

10/18/18

Woke at 0400 and started the coffee. Koda has been very good about sleeping through the night and is not big enough to jump on the bed with us. 

Soon Lynn and The Boys were stirring and it was time to get out for the morning walk. The skies are clear and the temperature crisp as we shuffled through the fallen leaves. 

Our route today will continue across Nebraska into Iowa and then South to Missouri. Not many stops planned as we are trying to get to my folks place  ASAP. My sisters family are there awaiting our arrival. 

Route 36 across Missouri has many ties to well known people and events in US History. St. Joseph, Missouri is the starting point of the short lived Pony Express, as well as the death place of Missouri Folk Hero Jesse James. One can visit the Pony Express Stables and the house where Jesse James was shot in the back as he adjusted a picture on the wall.  

Traveling East on Route 36, you come to Hamilton, Missouri, the home of John Cash Penney, yes the founder of the JC Penney Co. Also the hometown of Jenny Doan, who has built a large quilting-related business, Missouri Star Quilt Co., and Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of fame  baseball player Zack Wheat.

Next is Laclede, Missouri, birthplace and home of John Joseph “Black Jack” Pershing who was a senior United States Army officer. His most famous post was when he served as the commander of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) on the Western Front in World War I, 1917–18.

Santa Fe Train Station in Marceline

Next one comes to Marceline, Missouri.  For my Disney Friends, Bucklin, MO is very near Marceline, Missouri and the family farm is just a few miles North of Marceline, Missouri, where Walt Disney’s family moved to when Walt was a young boy. Here he formed an idea of the idillic concept for Main Street USA found at all Disney theme parks. The community of Marceline has put a lot of effort into the The Walt Disney Hometown Museum which is located in the restored Santa Fe Railroad Depot. Opened in 2001,  the museum houses a collection of memorabilia from the Disney Family farm where they lived from 1905 to 1909 along with Walt’s return to the town in 1946.

Artifacts include personal family letters and photos, Disney's wooden school desk and a recording of him asking his parents about their life. The museum houses the only remaining components of the only Disneyland ride to be operated outside of Disneyland, the Autopia. The museum also houses artifacts from the town's railroad history.

In 2015, the museum launched a project to recreate the Autopia attraction that had operated in the Walt Disney Municipal Park south of town. The miniature car ride was donated by Disney when the attraction was dismantled at Disneyland. The town operated the ride from 1966 until rising insurance costs and a lack of replacement parts forced its closure in 1977. A single restored car is on display at the museum and was the centerpiece of a  project to finance the reconstruction of the ride.

While in Bucklin, we will have chores to do, helping my folks get ready for winter. 

One of the ponds on the farm