All in southwestern Missouri, June 20, 2007

I'm very tired, I had to do laundry tonight. UGH! But I did find three cemeteries today. LOVE, SMART, CLIMAX SPRINGS. Make of that what you will. Maybe I'll add to this in the morning.

This morning: One of the more interesting things aboutg a road trip is how prices get lower the further you move into the great plains. Missouri is less expensive than was Kentucky....by a lot. I saw a Motel 6 in eastern Kentucky that was advertising their room rate on a giant pole in front of their motel as $74.95! Holy Motel, Batman!!! Last night I spent in an Econo Lodge for $44 (no breakfast bar) and gas can be had for $2.66/gal. I realize that property values are not as high as on the eastern slopes of the mountains, but really! Generally better chain motels (Day's Inn, Comfort Inn, Super 8, etc.) east of the mountains are close to $100/night. They drop 40% or more west of the mountains. And there are more of them competing in this part of the world. Just about where every US highway crosses an interstate highway, there are always a half-dozen choices from locals to chains. On past trips I've always driven as fast as speed limits allow (5 mph faster than posted speed limits) on the interstates to get clear of the mountains and into affordable country. But this trip, I wanted specifically to deal with the cemetery search in eastern mountain states that I don't normally spend much time. The good part of the trip is I'm picking up a lot of new cemeteries -- gotta' like the Smart Cemetery -- with somewhat strange names. Smart started as a family plot and then grew larger, but kept the family name. I find that a lot. No one could tell me about Climax Springs. In fact, the two people I spoke to about the name hardly spoke understandable English. I don't mean they were not native speakers, and English was not a second language -- must be the water from the spring. After I pack up this morning, I'm off to Kansas. Onward.