Kansas City/Independence, Missouri

First of all, welcome aboard to a new "Follower."  THANK YOU to JB for joining my group.  I appreciate the attention you give to reading my blog relating to our fulltime RV lifestyle.  I hope you will find something of interest and leave a comment or two letting me know if you like what you read.

After a late start Saturday, we arrived at our RV park in Independence, Missouri around 7:30 pm.  I'll post a review of this little park in a day or two.  We will be here for a 5-day visit. 

Thanks to Kenny and Angela for their kindness in offering suggestions during our stay here.  Kenny says to be sure to eat some good Kansas City BBQ while we are in town.  We'll be taking that suggestion!  We have a number of things on our list of things to see during the next 5 days.  We will be busy.

Today, we opted to sleep in and turned our alarm clock off.  We still woke up before 7:00 am.  We had some more rain here this morning but we still were able to get our 1 hour walk in before going to our favorite spot.....McDonald's...for breakfast.

Right near our RV park is the National Frontier Trails Museum and we went over for a look at it this afternoon.  This small museum was really filled with a lot of exhibits relating to the exploration by Lewis and Clark and the pioneers traveling the Santa Fe Trail, the Oregon Trail and the California Trail.  After viewing a 18-minute video we were free to wander the museum and take all the photos we wanted.

This display panel detailed the route of Lewis and Clark as directed by Thomas Jefferson.  It took the explorers 9 months to prepare for this journey of discovery which helped expand our nation.

Independence, Missouri was one of the "jumping-off" points for Western exploration and for the pioneers seeking new opportunities in the West.  According to the details we read in the museum, about 90% of the pioneers emigrating West survived the arduous journey.  The pioneers faced formidable conditions.  There were Indian attacks, deserts to cross, rugged mountains to cross, illness and harsh weather.  Within the museum were many journal pages to read that were written by children and adults during their journey.  These provided a lot of details on what these brave souls encountered along the trails.

The museum brochure has this to say about this epic part of America's history, "This extraordinary saga is believed to be the greatest voluntary, overland mass migration in the history of the world." 

Thanks for stopping by today, but before you go please keep a good thought for a fellow blogger who has faced some difficulties.  Phyllis writes The Easts Head West and I hope you will check out her blog.  They have recently faced residency problems, an ailing parent that requires their care and a run in with a cement barrier in their 5th wheel.  Phyllis could use a virtual hug right about now!

Until next time....so long for now!