Cape Giradeau – Wandering Dawgs

State 23:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!

I will be featuring the states alphabetically. The next state is

Missouri

Missouri became the 24th state on August 10, 1821. The capital is Jefferson City.

From the Mississippi River to the Lake of the Ozarks and many places in between, we had great adventures while in Missouri.

High on our bucket list of things to see in Missouri was the Gateway Arch at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis. Henry rode the elevator up to the top of the arch while I strolled along outside. We hopped on the MetroLink to explore some of the other sights in the city.

Gateway Arch

Looking up at the Gateway Arch

Gateway Arch as seen from across the river in Illinois

Old Courthouse in St. Louis

St. Louis Union Station

St. Louis Cardinals Busch Stadium

Gateway Arch Riverboat on the mighty Mississippi River

St. Louis Cardinal baseball stadium during a home game as seen from the top of the Gateway Arch

What fun it was to explore Hannibal and see so many places where Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer had their adventures.

Tom and Huck Statue at the foot of Cardiff Hill

Mark Twain’s boyhood home and Tom Sawyer’s Fence

Lover’s Leap on the Mississippi in Hannibal, Missouri

We took a ride up the Mississippi River on the Mark Twain Riverboat

Mark Twain Cave

We climbed 244 steps up Cardiff Hill to the Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse

Harry Truman State Park was a great place for camping and taking a walk on a nature trail.

Great Blue Heron on Harry Truman Lake

On the Western Wildflower Train in Harry Truman State Park

Our home base for visiting Branson was Table Rock State Park.

Rocky Bluff near Table Rock Dam

Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede

Lake Taneycomo near Branson, MO

One fall we planned a trip to Missouri to attend a football game at the University of Missouri in Columbia. In addition to enjoying a football weekend we also camped beside the Mississippi River at Trail of Tears State Park, enjoyed the spectacular fall colors at Lake of the Ozarks and went shopping at the first Bass Pro Shop in Springfield.

Moon rising over the Mississippi River at Trail of Tears State Park

Barge going down the river at sunset — A barge went by right before sunset at Trail of Tears State Park

There are 24 different Mississippi River Tales Murals on the floodwall in Cape Giradeau

University of Missouri Logo in the grass at the Mizzou Stadium

Fall Colors at Lake of the Ozarks — Fall colors at Lake of the Ozarks

To read previous posts about the states featured in this series just click on the state name: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi

Our journey continued on I-24 West through Nashville, Kentucky, and Illinois before we crossed the Mississippi River into Cape Giradeau, Missouri. Our home for the next 2 nights was about 15 miles north of Cape Giradeau in Trail of Tears State Park in Jackson, Missouri and our campsite was right on the Mississippi River.

The state park is a certified site on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail and commemorates the tragic relocation of five Native American tribes from the southeastern United States to Oklahoma. The visitor’s center in the park features exhibits that interpret the forced relocation.

We enjoyed watching barges going up and down the river and the trains which passed by on the tracks along the river.

Crossing the Mississippi River into Missouri at Cape Giradeau

Monarch Butterfly

Blondie and the Butterfly

We enjoyed watching the barges going down the Mississippi River

Sunset over the Mississippi River from at Trail of Tears State Park in Jackson, Missouri

Moon rising over the Mississippi River

The state park is part of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail

Trains went by behind our campsite all day and night

Sunrise over the Mississippi River

Sunrise over the Mississippi River at Trail of Tears State Park in Jackson, MO

The highlight of our stay was visiting with one of my best friends from elementary school. She and her husband drove down from St. Louis to spend the day. We had a lot of catching up to do – the last time we saw each other was in the 6th grade about 50 years ago! She looks just like she did back then! We drove down to Cape Giradeau for lunch at Port Cape Giradeau and a little sight seeing along the river. After lunch we enjoyed the murals on the flood wall beside the river.

With Jean in Cape Giradeau

Mississippi River high water marks at Cape Giradeau

There are 24 different Mississippi River Tales Murals on the floodwall in Cape Giradeau

With my friend Jean beside the Mississippi River

After emotional good byes my friend and her husband returned home and we returned to the campground. We enjoyed watching the trains and barges and had front row seats for the Blood Moon rising over the river.