Independence,Missouri is home to three National Historic Trails. We followed a chunk of the Santa Fe Trail today. ๐Ÿท๏ธ26.05A

The most important stop of the day was the Harry S Truman National Historic Site, the primary target of the entire trip. Itโ€™s been an orphaned National Park unit for Jen for years, so it was good to finally get it done. We also stopped at his nearby boyhood home. ๐Ÿท๏ธ26.05A

Made a quick stop at Fort Osage, one of the first U.S. outposts in the Louisiana Purchase territory. ๐Ÿท๏ธ26.05A

We e-signed the paperwork for our new Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid tonight! Can’t wait to pick it up in a few days.

Taking aim at the courts ๐Ÿท๏ธ26.05A

This building served as the home office of the famed Pony Express. ๐Ÿท๏ธ26.05A

We visited the Gen John J Pershing Boyhood Home State Historic Site. The home is closed for renovations, the schoolhouse had closed for the day too, but we did get to tour the museum, which was better than expected. ๐Ÿท๏ธ26.05A

The best thingโ€ฆ ๐Ÿท๏ธ26.05A

Iowa is still learning what a food truck is. ๐Ÿท๏ธ26.05A

We stopped by the site of the Icarian Colony, the longest running non-religious utopian project in America. ๐Ÿท๏ธ26.05A

Marked off another on Jenโ€™s MLB Ballpark quest.

โ€œBoob guysโ€ exiting en masse ๐Ÿท๏ธ26.05A

Coffee and tea ๐Ÿท๏ธ26.05A

Stopped at another Freedom Rock. Itโ€™s actually part of a much larger project, one for each of Iowaโ€™s 99 counties. Sounds like a fun quest if you live in Iowa. ๐Ÿท๏ธ26.05A

Beetle spider and frensโ€ฆ ๐Ÿท๏ธ26.05A

Freedom Rock ๐Ÿท๏ธ26.05A

โ€œAll the aboveโ€ is probably the right call for a hotel breakfast area tv. Surprised I donโ€™t see this more often.

Birthday beer stop for Jen. ๐Ÿท๏ธ26.05A

May the friendly highway barn smile upon you too. ๐Ÿท๏ธ26.05A

A red barn features a face-like design with two square windows as eyes, an elongated window as a nose, and a smiley shape as a mouth, topped with a star.

A few shots from various stops today along the St Croix National Scenic Riverway, Jenโ€™s 396th National Park unit (and apparently my 244th park unit Iโ€™ve revisited). Not a bad way to celebrate Jenโ€™s birthday ๐Ÿท๏ธ26.05A