Wednesday March 30th.
We hit the road with our destination being somewhere along the Katy Rail Trail. Our good friends Jill and Tina had told us about this 240 mile rail trail in Missouri and we wanted to check it out. Jill gave us a few tips, one of them being to stop in Boonville at the Visitors Center. The woman there was more than helpful. The best thing that we learned was that we could park Sunday legally overnight at any of the trailheads as they are part of the State Park System. We did find out later that it kind of depends who is monitoring the trailheads. As the weather was frightful, we investigated Boonville.. One recommendation was to visit the old Copper County Jail and Hanging Barn. We got the $5 tour and yes, the hanging barn was for hangings, although only one occurred there.
trap door 
pretty horrible place 
jail 
hanging barn 
Think twice before stealing 4 turkeys
trailhead 
old lift bridge over the Missouri River 
Missouri River
We found a nice coffee shop for our afternoon Java fix and then headed to the local YMCA where I got in a workout and a shower. I think Mike got a nap in the van.
We didn’t really want to park overnight at the trailhead in Boonville as it was kind of right in town, so we headed back east a bit and found that the trailhead parking lot in Rocheport was perfect. Quiet and more importantly the heated bathroom was unlocked! We would spend the next two nights here.