The neighbors were very quiet. Not one car drove by the entire night. Most cemeteries are public land and unless posted, you can spend all night. And they are usually on flat ground.
Yesterday would have my normal blog day since we are alternating, but Kasey had so much to say about his past in Climax Springs, MO and feelings to share that I could not come close to expressing appropriately. So he asked that it be his day to blog. And so it was.
After breakfast, I was eager to look at all the headstones that were embedded in the ground. Some were overgrown and I needed to pull weeds to see the inscription. I did find a couple that Kasey missed yesterday. One was 10 year old at death and another 22.
Before we left Climax Springs, Kasey wanted to visit the high school baseball field and a church that was named for his relatives that was not far away. Notice the bathrooms are labeled Cougars and Lady Cougars. Don't get me started.
The Wiseman Church was named for his relatives on his mother's side. His mom's mom was a Wiseman. We pulled up to the abandoned church and looked around. Vegetation was growing in doorways and covering steps. It appeared to have been abandoned 10 years ago or so.
I couldn't resist. The back door was unlocked and so I went in and looked around. It is sad to see the building in disrepair. The place smelled of mildew and there were places where the ceiling had leaked. Mice were chewing on hymn books, and spiders had established territories. A closet contained books, Christmas ornaments, games and other things including another sign for the church.
We got on the road being mindful that this area of the country has a sparse population. The highways seem to be ready for the increase in traffic. No commute time here.
We spent the drive playfully arguing over pronunciation of towns such as Rolla (he says that it is pronounced Rah lah). Why the O in it then? Then there is Nevada, KS. Here, they say the first "a" as a long sound. Nuh vai duh.
We caught up on the news, and Heather Cox Richardson.
Our host in Canada, Ross, texted us that his gentle dog Barney passed away while they were travelling in Oregon. Kasey mentioned that he was doing what he liked to do. Rest easy Barney.
We arrived and set up our overnight spot on the bird farm and went to check out the lake which is amazing. The boys has a nice swim and romp around. Dragonflies were thick in places.
We went to town for Internet so we could participate in a few overdue zoom meetings for Umpqua Watersheds. Technically, Gas, KS is the closest town and we had fun with that name as well. I think we will keep that little banter to ourselves, but you can imagine.
We talked briefly with Diana about our stay and returned to our campsite in time to see the sunset, hear barred owls, and coyotes.
Another amazing day.
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