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Who was it that coined the term..."go west young man?" Was it Wilford Brimley? No... Walter O'Malley? Hmmmm, well I'll get back to you on that. In the meantime, let's continue with day two of the great American drive.
I decided to get a wake-up call for 5:45 am so I could catch part of the sunrise - on my way across the Mississippi. I was a little late crawling out of bed. By the time I reached the car, the sun had crested the horizon and was beginning its day long routine. As I drove west on I-240 I caught sight of a wonderful orange sun. But I was determined to make up some time, so I headed forward with Billy Clinton's jilted home in my windshield. Once I figured out how to exit off the interstate in West Memphis, and dodged a few pot-holes, I filled up on a Egg McMuffin, a hash brown and some coffee. The next part of my drive convinced me of why Slick Willie lives in Harlem now. Was Arkansas ever FLAT! I-55 north of Memphis should be perscribed to ADHD patients. The only highlight was when I stopped in a gas station south of Blytheville and filled up on petrol. I met a nice older couple that was on their way to see their daughter in Illinois. As I crossed into Missouri, I began to contemplate why the state had a small peninsula (remember I was on the road for a long time by myself!). It made little sense to me that some former Missourian would take the time to actually annex this flat piece of land that infultrated Arkansas territory. But soon my attention turned back to the mission at hand. First, I would stop at the Missouri Welcome Center, which was located just north of that wierd annexed piece of the state, and then I would head to the town of New Madrid.
The man at the welcome center was exceptionally helpful. In fact, I have enough information on Missouri to spend a week there. He told me the New Madrid museum would open around 9 am, so I was right on time. By the way (or BTW for my web acronymic friends), I was set straight to the pronounciation of the town, it is New Mahhh-drid by the locals, not Muh-drid like in Spain). What was so exciting about New Madrid, Missouri? Well, the largest earthquake in North America's recorded history happened there on December 9, 1812. It was felt as far away as Canada and New Orleans. Residents said the ground looked like waves on the ocean. Over 2,000 aftershocks occurred over the twelve months following. I recommend New Madrid's Museum as a stop if you are in the area. The museum has a great Civil War and Earthquake section. There are many artifacts to dig through and even a Civil War veterans diary (they will let you sit there and read it all day if you like, it is facinating). While at the museum, I inquired about the reason for the pennisula of Missouri. I was informed that Missouri's "boot-heel" as it is known, was the property of a wealthy land-owner and Missourian. He requested the land be annexed as part of Missouri because Arkansas was not yet governed as a state.
Later, I drove up the Mississippi on the Great River Road. I crossed into Illinois at the joining of the mighty Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, but was sorely dissapointed. Fort Defiance is under water and there are too many trees to see the real meeting point of these two classic rivers. As I continued up the highway I visited Chester, IL which is the hometown of Popeye. I didn't realize all the characters in the cartoon were based on real-life people who lived in Chester. Across the river I drove on the island of Kaskaskia, IL. It was the first capital of Illinois but had been washed away by the Mississippi River countless times. So much for determination, the town is now nothing but grass. Down river, the Liberty Bell of the West is encased in a small building for view. The bell even has a crack! Next, I drove through St. Genevieve, Missouri. It is a quant little hamlet that reminds me of old Alexandria, Virginia. It is lined with shops and the occasional church. A very east coast kind of town for being the first established European town west of the Mississippi.
As the day wore on, I pressed on to St. Louis, home of the Gateway Arch. I decided to take I-255 into Illinois so I could catch my first glimpse of the Arch from the eastern shore of the Mississippi (as it was intended). When I reached downtown East St. Louis, Illinois, I looked for places I could park to take a river shot of the Arch. I was greeted by the new American icon...the gambling casino. Do that many people really play slot machines? After taking a couple shots over the railroad cars (you can't get to the river on the Illinois side), I began to drive away. As I began to leave, I passed a huge flag and realized there was a large field behind it that faced the arch. I walked across the field and came up with this semi-optical illusion. I thought it was a cool effect to make the flag look like it was almost as big as the Arch.
Next, I crossed over into St. Louis proper and began searching for a parking place. It set me back a five spot, but I located a cooling off place for my vehicle and walked toward the Arch. As the hundreds of other tourists struggled with capturing the whole Arch from just below, I decided to find an alternative spot where I could get a stronger image. Amazingly, no one was around the pool of water just north of the Arch. Water always makes for interesting pictures, so I pulled out the Olympus and captured the moment from a variety of angles. St. Louis does have a very nice downtown area for photographs. But it was getting late and a bit cloudy, so I moved on to my next destination - Missouri wine country. For those of you who didn't realize it, Missouri has an exhilerating drive known as state road 94. It takes you through the heart of some of the most wonderful, fertal lands. The drive is a bit challenging too. The road winds through hills and valleys and will suck you in. It sucked me in. First thing I noticed is, I had broken my own rule...never let the gas tank get below half. I was in the middle of nowhere and my gas level was in the red. I thought about turning back, but I couldn't remember the last gas station I had seen. I decided to press on to Washington, Missouri. Luckily, I made it, although it was a bit of a white knuckler. I am proud to say, I learned my lesson and never repeated that pitiful scene again.
On the way through all of these green hills, you will find both Daniel Boone's home and further on down the road - his grave. Now, some of my Kentucky friends would insist that Daniel Boone is buried in the Bluegrass State. But alas, Missouri may have played a trick on their eastern neighbors. The story goes, the State of Kentucky decided to have Boone's body brought back to his old Kentucky home, but someone in Missouri may have shipped the wrong body. Apparently, Daniel moved from Kentucky because it was getting over-crowded, so it just seems right that he may still lay in state in rural Missouri. My next stop was to be the German village of Hermann, but time was running short and I had a 2 1/2 drive to my hotel, west of Kansas City. So I headed toward I-70. The drive was quite eventful. First, the skies broke and it began to pour rain. Next, my car began to run hot. I wasn't sure if it was truly running hot or not...I usually don't check my temprature guage but it was a 2/3rds and that just didn't seem right. I kept an eye on it and it never went into the red so I pressed on to Kansas. When I reached Lenexa, Kansas I was well worn out and was ready to hit the showers and a nice warm bed. Two days and 1,300 miles, quite a trip so far. Oh, and it was Horace Greeley, I do believe, that said, "go west young man".
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