Mike road food – fritos and and pickle wrap (Tami didn’t want one, imagine that)

Friday was another hard day. Not because of the distance, but because we left the river and had to do some hill climbing. Sure they were railroad grade hills, but they still put a bit more strain on already tired legs. We got a bit later start than we intended as Tami discovered she had a flat tire when we went to our bikes. That may explain why she found the last two miles into town the day before especially hard.

Wildlife sightings included two deer crossing the path in front of us, and buzzards circling over our rest stop. We were not sure if they knew something about us, or were just attracted by the smell.

Along with the walnuts, we also started seeing some larger green balls on the trail, maybe the size of a softball. We later learned those are called hedge apples and also Osage oranges. Apparently the are the fruit of the Osage tree. The are not edible, but local lore says keeping them in your house keeps spiders away. Tami thought about bringing one home for the fall spider season, but decided it was a bit too large.

Osage orange

We ended the day in Sedalia at another classic old (and reputably haunted) hotel, the Bothwell. We had a really exceptional lunch there after we pulled in. Tami had an amazingly good lasagna, full of meat and with a great sauce. It was also larger than she could finish. Mike chose the daily special, an equally wonderful chicken and waffle sandwich with grilled peaches. The combination of the chicken and peaches really made it. The only issue was he had to go wash his hands when he was done, as a napkin was not even going to make a start on the residual peach syrup stickiness!

Coming into town we stopped at the old train station and bought some Katy Trail jerseys

Downtown Sedalia

Cool building in Sedalia

Old ad art in alley

Our crew – L to R – Huffy, Beaver, Arrow Man, Snowflake, Drew, and Bubba

Leaving town Saturday morning, we came across a large group of JROTC’s having a run event. They were leaving in groups on a timed out and back run. We guessed that each group represented a different school. For several miles we were passing groups frequently, both heading out and coming back. Some were going strong and some looked ready to drop. The one group that seemed to be having fun were walking it.

For two days we had been looking for the high point on the trail (Mike thought it was on day 5, but it wasn’t, much to Tami’s irritation). When we finally hit it on day 6, it was cause for celebration as it meant more down than up to the finish.

Mike at the high point (can’t quite call that a summit)

Old train signal along the trail

We pressed it a little harder as we started to smell the finish line. Our legs paid us back later for the extra effort. We pulled into the finish to a greeting of Subway sandwiches, cold drinks, and glorious showers at the local community center. We had been warned to bring our hotel soaps, and we were given the special “Bubba disposable towels”.

Done!

Modeling our new jerseys at the finish line (aren’t those guts supposed to be gone by now?) – oh yeah, Bubba fed us well, what cha gonna do

Just liked this building

About 2 we boarded the bus back to St. Charles, though not all of us found a seat. Despite Bubba having ordered a 40 seat bus, and confirmed a 40 seat bus, we got a 30 seat bus. Fortunately there were extra seats in the vehicles pulling the bike trailers, so we all made it. Halfway back we stopped at a DQ, and the run on ice cream was something to behold. We made a very brief foray into Ozarkland, but decided the DQ was a much better choice.

View from the bus

Passing back over the Katy

Ozarkland

By the way, we found out why the trail is called the Katy. The railroad company was called the MKT, for Missouri, Kansas, and Texas. MKT somehow got shortened to KT in popular parlance, and thus became known as the Katy.

Back in town we headed down to the OctoberFest in St. Charles, but it was too loud and chaotic, so we opted instead for a nice winery restaurant. Mike’s order of ribs was so large, however, that half is coming home in his suitcase. He MIGHT have to share with Keenan.

Sunflowers

Today went better. We think Mike may have started out dehydrated yesterday. We made sure that was not the case today (glug, glug). The temperature still got up to maybe 92, and we rode around 52 miles.

We also started out an hour earlier to catch more of the cool part of the day. The ride was especially scenic. We saw several of the iconic sights that we have seen in other bike blogs and advertisements about the trail. One was a spot where you could see some old Native American pictographs, another was a little stone hut build at the entrance to a cave in the bluff that used to be used by the railroad for storing dynamite, another was a tunnel we got to ride through, and the last was what we called “boathenge”.

