Day 084 - La Monte to Warrensburg MO

Temps were in the 50's and 60's  under an overcast sky. Walking against a 25 mph headwind if it would have been any cooler I could have used a jacket. 

On the way to drop me off we made a short detour to the gate to Whiteman Air Force Base. There was  B-52D Stratofortress on static display. This plan was the workhorse bomber during the Vietnam War. 

Just as I started walking I passed a round red silo with an open top that had a large tree growing out of it. It appeared to be strung with Christmas lights. The were a number of planes from Whiteman Air Force Base flying training missions again today. At the end of the walk there was an auto repair shop that had a pink car mounted on top of a utility pole. 

Thanks to Jack Miles editor of the Warrensburg Daily Star Journal for doing an interview and buying me lunch. Thanks also to Elyn Hirni a senior at University of Central Missouri (UCM) for doing an interview. 

Trivia answer:

The Katy Trail is the country's longest Rails-to-Trails trail at 240 miles. A large portion of the trail follows Lewis and Clark's route along the Missouri River. 

The nickname "Katy" comes from the phonetic pronunciation of 'KT' in the Missouri, Kansas, Texas railroad's abbreviated name, MKT. Since the trail covers much of the distance between St Louis and Kansas City I took a hard look to see if I could use any of the trail to get off US 50 but it just didn't work out. 

Day 083 - Sedalia to La Monte MO

Temps were in the 60's  and 70's under an overcast sky. 

Scott Joplin lived in Sedalia as a boy. There is a park dedicated to him. Each year they have a Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in June.  I love ragtime music. I'm here too early. 

Sedalia is also the location of the beautifully restored Katy Depot which serves as museum and visitors center. 

I walked by a Tyson processing plant for chickens and turkeys. I was stopped by a gentleman wanting to know if I wanted a ride then gave me a donation. 

Towards the end of the walk I had a private air show put on by the B-2 Stealth Bombers out of Whiteman Air Force Base.  I can't think of any plane I've seen that maneuvers quite like the B-2.  I then passed an old garage with a mural on it imploring you to buy a 50's Chevy on Highway 50. 

Thanks to Dennis Rich of the Sedalia Democrat who did an interview before I started the walk. 

Trivia Question: Katy Trail State Park passes thru the Katy Depot. What is Katy Trail State Park known for?

Day 082 - Otterville to Sedalia MO

Temps started pleasantly in the 60's  under an overcast sky that threatened rain all day.  It sprinkled multiple times but never enough to require me to put on my rain gear. The sun came out behind a high haze toward the end with temps topping out in the low 80's.

On the east side of Sedalia is

Show Me Fabrication Inc which makes custom trailers for fairs. Most of their customers are local but they have made trailers to be used all across the US and even Canada

The Missouri State Fair is held in Sedalia in August. The Fairgrounds is very impressive. 

There was a series of storms that passed thru the region late last night. It knocked out the Internet service where I was staying. This prevented me from posting Sunday's blog until 5:30 AM Central Time which was after midnight at Googles headquarters in California. That is why Sunday's walk Day 081 has Monday's date. Googles date time stamp is something I cannot change. 

Day 081 - Tipton to Otterville MO

Temps started in the70's under an overcast sky and ended near 90 when the sun came out at the end of the day.  Positioning my car and me was a crazy exercise in trying not to run over the couple dozen turtles we encountered trying to cross the road. 

I started two miles east of Tipton and arrived at St. Andrews Church in Tipton  for 9 AM Mass just as it started raining. I met Becky Holiday of the Tipton Times. She introduced me to her Mom. Becky's sister Therese Vela is an ovarian cancer survivor who lives in Texas. Becky took a picture in front of the church and I was back underway. The rain had stopped. It cooled things of for an hour or so. 

As I left Tipton I passed the "eight ball" water tower. There used to be a pool table factory located there. I passed a number of wheat fields. 

I did the last third of the walk on old US 50. Just before entering Otterville in Brownfield Roadside Park there was a plaque  commemorating the July 1876 James Gang robbery of a Missouri Pacific train. They got away with over $20,000. 

