I’m sure you know something about camping. Surrounded by the sights and sounds of nature, you watch the sparks from a campfire drift up toward the stars, right? How about no campfire, no stars and the sounds of a freeway, airport, and train track all next door, drifting through your dreams at night? Right, city camping.
We found a spot online on the outskirts of Kansas City that looked good in the photos. Well, we’ve all had that experience of going somewhere based on photos from several decades back. Not only was it dreary and crowded, but the check-out time was noon. Campgrounds are generally 3:00 or 4:00 p.m. This owner claimed that much of their business is people, like us, going to the Truman Library in Independence. It is about twenty minutes away and opens at 9:00 in the morning. So if one is there when the library opens, one has about two hours for one’s looksee and then one must head back, hook up, and head out of the park before one’s camper turns to a pumpkin at 12:00 sharp. The owner made it clear there would be no fudging. Like she didn’t have twenty other empty spots and had a line of campers waiting to get in at noon. Right.
We found a spot online on the outskirts of Kansas City that looked good in the photos. Well, we’ve all had that experience of going somewhere based on photos from several decades back. Not only was it dreary and crowded, but the check-out time was noon. Campgrounds are generally 3:00 or 4:00 p.m. This owner claimed that much of their business is people, like us, going to the Truman Library in Independence. It is about twenty minutes away and opens at 9:00 in the morning. So if one is there when the library opens, one has about two hours for one’s looksee and then one must head back, hook up, and head out of the park before one’s camper turns to a pumpkin at 12:00 sharp. The owner made it clear there would be no fudging. Like she didn’t have twenty other empty spots and had a line of campers waiting to get in at noon. Right.
So, enough of that. That place goes on our “Do Not Return” list. (It also was the most expensive place we stayed in eight days.) But the Truman Museum and Library is well worth a visit and we will go back. One of the things I really like about Presidential libraries is the wonderful job they do of depicting the times during which the President served. Truman was the first president I was aware of, Roosevelt having died when I was two. Growing up I knew about the Berlin airlift, a-bomb tests, McCarthy, and the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement, even if I didn’t understand the significance of those events. The picture shows almost 600 small planes hanging from the ceiling to symbolize the average number of daily flights into Berlin daily during the 15 months of the airlift. We could also identify with the displays of consumer goods and the background strains of swing music from the early Fifties. The photos of war-torn Europe brought back memories of refugee families (DPs) who moved to our small town and the ones of Korea reminded me of my Uncle Donald being transported somewhere far away and scary.
At 12:01, we headed east along I70 and then up to Mark Twain Lake, not far from Hannibal, Missouri. It rained. And it rained. We drove out of it for awhile and managed to set up here under cloudy skies and have a little fire before heading inside for an encore buffet: everything left in the fridg before we head home. This is an awesome place and the fall color is at its peak. During supper, it started to rain and continued all night. Sounds like we will be packing up in the rain and driving home in it. If you are trick-or-treating tonight dressed as the Tin Woodman, better take your oilcan. But it’s been a great trip.
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