The Sweet Life of Sierra Sugar: August 2015

If you remember a few weeks back we had truck problems. If you're in the trucking business, sooner or later everyone has them. Something is going to break that is going to cause you to sit for a day, maybe longer. And we all know the saying, "If the wheels aren't turning, you aren't making money!" But what do you do when those wheels indeed are NOT turning? The rest of the world keeps right on turning despite your mechanical misfortune. Do you hide out in a hotel room like an ostrich with it's head in the sand? When we have to sit, for whatever reason, we try to take advantage of our downtime and enjoy our location. There is incredible beauty and centuries of history overflowing throughout our entire country. You never have to wander far to find something of historical importance or sheer wonder to look upon.

So with a couple days down in St. Joseph, Missouri we decided to see what wonders this city held. Boy were we surprised! There was more here than we could possibly hope to explore in the limited down time we had to get our truck repaired. Most of the historical places and museums were quite inexpensive to tour; usually about $4 per person. Several were free. The hotel where we stayed had a guide book containing many buy one get one free entrances to the historical attractions. Beyond the attractions themselves, the town itself is history. The sheer number of ancient buildings from pre civil war and civil war was simply overwhelming. With the Missouri River close by and St. Louis not too far to the east, St. Joseph was a major city on the trail to the west, and at one time was the largest city in the state. It also was the home of the famous World Hotel, which we got to tour.

What is now called the Patee House, a museum of two floors housing a collection of mid 1800 - early 1900 St. Joseph life memorabilia. You can take a walk down Main Street through all the little shops, the Post Office, Dentist, Jail, Pharmacy, even a Victorian House at the end of the street. They have a real full-sized Steam Engine inside, a working carousel, scale model trains that would send Sheldon into train junky euphoria, 1800's era kids toys, and more. We spent nearly two hours exploring this fabulous museum that was once the quite famous and large ( 5 full stories ) World Hotel! Next door now sits the tiny 4 room home where the infamous outlaw Jesse James was shot and killed. The house was moved from it's original location to reside next to the Patee house and has been completely restored.

A short drive away was the Glore Psychiatric Museum. At one time it was a Psychiatric Asylum. Over the years it was converted from an asylum to a psychiatric hospital, and then eventually to a school for disadvantaged kids. The basement of the museum still holds a functioning morgue. As much as I wanted to visit this place, I started feeling off in the basement. Patients were treated horribly in the Asylum. Beyond the typical horrors known of psychiatric places, the higher functioning patients were basically used as slave labor to work the fields, kitchens, sewing rooms to make straight jackets and restraints, laundry, and other "employee" positions to cut on labor costs. By the time we made to the second floor where Labotomies and shock therapy were administered I was completely overwhelmed with emotion and a feeling I can't even being to describe. Cold and unable to talk, Allen had to guide me outside, so that ended our tour. It was an experience. One I'm glad to have done even if it was overwhelming.

After THAT he surprised me by taking me to get my toes and nails done. Of course, it's not all history and murder. Being out of the truck means you can go places you can't normally go with the truck. Like nail salons! Or maybe your thing is movie theatres, or a water park, a craft store, a scenic route, the beach. What ever your personal tastes. When the wheels of the truck stop turning get out and enjoy the rest of the world that keeps right on turning! Remember to always enjoy life no matter where you happen to be sitting. Whether it's behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler, a 4-wheeler, or like me.... on a carousel flying away on a pegasus!

~Sierra Sugar

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The Sweet Life of Sierra Sugar

Farris Truck Stop - Big Rigs Restaurant

Faucett, MO

I-29 exit 35

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