It's a Pizza Night in Dardenne Prairie, Missouri

We pulled into Sam and Donna's yard about 3 p.m. today.... They are fellow bloggers we have known for a few years.   http://samdonna-5thwheelvagabonds.blogspot.com   They came up to Wisconsin to see us 2 years ago in the summer.  Here are the blogs posts from their visit with us:

http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/2011/06/visits-with-weaving-and-rving-friends.html

http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/2011/06/grinning-from-ear-to-ear-sooo-wide-his.html

So here we are pulling in to their yard in Dardenne Prairie, northwest of St. Louis, MO.  Sam snapped a few pics right off the bat as we got the motorhome settled in their long driveway.  (next to their fifth wheel called Chappie) 

Sam doesn't like the term "moochdocking" he said.  So we will just call it "Driveway Visiting" 

Their silly dog, Riggens was full of the dickens and wanting me to play ball.... (a very slimey ball!) 

Sam decided to make us one his stupendous homemade pizzas!   Well... he went right to work as soon as the kids brought home his special supply of cheese.  (he uses 2 kinds on each pizza!) 

He rolls out the dough... and that is one big pizza tray!   

(extra large square commercial cookie sheet) 

He adds one layer of cheese along the bottom,

then a special sauce he can only get around St. Louis. 

(called "Imo's Pizza Sauce) 

 Next, he covers the entire thing with a layer of pepperonis,

and finishes off with a sprinkling of Provel string cheese which

will melt all over the pizza!

The chef working with his ever-hopeful assistant, Riggens! 

(hoping a piece will drop to the floor?)

O M G ! 

That is one massive pizza, and he has a mighty big pizza cutter to go through all that puffed up thick crust.  Oh my goodness!  It sure was good.   I only could manage three squares... Steve put away four! 

(and I slipped Riggens a pepperoni... shhhhhhh)

So now we are sitting here, shooting the breeze.  Donna is working till ten, but the plan for tomorrow is a tour of the Anheiser Busch Budweiser Brewery!!!    I think we get some "samples" and maybe some "souvenirs" for the kids! 

But for now, I think we are going to hit the bed early.... it's been a long day and we put on 271 miles today.  We left Carthage, MO about 9 a.m. and headed north and east to get up this way.  The terrain is looking more and more like Wisconsin countryside... 

no more cactus

no more rocks

no more mountains

no more desert

no more mesquite

Now we are on gently rolling hills and dipping down valleys.  The trees are still brown with no buds yet in sight.  Soon though, spring will come.   We hope.   

Seeing as I am on Sam's fast DSL hookup, I can add more pics to the blog tonight!   

Here are some shots as we came northeastward across Missouri:

We were cruising along parts of the Historic Route 66! 

Alongside the road, people park their tractors for sale, just like cars for sale! 

Quiet pastoral settings and livestock and wildlife... ahhhhh 

We swung down the main drag of Carthage, MO... 

just look at these elegant old buildings in a row, 

all with the same stained glass design, built in the mid 1860's. 

We wound our way up and down through the layers of stone cliffs as they cut out 

to make room for the lanes of the highways.

This is a  cool shot!  

On the right side of the photo is the bridge over the Missouri River

and  the left side of the photo is the reflection of the bridge in the window of the motorhome

(I was holding the camera out the window to take the shot) 

We saw this guy a couple times... first loading up like this next to the Wal-mart in Carthage

and then he passed us several times, and we passed him at the weigh station and a few other places.

We leapfrogged each other for a few hundred miles. 

(it's kinda strange to see a semi coming "at" you but heading the other way!)

Well, enough is enough, we are pooped out and heading off to bed early.  The miles added up today and I was very tired to begin with.  All four dogs are romping here in the house now, Riggens, Ducky, Duke and Sadie Mae... whew.. it sounds like a dog pound in here!