We headed for FL on 09/03/2008 as we arrived at Oakwood RV Park in Clear Lake, IA for a week of rest. ON 09/10/2008 we traveled to Cutty’s Resort in Grimes, IA. We visited the IA Capitol in Des Moines, IA on 09/14/2008. The current Capitol is the third building to be used as the Capitol. It was built between 1871 and 1886. This magnificent building represents, both inside and out, one of the nation’s finest examples of 19th century architecture. The picture is of the IA Capitol’s west side.
On 09/17/2008 we drove to Holiday Lakes Resort near Odessa, MO. We visited the National Frontier Trails Museum and the Chicago and Alton 1879 Railroad Depot in Independence, MO on 09/20/2008. The National Frontier Trails Museum is a museum, interpretive center, and research library dedicated to telling the rich history of America’s principle western trails. The picture is of a Conestoga Freight Wagon.
The Depot was moved to its current location and restored during the decade from 1992 to 2002. The two-story depot contains three rooms on the first floor which are the waiting room, stationmaster’s room, and baggage room. On the second floor, four rooms, which were formerly the stationmaster’s residence, are the kitchen, dining room, bedroom, and the parlor. Each of these rooms is furnished in the period circa 1879. A separate display room contains C & A artifacts. There are hundreds of C & A collectables found throughout the depot. The picture is of the Chicago and Alton 1879 Railroad Depot.
Then on 09/21/2008 we visited Harry S. Truman National Historic Site, His Home in Independence, MO and the 1933 Independence Courthouse. Harry Truman’s story is one of hope & frustration, choice & chance. As President, he took the US from its traditional isolationism into the age of international involvement. Visitors experience the surroundings that Harry Truman knew from his formative years as a 22-year-old youth of modest ambition through his retirement and death at age 88 as the former 33rd president of the United States. The picture is of Harry S, Truman’s House at 219 Delaware Street.
Dedicated September 7, 1933, the new building in Independence incorporated significant remnants from prior models back to the original 1836 brick courthouse. During the remodeling, County Court sessions (akin to today’s County Legislature) were relocated to the 1828 log courthouse, which had been restored in 1916. It has been described as the end-result of the 1933 remodeling as, “a pleasing and elegant structure inspired by Independence Hall and resembling a Colonial Virginia meetinghouse.” The Picture is of the 1933 Courthouse’s south side.
We drove to Wildwood Resort near Portland, MO on 09/24/2008. Then on 09/27/2008, we drove to Saint Louis, MO to see the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. The Gateway Arch reflects St. Louis’ role in the Westward Expansion of the United States during the nineteenth century. The park is a memorial to Thomas Jefferson’s role in opening the West, to the pioneers who helped shape its history, and to Dred Scott who sued for his freedom in the Old Courthouse. Construction of the Arch began in 1963, and was completed on October 28, 1965, for a total cost of less than $15 million. The Arch has foundations sunk 60 feet into the ground and is built to withstand earthquakes and high winds; it sways up to 1 inch in a 20-mph wind and is built to sway up to 18 inches. A Grand Staircase leads from the St. Louis levee up to the base of the Gateway Arch. The picture is of the Gateway Arch.
