After a week in Little Rock, we packed up and headed for St. Louis to spend some time with Jerry’s aunt, Tootsie, before her knee replacement on June 29. Jerry’s cousin, Jim, and his wife, Gaye, had just moved into their newly constructed home in House Springs (a suburb of St. Louis) and offered us “bed and breakfast” while we were in the area. We had a short visit with Tootsie on Monday and spent the entire day with her on Tuesday. When we picked her up, she already had our day planned! We hopped in the truck and headed to the newly opened Ted and Pat Jones Confluence Park where the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers merge. We learned that the Missouri River is much muddier and much faster than the Mississippi. In fact, the Missouri drains 1/6 of the United States, including 10 states and part of Canada. However, there appeared to be no barge traffic on the Missouri – only on the Mississippi.
As Lewis and Clark explored the Missouri River, they found 11 Indian nations that lived in the area. The Quapaws were the only ones who made it to Arkansas. Ten of the 11 tribes now live in Oklahoma. The 11th one lives in Kansas.
The Mississippi River begins as a small stream leaving Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota. There, it is only 20-30 feet wide and only 3 feet deep with a flow of 50 gallons per second. By the time it reaches the Gulf Coast, it is 3 miles wide and 100 feet deep, discharging 4½ million gallons of water per second.
We crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois and had lunch in Alton. We then followed the Great River Road to Pere Marquette State Park. It is a beautiful park with great camping and a grand old lodge that’s worth future exploration. We then boarded two ferries to get us back across the water to St. Charles, Missouri. We ended the day with a stop at Ted Drewes, on Old Route 66, for a “concrete”. For those who don’t know what a concrete is, it’s custard that’s frozen so hard it’s served upside down in a cup. It is soooooooo good!
On Wednesday, we went to Meramec State Park with Jim and Gaye for a picnic of salami, crackers, mustard, cheese, apples, and Arkansas tomatoes. It was a beautiful day and we loved our picnic and our time with them.
On Thursday, we packed up and said our farewells to Jim and Gaye. We went to Union Station for lunch at Houlihan’s then headed for the Arch and the Museum of Westward Expansion at the bottom of the Arch. We enjoyed seeing many artifacts for the westward migration. I had been up in the Arch about 25 years ago and swore I would never do it again but there I was, about to step into one of 6 “capsules” that take 5 people in each to the top. It was a really hot day and the capsule was very stuffy. I have issues with touching people I don’t know and there’s no way to be in the capsule and not touch strangers. We got some relief when we reached the top but there were lots of people there. We were befriended by a couple who had come to St. Louis on a Harley. They took our pictures and we reciprocated. You gotta’ love America. Lack of diversity is never an issue. We would have had an uneventful trip to the bottom, except for the guy in our capsule who was claustrophobic. Jer and I were prepared to take him out if we had to. Luckily, he made it without our having to get physical.
At that point, we needed something to cool us off and calm our nerves so we headed for Anheuser-Busch. One of our favorite parts (beside the Hospitality Room) was seeing the Clydesdales. They are incredible animals weighing over 2,000 pounds as adults. Newborn colts weigh in at 125 pounds – ouch! We learned that in order to be classified as a Clydesdale, the horse must be dark brown in color with four white feet and a white blaze on his forehead. The stable dog is a Dalmation named Mickey – perhaps after Michelob??? Mickey was sleeping in one of the stalls and, try as we might, we could not get him to come to us! When we finished the tour, we were escorted to the Hospitality Room for complimentary brews. A good time was had by all.
On Friday, June 30 we went to Grant’s Farm and, boy, did we love it! It is located on 80 acres that were given to Ulysses S. Grant by his bride’s family when they married. It was purchased in 1903 by August Busch, Sr. and four generations of Busches have lived there since. We entered through a covered wooden bridge then boarded a tram that carried us past Grant’s cabin and through Deer Park where there are hundreds of animals from six continents roaming freely. We got off the tram in the Tier Garden where we had the chance to come face-to-face with many different animals. Our favorites were the baby goats. For $1.00, you can buy small baby bottles full of milk to feed them. We bought several bottles and we had more fun! They were so cute and so sweet and when they couldn’t get to the bottle, they would nibble on the legs of your shorts. We laughed and laughed and took lots of photos. We saw huge tortoises, parrots and macaws, monkeys, elephants, camels, llamas and a fox. We learned that the tortoises can live to be 100 years old and have jaws strong enough to break a human’s hand. We also learned that parrots can live to be over 70 years old!
Our final stop at Grant’s Farm was at the Anheuser-Busch Hospitality House for more free beer. We could get used to this!
Our next challenge was to trace some of old Route 66 that once traversed over 2,400 miles to link Chicago to Los Angeles. We also would visit Missouri’s Route 66 State Park and Museum. For the youngsters in the crowd, Route 66 opened up the west to those who wished to travel there. It was commissioned in 1926 and, to townspeople along the route and travelers alike, it was something special. It was called the “most magical road in all the world”. And by any standard, that’s what it became. Route 66 was a destination in itself. By the mid-1930’s, the highway had begun to create its own myth; it grew larger than life.
It became known by many monikers including “Main Street America” and “The Mother Road”, a term coined by John Steinbeck. It was immortalized in song when Bobby Troup wrote “Get Your Kicks on Route 66” just after World War II. And with the 1960’s hit television show, “Route 66”, starring George Maharis and Martin Milner, the road became even more famous. And, ah, the Burma Shave signs such as these seen in the museum:
A silky cheek
Shaved smooth and clean;
Is not obtained
With a mowing machine.
Burma Shave
Of course, when the last section of Interstate 40 was opened in 1984, it brought an end to Route 66. Many of the towns that lay along her path died with her when the decision was made by state transportation officials to remove all traces of Route 66 markings.