Pictographs – hard to see, but they are highlighted in red

Dynamite shed

Tunnel

Boathenge?

The big lunch stop was a town called Rocheport. We had been told a restaurant called Abigail’s was very good, but small (7 tables). We rode hard and got there just after 11:30. We scored the last open table! We both went for the lobster and shrimp ravioli. Even now Tami is still drooling all over herself.

Abigail’s

That set us up for the final 13 miles into Booneville. Right after we left Rocheport, we went through the old tunnel. Interestingly, the couple miles after the tunnel was much more green and verdant than the rest of the trail, not that the rest has not been good, but this section was just more lush. All of a sudden we also started seeing more wildlife. We had frogs jumping on the trail, snakes slithering across, grasshoppers, more birds (including some beautiful white egrets), turtles, and lots of butterflies. Tami even spotted a cardinal, which of course the St. Louis baseball team is named after.

We are staying at a very cool old hotel, the Hotel Frederick. They did ask us when we checked in if by any chance we were brother and sister rather than a couple, as they said the bathroom did not offer any privacy. After we got to the room, we saw what they meant, the bathroom is all glass walls! Quite a show.

Our room, including glass walled bath

We liked the copper pipe towel rack

The room is beautiful, and we are planning to go down in a few minutes to check out the classic old bar. Meanwhile we have a window looking out over the bridge we rode in on, so we can watch the riders behind us roll in.

Hotel bar – the chef actually came out to make our Manhattan’s

Dinner here at the hotel was the best we have had on the whole trip. Some weeks ago we were asked to chose between shrimp and grits, rabbit, and steak Diane. We both chose the shrimp and grits. However, when we saw the menu tonight we were almost sorry we had not chosen the rabbit. Apparently it is the chef’s signature dish, and is listed as rabbit five ways (braised, grilled, confit, mousse, and sauce). There was also a great summer squash salad, and for dessert Tami went for the chocolate cinnamon cake, while Mike opted for the baked apple with sorghum ice cream and caramel sauce.

After dinner one of Bubba’s staff told us from his railroading background. He used to be an engineer on the Katy railroad. One of my favorites was the time there was a competition between the Katy and another railroad to build a line to Indian Territory. Whichever line got its track there first would be granted the right to continue. Both lines were getting close, but the other line was leading. However, at night some workers from the Katy went out and built a monument out front along the route of the other line, saying “start of Indian Territory”, only it was two miles short of the actual border. So when the other line got there, they stopped laying track. Meanwhile the Katy crew built their track to the correct border and won the competition.

Another story was about the origin of the name of Lard Hill, a feature on the line south of here. As the story goes, one day the train hit a women’s pig and killed it. The women was upset and billed the railroad $5 for the pig, but it wouldn’t pay. She was ticked off, so she rendered down the pig and every night would go out and spread some of the lard on the tracks. When the train came along, the wheels would spin and the train would not be able to make it up the hill. This went on until the railroad gave in and paid her the $5.

Watch out!

We are posting two days worth today (separate posts). Today was our longest day so far, as well as the hottest. We did about 49 miles, and the predicted high was 95. Tomorrow will be about the same temperature, and about two miles longer. (Whew!)

Our morning started with a delicious breakfast served in the outdoor garden of the B&B. At that hour, it was still nice and cool, but you could already feel the humidity. We knew it was going to be a scorcher so we wanted to get going as soon as possible, so off we went back across the river and onto the trail.

Outdoor breakfast

Today the trail ran mostly through wooded areas, which is nice and shaded, but occasionally we would break out into open areas in the full sun. Each had its advantages. Under the trees, while it was shaded, it also had the intermittent danger of walnuts. There are lots of walnut trees along the trail and at this time of year lots have fallen on the trail. Newly fallen walnuts are bright green just like a tennis ball and nearly the same size, while older ones are dark brown. Both kinds blend in very well with the leaf litter in the dappled sunshine under the trees and those nuts are rock hard! One has to pay extra attention to avoid hitting them if possible. When riding in the open sunshine, it is much hotter but there are no crazy nuts around (well, except Mike) and the trail is also significantly smoother.

