The Most Direct Route

*Critters we’ve seen on our 2014 trip so far:  pronghorn, horse, llama, elk, bison, grizzly, bighorn sheep, mule deer, Uinta ground squirrel, wolf, black bear, moose, coyote, fox, bullsnake, bat, white-tailed jackrabbit, mountain goat, yellow-bellied marmot, river otter, longhorn cattle, prairie dog, white-tailed deer

*Birds we’ve seen on our 2014 trip so far: bald eagle, grouse, osprey, magpie, red-tailed hawk, Canada goose, great horned owl, American kestrel, sandhill crane, cliff swallow, mountain bluebird, Ferruginous hawk, cinnamon teal, Clark’s nutcracker, northern flicker, Brewer’s blackbird, red-winged blackbird, Lazuli bunting, common merganser, American white pelican, wild turkey

 

 [Click on any photo to enlarge.]

The most direct route for us from Yellowstone to Florida just happens to be through St. Louis, and even though our stays are not always very long, we still manage to catch up with a few friends which generally seems to include plenty of food and drink!  Once again we parked ourselves in the Hollywood Casino parking lot.

Of course we made our usual stop at Lombardo’s Restaurant (www.lombardosrestaurants.com/) to see Carmen and Angelo and enjoy some of the best Italian food around.  When we walked in, seated at a table just inside was an old friend of Russ’ dad who he
       had not seen in many, many years.  I’ve often heard Russ and the guys talk about Mr. Byers, and it was a pleasure to finally meet him.  While Russ visited with him for awhile, I sat with my friend, Gloria, who had been able to join us for lunch.

We met up with Bob and Mike one afternoon at the VFW in Russ’ old neighborhood for a few brewskies and some fried fish.  The VFW’s fish fry is open year round every Friday held in their hall unlike the Legion’s which is only open seasonally because it’s held outdoors.  Whichever you choose, it’s still yummy and we usually eat way too much!

 

I caught up with Gloria and her bowling team to watch them for a bit, chat, and of course go to lunch.  Diane and Dana met us at the bowling alley (pictured with us at left), and we visited while the group finished bowling.  I left a little before they were done to pick up our other Diane friend, who’d recently had shoulder surgery, and 
    we all met up at Rich & Charlie’s Restaurant (richcharlies) where we asked the hostess to take a group shot for us.  Afterwards we hit the thrift stores for a little shopping…gee, the things I do for my friends.  J  We all love hitting those thrift stores!

 

   One afternoon I met Alice at her house in my old neighborhood, and before we headed out for lunch at nearby Crusoe’s Restaurant (www.dineocr.com/), her son, David, stopped by.  I hadn’t seen him since he was a little tyke and now he’s all grown with kids of his own!  He wasn’t able to join us, but Alice and I had a wonderful visit.

 

Our last night in town was spent at Steve and Patty’s watching the Tigers football game on TV (and catching up on our laundry).  John and Jim also showed up, and we all enjoyed the spread Patty had put out while we watched another exciting game with Mizzou beating the Texas A&M Aggies 34-27. 
      Definitely a fun night and a huge thanks again to Steve and Patty for the use of their washer/dryer and for being such great hosts.

 

And while we were at their place, it began to snow!  There was hardly
     any accumulation, nothing on the roads, but when we got back to the RV that night, we let Abby out for a run and she had a blast.

 

During our brief stay, we shared meals and good times with friends, and though we may not have seen everyone we would have liked, all in all it was a great visit, but now it was time to head south to warmer temps and no snow!