Yesterday I forgot to express thanks to the gentleman in the California McDonald's for buying me breakfast and the customers  who made  donations.  

Day 080 - McGirk to Tipton MO

Temps were in the 60's thru the low 80's on a sunny muggy day. I walked down old Route 50 for the first three hours passing thru California. 

The terrain was rolling hills. I passed a turkey farm and a Honey Suckle White processing plant. I walked past a number of large corn fields that were knee high. 

In the it's a small world department when we were staging the cars yesterday a man walking his dog said that he was from Phoenixville which is five minutes from where I live. He said he was part of the group that formed the idea for the Blobfest. This is where movie goers recreate the scene where everyone runs out of the remodeled Colonial Theatre as they did in the 1958 Steve McQueen horror film the Blob. 

Joan's Dad was from there. She and her parents lived there for a few years until they bought their house. She remembered as a toddler walking across the high bridge to the shopping district on Bridge Street. 

Today's public service announcement is that to celebrate National End of School Day on May 23 Sonic is selling corn dogs for 50 cents. 

The blog went over 25, 000 page views today. After the United States the next five countries with the most page views in order are Russia, Germany, France, United Kingdom and the Philippines.  Keep up the good work telling everyone that you know that might be interested to tell everyone they know. 

Day 079 - St Martins to McGirk MO

Temps were in the 60's & 70's. The day started overcast and became partly cloudy.  I walked down old Route 50 which had a lot less traffic. I only had to go on Route 50 for one short stretch.  I walked by a number of nice houses that had private lakes. I walked by a stone shop that had samples. The road went along parts of the AMTRAK line between Jefferson City and Sedalia. I saw one train go by. 

KRCG played the interview last night and again this morning. It has been posted to the blog.  There must have been a dozen people that told me they'd seen the interview. When I went into the Dudley Restraunt in St Martins the staff and clients bought me a coffee and a bacon & egg sandwich and made a donation.

A cancer survivor stopped me made a donation and offered to call ahead and have lunch waiting for me at Tammy's Restraunt in Centertown. I told her thanks but I could not eat that much while walking. When I got to Tammy's the staff wanted to buy me lunch. I took a sweet tea. 

A number of people honked and waved. On person asked how far I was walking. When I told him California he though I meant California, MO which I am walking thru tomorrow. 

Missouri is the first state that I've walked in that has no mile markers on US highways. This makes estimating the finish time each day more difficult. I walked by the McGirk post office which may be the smallest one I've seen. 

I ran into another turtle today that was determined the grass was greener on the other side of the road. For the last twenty minutes of the walk a black labrador decided he was my best buddy and chased after me. He crisscrossed the street numerous times. I had to play traffic cop warning cars that he was there. I thought I lost him once when he jumped into a lake to cool off but he came charging back. When I got to the end of the walk he ran into the garage of the shop where I had parked the car. I had to help the owner get him out. 

Day 078 - Jefferson City to St Martins MO

Temps were in the 70's. The day started partly cloudy and became overcast.  Even though it was cooler it was more humid then the past couple days. 

Today's walk was almost entirely within Jefferson City.  I walked past many state government buildings and thru Lincoln University where the very impressive Inman E. Page Library was located. 

As I entered town there were multiple billboards advertising the 20th Annual Olean Testicle Festival to be held on June 1, sponsored by the Jaycees. It is billed as the most in-demand event at the Lake of the Ozarks with live  music, crafts, raffles, etc, and most importantly – fried turkey testicles.

I walked past Corwin Honda. Yesterday I left my car there to do a routine oil change.  Not only did they perform the oil change for free they positioned me 25 miles away in Linn to start yesterday's walk then picked me up from 10 miles away when I was finished and returned me to the dealership. Talk about service!

Thanks to Kon Kostin for doing a taped interview to be run on the evening news at KRCG-TV CBS 13. 

The reason there have been fewer pictures posted to Facebook the past couple day was due to weak cell reception east of Jefferson City.