In lieu of Black Friday shopping, Kevin and I spent our second consecutive year exploring the backroads on the day after Thanksgiving. Last year, we started in Des Moines and made it as far northwest as Fairview, South Dakota, population 60. I snapped a few photos and tracked down my favorite frozen hash brown casserole, while Kevin’s focus was on finding geocaches in all the counties along our route.
Ready for a road trip, circa 7:15 a.m. on Black Friday 2014.
This year’s Black Friday trip started in Ottumwa, which led us to shift our exploration area to northern Missouri. In addition, Noah joined us for the adventure, which meant we needed a hook to keep him entertained. The hook? We set out to find and buy Shatto glass-bottled milk, produced in a farm north of Kansas City and made in kid-friendly flavors including Banana and Cotton Candy.
Noah stands in front of the red door at Piper’s Grocery.
Our first stop for the day was at Piper’s Groceries & Candy on the square in downtown Chariton. The 115-year-old store sells a ridiculous assortment of goods, but our focus was on the homemade candy. We chose a selection of chocolates and caramels to share with family later in the day, plus a handful of their soft mints for Noah to enjoy in the car immediately.
After stopping at the meat market in Princeton, Missouri, the Hy-Vee in Trenton, and a few geocaches for Kevin, we had arrived at Dungy’s Market in Gallatin. One hundred, forty six miles from Ottumwa, it represented the closest store which sold our sought-after Shatto Milk. Unfortunately the stop was a mild disappointment, as the store only stocked the basic Shatto flavors. We walked away with a half gallon of chocolate milk, a quart of egg nog, and the need to revise our trip plans.
Instead of driving south to Hamilton, we decided to visit the dairy itself. While it added an hour to our total trip time, it gave Noah the opportunity to see where Shatto Milk was made. We arrived to a full parking lot, busy store, and picked-over selection. While we were able to secure a half gallon of strawberry milk, and double-down on chocolate, the more unusual flavors were nowhere to be found.
Our collection of milk from the Shatto Country Store.
After the Shatto Milk County Store, we began driving toward Ottumwa. To save time, we skipped a local lunch in favor of a trip through the McDonald’s drive-through near Cameron. Noah took a nap in his carseat as we drove west on U.S. Highway 36, before venturing south to stop in Marceline, most famous for being Walt Disney’s boyhood hometown.
Noah and I in front of the Disney barn.
While the museum is only opened seasonally, north of town is the site of the farm where Disney lived, including a “dreaming tree” he apparently sat beneath for inspiration and a replica of the barn which was the setting for his earliest ventures into show business. The barn, which is open daily from dawn to dusk, contains an informative interior plus thousands of notes written on the wall from those who have stopped by during its 13-year history.