10-13-2021 Joplin, MO

 It was a sunny, nice day, yesterday.  Perfect for a pleasant drive through the countryside.  Of course, our GPS wanted to take us down and across the state on the freeways.  We found little black roads and veered off, traveling through pretty farmland and tiny towns.  We weren’t ready for the skinny roads, though, I’ll say.  Sometimes, heart-stoppingly skinny.  It was a little windy and with the tires right on the right edge of a drop-off, I thought, “If we get a gust right now, we’re toast.”  Holy buckets!  And then, I encounter a road sign that warned, “narrow bridge?”  How much “narrower” could it get?!  After about 90 miles of that, I gave up and turned the wheel back over to The Man.

 

The KOA put Noobee in a wonderful site with a big yard, patio, swing, bbq and patio furniture under big old oak trees.  We decided to sit outside for the cocktail hour, something that hasn’t happened too often on this trip.  I said, “I think I’ll take a few pictures, now.  You know, in case of rain, tomorrow.” 

Great big beautiful campsite
in the sunshine!

Lookin' good!

Toonies in the sun

Well, shit.  Don’t the rain gods know sarcasm when they hear it?!  It rained most of the night and it’s coming down in pantloads this morning.  A red cell passed right over us.  It was unsettling to learn that they have a tornado shelter at this campground.  I learned that an EF-5 tornado (winds > 200 mph) went through Joplin 10 years ago killing 160 folks.  It was the costliest, deadliest tornado in weather-record US history.  Hmmmm…. And we’re here why, again?!

Less than 24 hours later.... shit.... 

 

You are probably thinking, like I, that Joplin is named for the famous ragtime pianist Scott Joplin.  No, no, no.  The Reverend Harris Joplin was a powerful Methodist chaplain who was instrumental in founding the colony in 1773, three years before the USA materialized.  It was founded on the success of the zinc mining industry, which later died away.  However, Route 66 later passed through “Joplin, Missouri,” and once again, Joplin was on the map.

 

Bonnie & Clyde's apartment in Joplin

Bonnie and Clyde and the Barrow Gang hid out for several months in an apartment at 3347 ½ Oak Ridge Drive in Joplin 88 years ago.  In their sordid rampage, they shot and killed a total of 9 law officers.  Bonnie was the little more brutal of the two:  she took to shooting people in the face.  On April 13, 1933, they shot two officers dead in Joplin, one from the Sheriff’s Department and one from the Police Department in a shoot-out that took place at this apartment.  The Gang, still firing, drove off, got away and left 2 dead bodies behind.  They also left behind one roll of Kodak film.  On this film were the first pictures ever seen of the entire Barrow Gang, maybe the beginning of its demise?  The apartment has since been renovated and remodeled and is currently privately occupied so we couldn’t enter.  We’ve learned that not much of the original fixtures are still there anyway except for the bathtub, the bath light fixture and several bullet holes in the walls.

Dinner was served at Crabby’s this evening.  There are a lot of seafood dishes offered, including raw oysters on the half shell.  No brainer.  This makes 48 oysters for us in the last 3 days!  Who knew fresh seafood and oysters were available in Joplin, MO? 

Tomorrow, we move along to Oklahoma City where there are storm shelters also but they are located underground like bomb shelters, for God’s sake!  I am thinking that, in the end, this trip may have the overarching theme of, “The Storm Trip.”  Anyway, we are in the hands of the karma gods.  We’ll see how this plays out.

Signs for today