Day 8 - Platte City, Missouri

Today, May 29th, 2012, we went to St. Joseph, MO.  Only 33 of us met the bus, this morning at 7:30, to get on board for another Adventure.  10 participants decided to stay in and rest or catch up on RV or personal homework.

After a 45 minute, comfortable ride, we arrived at The Pony Express Museum.  Wow, it all started in St. Joseph.  Kay was our guide and she really knew everything, “covered-a-lot-of-territory” with pride and dealt with the facts of this short lived but very dangerous and exciting, business adventure.  The Pony Express only lasted 18 months.  The young men and horses who “hauled the mail” as fast as they could were amazing and the operation took outstanding coordination.  Horses were switched every 10 miles and they rode day and night.   Why didn’t it last?  Once telegraph lines were installed, getting information from Missouri to California, or even coast to coast was faster and cheaper. 

Ada, Lil, Carolyn, Donna, June, Dick, Roger, 

Jerry, Jim, and Phil listening to Kay,

 our guide

Establishing the west and creating The United States of America was really an accomplishment to great to measure, sometimes.  Seeing and knowing more about how it was done is fabulous.  Everyone on the tour loved it.

In between locations, we always notice beautiful old buildings rehabbed to perfection, beautiful churches, gardens and flowers, bricked walkways and all because of pride and respect!

We then visited the Wyeth-Tootle Museum (don’t you love these names), the Patee House Museum (could have stayed for hours) where they star-lighted vintage cars, a locomotive, a gorgeous stage coach, portraits of all of the good-guys & bad-guys we had read about during our childhood and exactly how pioneer people and their “offspring” lived and worked.  They even had a replica of Jessie James home.  Whew, we also heard the other side of that story.  Missouri folk do not speak badly of Jessie and his family!

Central Overland Express Stage Coach

Then we enjoyed a delicious Bar B.Q lunch (family style) at Bandanas

So as not to end the day without a bang, on the way home, Phil made it possible for us to visit the Stetson Hat Factory Outlet. Many of us bought super hats and will look very grand for the rest of the tour.  Right!

Bettye Chaplin  -  #8  -  Marathon, FLA Keys

Jim and Bettye Chaplin