Independence, MO

We were driving into Independence, about 1.5 miles from our camp, when a driver honked at us to tell us that one of our trailer tires was nearly flat.  It was quite a relief to be so close to camping.  It was very hot in Independence but we were able to relax once we got camp set up.  My plan was to visit the local church history sites the next day.  I did have to do the laundry in a very warm laundromat but it wasn’t terrible.  It seems like the laundry always needs attention even though I only do it every 6 days!  In this case it was only 5 days because I didn’t want to do it on Sunday.

It seemed crazy but there are four wards meeting at the building in Independence!  The building was, come to find out, right next to our campground!  So, we had four times to choose from and we chose 10:30.  We still didn’t make it on time which was distressing to me.  After church we had lunch at the trailer, changed and headed out to the Independence Visitor’s Center.  They had good exhibits about life in Missouri and an exhibit on the importance of families.  Then we headed out to Liberty Jail.  Our visit there in 1986 was one of the highlights of that trip for me.  I find the scripture that came from that hallowed spot really powerful.  As we were walking out there was an Elder Campbell at the desk and after swapping names I found out that he was Hazelton Joiner’s brother Walter’s grandson.  That made our visit especially fun.  Will cooked us some delicious griddle pork medallions for Sunday dinner and I made some griddle hash browns and carrots to go with them so we ate well. 

Monday we had to get everyone out of the bunkroom early because the mobile tire repair guy said he would be to our trailer between 8 and 10am.  We wanted to close the slide over the tire to make it easier to work.  Jeremy, the tire guy, arrived just before 9am.  He went right to work and discovered a bad valve stem.  He was surprised because the tire was relatively new.  He thinks that the people who replaced the tires didn’t replace the valve stem!  Makes me feel a bit ornery towards them.  He asked if we wanted all the stems replaced to avoid future trouble and we thought that was a good idea.  David and I were sitting outside so we could be available for Jeremy.  Not long after he started on the other tires we got hit by a massive rain storm.  He kept working away but got soaked in the meantime.  David and I stayed under the front end of the 5th wheel as we would have been soaked just getting into the trailer.  David decided he better tip Jeremy for the soaking.  The rain was supposed to end by mid morning but kept on for most of the day.  We headed out noonish to try real Kansas BBQ.  We got their “platter” so tried ribs, burnt ends, and wings.  I am now a fan of burnt ends!  The rain lightened a little so we hoped the Wagon Tour of Independence which would have connected us to the outlaws like Frank James who was in the jail and former president Harry Truman, who was born and died in Independence would be running but no luck.  We decided to drown our sorrows in ice cream and ended up in the soda fountain where Harry Truman worked as a kid.  They have a statue of him mopping the floor.  We did stop by the temple lot since we had skipped it due to a storm the day before. None of us felt much like dinner after all that so we watched an episode of the Brady Bunch and went to bed.

Will writes about Independence, MO – We arrived in Independence on Saturday, and just relaxed at the trailer and ate dinner. On Sunday, (we didn’t get to bed) we were about 10 minutes late for church, so we only got ½ of the sacrament. Speaking of getting the sacrament, if you don’t hear the prayer, please don’t partake. (It has caused problems in the past) The Sunday School lesson was pretty decent, however most of the young men made fun of me for answering the questions. Our teachers knew the material well and had strong testimonies. After church, we went to the LDS Independence visitor’s center run by missionaries. We got two tours, 1st of the girls who saved the Doctrine & Covenants, and the 2nd about the family. After this, we went to the Liberty Jail Visitor’s center and learned about the jail that held 6 of the early leaders of the church for 4 months. After we finished our tour, we read more about how the saints that weren’t detained held down the fort without some of their most confident leaders. Before exiting, we talked to one of the older missionaries (named Campbell) about his genealogy, and then drove back to the trailer. For dinner that night, we had pork tenderloin on the griddle, hash browns, and carrots. We then ate ice cream and went to bed. On Monday, we got our flat tire fixed, and went to see the cornerstones of the original temple. We then ate lunch at a very highly regarded KC barbecue restaurant. Their burnt ends were incredibly tender and so were their ribs. After lunch, we tried to go on a wagon tour of Independence, but for whatever reason, it was closed on Monday. Instead, we went to a local ice cream shop and got some ice cream. After driving back to the trailer, I went grocery shopping with Mom, and listened to John Lennon with Myra. Thank you for reading this edition of the Jolley Family Odyssey. Next: Nauvoo, IL. Overall Rating: 8.3/10.