Late start to the 500 mile drive today.  Departed Saint Joseph around 9:30 AM.  There were still only a few people stirring in town.

We left via I-229 and I-29 and connected to I-435 to get around Kansas City.  Then it was the infamous I-70 (US40).  Finally we got off of the interstate network onto US 65 at Sedalia.  Now we were rollin’ across the hills of rural Missouri.   Beautiful country and little traffic.

We arrived in Jefferson City shortly after 1:00 and found metered parking.  Only $0.25/30 minutes–$1.00 for 2 hours!  Got two virtual geocaches before taking the guided tour of the state capitol building.  Lots of interesting art and facts from the park ranger.

At 3 PM we started on the rest of our journey.   We changed our target destination from Cape Girardeau to Jackson for hotel options.  First time in a Drury Inn.

After Jefferson we were mostly on state highways.   Beautiful scenery and interesting small towns along this route.

Saint James

Steelville

Shirley

Potosi (bought gas, got a cache)

Fredericktown

Millersville

Jackson

So, today we were through midsized towns, small towns, a metropolitan area and rural areas of Missouri.  Makes one start to evaluate the different lifestyles that people in this large country have.  And to compare those possibilities with what we already have and know.  Huge differences in housing, services, job potentials, income, etc.  For me, I’m thinking Wilmington, DE is still the place to be!