Another hazard we ran into on one section was an area where the dried cornfields had recently been harvested and lots of hunks of corn cobs were scattered along the trail. Can’t say we’ve run into walnuts or corncobs before!

We had a few wildlife sightings today. Tami saw a lizard run across the trail and also spotted a dead snake on the trail. Mike got hit by two butterflies (ouch!), and Tami had a ladybug hitch a ride on a brake cable for a while. And we saw SQUIRRELS! With big, bushy, golden tails! We had to shout SQUIRREL every time we saw one.

Shade was very welcome on the trail today

Farmer’s field with an odd crop – lots of parts of cars

Large rock at side of trail with various flood levels marked – here is from 1943

Old railroad bridge

Our first sag stop was right on the river in a beautiful setting. It was located in Portland, and since Tami was wearing her STP jersey, she really felt like that should be the end of the day’s riding. She consoled herself by having Cheetos for the third day in a row, perhaps not a good trend.

That was followed up with lunch only ten miles further down the road in Mokane, which is an extremely small town. There was a dive bar that served hamburgers and a little convenience store with deli sandwiches available. We opted for the sandwiches, which ran a whopping $3 each.

Lunch stop in the general store

Interesting decor in the general store

Our second sag stop was at a hostel right off the trail that is used by youth groups on rides. A very nice place donated by a local woman to support use of the trail. The best part was that it was air conditioned. By this time it was getting very hot. Very, very hot, and of course very, very humid.

Turner Katy Trail Shelter

Getting away from the heat inside (Tami REALLY wanted to take a nap)

We still had about 15 miles to go and the temperature kept rising. Our rest stops became more and more frequent and Mike appeared to be wilting. Mike was pouring water on his head for relief and Tami was dousing water on her eyes at every stop to wash away the salt. At one point we had our first dog come running out barking at us, but it was very half-hearted and he turned around halfway to us. Too darned hot even for him.

But at last we reached the point where we turned off the trail and had the final three miles to ride into Jefferson City, the capitol of Missouri. We passed more cornfields that ran right up to the edge of town. The route required climbing a strange multilevel square ramp structure to the bridge deck where we accessed an oddly bumpy and bouncy bike lane.

Jefferson City

Foggy start

(This is posted a day late due to our busy evening.)

We got up wondering how wet the trail might be today, but it actually turned out fine. It was quite foggy, but there had been just enough rain to keep the dust down. We DID have some issues with our sunglasses fogging up. We had to pull them down and look over the tops to see down the trail ahead of us.

Cool building at our sag stop

Tami with her morning cheetos

Also at our sag stop

Riding with some friends

It was a short day, only 30 miles, but the wurst was yet to come. We pulled into our destination, Hermann, about noon. We had been warned ahead of time, so headed right to the Wurst Haus as soon as we got here. Mike was in heaven, and Tami was pretty happy too! This area has a very strong German heritage, and this deli/restaurant carries 47 types of bratwurst, 10 kinds of bacon, and 10 kinds of summer sausage, all made by them. We had a wonderful lunch of brats, kraut, and red cabbage, along with house brewed beer, blackberry cider, and on tap gin and tonics. Oh my.

After getting checked in and showered, we wandered around town a bit. It was actually rather dead. Apparently this is quite the tourist town on weekends, so most of the businesses close on Monday and Tuesday. It was also a bit too hot and muggy ( given the recent rain) for us, so we quickly collapsed on a bench with some cold water.

Hermann

Later we were all picked up by a motor trolley and transported to a local winery. There are in fact quite a few wineries in the area. I saw something yesterday referring to this area as Missouri’s weinstrasse. So I guess we are in Hermann-on-the-weinstrasse. (That’s for you, Peggy.)

We had a nice tour of the winery, followed by tasting, and finally, dinner in their restaurant. Guess what we had? Yes, the German plate with bratwurst, schnitzel, sauerbraten, red cabbage, and warm German potato salad. I think we got our German on today!

It was interesting seeing that they use several grape varieties we had not heard of before. The most popular is a red wine grape called Norton. We had some of that with dinner, and had a bit more shipped home.

Grapes, dontcha know

Touring the cellar

After dinner they put us back on the trolley and gave us a guided tour of the town.

