Belvue

With a wedding and several town visits behind us, we were starting to tire as we pulled into Belvue.

As we poked around the town, I realized that I had been through it dozens of times without even knowing its name. It's funny how much you can miss when you're not really paying attention.

The best things we saw here were the boat ramp and fishing area down at the riverside, at the end of an especially bumpy dirt road. From this bluff, we could see for miles upriver and down. It was a gorgeous afternoon with a nice breeze blowing and low-hanging clouds shielding us from the sun's heat.

It was, in short, the perfect time and place for throwing rocks into the river before heading home.

Total distance today: 92.9 miles.

Elwood

"Why are we going through Missouri to get to this town?" Magen asked me.

"Because the town is in that funny-shaped bump in the top right corner of the state," I replied. "The fastest way to get there is through St. Joe." (As an added bonus, the road through Missouri took us on a bridge over a moving train, which our boys will not soon forget.)

The funny-shaped bump is Doniphan County, home to a number of cattle, some gorgeous scenery, and LOTS of flea markets.

Our first stop was Elwood, where we saw an awesome fort / thrift shop / visitors' center. According to the county's website, "The name was given to the facility in appreciation of the relationship the City of Elwood enjoys with the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg."

Regrettably, we could not go into Fort Luxembourg because it was closed. We did, however, see a historical marker describing the founding of Elwood, as well as one detailing how the town was the home of the first Station on the Pony Express route.

We were eager to continue exploring (and to find a restroom), so we didn't stop for long in Elwood. If we return, we'd like to look around the downtown area, and maybe also hit Fort Luxembourg when it's open.