Joplin was hit by what is called a multiple vortex tornado in 2011 that killed 161 people and leveled hundreds of houses. At one point the width of the tornado was up to one mile wide. When you drive around certain areas of the city you can tell where the tornado touched down. You see many new houses and then a foundation or a depression in the middle of a lot that used to be the crawl space of the house that was located there. We also drove out in the country around Joplin and spent some time driving on historic route 66 for a few miles that ran into Kansas west of Joplin. We are looking forward to traveling to Tulsa tomorrow. We are staying near downtown Tulsa close to bike trails that run beside the Arkansas River. Tulsa sounds like a city with a lot more going on than Joplin which is a little on the quiet side.
Here are some pictures from the last three days.
This refurbished house and gas station are in Galena Kansas on route 66. The project to refurbish the properties was done by four local women.
This is a water park in Joplin. Really is hot. We never saw so many awnings in one spot.
Here at the rv park we had a choice of wide open or in the trees. On this stay we chose the wide open so we could get satellite tv.
The in trees spaces may have been a little nicer but ours was fine.
This duck and her little ones have been hanging around the rv park we are staying at. Here mom is giving them some swimming lessons.
Here is the little ottoman we recovered. It has worked well so far.
This is one neighborhood in Joplin that was wiped out by the tornado. These houses all appeared new while you could see empty lots or foundations here or there.