Viewpoint over the river on our trolley tour

Tomorrow is a longer day, close to 50 miles, and the temperature is forecast to get up into the mid 90’s. We are hoping to get an early start so we can get as much of it done as possible before it heats up.

Photobombed by Lewis and Clark at the start line

No, we did not decide to extend the trip and ride our bikes all the way home. Our first night’s stay on the ride is in Washington, a small town just off the trail, on the other side of the Missouri River, after a 35 mile ride.

We left the hotel early (for us) this morning and rode less than a mile to the breakfast stop before finally heading down the trail. It was weird to just pack up our bags, leave them on the bed, grab our bikes, and head down the road. Bubba and his crew take care of everything else. We got to talk to a few more fellow riders at breakfast and gather for a group photo, and then it was finally time to RIDE! It did feel so good to get on the bikes and start spinning those pedals.

Tami sometimes found her way blocked

The Katy Trail consists of very nice hard-packed limestone and it was quite smooth, although fairly dusty. We soon found ourselves pedaling through wooded areas right next to the river with a chorus of crickets accompanying us. We were surprised how wooded so many areas are, and the woods have much less undergrowth than in the Northwest. Interspersed are sections of farmland.  We were also frequently riding just below a vertical rock bluff with the river on the other side of the trail. Very dramatic and beautiful.

Mike called Tami’s bluff

Some of the group came along to call Tami’s bluff as well

The trail runs through a fairly remote area so the towns along the way are mostly quite small. We did stop in one bike shop where Mike found his new favorite shirt with a map of the trail and neon green bikes on it. Tami found some Katy Trail socks, a must have for riding.

We were quite surprised to see how many wineries there are in the area, but apparently the early settlers planted vineyards back in the mid-1800’s and after a revival of local wineries in the 1960’s, it has been a growing industry. We are scheduled to visit one of the wineries tomorrow, which sounds very fun.

And corn, Tami was strangely fond of all the corn

and took way too many pictures of it

Our sag stop, which was complete with comfy chairs, drinks and snacks, including Cheetos (Tami is two orange thumbs up!), was also across the street from the replica of Daniel Boone’s Judgement Tree. The original tree was struck by lightning so they planted a new one in the same spot.

Replica Judgment Tree

Today’s ride ended in Dutzow, where many German immigrants settled in the 1800’s. That heritage was reflected in our lunch choices at the deli where we had lunch. Tami had the Knoblauchkase burger, which had cream cheese and garlic on it, and Mike had a grilled Braunschweiger sandwich. Both were delicious! After we stepped out of the Dutzow Deli, we noted some very dark clouds on the horizon- looked like we finished just in time! Bubba’s crew loaded us up in batches to take us across the river into town since the bridge was a hazard for cyclists, and it was so nice to come into our room and find our bags waiting for us, along with a nice hot shower. A very successful first day on the ride!

Bike needs a bath as well – it gets VERY dusty on the trail

Happy girl, heading back to the Katy!

Getting back worked seamlessly today. The cab was on time, and we got on the train with no problem. We knew enough this time to sit on the more scenic (river) side of the train, and no chattering guy right behind us. The train made good time and actually got us into St. Louis about 15 minutes early. It was interesting that over half of the passengers disembarked at the station before downtown, presumably because of the protests, but in fact everything was quiet downtown and we had no problems there either. From downtown we took light rail to the airport, and Ubered from there.

When we went to bed last night we were treated to a fantastic lightning storm that went on and on, and we have no idea when it finished as we fell asleep to continuous flashes and constant rumble. We hope we got it out of its system. It was still raining when we got up this morning, and for quite a while on the trip, but by mid-state the rain had largely disappeared, and by the time we got close to St. Louis, it was looking dry. Keeping our fingers crossed!

Our view for the first half of the trip

Nice place to watch the river

When we got back to the hotel we were reunited with our bike suitcases, and from our higher room (21st floor this time) got a better look at the hotel/casino relationship to the river. We understand that in Missouri casino’s are required to be floating. Probably goes back to the riverboat days. There is one casino in town that was actually built in its own pond. Anyway, looking down, you can see that we are located on a mudflat RIGHT next to the river. There is even a small stream channel going right under us. Clearly when the river comes up we are over water, and I guess that counts.

