The Lewis and Clark Trail and the Wonderful Clydesdale Horses

Our mini tour of Missouri has come to an end and we will head straight to Custer State Park on Tues., May 28th as we start our volunteer position June 5th.

Missouri gave us lots of fun and relaxation.  We visited the Arch as mentioned earlier. Doug particularly enjoyed the museum depicting the construction of the Arch.  We then followed a bit of the Lewis and Clark trail and the point where L&C departed into the wilderness.  What a great stop.  The museum abounds with information of the exploration including a 55 foot keelboat with the 30 ft. sail in full flight.

The backside of the boat is a cut-a-way so you can see living quarters and how equipment and supplies were stored.

43 men prepared and trained for five months before their departure.

Driving the trail a little further we came across a tower of 150 ft. that overlooks the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.  What a sight.

On the grounds there is a garden containing many spicies of plants discovered by these brave adventurous men.

We then drove the L&C trail for about 100 miles - what beautiful farm lands and rolling hills.  Visited several State Parks and fell in love with a very old town - Arrow Rock, MO.  Barb said 'Let's move here!'  It 'aint' going to happen, too old to move again.

May 27, 2013

The day started with torrential rain, at noon it looked like 10PM.  Our tour of the Clydesdale Ranch was scheduled for 2pm.  The drive to the ranch was awful, fog and rain, it was really hard to see.  Got to the rance and to our relief a lot of it was going to be inside.

The first thing they did was bring out Evan, one of the draft horses.  It was just awsome the way he just stood there and let everyone pet him. There size is incredible.

They took us to the shower room where they where giving Evan a bath.  Unfortunately those pics did not turn out.

Then we got to see a baby that was just born on the 20th, it is just 7 days old - how cute it that!!!

Out side they have the big stallion that has fathered most of these babies.  They breed about 40 babies each year.  

Also outside, there were three pregnant mares, one of them is due any moment, we were really hoping she would have her baby while we were there!  No such luck.

TWhat a wonderful day.  I recommend the tour to anyone that has a chance to go. Fortunately for us the rain stopped toward the end of the tour so we got some pics outside.  To say goodbye we  were treated to a free beer!  What else would Busch give out?!?!

Today we are headed for Custer. Stopping at one of our favorite campgrounds Basswoods Resort just northwest of Kansas City, MO. Only about 200 miles today, winds are picking up again.

Will be back when we have something to say.