Route 66 Day 2 - October 23, 2019

Thankfully it wasn’t such an early start this morning, and we didn’t have a huge distance to cover during the course of the day as we wended our way to St. Louis. Nevertheless it was a busy day!

Leaving the capital of Illinois (Springfield) was pretty easy – straight onto the motorway and 5 miles later off at Exit 93. This leg of the trip had us travelling on roads lined by trees displaying autumn colours and emerald green verges. Ten miles on we came to the red brick portion of Route 66. It stretches for 1.4 miles and is made from bricks manufactured at the factory of a man who was a local politician back in the day. Let’s say he had a bit of influence over the decision made about the materials to be used in this section of the road. Considering its age, it’s in remarkably good condition.

  

Dale had his drone out and had us all line up so he could take a group shot. The air was cool, but not with the same sting coming from the cold wind we had experience the day before.

We weren’t there long before it was time to get back into our cars to drive past fields still full of corn stalks, contrasted with fields that have been freshly ploughed and have lumps of chocolate like soil resting on the Earth’s surface. We saw quaint farmhouses of the classic American style, and felt like we were right out in the sticks - as far as that is possible in this part of the world.

I wouldn't be able to take you back to this place, all I know is that as we rounded one particular corner we saw a sign pointing to “The Turkey Footprints”. A few yards further, and there they were!!! 

 

Most of Route 66 is a cement road, and after this section of Portland cement was laid, the workers went home for the night. The next day when they returned they realised that a gaggle of wild turkeys had walked across the fresh pour, leaving their marks for all to see to this day. I was expecting a museum and gift shop to be set up on the site, but amazingly the whole point of this stop was to see some footprints in some dried cement!!

We left this remote rural location and returned to The Main Street of America (as Route 66 is also known) that took us through the centre of some more small towns. As we drove through Virdan and Girard we noticed neatly painted (in pastel colours) little positive motivational slogans attached to the light poles. Slowly we began to catch on that they were in support of their local football team ... the Panthers! They'd better win after the effort that has been put into supporting them! Eventually we arrived in a beautiful little town called Carlinville. All the streets leading into the town arrive at a roundabout that had a classic rotunda placed in the middle of it. 

This location was only a part of Route 66 for four years (1926 - 1930). I loved the large old fashioned display windows comprising the shop fronts. 

   

This was the big event for the coming weekend.

These days it looks as if the town serves the surrounding local community nicely, but it's not exactly thriving. There were some interesting signs for items you just don't see in Australia.  

Busch Beer born of natural ingredients!!
Later I was pleased I'd seen this sign because I tasted the non-alcoholic version of this beer at the next stop. It did have a refreshing flavour!

We had some fun perusing an antiques shop. 
       
I wish I wasn't limited by the amount of space in my suitcase, or the weight with which I'm allowed to travel on planes. (I also wish it wasn't such an effort to hoik twenty something kilograms around between hotel rooms and various forms of transport). So, although there were lots of quirky knick knacks I'd have loved to have bought to bring back as presents - including this memory box -  I could only look. 

I love this idea. It's a bit like a surprise bag that I use when I'm teaching Kindy and Pre-Primary children.

We boosted the local economy a bit by buying a nice Italian meal - salad, meatballs and pizza washed down with a cup of coffee - excellent value for $8.00.

    

Before we knew it, it was time to head out of town and onto the next stop - The Luna Cafe

This is Col (one of the guys on the tour) standing in front of this "Claytons" cafe.

The Luna Cafe was built in 1924, two years before the establishment of Route 66. The cafe was rumoured to have been frequented by gangsters in the likes of Al Capone, and operated as a 'fine dining' establishment. Apparently it was so expensive that most law-abiding citizens couldn't afford to eat there.  Unsuspecting travellers along Route 66 were customers of the cafe on the main floor, unaware that it was a cover for a gambling operation in the basement, and a house of ill repute upstairs. Apparently the neon sign out the front of the building had a cherry which used ruby glass to enhance the red glow. It is said that when the cherry was lit, the girls were in. Thankfully, the cherry is no longer there!

There are occasions when I enjoy a beer.
I was intrigued to find out how the taste of a non-alcoholic beer compared to one with a bit of alcohol in it.  

After wetting my whistle, we continued along the road clothed with green and splashes of goldens, reds and oranges until we came to the Chain of Rocks Bridge which spans the Mississippi River on the north edge of St Louis. Without any hullabaloo we had left the state of Illinois and were now in the state of Missouri. We were at the eastern end of the bridge on Chouteau Island. Dale knows the lady who holds the keys to the gates at  either end of the bridge. For quite some time now, the bridge has only been accessible to walkers or cyclists, but Dale had organised us to drive over the bridge to the western end on the Missouri shoreline. We drove about half way across and parked. 