Our casino/hotel almost in the river

We spent a couple of hours putting the bikes together. It shouldn’t take that long, but we ran into a few issues. There was one bit with Tami’s front bag mount that required consultation with the bike mechanic in the group. Of course the solution was one of those forehead slapping moments. DOH!!

Bikes suitcases

Mike working on his bike

At 5:00 we got to meet the other riders as well as Bubba and team. I don’t think there was a rider under 50, and quite a few over 70. Quite a few of them are hard core riders, and many have done tours with Bubba before. This is NOT an inexperienced group. We meet for breakfast at 7:30 tomorrow morning, and ride from there. We are only doing 35 miles, so it should be an easy day. At last, the Katy!

Ruination

We spent a while making sure we could get back early to the train station tomorrow. We need to be there by about 7:30 am, and combining the facts that we have been told getting Uber this far out can be hit and miss, and that the drivers who do live out here may not be up and about at 7 am, we were concerned. Tami did manage to find a local taxi driver who promised to pick us up at 7:15, so we should be good. Also, it looks like the protests are staying largely peaceful, so getting through St. Louis tomorrow should not be a problem.

We were ready for a little change of pace today and Mike found just the mindless event to keep us entertained. We were not really looking forward to spending an hour each way on a bus to get into Kansas City proper, and it was not clear there was that much to see if we did. Fortunately there was a large renaissance fair going on just a couple of miles away and, well, we like that sh*t! We got there just as it opened and we had a blast. The site has many permanent buildings and structures that are quite elaborate and there were plenty of vendors, actors, entertainers, and visitors who were in elaborate costumes, adding to the atmosphere.

The front gate at opening time

Liked that building

Kids on medieval swing

Mike was delighted to find a stand selling scotch eggs, and when we wore down we found a sit down place offering sandwiches and beer. That revived us enough to finish the fair.

It was also fun to see how much steam punk had crept into a fair like this. It seems to have crept away from historical re-enactment and more into fantasy costume play. Sort of a triumvirate of medieval, pirate, and steampunk themes (with a little Lord of the Rings thrown in). We even found a couple of steampunk influenced hand-made leather bags that we think will be just the ticket for our Bike Fridays. Tami also found a wooden saxophone (played with holes like on a wooden flute) that will be a good addition to our wooden instrument collection. And of course Mike’s new dead pirate bandana with pink hearts should be a hit on the Katy!

Mike studying ye olde fayre map

Tami wanted the Wonder Woman scale mail

Parade going by

Overheard in the royal privy for ladies (not lards – and Mike objected to being called a “lard”): “Make sure your sword doesn’t fall in the toilet.”

At last, it was time to go to the Sporting KC soccer game, which was our whole reason for being in Kansas City. The stadium is literally a three minute walk from our hotel, although we once again had to avoid the sidewalk that seems to have 24/7 sprinklers (see yesterday’s post). It is a beautiful stadium, purpose-built for soccer, with velvet smooth grass and seats that surround the pitch completely.

We circled the stadium to find the best food choice, but were disappointed to find the same hot dogs and pizza offered throughout. The prices, however, were far lower than at the Clink, and that extended to the beer and cocktails. Yes, cocktails!! We both had Manhattans! At a soccer game! Purchased on the general concourse! They were inexpensive and quite good, even with your choice of bourbon. Oh, and let’s talk about beer prices. A 25 ounce craft beer for $10. Unheard of. So KC has it all over the Clink in prices, but it is too bad there aren’t more interesting food choices, and the beer choices were very limited, but adequate.

Look at those prices!

The game started with a shocking goal in the fourth minute by New England, who are bottom of the table and lost their last game 7-0. The crowd was stunned, but that was soon followed by a straight red card to a NE player, and KC was soon in control of the game. The final score was 3-1. We were also simultaneously following the Sounders game against Dallas on Mike’s cell phone, but alas, they could only eke out yet another draw, a boring 0-0 at that.

