May 7 Meet Me In St. Louis

 May 7  115 miles

What a busy day - from the scenic, to the sublime, to the architectural, to the historical, to the educational  - we did it all in one day and then finished it up with a delightful visit and fine Italian dinner with our friend Dave who lives here in St. Louis. 

For the sublime we started the day with a visit on our way out of Springfield to see the Lauterbach Giant.  Known as a "muffler man" because he would historically be seen holding a muffler in front of  an auto shop, this particular giant is in front of a tire store. While he has held up tires in the past he's currently donning a patriotic motif with a raised American flag.  In 2006 a small tornado went through the area and decapitated the giant.  Thankfully, his head was found intact a few blocks away and local craftsmen were able to successfully reattach it. 

On the scenic standpoint we  traveled a few strips of the oldest original sections of  roadway dating back to the 1926 route.  One section was actually brick laid on top of concrete while another section is open and usable (barely) on back road through  farm fields. 

Next up was a stop at Henry's Rabbit Ranch.  We were expecting a quick stop for a couple of pictures but Henry was in a bit of a talkative mood so we heard some good stories, bought a few post cards and  snapped a couple pictures.  Henry has a passion for live rabbits as pets as well as old VW Rabbits as decorations.  He also directed us to the 8' rabbit on the side of the garage with the graveyard for his 49 lost pets. Just one of the folks and places that make this road what it is!!

Next stop was Carlinville where it is said they have the largest collection of Sears Roebuck catalog homes all in a 12 block area.  Seems Standard Oil Company bought up the kits and had the houses built here back when there was a bit of an oil boom in the area. The boom went bust and many of the houses  sat vacant and abandoned for years.  Most have now been modified and covered in vinyl siding but you can still see the repeating pattern of just several different models that were originally purchased. 

On to some historical sites as we approach St. Louis.  First up was the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge.  Built in 1926 as a toll road across the Mississippi. It was used until 1965 when the new interstate bridge was built just a bit north.  The bridge has a unique curve which was necessitated for the foundations to stay in solid rock. They say that between the narrow road, no divider and the blind curve it made for a very nerve wracking driving experience.  It's now one of the longest pedestrian/biking bridges in the country.  

Just down the road is another giant - this one isn't a person, but it is the worlds largest Ketchup bottle.  Serves as a water tank at this Catsup plant. 

More history as we went exploring the Cahokia Mounds State Historic site  and museum.   Fantastic museum chronicling the pre-Columbian Native American city that existed here from 1050-1350.  At it's height around 1250  the city covered roughly 6 square miles and contained around 20,000 people. Over 120 large mounds of various shapes and sizes once existed but only around 80 remain. The Cahokia Mounds are considered the largest and most complex archeological site north of the great pre-Columbian cities in Mexico and have been designated one of the 24 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the US.  The largest mound - Monks Mound - is oriented perfectly north/south, covers 14 acres, and rises up 100'. 

To get a feel for scale - the dots on top of Monks Mound are people

And finally we made it to St. Louis!! The Gateway to the West.  What else was there to do but see the arch from the land?  We had passed by the arch during our Great Loop trip and were surprised and disappointed that there is no marina or waterfront facility available for transient boaters in St. Louis as it would have been a great stop over.  Glad we got to at least see it up close although we weren't able to spend much time there.  Time was running short to get to the hotel and dinner .

That finishes up our time in Illinois.  I've got to give them a lot of credit for really embracing the Route 66 driving experience.  They've done a great job placing road signs at every turn and also mark the signs with the dates of use - especially useful if you're following the old 1926-1930 route or the newer 1930-1940/1946 route.  On to Missouri!!