We started our day bright and early again with Happy Father’s Day wishes, breaking down camp, hitching and moving on. We were on the road around 9am. Our first stop for the day was a short 45 minute ride to Purina Farms. As we drove up we could see the agility course from the road, including the running strip and pool for dog diving. It looked just like it does on TV.
They were having a Bluegrass and BBQ festival. When we first walked into their visitor center there was a local pet adoption program with two sibling puppies. One was black and one was golden in color. The woman was telling us how they were so happy to be reunited since they are separated at the shelter. Their joy was evident as they bounded about the little caged area playing with each other the whole time.
There was a small, hands-on, museum-like section we had fun exploring next. We all had a good laugh as we each took our turn doing the What Dog are You quiz that ended with a MorphMe Pet Photo, letting you put your face in the frame of that dog and getting a picture of it. Adam and I were both St. Bernards. Ella was a Golden Retriever and Lily was a Beagle.
We headed out of the Visitor Center, checked out the koi ponds and entered their barn to see the animals. Right through the door we walked in they were demonstrating how they milk the cows. The farmer had a cow on a platform and each of it’s utters had a pump attached. The milk it was drawing was being collected in a large glass jug. It was very interesting to see how quickly it was filling up. Just past this were two baby pigs in an open pen. Sitting on the half wall by the pigs was a tan, fluffy feathered chicken that was letting us pet it. It was the cutest chicken I have ever seen. To the other side were several bales of hay and a large black and white bunny was hanging out there. The bunny was not as interested in having us pet it and every time the girls tried it hopped to the other side of the hay. The pigs were playing with each other but they were interested in us too. We put our hand out, as we do when we meet a new dog, and the pig came up and put it’s snout on it and breathed in. It felt so funny because as it inhaled it’s nose kind of suctioned to the back of my hand. The pigs let us pet them a bit too.
Even though we weren’t finished seeing all the animals we went over to the seating at the agility course because we wanted to see the dog show at 11am. The dog trainer who led the show was very good at explaining how the farm works with and trains the dogs. I was happy to learn their dogs are rescued from all over the country. She went on to say that with the right diet, lots of time and practice and a loving environment they were able to train the dogs to acquire all kinds of skills and perform some unbelievable tricks. I loved how she explained that all of the trainers bring their dogs with them to and from work regularly. They brought out the dogs one at a time. One dog was showcasing it’s dynamite Frisbee catching skills. A tiny, 6 pound dog who was new to training came out to demonstrate it’s new found abilities too. Just as is the case when we watch on TV, our favorite was watching the dog diving. They had a few dogs come out to demonstrate how they ran as fast as they could down the running strip and jumped up to get the toy that was set up above the middle of the pool.
After the show was over we went into the dog and cat building. They had a floor to ceiling tower/play section/resting area for the cats to enjoy taking up the middle of the building. All along the sides were large independent spaces for each of the dogs complete with toys and beds for them. We quickly made our way through here and then went to have lunch while we sat outside and listened to the live bluegrass band. From there we moved on to the free kids games they had set up. Except I got sidetracked by two little dogs who were leashed to a chair and seemed like they really wanted some loving. I stayed to pet these little sweeties and Adam took the girls to do the games. They went magnet fishing, threw horseshoes tried to lasso a cow and collected prizes at each station. I kept glancing over as I pet my new little friends and watched them from a small distance. The dogs’ owner came back and after a quick conversation with her I went to join them. We all went over to the last game. There were several hula hoops set up on the grass. Then a few feet back was a sling shot. The girls each took a turn putting a bean bag in the sling and trying to fling it into the middle of a hoop. Neither of them had success but they were still given a prize (a cute little dog picture frame). We went back into the Visitor Center to check out the gift shop. Ella found a really cool peace sign mood ring and Lily found these little dog figurines. Around 1pm we were on the road again.
Along the long drive we came across Ozarkland and decided to stop and check out this self-proclaimed “Road Trip Tradition”. One of their roadside billboards we passed before we arrived advertised Candies ~ Gifts ~ Knives. To think of these items being in the same list of merchandise to highlight was very interesting to us to say the least. We arrived at the huge two-story barn covered with signage on the outside and filled with everything but the kitchen sink on the inside. The girls had a great time trying on all the silly hats for sale. We all got a good laugh out of a pair of boxers with ducks on them along with the words Butt Quack. While the girls were checking out the hats I happened to spot a cowgirl hat for myself that I ended up purchasing.
We finally entered into Independence, Missouri around 7pm. As we approached the beginning of the town center it felt like we took a time machine and were dropped smack dab into the middle of the 1950’s. One of the first things I saw was the Shop ‘N Pawn market, located across from the Beauty School and the Bowling Alley. A few minutes later we were pulling up to Campus RV Park. We had a pull-through site so parking was a breeze. We had to level from side-to-side after we unhitched. Adam got us hooked up and we were all set. By this point it was about 7:30 and we had to figure out dinner. After a fast research session, we found Square Pizza was a quick drive away. We hurried over since they closed at 8. When we pulled up I couldn’t help but notice it was next to the Direct Casket Outlet. Their varieties of pizza were all very interesting. Each of the girls chose one and we got a large pie with ½ of each. I felt like I needed to have some veggies too so I threw a small greek salad onto the order. It was a beautiful night so we sat outside at the picnic table to eat our dinner. It turns out the food here was really good. Their greek salad was one of my favorite salads of all time and we all enjoyed the pizza too. Adam needed to go to Walmart to pick up some things. The girls and I stayed behind and we ran around and caught fireflies. We were having the best time (and my heart was singing as I watched them doing one of my favorite childhood pastimes) and being outside in the fresh air was great for our souls after being in the car almost all day long.
