St. Joe

One of the reasons we took the extra time in Mo. was to go to the area where my husband lived before coming to Arizona. He lived in St. Joseph, Mo. until he was 9 years old and can you believe we found his old house. Thanks to my gps on my Ipod (I love it!!) we were able to find it and he was shocked it was still there. They were called "shotgun" houses.

It all held so many memories for him and as we toured the museums and drove the streets he would say "Oh wow, I hadn't heard that or thought of that in 60 years". The story that has passed down in the family is that they were distant relatives of Jessie James and they all came from the Halls, Mo. area so of course we had to go to the Jessie James farmhouse where he lived as a child...

 Sadly when the police were after Jessie they came to this home one night on a tip that he was here and threw in an explosive....It killed his younger brother and blew off his Mom's arm. They think that is why Jessie and Frank James began to have such public sympathy even though they were thieves and murders.

 We also went to the house in St. Joe where Jessie was killed. He was shot in the back of the head while straightening a picture on the wall by Robert Ford, a friend that had been in James gang with him. Ford got the reward money and him and his brother were pardoned for this act. Jessie James's wife and two children where in the house at the time.....

The museum was very interesting and had a lot of information and pictures. There has always been such controversy over Jessie James and his gang. Some people felt he was a Robin Hood taking from the rich and giving it to the poor but there really is no proof that he gave money to anyone but his relatives and those who rode with him. I was pleased to see a paper of declaration that gave all the names of those who died because of these robberies....

 It kept things in prospective.

 This painting was done only a few months prior to his death. There were pictures of him dead and even a picture of a bullet that was found in his lung during the autopsy.

There were two other museums we visited while here....the Pony Express and The Patee House. The pony express museum was not worth the time and saw more authentic information on that at the Patee House museum like this actual saddle they used...

You notice that it can be lifted right off the saddle and quickly placed on another freshly saddled horse. I was surprised how small the bags were but weight was an issue and that is also why they chose small framed men to ride. The Patee House Museum was magnificent  " it has two full floors of exhibits. Inside Patee House, you can climb aboard an 1860

train and ride the vintage "Wild Thing" carousel. The museum also houses an 1877 railroad depot, stagecoach, cars, trucks, fire trucks, wagons, buggies and carriages, Jeeps, a racecar, horse-drawn hearses and a real gallows, a blacksmith shop, dressmaker's shop, model railroads, antique furniture and toys, a wing with Western art by artist George Warfel, and a wing designed to look like the Streets of Old St. Jo in the 1860s-1880s".  Unfortunately I was getting a bit tired so didn't explore this as much as I would have liked to. There were so many wonderful antiques here like this baby scale..

and this old wash tub that my butt checks just wouldn't fit in....

On the way out my hubby pointed out this most usual rose bush..

 All these colors on one bush!

While staying in St. Joe we stayed at the Stoney Creek Inn. A totally different hotel but still nice with a pretty back area..

The room was nice and thought some of the country touches were quaint like this light.

and chair...

Other places like in the lobby touted more of a Smoky Bear theme but it was all nice, clean and comfortable. They did not have a restaurant on the premises so we went to a place called Whisky Creek Fire Grill. Had the worse meal ever here....had to send it back and just settle for the soup! Well, that is travel you know, not everything works out great.

To be cont.