Since our previous 2 days in St Louis were mainly spent with my great-niece's wedding events, we decided to return for a little tourist activity. After visiting Lincoln's Tomb on the 22nd, we continued southward to St Louis. Rather than stay right in the city, we stayed in Collinsville, Illinois, just 12 miles from the big city. Before checking into our motel, we drove to the Cahokia Mounds, the site of a prehistoric, native civilization. It is estimated that the city of Cahokia was inhabited from about 700-1400 AD - at its peak, it covered nearly 6 square miles and 10,000 to 20,000 people lived there. There were 120 mounds - some were for temples, some for the rich, some for burials. By 1400 AD, the site had been abandoned.
We checked into our motel, then headed to the Gateway Arch - definitely an impressive sight! Once again, we had to cross a very high bridge - not my favorite thing to do. Our GPS led us to the riverfront and the Arch - parking was right on the river! In fact, as you will see in the pictures I post on FB, the parking area ran right into the river - certainly the strangest parking "lot" I have ever used! We walked to the Arch where we encountered a great many stairs. Oh boy, I thought, I'm in trouble. But, I'm proud to say that both of us made it to the top and the base of the Arch and were not even winded. Someone sure knew what they were doing when they built those stairs - they are spaced just right as to not make it too strenuous. You cannot imagine just how big that Arch is until you stand at the base of it. Surprisingly, it is only 25 feet higher than our Space Needle. The Museum of Westward Expansion is located under the Arch. Security is extreme as you enter - purses, belts and everything electronic, including watches has to go in the bin that passes through the scanner - the only thing different from an airport is that you get to leave your shoes on! The museum is very interesting. They have a few exhibits that are life-size "people" that actually move their heads and hands while they relate information - very cool. All of us that grew up in the Pacific Northwest learned all about the Lewis & Clark Expedition in school and how it applied to our area. The Expedition actually began in the St Louis area - I'm sure that residents of St Louis and nearby know as much about the beginning as we do about the end. After visiting the museum, we walked back down those many stairs to the Arch View Cafe' for a bite to eat, then headed back to the motel. Our trusty GPS (Miss Mouth) took us back to the freeway in a rather confusing way - at one time we were going up a narrow, cobblestone road - very, very bumpy ride!
Since our motel was right next door to Denny's, we went there for dinner. I have been eating at Denny's most of my adult life - this was by far the best dinner I've had there, as well as some other more expensive joints! I had ground sirloin covered with melted jack cheese (I think) and sauteed mushrooms and onions, red potatoes, and sauteed spinach with bacon and pico de gallo. Oh my, what a tasty treat! Mike's dinner was "okay" he said, but then again, he doesn't ever get excited about food!
Time to hit the road again on Thursday, Sept 23, but we decided to see just a couple more things in St Louis first. We found our way to Grant's Farm - Ulysses S Grant founded and farmed a portion of this 281 acres and it is now owned by the Busch family. There are over 900 animals there including Clydesdale horses (of Budweiser fame), a tram and a petting zoo. I think it is normally geared more towards children and families, but we are after-all, just big kids! We got to the parking lot, and there was only one other car in sight - no one in the ticket booth, either. We saw 2 couples walking across the parking lot; and when we stopped to ask what they knew, we were told that the park is only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday this time of year. That's not what my AAA book told me - I'm going to have to have a talk with them! So - I took a picture of the sign just so you'd know we were really there!
Since Grant's Farm was a bust, we made our way to the Missouri Botanical Garden - I can't tell you how excited Mike was to get to wander through gardens. Okay - maybe he wasn't. We bought our tickets and were told that they had a dinosaur exhibit in the Climatron. We boarded a tram that would take us on a guided tour through the garden, and afterward we could walk through on a self-guided tour. The guide did not have a very smooth delivery - stuttered and stammered quite a bit, and the tram stuttered and stammered as well (pretty sure it was "operator error"). If we hadn't actually learned several interesting tidbits of information, I would have resented the $4 each that it cost. There are many beautiful statues and sculptures, and there are also glass sculptures by our very own Dale Chihuly. There is an enormous chandelier just inside the doors of the Visitor Center, "Walla-Walla onions" in the central reflecting pools, glass herons in the Climatron, and trellises in the rose garden.
Our first destination after leaving the tram was the Climatron. If we thought the heat and humidity was bad before (it's been incredibly warm and humid ever since we first hit Missouri - and everywhere else), we were about to get a lot warmer. But, oh my goodness, what gorgeous plants and flowers. Tucked among all of this were life-size dinosaurs and other "prehistoric" reptiles. My grandson, Bostin, would have been sooooo excited - hopefully he will enjoy the pictures and map as well.
We left the tropical climate of the Climatron and headed toward Henry Shaw's home and mausoleum. Henry Shaw was an English immigrant who made his fortune selling cutlery and general goods in St Louis - he retired when he was 39 years old. The garden was his vision and is often referred to as "Shaw's Garden" locally. He travelled for many years after his retirement, returning in 1851. He opened the garden to the public in 1859. He died in 1889 (89 years old) and is buried in the mausoleum opposite his home.
We visited the reflecting ponds filled with incredible water lilies and Chihuly's onions; then walked through the rose garden to see his trellises. Of course, I had to visit the gift shop before we left; and then we were off down the road again.
Next stop: Paducah . . . . where?!!
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