Better fireworks than Seattle

Game started

We made the three minute walk back to the hotel (wow, that’s nice!), and now we’re back in our room in time for a nice, dramatic thunderstorm outside. We heard a few raindrops and then not 30 seconds later there was a huge lightning and thunder strike. Cool!! We are actually in Kansas right now, so we are finally witnessing a true Midwest thunder storm. We just hope we don’t have any for the ride.

Well, no planes today, but there were trains and automobiles (and a bus).

The alarm went off and we were up before dawn to be sure we made it downtown in time to catch the train to Kansas City. We made it to the combined Greyhound/Amtrak station with plenty of time to spare and had time to watch the parade of people. While we sat, a bus to Phoenix and another to Alabama were announced, loaded, and sent on their way. Listening to the list of stops on each route sparked more wanderlust except for the thought of riding a bus for multiple days. Riding the rails sounded much better.

The train left on time and we settled in to watch the state of Missouri pass by the window. The train was a local that ended in KC so it stopped in quite a few smaller towns on the way, including several that we will overnight in while riding the Katy. They all looked quite interesting and made us even more anxious to start cycling and have the chance to really see these places.

Most of the other passengers were very quiet and enjoying the scenery. We had a group of cyclists (those annoying cyclists!) behind us who were crossing on the train in order to ride the Katy in the other direction. We certainly did not mind listening to their chatter that included talk of cycling, but then one member of the group who was sitting behind us by several rows decided that his back felt better when he stood. So he stood in the aisle next to his friends for the rest of the trip, about 4 hours, and talked incessantly until we finally got to KC. Even his friends behind us sounded weary and worn out by it all for the last part of the ride. At least we were able to walk away from them all when we got off the train. His friends will be riding with him for many days!

It was a pleasure to walk into the beautiful classic Union Station in Kansas City, which has been beautifully restored and also includes a museum and theaters. Our brief view of the city was more favorable than St Louis, but we just saw a small part.

Union station

After a long day on the train, we decided to scrap our original plan to get out to our hotel via streetcar and bus, around a 90 minute trip. Uber again to the rescue and we were at our hotel in less than 30 minutes instead.

For dinner we set out to walk to a local BBQ restaurant a few blocks away, but were turned back by artificial rain. Instead we ducked into the chain BBQ next to our hotel (Famous Dave’s) and had some very good Kansas City BBQ anyway. “Burnt ends” seems to be a particular Kansas City favorite, so we ordered some up. Burnt ends are the pieces from the very end of the cut on a brisket. Since the meat is thinner there, and on the end, it get exposed to more heat and smoke than the rest of the brisket. Very good!

This turned us back (whimps!)

We are concerned about our trip back to St. Louis on Sunday. As you have probably heard, there was another not guilty verdict on a police shooting of a black man here. Keep in mind that Ferguson is close by. There are numerous protests going on now. We hope they don’t turn violent, but would not be surprised if they do. We have been warned to avoid downtown St. Louis, but that is where the train station is. We will continue to follow the news closely in case it gets to the point that we need to make other arrangements to get back to St. Charles.

That’s our hotel!

Today was time to check out St. Louis. We are far enough out that we had to catch a bus to get to the light rail line, and then take that into the city. A couple signs that we are not in Seattle anymore: first, the sign at our hotel proudly announcing that this IS a smoking facility, and then the sign on the light rail that they JUST banned smoking on the trains as of 9 days ago.

And the light rail

Everyone had been telling us we should check out the Arch (memorial to St. Louis’s role as the gateway to the west — not only did Lewis and Clark leave from here, but so did many of the pioneer wagon trains, etc.) so we headed over there first.We went to the Old Courthouse to buy our tickets. The courthouse itself was quite interesting. Not only was it the location of the original Dred Scott case, but also had some good exhibits on early St. Louis history.

Old Courthouse and Arch

Old Courthouse – another view

Looking up in the rotunda

The Arch was interesting, but I have to say underwhelming. Getting to the top was a matter of buying a timed ticket in advance, then queuing at the designated time, then climbing aboard an amusing small little pod for the trip up. Because of the unusual shape of the arch, they can’t use a traditional elevator, so instead there is this train of little pods that climb up a curving track. Anyway, you get up to the top and exit into a very small room with tiny windows looking out in two directions. You kind of have to lean over and lay the upper half of your body on a shelf to see out the little windows. After about 5 minutes you have seen everything there is to be seen, so you queue up again for the ride back down. Yes, you can see for 30 miles in each direction, but there just isn’t much to see!

