Day 21--St. Louis, Mo. to Springfield, Il.: Crossing the mighty Mississippi

We made it to our final state!! It's amazing that even on a short drive day like today that it can take us until almost dark to get here--of course part of that was our slow-as-molasses-which-wasn't-very-good dinner getting cooked, but that's a completely different story! We really didn't hang around to see much of St. Louis today, but that's the main story of our entire trip--just a good overview for when we come back someday.

We headed out on the ol' Super Slab freeway as we got out of dodge and went straight over the Mighty Mississippi. I missed the state line side, but got the state welcome sign. I think this is the only state picture we have on the whole trip which wasn't out in the boondocks somewhere. Every other picture we have I have gotten out of the car and have been able to set up a nice picture, but not today. This was done on the fly, and as you can see at the bottom of the picture, I still got the car in it!! Even if it's only the side mirror!

First stop was the old Chain of Rocks Bridge, which spans the entire Mississippi River (about a mile long). Warning: MORE HISTORY--this bridge was built in 1929 to help ease traffic congestion in St. Louis by providing an alternative route around the city. The bridge was in operation until 1968, but today it is still open to those who want to hoof it across or go by bike--that usually means bicycle, but today we watched a couple go through on their motorcycle. There are cameras at both ends, which someone tried to tell them, but they went ahead anyway. We never did see them again so either they were so fast and got away with it, ran their bike off the edge (I'd say pretty much impossible to do, or they will get photo-copped and get busted that way. No word on the outcome yet.

Just Ben and I out having a great time together, with Jake who tooke the picture--this was one of his more pleasant times of the day, which I always appreciate.

Daren can hardly catch a break these days--he walked in with Jake on his shoulders with Will following and throwing a complete fit until Jake consented to get down and let Will ride on the way out. Will thinks Daren is all his, and when anyone else wants to impose on his property he doesn't like it. Will's favorite saying when we walk anywhere as of late is, "Daddy, I want to sit on your head!"

These two castle-looking structures in the water are "water intake towers for the Chain of Rocks Water Treatment Facility constructed in 1894 (and still in use)."--courtesy of our guide book. Jake and Ben constantly asked, "How can we get out to those castles? What do you think is in them? How many rooms are in them?" etc., and you get what I mean.

Daren had left the bridge with Will earlier to watch out for our car (courtesy of someone who told us the parking lot wasn't very safe), so they went to the store to get bread to make, what else, PB&J's. The whole way back to the car on the bridge Ben and Jake were making plans for what they are going to do their first day home next week; Jake wants to make paper cars and houses for every person in the whole world--yea, they are a little homesick! Will had already snarfed his down by the time we got to the car and was on the hunt for another, and since I wasn't too hungry (my appetite isn't completely back yet) I let him have mine. We couldn't find him for a minute, but when we finally did, this is where he was to keep himself cool!!

We drove through some great small towns today. In a cute little town called Mt. Olive was this gem of a gas station. This Shell station was built by a father and son in 1926 and was in use until 1991, for a total of 65 years! It is one of the oldest filling stations still standing on Route 66.

While in Mt. Olive we decided to take a break and stop at a park to play. The twin ran on ahead while Ben and I took our time. As we passed a tree I noticed two small dark objects on the ground. They were both baby birds, one dead and the other still barely breathing. Ben and I looked at it for a long time, but I knew there wasn't much we could do. The nest was too high, and I know from experience (we have bird's build a nest over our front door every spring since the twins were born--they built one this year, but we have been gone for the laying and hatching of the eggs) that you can't just pick up a bird with your bare hands--the mother bird will reject the baby bird if they smell anything human on it. Ben suddenly stood up and said, "I have an idea," and ran towards the car. Curious to see what his little mind would come up with, he took a little bit of time getting back. I saw Daren get out some Ritz for Ben and just chalked it up to Ben satisfying his belly. He started munching on them as he and Daren walked over, but then he came up to the tree, knealt down by the bird, and started crushing up Ritz crackers for it and putting them on the grass in front of it. Then Ben had Daren come over and put some water in the lid of a water bottle to put next to the crushed up Ritz, and there was its feast. I never did see if the bird was able to get any of those things, and I'm sure it didn't live too much longer after that, but it was such a sweet gesture on Ben's part.

And then he was off to play in the park!! He's almost tall enough to reach this by himself!

Will found the wheat field next to the park and had a great time. He found a "whip" for a short time, until it broke so bad that we convinced him to leave it at the restaurant where we ate dinner. We forgot to bring the Indiana Jones whip that Ben got for his birthday (Will quickly took it over) and Will has missed it badly!

"Route 66 has always had a down side in that some stretches could be particularly dangerous with steep hills, blind curves, and narrow bridges. There's no doubt about it; Route 66 could be a very dangerous road sometimes. The Our Lady 0f the Highway Shrine was placed along Route 66 back in 1959 to remind motorists of the potential dangers and provide a place to say a prayer for a safe journey. You certainly wouldn't find something like this along the Interstate today would you?" --courtesy of internet guide

Another beautiful sunset over the lake in Springfield as we were entering town tonight!! It reminds me of watching the sunsets over Antelope Island and the Great Salt Lake from the foothills above Kaysville.

After dinner tonight Ben sat in the front with Daren and wanted my camera to take some pictures. He was so excited to see the M&M Service Co., thinking that was where they make M&M's...although he didn't ask to stop. When he got done taking pictures he asked if I was going to include some of his pictures on the blog, so here they are!! Photo 2 is of the Litchfield city water tower.

Signs of the times:

The Luna Cafe in Mitchell, Il., was built in 1924 and the story goes that Al Capone and his guys used to frequent this place, which not only served food, but also ran a gambling operation in the basement. It's one of the oldest signs along Route 66 today.

I was looking forward to going to the Ariston Cafe in Litchfield, Il., all afternoon after reading about what a great place it was, and wouldn't you know it, they were closed, just for today! Est. in 1929 to serve hungry Route 66 travelers.

Photo 1: Our final Route 66 state sign--Daren is usually the first one to spot them so I can get a picture. I have to say that, by far, Illinois has the best marked Route 66 roads--I hardly even need to navigate! Route 66 pride seems apparent in every town we drive through. Photo 2: an old weathering sign at an old weathered gas station.

So, I'm still not sure what happened to my phone, but it's long gone. This could be a very pricey trip since my computer died too!! (I'm not going to jinx us by saying "what's next," or "what else can go wrong," but really!)

Total mileage to date: 4,230.4

Weather: very nice, sunny, 87 degrees

Premium gas price seen near Springfield: $4.19