Joplin, MO Tornado Damages

We are finally on our trip to the Pacific Northwest. We left Thursday, June 16th, We spent the night at the KOA just north of Fort Smith at Alma, AR. Barb was following in the Honda CRV. She took this picture as I entered the Hopper Tunnel on I-540 south of Fayetteville, AR. She also took the picture below in the tunnel.

Even the pictures and video on TV didn’t prepare us for the damage in Joplin, MO. We briefly drove through town on our way to Kansas City.

This was once a McDonald’s restaurant.

This is what is left of Joplin High School!

Even the bark was stripped off the trees. It was eerie to see stumps of trees stacked in the streets awaiting removal.

Jellystone RV Park at Robert, LA

Since we will be gone the rest of the summer, we decided to bring our four youngest grandkids to Jellystone RV Park for five days. They have been looking forward to this for some time. We left June 6th and would return June 10th.

There is plenty here to keep them busy. They seem to want to do everything at the same time.

They took the hayride and enjoyed singing songs about Yogi Bear as went rode around the park.

Paddle boats

Kayaks

Canoes

They had a ball on the water slide but were interrupted by afternoon thunderstorms and got to go back the next two afternoons on rain checks.

After four fun filled days we headed home on Friday with stops at the state capital in Baton Rouge and a tour of the battleship USS Kidd.

On the steps of the Capital

The Louisiana State Senate Chambers

The view from the top of the Capital

Boarding the USS Kidd

Close quarters; what no AC!

 

Things to see and places to climb!