Discoveries in History – More of Illinois and St. Louis

We’ve been traveling along the route taken by the Corps of Discovery in 1805-1806.  While we haven’t traveled it in the same order that Lewis and Clark did, their history has been part of our experience.  We saw where Sergeant Floyd died from appendicitis.  We touched William Clark’s signature etched in the stone of Pompey’s Pillar.  We spent a day at Traveler’s Rest in Montana where we walked along the Bitterroot River and saw the campsite the Corps camped in exactly 200 years before our visit.  We recently were at Brennan’s Wave on the Clark Fork in Missoula, saw a memorial bridge across the Missouri River in Chamberlain, South Dakota.  And, of course, we lived this past summer on the banks of the Snake River close to the city of Pasco where Lewis and Clark first saw the confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers.

And now, we saw the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri.  The Arch was built to commemorate the westward expansion of the United States made possible by Lewis and Clark.

We were technically still in Illinois – staying as close to St. Louis as we could get in our RV.  And our first full day in Granite City, Illinois, we drove a few miles to see the Departure Point.  This was the campsite of Lewis and Clark at River Dubois.  There is a great museum there complete with a life-size replica of the “keeled” boat as well as the piroques used by the Corps for the first part of their river journey.

We went on a guided ranger tour to see a replica of the fort on the river – the rebuilt rustic buildings formed a small but efficient military-style post where the expedition gathered as a unit before departure.

While in that area, we took a guided tour of the Melvin Price Locks and Dam, built by the Army Corps of Engineers.  We can’t help but compare all locks and dams to OUR Ice Harbor Lock and Dam.  This dam is on the muddy Mississippi and the barge and ship traffic is much heavier then on the Snake River.  But “our” dam stands a proud 100 feet high and traffic through that lock navigate the full 100 feet while the Melvin Price lock is only a few feet high – actually only 8 inches while we were there.  But it was a thrill to see a tug push fifteen barges through the lock all at once.

A 15 barge tow entering the lock

It barely fits!

We didn’t waste any more time getting to the Arch.  The next day, Monday, October 22, we drove to a Metro Link station to commute into the city.  After a short ride, we walked to the Arch where we bought tickets for the movie, depicting the construction and history of the Arch, and tickets for the tram ride to the top.  We didn’t get tickets for the boat ride on the Mississippi River right below the Arch – we saved that for another time.  The movie was really interesting and was a good start to our visit.  The tram ride was great!  It is a very well organized attraction, obviously ready for huge crowds.  So while we waited for our tram, we took the time to wander through the museum.  It was also well organized – with separate halls showing us the construction, the history of St. Louis, and lots more.

The Gateway Arch on the Mississippi River

For the architects and mathematicians!

Then it was time for our tram.  We waited at our station for only a few minutes before a guide led us into the pretty tight space we all had to maneuver to enter the tram cars.  For those with walking issues beware – there are lots of narrow steps (which you share with many others) and then you walk a bit of a distance.  Then there is the tram car.  Picture a ferris wheel car – only it is completely enclosed.  The only “window” is the tiny glass elevator door through which you enter.  This door is 4 feet high.  So you walk up a little step, bend down and squeeze into the car which you are sharing with four other people.  The best way to handle this is to smile at each other and not mind that all ten of your knees are touching and if you are an adult your head is probably hitting the curved ceiling of the car.  You only get to look out of the car for part of the upward journey and then all you see are the endless narrow winding stairs you will have to walk down if the tram mechanism fails.  Otherwise there is nothing to see.  Until you get to the top.  Then you have to get out of the cramped car and squish past everyone waiting to get back on the car while you share the very narrow stair case up more steps to the viewing room.  We were there on a day without the usual crowds – only one tram was operating, but we were still shoulder to shoulder with plenty of other tourists.  Even so the viewing area was pretty pleasant and in a minute or so you could get next to a window to see the spectacular views.  The Mississippi River side is just as amazing as the St. Louis city side.  You could stay up there as long as you wanted – and we made sure we got our fill of a view we might not see again.  After understanding the construction and being told that a little sway in the arch is common, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in the world’s tallest arch at 630 feet high and the tallest human-made monument in the Western Hemisphere.  Another item to check off our bucket list!

View of St. Louis from the top of the arch

We walked through the downtown area of St. Louis to get to Sen, our destination for a Thai lunch – excellent!  And then cut through City Garden to see the sculptures as we walked back to our Metro Link stop.  A great day in St. Louis!

