Noah and St. Peter(s)

Today was a bit of a trial.  It was the first day we have traveled in a rain storm. The rain made the driving a bit more challenging than we are accustomed to, but we had no problems, and we arrived at 370 Lakeside RV Park in  St. Peters, MO about 3PM.

Our initial impression of the park was positive. It is a relatively new municipal park and the RV area is very flat.  That positive feature almost made up for the fact that our site was almost completely swamped by a large puddle which reached nearly across the parking pad.  The utilities (electric pedestal, water standpipe and sewer connection) were all located in the center of the biggest part of the puddle, and in order to locate the door of the trailer adjacent to some dry ground, I had to place the trailer very close to the utilities. The result was that I had to put some leveling blocks under the tires that were in the deepest part of the puddle.

By the time I got that done, while standing out in the pouring rain, I was not thinking as clearly as I should, and I forgot to place wheel chocks against the tires to prevent the trailer from rolling. This error was quickly pointed out to me, when I lifted the hitch off the trailer ball on the truck.  The trailer rolled backward a couple of inches, off of the leveling blocks, putting excessive strain on the tongue jack.  Of course, at that point, the truck and trailer were no longer aligned so that the hitch would engage the ball, so I had to move the truck back into position, reattach the hitch, pull the trailer back up onto the leveling blocks, THEN place wheel chocks on both sides...all while standing in the pouring rain.

Once I had the trailer stabilized, I went to work hooking up the water hose and electrical cord. By the time I was done, I was in a bit of a foul mood, I am sorry to admit. I went in the trailer, stripped off my rain jacket and my waterlogged socks (did I mention I had been wearing Crocs clogs during the above fiasco?) and sat down to rest. Shortly, the rain abated, and I realized that, had I waited in the trailer PATIENTLY (Tom!) I could have done all of the above in dry (albeit a bit chilly) weather.  Oh, well. Lesson learned.

So we are in St. Peters, MO for a couple of nights. I copied the history of the city from Wikipedia  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peters,_Missouri) for your edification. To wit:

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the area that would become St. Peters was inhabited by Mississippian mound builders. The remains of a village were uncovered during the construction of I-70 in 1954 and a street near the site was later named Mound Drive after the mounds built by the villagers.^[7]
One of the first documented sources about European settlers in the area is a Spanish census from 1791, which documented a land grant.^[8]
St. Peters was named for a Jesuit mission established there.^[9]
In 1895, music was a binding factor for the area, with a well-known cornet band.^[10]
Throughout most of the twentieth century, St. Peters was a small farming town. As recently as 1970, St. Peters had a population of only 486.^[7] The population rapidly increased to 15,700 by 1980 and within the span of a decade the community changed from a small rural town to a more suburban community.^[7] The city continued its rapid growth through the 1980s and by 1990 had a population of 40,660.^[7] St. Peters population increased to an estimated 52,575 as of 2010. St.Peters celebrated its 50th year as a city in 2009, and marked its 100th year as a town in 2010, having become a town in 1910 and a city in 1959.^[11]
The city has a lot of veterans as residents, therefore many memorial locations have been set up. In front of City Hall there is a WWII fountain and flag display; along Willott Rd./Jungermann Rd. there is a Vietnam memorial containing over 1,000 bricks listing Missouri residents who died in the war and a Korean War monument as well. The City Hall memorial is the centerpiece for several veteran's ceremonies held throughout the year: Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day and Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.^[12]

So, tomorrow, we have no plans. We are NOT going to St. Louis (15 miles). We MAY go into St. Peters for grocery shopping. After staying up two nights in a row past our bed time in Branson, we will probably mainly veg out tomorrow.  The weather forecast is for NO rain tomorrow, so we may have some pictures to share. There is a paved walking path around the lake, tailor made for dog walking. In the meantime, you can revel in your new-found knowledge of St. Peters, MO. (And how not to park your trailer.)  You're welcome.