The Caledonian-record. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1920-current, 1922-09-15

from the highway, we took s
swim in a pool that contained q
different minerals. The water was
rather warm but it was coo
enough to refresh us considerably
as we had found it pretty warn
ever since reaching Ohio.
When we came to the MISSISSIPPI
pi River we were all rather dis
.appointed as we had expected tC
see a big grand looking body OF
water but found only d medium
sized river as muddy as country
road in the spring. St. Louis was
another disappointment. From
the bridge it looked like a big
dirty, smoky city and the river
side of the city was. The western
section, however, was better and
the residential section all that one
could ask for. The traffic cops, !
think, have the st. Vitus dance in
their arms. When they get into
action their arms are just blur.
At St. Charles, Mo, 20 miles
west of st. Louis and just across
the Missouri River, we found one
OF the finest camp grounds of the
whole trip. 1t was neat, clean,
grass ground and level. There
we're tables with benches attached
to them. electric lights, police pro
lection, excellent toilets and show
er baths. Everything but the
shower baths was free.
We talked with some people
there who had lust come thru
Missouri from Kansas and they
advised US not to go through Mis-
souri, if we could avoid it. They
said there had been a flood near
Kansas City not long before and
that the roads were in awful con
dition. The next morning we de-
cided TO go back and consult the
ST. Louis Automobile Club and get
things straight. They informed
Us that our best route would be
back through st. Charles and fol
low the National Old Trail route
as we had intended This made
three times that we had crossed
the Missouri River, and few
miles further on we crossed it
again on a stern-wheeler ferry
boat at Arrow Rock.
The people at the St. Charles
comp were certainly truthful
when they said their roads were
terrible. Terrible is a mild word.
We found the detours much better
than the main highway, and the
dust almost as bad as the roads.
That night we slept in farm
els front yard near Columbia,
Mo. | slept on the ground so
that we could save time the next
morning in breaking camp. We
wanted to get through Missouri
as soon as possible because if it
rained it meant that we couldn't
navigate for about two days. The
farmers dog slept under the car
all night keeping watch; whether
for US or of US | don't know.
We got started a little after 7
a. m, and drove over 166 miles
more OF Missoum's "chuck holes,
and ruts, finally humping into
Kansas City about 6 p. M That
figures about Is miles an hour
average and we had the last II
miles paved road. We found the
public camp at Penn Valley Park
in X. c. was fully equipped with
everything but good ground, and
that was cinders. They had ev-
elything else that St. Charles
boasted of as we'll as a kitchen
with gas ranges. Shower bath was
free. SO was the hot weather, it
was sweltering.
Early Sunday morning thun-
der storm cooled US off a little.
l. was a black looking one but we
only got an edge of it. Later
on we learned why it looked so
black.
There were over so cars in this
camp and we got acquainted with
a number of people of whom the
most interesting were Mrs.
Morgan and her son, Eugene Of
Chattanooga, Tenn. Their dialect
was entirely different from any
thing we had ever heard before.
We asked them if our dialect
they sounded as though their noses
said it certainly did. Eugene said,
"Y'all sound like y was talking
thru y nose" And we told them