Days One & Two - St. Joseph MO
Our Pony Express exploration began in the great city of St. Joseph MO founded by Joseph Robidoux, 4th generation fur trader. In St. Joseph, we first admired the Pony Express monument and then strolled by war veteran memorials in the park.
The Pony Express Museum at the original pony express stables was well attended and quite informative. The house where Jesse James was murdered was a short walk away. We interrupted our Pony Express exploration for lunch at Ground Round. The Patee Museum, home of the original Pony Express offices, offered a stroll through bygone times, including a carousel, an old steam engine, a grand ballroom visited by Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, and countless others, and a showcase of the Robidoux Hotel, which had been demolished in the 1970s.
Last stop of the day was the Ferry boat monument along the Missouri River where Pony Express riders crossed to begin the 2000 mile westward ride.
The next day we had a quick breakfast, closed camp, and headed west across the Missouri River into Kansas following the Pony Express route along KS 36.
Stopped for a walk around the Hollenberg station outside of Hanover. Developed and operated by an innovative German settler to sell goods to westward bound emigrants and provide rest and provisions for Pony Express riders, the weathered six-room building constructed in 1858 still stands atop a hill overlooking flat campgrounds, farm fields, and stream beds. This building is in fact, one of the last original Pony Express Stations standing today.
Next stop, northward into Nebraska was the Rock Creek station where we mused through the museum and then walked the grounds finding a reconstructed cabin and post office amid the wagon trail ruts.
We piled back into the trucks to find present-day Dickey's Barbeque in Troy NE. Onward to Sidney we ran into a sudden storm that we later found out displayed 5 twisters visible outside of Cabela's home store. The rain pelted and we wondered if the wind would pick us up and throw us back into Kansas. After the storm subsided, we arrived safely at the Cabela's camp. Luckily we hit free-pie Monday at Perkins and brought pie slices back to camp to enjoy sometime in the next day or so.
Total distance traversed was 525 miles in 10 hours drive time including Pony Express stops.