Oh my aching feet! I had no idea we would be walking so much today. We worked out at the hotel and left around 10:00 a.m. to find the Chain of Rocks Bridge into Missouri. We have discovered that our guidebook often has terrible directions! It never gives an estimated number of miles and rarely directs us to travel North, South, East, or West. So we sometimes wander in circles. We have begun to rely on our phones to help us find our way. When we found the Chain of Rocks Bridge, we walked about one mile out and back and took pictures from the bridge (Dennis will post). When we were in the middle of the bridge, we spotted a shoreline perch from which we would be able to take some great pictures, so we backtracked until we found the road that would take us there. It was obviously a local fishing hole that was devoid of tourists – except for us. Then we hopped on the highway and crossed the state line and exited to visit the Missouri welcome center.
One of the workers there took pity on us and helped us with really specific directions to the Gateway Arch. When we got there, we found parking that was a bit off the beaten path, so we walked some more. We took the tram up to the top of the arch – awesome view! Then we wandered around the museum of western expansion. It is almost unbelievable when you see a covered wagon to imagine that people (families!) traveled the same distance Dennis and I are traveling under such extreme conditions. It is amazing that the west was settled that way by such tough, determined people. We are total wimps in comparison!
When we left St. Louis, we headed for Rolla – 106 miles away. The terrain had changed dramatically from Illinois. Now we were driving over rolling hills with lots of trees and rocky formations. We are in the Ozarks. We stopped at the Rte 66 state park in Eureka to see the great displays. The park was formerly a victim of dioxin poisoning that has been cleaned up and memorialized with a great Rte 66 artifacts display.
We stopped at Stanton. We wanted to see the Jesse James Wax Museum – a classic piece of Rte 66 kitsch. We were so disappointed to discover that it is closed! So we settled for a picture and jumped back on the road to Cuba. Cuba is the Mural City. There are 12 really beautiful and colorful murals on public buildings. This was a brilliant idea of the community to bring attention to the local history and the many colorful elements of being part of the Mother Road. We took pictures of one of the murals, but I have to tell you that this is worth the drive to see them all! Outside of Cuba we had to photograph the giant rocker. Hope you get a chuckle out of that picture!
We arrived in Rolla with the plan of staying at the “vintage” Xeno’s Motel and Steakhouse, but were greeted with the unpleasant aroma of cigarette smoke when we entered. The reception desk was occupied by a man who looked like an undertaker (maybe even a vampire). He told us that the rooms had wi-fi and that they had non-smoking rooms, but the only rooms available did not have wi-fi. I said thanks but no thanks and we left. That encounter set off all my “this is not a good place” alarms! We drove back to the city center and checked into a Drury Inn hotel. The pleasant young woman who checked us in commented on our wedding bracelets and on our fun journey. We cheered up considerably and found our room to be comfortable, clean and satisfactory.
I really want to stay in a vintage Rte 66 hotel, but I really want the place to be clean and comfortable, too. I will definitely post the results of this search! When we were participating in the hotel’s happy hour, we met three other travelers: one who told us that Joplin is not back up to speed and may not have a hotel room when we need it (good warning for us), and two from Highland, Michigan. This meeting of people along the way has been so much fun. We are enjoying the road, the views of other places, the local people and the other travelers we meet.
We have found some fun things to do in Joplin so we may try to get all the way to Joplin tomorrow.
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