Your pod awaits

View from the top of the arch

Next to the arch is the embarkation point for the river cruise tour, so we headed over to do that as well. Again, just a bit underwhelming. Yes, it is a cruise on the Mississippi, but St. Louis just doesn’t seem to present its face to the river. Bit of empty bank, bit of old industrial buildings, lots of bridges across the river, and the rest hidden behind a wall they built to keep the floods out.

Going under a bridge

Something about this struck us

There was one interesting bit on the river, however, as we noted a ‘party boat’. It consisted of a barge pushed by a tug that had one of those tent canopies along with folding chairs and a table set up underneath. Oh, and there were a couple of honey buckets. And many people mingling around. Yup, that’s how to party on the Mississippi!

Party!

We did stop at a bike shop to pick up a couple extra water bottles for our ride, and then headed up to the big city park (site of the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair). We originally thought we might go see the zoo — supposed to be one of the best in the country – but it was too hot and our feet were too tired, so we made the very good decision to instead visit the Missouri history museum. Best thing we did all day! There was a good exhibit on the 1904 World’s Fair, and then a wonderful exhibit showing St. Louis history through panorama photographs, blown up to wall size and accompanied with explanatory notes.

We just missed the bus back to the hotel at the end of the light rail line, so we gave in and Ubered back (is that a word now?) For dinner we headed back to the BBQ place from the first night. Some brisket, shrimp and grits, and a couple beers, and we were feeling much better!

Stairs back to our hotel from the lower level

The Katy!

We started the day on the Katy Trail, but not by bike. We can access it right by the hotel, but it was a rather strange access. Our hotel is at a large casino, spa, and hotel complex with a rather excessively grand and gaudy entrance across a bridge from the Main Street of St Charles. We could see the trail below us as we stood on the bridge and could also see another, lower bridge that led into a level below the main parking level of the hotel. So we found a staircase that led to the lower level and discovered a strange underworld to the hotel!

Newer upstairs entrance

Deserted area below new entrance

This level appeared to be an old previous parking lot and it had clearly been flooded in the past. We learned later that there was a large flood last May. There were large piles of dirt around the vast parking area that had obviously been cleared from the flood. This area is where deliveries are still made, but otherwise it was quite deserted and eerie.

Emerging from the creepy parking lot, we crossed the old low bridge and found the trail in front of us. It was exciting to just walk the trail into town and anticipate our future departure via bicycles in a few days.

Our first stop was at the Lewis and Clark Boat House. St. Charles is where the Corps of Discovery made their final departure on May 20, 1804 after Lewis met up with the expedition. The museum has a replica of the keelboat they used and also an excellent movie on the expedition. It was fascinating to think that the Corps left from the river right near our hotel and then ended at Fort Clatsop, which we have visited several times.

Missouri River from our window, just about where Lewis and Clark left from

Replica of Lewis and Clark keelboat

Looking forward

After learning about the strenuous trials of the expedition we needed to find nourishment ourselves. The Trailhead Brewing Company fit the bill perfectly and we were soon able to continue on down the Main Street of St Charles, checking out shops, restaurants, and the old buildings. St. Charles was founded by the French and most of the architecture is French Colonial in red brick or limestone. It’s quite an attractive town.

Mike getting distracted heading into lunch

The brewery where we had lunch used to be a gristmill

We had to make a stop at Little O’s old Time Soda Fountain, an original soda fountain that still makes “phosphates”. How could we leave without ice cream? Not possible, obviously. The shock came when we saw how big our two scoops amounted to! But oh so good. Like any good small town, there was also an independent book store, so we had to do our civic duty and find a good book to buy.

And those are NOT small cups!

St Charles was a charming town with a very interesting history. Tomorrow we will see what St Louis has to show us here in the Show Me state.

Street scene

Bar that Kevin and Melinda might like – very dog themed