Walking in Jefferson City

I came to Jefferson City, Missouri to do a walk to fill up the J space in my Walking the USA book. When envisioning this walk, daytime temperatures in the 90s were not part of the plan!

So I was out the door of the hotel at 6 AM while it was still dark. I had figured out where the walk route came near to my hotel and started there. After walking about 20 minutes I came to the federal courthouse.

I walked all around this building trying to determine for whom it had been named. This name is Checkpoint 1 for the walk. I couldn't find a sign of any kind. (Later I did a Google search and found this federal courthouse is not named after anyone! Maybe this is a trick checkpoint.) Across the street is the old state prison.

This prison is no longer in operation and now is a museum, but a visit there didn't seem enticing. A guidebook for Jefferson City says when this prison opened in 1836 when the Battle of the Alamo was happening in Texas.

Up on this hill I also got a lovely early morning view of the Capitol.

A bit more walking brought me to the Greenway Trail.

Along this trail I continued to see signs warning of a hill.

I'd not ever been worried about walking 20 mph! And even if these signs were for bike riders, I didn't see any hills that were severe for bike riding.

And then when the trail ended I was faced with this hill! The walk route

with no warning about the severity of the climb!

Around 7 AM I found some outdoor activities.

This is a Junior ROTC group out exercising.

I found a high school band out practicing in a stadium.

Soon I ended up lost -- no street signs to tell me where to turn right. Love having Google maps on my phone. I walked through a hospital campus and then found my street and headed through a pleasant residential area.

I continued walking until I got to a point where the walk route started to return to the end/start point. I had walked all of that route on the day before when I went to this hotel for the walk map. So I elected to walk back to my own hotel. I had been walking for two hours and while the temperature was still less than 80 degrees (26C), the humidity was so high that my paper map was soggy.

The air conditioning at the hotel felt so good. I went to the coffee shop for a coffee and muffin. Then I hit the swimming pool and hot tub, and spent about an hour with my nose in a book.

Around 11:30 I went to the hotel restaurant. This is a delightful find. The view is wonderful.

And the food is wonderful.

Here's my lovely luncheon. And the service is magnificent. A restaurant like this is truly a blessing when the outside weather is unpleasant.

Later in the afternoon I did a bit more walking, moving slowly, slowly towards the Capitol. My goal was to do some of the route but also to enjoy the museum in the Capitol building.

The interior of the Capitol is beautiful.

The museum wanders about the first floor of the Capitol. I enjoyed the exhibits very much. I learned about Missouri people and history.

The flag above is a 32 star flag celebrating the admission of Kansas to the Union, and sign of the beginning of trouble. This is part of an exhibit associated with the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. I had recently seen a similar exhibit at the Minnesota History Center and was struck about how different the two exhibits are. The Minnesota view is definitely on the Union side and in particular celebrating the victory of the 1st Minnesota Regiment at the Battle of Gettysburg. The Missouri exhibit, on the other hand, documents how Missouri people were divided on the issue of slavery and the role the state should take in the Civil War.

I braved the weather, now with temperature in the 90s, and went back outdoors.

I stopped by the Lewis and Clark Monument.

This monument commemorates June 4, 1804 when the Lewis and Clark expedition encamped in this area.

Near this area are the beautiful Carnahan Gardens and the Governor's Mansion.

About at this time I discovered another difference between Minnesota and Missouri. I had walked around several commercial streets and the capitol area without finding any type of a coffee shop or something similar. I had thought I could end the afternoon relaxing that way. I found two pubs, with gatherings of men outside, which made me decide they weren't a place for me to relax!

Came back to the hotel and got soda and water from the stash in my car and relaxed in my room.

Later in evening I went up to the restaurant for a lovely dinner. A good day in Jefferson City even in less than pleasant weather!