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Missouri.... heartland......

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Cousin Jack
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I love Missouri..... I have vague roots in Missouri; two Goudges in the Missouri Home Guard during the Civil War, and the other side of the family came West from Missouri during the great migration.

This is a hot and sultry land, but probably not as hot and sultry as what was in Frank and Jesse "Dingus" James' hearts when they rode these hills and dales.... talk about PTSD! Those boys had a hard time settling down after the Civil War. I like pistols and have several, three for defense and one light Ruger 22/45 with a Red Dot sight that I use for non-serious competiiton. But Frank and Jesse carried heavy pistols, and shot them with heavy purpose.... Poor Missouri.... neither north nor south, filled with blood and struggle. Hard to hold a barn dance when all the men were back from Gettysburg, Chickamauga, and Fredericksburg, some on one side and some on the other.... poor Missouri....

A good route through Missouri isfrom St Joseph on 36 east (wide, smooth, and empty), The VFW Memorial Highway, to Macon, Missouri. Then take Highway 63 south, then Highway 50 east to Drake and then Highway 19 south through the Ozark Scenic River country..... beautiful roads......

On highway 36, within minutes, you ride through the hometowns of Black Jack Pershing and Walt Disney! Talk about contrasts..... men of different worlds....

I love Missouri: Frank and Jesse James, Black Jack Pershing, and Walt Disney.... I just love it!
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The Lake
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Now you're talkin' CJ. My home state is Missouri. I don't live far from where Cole Younger is burried--one of the riders with the James gang. His tomb stone has on it. "CSA" for Confederate States of America.

We don't have any mountains, but we do have some mighty fine lakes, and a smattering of people who have put the war behind them.

Chuck
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johnmac
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Thanks for the kind words about Missouri, Cousin Jack! :waving: I've lived here all my life. Other places are fun to visit, but this is home.

John
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da_bull
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...and you didnt stop by my house? :(
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flashya2
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Wow, I wish I'd known! I would have loved to meet CJ! I'm here in Chillicothe, 74 miles east of St. Joseph on 36. Drop south on I-35 to Kearney, visit the Frank & Jesse James home, learn of the bloodshed on that very property; visit Jesse's gravesite, and the museum on the homesite, which features Jesse's original coffin, his boots, pistols, rifle, etc. About ten miles south, in Liberty, MO, visit the site of the first peacetime bank robbery, by the James boys, appearing just as it did so many years ago. And in St. Joseph, visit Jesse's last home, see the hole in the wall from the pistol shot the ended his life. Lots of great history in MO....still would have loved to meet CJ!
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Winger77
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Dang,,,,,,,,, I was looking at Rt-36 when I was making plans last year for my trip. But decided to stick with I-70. I will say, I did enjoy passing through MO.
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SpiderBob
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Been there a couple of times, beautiful place for sure. Family spread out all over the US, now my new family, TGF, spread out over the world. Keep them coming CJ, I always end up with a smile on my fact and gratitude in my heart when I hear of the wonderful travels.
Ride safe.
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RA72
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CJ,
Glad you enjoyed your little foray in Heav--Missouri.
Much better to cross on 36 Hwy that to take the supper slab (I-70). Hiway 24 is also a nice trip. If you come south hwy 60 is interesting travel.
I do hope you have a great adventure on down the road. Enjoy Kentucky.

John kb0ou
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Cousin Jack
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Red and I spent a night in Eminence, Mo, a little town in the Ozark River Country, a town burnedto the ground by the guerilla bands (Quantrill, Bloody Bill Anderson?) that roamed the area during the Civil War. (I guess the place had some Union sympathies). Eminence is a tourist center now -- rafting and canoeing ... with some cool old restaurants in buildings dating from 1868 and a spiffy little $50 a night motel. We liked it there.

Eminence is in Shannon County, which named after George "Peg Leg" Shannon, one of the original members of the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery. He was the youngest member of the Corps, and was continually getting lost on them! Many of the members of the Corps of Discovery came from the Missouri area.... tough boys.... walk and paddle two thousand plus miles across an unexplored nation to the Pacific Ocean, spend the winter on an ocean shore that may as well been on the moon, and then walk and paddle back! Think of it! They were studs, by any measure anywhere.....

Red and I were utterly charmed by the little town's ancient cemetery....Some of thestones are so old that the names and dates can no longer be read. Beautiful old place. But it does give you pause, or should: you should ride now, and seize the day... because someday you won't be able to ride, and someday not only will you be dead and buried..... someday someone might not even be able to read about who you were and when you lived...... get on your bike! Now! Live and ride, my friends, live and ride!
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