Waking up to thunder and a downpour is never optimal, especially on the day we were
scheduled to get back on the road. And we were meeting Katie at the zoo to create art with the Galops. Seeing Katie work with the giant turtles did a mom proud.
Esa was our designated artist and we created prints of her scale patterns.
Getting back to the jeep with the canvases intact was a challenge. We managed to keep them dry, but sacrificed ourselves to the rain gods.
We needed to stop for breakfast just to dry out a bit. Jenn was the smart one, leaving out some clothes to change into. Seems the Jeep's roll bar makes a great clothes line.
Next stop: Hard Rock Tulsa. I followed suit and brought in dry clothes to change into. Didn't hurt that we bought some new shirts, towels and some other fun stuff (ask Jenn about the mini purse for her jewelry that was her prize purchase.) Then we got on the road, heading to Indy. As we were leaving Tulsa, we started seeing these billboards for the Fantastic Canyons in Missouri. The signs continued for such a long way that we had to see what the fuss was all about and turned off the road after what seemed the 50th sign. The more tiny back roads we traversed, the more we were sure this was going to be a little hole in the wall tourist trap. But low and behold, we came to the grand entrance and were shocked by the number of vehicles in the parking lot. This place was legit!
We got the last tickets for the next tour and boarded the Jeep pulled caboose feeling like we were on a hayride adventure. The tour guide was great, explaining the history as well as the science. It was a very impressive sight. Afterwards, we got some really cool carved items made by local artists. Jenn got a wind chime and I got a chess set. I think a really great thing about a road trip is making these unexpected detours and finding a real gem (pun intended!)
Then we started driving again, driving past the Arch in St. Louis and continued through what we thought was Indiana. Passing Abraham Lincoln memorials and stopping in Effingham (where in the Effingham am I?) rest area didn't clue us in. It wasn't until we saw the "Welcome to Indiana" sign that we realized we had been in Illinois all that time. Duh! A geography lesson is in order.
Finally we made it to our hotel in Indianapolis. We were pros now at getting the fish transported and set up and we slept soundly following another fantastic day!
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