One of the sculptures in the City Park

Cahokia Mounds in Illinois, not far from our campground, was a step back into history – way before Lewis and Clark.  This site was amazing.  In 1250 CE, Cahokia was larger than London was at that time.  It was one of the greatest cities of the world covering (now) about 3.5 square miles with about 80 mounds.  The pre-Columbian Native Americans lived in the plazas amidst the giant mounds – peacefully tending crops and existing in family units.  At the height of its population, there were between 10,200 and 15,300 people living in this beautiful place.

The mounds are huge, especially when you consider that the earth was moved from nearby pits in woven baskets and then piled onto the massive platforms.    The largest of the mounds, Monks Mound, has four terraces and is ten stories high and is bigger than the largest pyramid in Egypt.  A few of the mounds are burial tombs but most of them are simply earthen ceremonial embankments.  This is truly a sight to see and now we want to visit other mounds around the country.

Monk’s Mound

We couldn’t resist one more day exploring St. Louis.  After a very good vegetarian lunch at Frida’s, we headed to Delmar Loop.  As we walked the main street we read the embedded stars in the Walk of Fame, noting the many famous people who call St. Louis home.  We took our photos with the statue of Chuck Berry.  We gave in to our cravings and stopped at Piccione Pastry Shop.  Doug’s ricotta cheesecake and my chocolate chip cannolli were worth every calorie!

Hanging out with Chuck Berry

We had another day to be explorers so we drove over to the Anheuser-Busch Brewery for one of their tours.  We took the General Tour since we weren’t interested in becoming brewers ourselves and it was free.  We weren’t prepared for the big crowds and almost had to wait 2.5 hours for the tour.  But then this nice woman gave us 2 extra tickets for the next tour.  Doug wasn’t very complimentary about this tour.  It was mostly walking outside between the massive, old red brick buildings in a group of about 40 people.  The tour guide spoke quickly into a microphone with no real interest in interacting with her audience.  In between the long walks (in the cold rain) we stopped at a few places to hear some information that was garbled into the mike.  So Doug’s comments are well taken, but I enjoyed the tour – the buildings were beautiful; we got to see a Clydesdale Horse getting a bath!; the interior of the brewery was beautiful with creamy ivory-colored intricate wrought iron and large portraits under grand chandeliers.  At one of the stops you are offered a sample (Bud or Bud Light).  Neither of us drink any more and Doug’s gluten issue is not compatible with beer, but I always liked the first sip or two of a nice cold beer so while Doug didn’t take any, I asked for a small “sip”.  Everyone else got a filled-to-the-top 4 oz. glass of beer.  I got a 3.5 oz glass – of which I took 3 sips.  As we passed through to the next stop, my almost-filled cup was one of only a couple that had any liquid left in it.  At the end of the tour, we were invited to turn in our stamped tickets to get another sample.  I found the lady who gave us her extra tickets and gave her our tickets for two samples.  She and her husband were happy to get them.  Everyone (crowds and crowds) were walking through the exhibits and gift shop with large glasses of beer.  I guess we are truly out of touch.

A Clydesdale getting a bath

I took some time to take advantage of a good laundry at our St. Louis KOA and we spent a few quiet days in the RV, while the damp, cold fall weather rolled around us outside.  We checked the forecast and found that a windstorm was heading our way on the Sunday we were planning to leave Granite City.  We changed plans and just stayed put that day.  Leaving one day late was fine with us and we didn’t have to struggle with high winds on the highway.  That left us only spending one night at Lincoln City State Park in Indiana.

This was a beautiful park – with lots of trees in fall colors and a pretty site.  It had the added attraction of being right next to Lincoln’s Boyhood Home Memorial Park.  We barely parked the rig before we headed over to the memorial park.  We were too late for the visitor center and museum but it was the perfect time of day to wander through the forest, crunching on yellow leaves and walking the Trail of Stones.  Along this pretty half-mile path are stones from homes and sites from Lincoln’s life.  We saw the rebuilt wooden cabin and farm buildings as well as the acres where crops grew during the time Thomas Lincoln made this farm his family home.

Site of the Lincoln Boyhood Home

We got up early the next day to see the visitor center and its museum exhibits.  We feel like we have gotten to know the man Abraham Lincoln was rather than the legend.  Seeing his humble beginnings, learning about his love of reading and his family values, we now have a truer picture of his greatness.  We hope to get to his birthplace in Kentucky.

The Lincoln Museum in Indiana

But our main reason for our next stop is Mammoth Caves!  The largest cave system – and one we have been wanting to see.  Kentucky – Land of the Unbridled Spirit – here we come!  Another new state for us!