Lincoln, Lincoln, Watcha been drinkin'?

We had a late start, but had breakfast and started off again. Came into Indiana at about 10:35 am EST, and started across America’s farmland. It’s breathtaking how beautiful the bright red barns are against the rolling hills and varying shades of green. The whole of the farmlands are amazing! 
About an hour and a half into our drive we spotted a sign for 
Lincoln’s childhood home/farm. 
We pulled off and Garmin immediately lost us and it took us about twenty minutes to find the Lincoln Park. Once we did, we were pleasantly surprised to find a very quiet but beautiful and interesting mile hike—where we passed Lincoln’s mother Nancy Hanks Lincoln’s burial site and then ended on an amazing piece of farmland. It’s misleading because as you pull up you think ‘okay, maybe there will be a marker in the general area and if we’re lucky a couple relics.’  Instead we came upon a 100-acre farm with the original stonework that is blocked off, but to the right was a replica cabin, smoke-house, woodworking shop (Thomas Lincoln—ole’ Abe’s father was a carpenter,) a stable, and a vegetable garden. There was a nice young man—aptly-named Tom there to tell us all about the farm—and show us around. Everything they had there was in working order and the furniture in the cabin was all made in the woodworking shop using the tools that they would have used in the 1800’s. The horses are used to pull the plows across the fields and the vegetables and the eggs come from the garden and chickens. With fire burning and smoke coming from the smokehouse I was less than surprised to find real meat inside—but impressed at how good it smelled. 

Needless to say it was well worth the stop.  Hiked the ½ mile back to the car and pulled back out to the tiny town with the one Subway restaurant the one bank. Stopped in to eat at the Subway and came back out to get gas. Got in the truck and turned Garmin on and—HOLY CRAP all of a sudden all our maps are GONE!! WTH?? Good thing the truck has a Navigation system!! Oops—don’t know how to use it so out comes the manual and then for a crash course lesson in using it!! Also discovered somewhere in there we crossed over into central time.
 Crossed over into Illinois at 1:30cst—nothing lost here!! I’m not sure what time we crossed over into Missouri but we drove through St. Louis and wow!! The gateway arch is beautiful! It was quite a site to see!! Didn’t stop to go inside due to the tow-dolly, but did drive through downtown and got to see it from pretty much every angle. It was beautiful!
Stopped for gas in Wright City, population 3,119, small and very interesting-the people seem very “drugs or jesus”—but I was tempted to ask the guy at the gas station how they adapt the very precise numbers on the population sign. What if someone is born or dies?? How accurate is that sign? The best thing I saw in Wright was this crazy cool antique wrought iron cemetery fence and sign. I loved it, could have been in a Goosebumps movie! Most of Missouri looked like Indiana, I’m tempted to believe that the majority of the west is corn and wheat fields—very  calming and pretty. Stopped for dinner at Sonic—yes I know another exceptionally healthy choice, but out here in the middle of nothing there aren’t a lot of choices. Attempted to sit outside but it was crazy windy and according to Parker smelled like “horses—well actually horse poops!” Continued on through Missouri and its a lot of the same gorgeous rolling hills, dotted with sprawled out farm house and the occasional interstate town. Also, much to Parker’s dismay the John Deere tractor is not as popular, instead a red tractor with what seems like a German “K” name is the tractor of choice. 


We started playing Mad Libs until the stories began to take a turn that made me giggle like a schoolgirl—totally inappropriate! It’s pretty cool to see all the water towers across all the states. To me it’s very comforting to know that even this far away things aren’t that different from home. We’ve also noticed that fireworks must make up 50 or more percent of the different interstate town incomes. 
                                                                       
There was one called Pyrocity, which kind of freaked me out and was awkward explaining to Nick as he read it. It continually blows my mind hearing Nick read out signs, plates, and city names. We switched to Bluegrass Junction Sirius to put it all in perspective.