23 Apr 2025 - Old Stagecoach Stop; Frog Rock; Uranus Fudge Factory

 

This morning we headed into Waynesville MO to have a look at the Old Stagecoach Stop building even though we knew it was not open until Saturday after we depart. 

As the story goes, this building was originally built of logs, and was used as a tavern and a stage coach stop for weary westbound travelers.  In 1862 the building was commandeered by Union Forces and used as a Civil War hospital.  Afterwards it was remodeled and was used as a hotel for 50 more years.  There is a pretty good virtual tour online, but we were still disappointed we could not see it in person.  

Just outside of Waynesville on the way to St Robert is the Frog Rock, aka W.H. Croaker!  The story behind it involves one of the locals that wanted the ugly rock sculpted into a tiger head to go with the Waynesville mascot, but the people in the city had something else in mind.  They wanted a frog and that is what they got, thanks to the talents of local sculptor, tattoo artist and former Army medic Phil Nelson. It took Phil about nine months to carve,  So this landmark is listed on Roadside America, Missouri Tourism, and a few thousand other websites.  All righty then!  Our trip is now complete LOL!

From Frog Rock we continued back east, past St Robert to Uranus MO,  Yep, folks, we aren't proctologists butt we've seen Uranus!  If there were a true definition of a tourist trap, it's in Uranus!  And I thought Frog Rock took us over the top!!  

It's no more than a wide spot in the road, Route 66 to be exact.  A small, unincorporated community in south-central Missouri "known for its offbeat and humorous roadside attractions", particularly the Uranus Fudge Factory and General Store, which opened in 2015. The town's name and overall theme are playful, referencing the Greek god of the sky and the homophone "your anus".  So now you know!

We strolled up the street to get the best view of Uranus!  We stopped by the jail pre-emptively as we apparently violated a local rule about taking certain pictures!    Doreen took the rap and we captured her mug shot,  

Further up Uranus we stumbled onto their Circus Sideshow Museum, and we just could not pass this by!  Boasting three-legged chickens, no-faced pigs, five-legged frogs, magic, marvels and other oddities it was going to be worth the price of admission!  

So in the door we go and we are greeted by this young lady who took our money and then asked if we wanted to see a sword being swallowed!  Well, hell yeah, lets do this!  You need to watch this short video clip, below!

That was awesome!!  What is yet to come?  So through the door we go and there is marvel after marvel and oddity after oddity!  A few pictures:

A Garboon - what da heck is that?

A two-headed squirrel!  Cousin Eddie says they are high in cholesterol!

Elaine Marie - the girl with two heads!

Six-legged pig

The famous three-legged chicken

Doreen studying the electric chair

Two-headed monkey

OK, enough of that!  It was definitely an experience!  I don't know about Doreen but I worked up an appetite in there, so to the Uranus Fudge Factory we went!

A great selection of Uranus Fudge!  And free microscopic samples!

We tried a couple flavors of fudge and each got a couple pieces for snacking on at the camper later.  

Chocolate pecan

Dark chocolate, sea salt and caramel

Our last stop at the Uranus Fudge Factory was at the Creamery for an ice cream.  They boast "ho-made ice cream" !!  We each ordered a cone and looked around there a bit.  

and, the world's largest belt buckle!

Well, enough of Uranus!  We headed back to the campground and called it a day,  I had several "admin" things to work on involving some phone calls and computer work.  That stuff goes on no matter where we are.  What will tomorrow bring?!