I decided that since I was writing about two characters from Knob Noster, Missouri, that I should drive around the town and see what it was like. Most importantly, can people see the missiles at Whiteman Air Force Base. I Googled how long it would take to get there from where I live in Lebanon, Missouri. Google said 2 hours and it looked like a straight shot up there and back. Here is what I learned:
- You cannot see the missiles from the road or any other building, such as the elementary school.
- That said, Whiteman is a HUGE presence in the town. It pretty much is the town.
- The town is very small. I thought it might be the size of Lebanon. It is much smaller. There is a old town square and a shopping center.
- It’s other focus is farming, which was the main industry before the Air Force came.
Now for my big rant. I GOT LOST IN KNOB NOSTER & JOHNSON COUNTY BECAUSE OF GOOGLE MAPS!
It kept going to something called “bicycle trip” mode. It took me down every country and farm road in Johnson County when I started home. Suddenly, Google was telling me that it would take “11 hours to get to Lebanon, Missouri from Knob Noster, Missouri.” Once I found a way to get to MO HWY 50 and head for Sedalia, I was making better time. Although, what I thought was going to be a trip that would have me back home in Lebanon at 6:30 p.m, had me arriving back in Lebanon at 10 p.m. I also saw most of the cornfields of Johnson County and the backwoods of Camden and Morgan County.
This was a learning experience and, to say these least, and interesting trip seeing the state of Missouri.
WIP: DYNAMIC DUO OF THE OZARKS 