We have seen old friends, camped in a beautiful state park, eaten catfish, looked around Mark Twain's boyhood home town, and ridden a little train whose cars were like commercial tumble dryers (up a leg of St. Louis's Gateway Arch; pix soon)--and now it's time to visit south Missouri.
I will have a look at the small farm where my maternal grandparents lived, and where I got my taste for the outdoors. My memory of the nighttime insect sounds is vivid and pleasant; we have enjoyed hearing sounds that we have not heard during the 29 years we have been living in the Northwest.
The place will be in serious disrepair, and I have no expectation of entering the house. Apparently all worth having was stolen long ago, anyway.
Even so, I intend to walk around outside.
After that, a natural spring or two in south Missouri, then on to Albuquerque.
Mark_
R/V _Arcadia_, Babler SP, St. Louis, MO.
• Pictures: <https://picasaweb.google.com/socrates4718>
