Of the many agricultural entities we observed and interacted with in our travels across America we found that they all had a common thread. They all showed pride in what they were producing and were not afraid of the hard work it took to make it happen. One example of this is a family dairy farm in Donnellson, Iowa named Hinterland Dairy. Hinterland is a multi-generational dairy farm with many family members involved in the care of the cows, growing the feed for the cows, the milking processes, making the cheese and marketing of the dairy products. On the day we visited we were invited to observe them making cheese curds. After they completed a batch we were given a sample and they were delicious!
Leaving Donnellson, Iowa we traveled into Missouri to the Corp of Engineers campground at Mark Twain Lake. It is a beautiful camping area with large camp sites near the lake. We were able to get a full hookup site which was convenient since we were camping there for two nights. After we were set up Ashlea gathered some firewood and made a nice campfire to enjoy.
Mark Twain (a.k.a. Samuel L. Clemens) has always been one of our favorite authors and Becky had previously enjoyed a tour his home in Hartford, Connecticut back in 2016. Hannibal, Missouri is the childhood home of Mark Twain and the town has a wonderful museum as well as house tours of the various buildings where young Sam lived and worked. Ashlea treated us to a riverboat tour on the Mississippi River, which was definitely one of the highlights of the day. It was exciting to ride on the paddle wheel boat down the river and imagine what life was like back in the mid 1800s.
Only Craig had visited the Saint Louis Arch, the Gateway to the West, after its completion back in 1967 so it was a must do for us all this trip. In addition to seeing the structure Becky and Ashlea took the tram up to the top where the observation deck was. While they were on the tram Craig and Josie stayed below on the lawn overlooking the courthouse where the famous Dred Scott court case was heard back in 1847.
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