One More Stop Before We Head to Kansas City

After living in a small space of a motor home without slides out, we are ready to push to our next destination. But before leaving Carthage, Missouri, we have one more stop. The owner of Camp Mi Casa on Route 66 told us about Red Oak 2.

Red Oak 2 is a private project of a local man named Lowell Davis. He came back to southern Missouri and wanted to preserve part of the town he loved. Mr. Davis was raised in the tiny town of Red Oak. After this artist became successful, he came home to find his home town had turned into a ghost town. So he began moving some of its most iconic buildings to land he had purchased close to Carthage.

He bought old buildings that were falling into dis-repair in other nearby parts of Missouri. Then he lovingly restored them to their original grandeur . . .

and very often gave them a bright new coat of paint so they looked better than ever.

Besides the brightly-painted buildings, Red Oak 2 is decorated with full-size sculptures and other pieces of Mr. Davis's art.

Some of the sculptures scattered around town are brightly painted, with titles like "Woman's Work."

It was a fun place to walk on a beautiful morning, as we saw little pieces of Missouri history carefully brought here to Red Oak 2.

We continued to see glimpses of Lowell Davis's sense of humor. This metal plaque looked very important in the middle of a walkway.

The sign on this local jail cell reads, "Red Oak Child Care Center, 50 cents per hour, Get Key at General Store." Denisa stepped inside to get a feel for this day care center, and found old metal trucks and toys to entertain the children.

Some of the old houses at Red Oak 2 are inhabited, as this is actually where Mr. Davis and a few friends reside. But our favorite residents were the fowl-tempered Red Oak citizens roaming the streets.

Other birds were memorialized by Lowell Davis in this sculpture titled, "The Thieves."

One of our favorite pieces of yard art was this home-made airplane. While we were taking pictures, we were joined by a group of guys from Europe. It looks like this is a popular stop for visitors working their way across America on Route 66.

We took a few more pictures from our whimsical stop at Red Oak 2 before we headed on down the road. 

Then we put the motor home in drive, and made the final two-hour drive to our campground south of Kansas City.

As with most cities, camping is more expensive and harder to find here. We are now parked about 20 miles south of Kansas City, signing up for a month-long stay to make it more affordable. We can finally put down the jacks and roll out the slides, because we are home here and waiting for the birth of that first grandbaby!