  

Our presence aroused the interest of a policeman who came to inquire about what we were doing. Dale and Dan allayed his worries and we casually took photos and had a very pleasant conversation with a local walking his very friendly dog. It enticed each of us gathered around it to scratch behind its ears and along its back ... and then after going around the entire circle, started at the beginning again and asked us to scratch her all over again! She was very polite. 

I was thoroughly enjoying the prevailing wind blowing down the Mississippi River. It was so clean and fresh with a hint of warmth. Soon, though, it was time to get back in the car and finish up our drive for the day. 

The most notable feature of the Chain of Rocks Bridge (which derived its name from a 17 mile shoal, a series of rocky rapids called the Chain of Rocks, beginning just north of St Louis) is a 22 degree bend occuring in the middle of the crossing. The reason for this change of direction is is due to the difficulty the riverboat men experienced navigating the two water intake towers (see below) 

Furthermore, the initial straight line would have put the bridge over a section of the river where the bedrock was insufficient to support the weight of the piers. No matter what, the bridge had to bend!

After the bend we departed the bridge and continued into the picturesque and immaculate city of St Louis. Finally we arrived at our accommodation for the night - the unique Moonrise Hotel. From the moment you enter the lobby, you know you have come to something special!

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This hotel celebrates everything to do with man landing on the moon, and has the most amazing collection of memorabilia in glass boxes neatly lined up and acting as room divides.
   
   
Most of our group raced into the hotel to drop off their luggage so they could catch a taxi to the Gateway Arch, designed by architect Eero Saarinen, to commemorate Thomas Jefferson and St Louis' role in the westward expansion of the United States. Jenny and I were not joining them because we were meeting up with some friends I had made when I lived in the US in 1967.

As we entered into the elevator to go to our room to freshen up before Norrie and Wilma Jamieson came to collect us, we saw this celebration of Neil Armstrong.

Refreshed, we headed back downstairs just as Norrie and Wilma were pulling up in their car. They very generously took us for a ride around St Louis and shared their knowledge and love of the city with us. I sat in the front seat with Norrie, and Jenny sat in the back seat with Wilma. In his soft, lilting Scottish accent, Norrie told us about St Louis which was at one time the 4th biggest city in the USA,  but now it is the 58th largest US city. It has a population of about 3 million people. He drove us through the beautiful and neat city past Washington University affectionately known as Wash U, to Forest Park - the jewel of St Louis which is bigger than New York's Central Park. 

 

St Louis was named in honour of Louis IX and there is a majestic statue of him overlooking Forest Park. He is placed in front of an Art Museum. 

  

We drove past Francis Field which was the home of the 1904 Olympics. When you consider the villages and amenities that are built for the athletes these days, it's a wonder all the action fitted into this relatively small area. There were some magnificent buildings under construction:

Along with some older structures. We drove past a statue of Chuck Berry who hailed from St Louis; saw a sign informing us that the World's first chess championships had been played in St Louis in 1886; heard about the zoo which has no entrance fee, and the botanical gardens which charges a fee to enter (the complete opposite to Perth)

   

And then we came to the 630 foot, stainless steel Arch (the world's tallest monument) which was constructed between 1963 and October 28th, 1965. Its foundations are sunk 60 feet into the ground, and it has been built to withstand earthquakes and high winds. It sways up to one inch in 20 mile per hour winds and has been built to sway up to 18 inches. (I would not want to be at the top of it when it is swaying that much!!)

As the sun was setting, Norrie and Wilma decided it was time to take us back to their place for a unique St Louis meal. Their daughter Anne had organised the delicacies for us. The menu was:

Toasted Ravioli

Salad with provolone cheese (unique to St Louis)

Imo Pizzas

Sticky Butter Pudding with fresh raspberries

Pale Ale from a local boutique brewery

Root Beer

It was all delicious. As we ate we reminisced about our time of living in Troy, upstate New York, and some of the things I did as a young girl (I was only 9 at the time). We also poured over a map of Australia. Norrie and Wilma (who originally came from the land down under) showed us all the places they had visited, and asked Jenny and me to tell them about the various remote communities in which we had taught. To finish off the evening we took some photos:

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The Norrie drove us back to the hotel ..... but wait, there's more!

 

The illuminated plant pots outside the hotel's reception area. The photo doesn't do them justice!

We knew that it would be an early start in the morning so we quickly went to the bar at the top of the hotel (as Norrie suggested we should do) to take a look at the lights of St Louis .... and nothing else!

 

Jenny and I were so ready for bed, and it didn't take us long to fall asleep once out heads hit the pillow!