Monday, March 28, 2011

Road Trip to St. Louis

We’re in St. Louis for the next two weeks while Steve attends Q school.  (The airline he works for flies two types of airplanes – the Saab 340 and the Q400.  Steve was hired on the Saab and is now learning to fly the Q.)  Claire and I decided to tag along rather than stay at home for two weeks sans Daddy.

St. Louis is a fairly short drive from Memphis, at least for most people.  Steve, however, prefers the scenic route.  It was quite the adventure getting here.

On Saturday, we drove from Memphis to Hayti, TN (just 90 miles away) in four short hours.  We decided rather than taking the highway, we would follow the Great River Road.  The Great River Road follows the Mississippi River from Canada to the Gulf, and spans 10 states.

From Memphis to Hayti, we saw little more than cotton fields, so we have no pictures of that.  And Hayti, well, let’s just say it’s not exactly photo-worthy.

On Sunday, we got back on the GRR and headed toward St. Louis.   The road less traveled…019

Our first stop – Reelfoot Lake.  We drove around and actually got out for a few pictures at Reelfoot Lake.  In the Visitor’s Center, they had this little screech owl who was recovering from being hit by a car.  (It’s tiny, but it is full-grown.)  Claire kept hooting at it.003

Close-up of the owl004

We also passed this great little local shop – Hillbilly Junction.  If they had been open, a certain sister-in-law would surely have received an AWESOME birthday present from this place.  It should be noted that they sell “Hillbilly Gags” and “Nite Shirts.”  Oh how I wish we could have shopped in this place!!006

We also passed this sign and couldn’t resist taking a picture.  Duck plucking!!!  Hilarious!014

My Girl028

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We drove on.  Then we saw this on the side of the road.042

Need a close-up?048

Yep – bald eagles, with their babies, on the ground.046

Who knew that bald eagles live in Tennessee?  Surely not I, until now.

We continued our drive and reached Kentucky!055

And then we happened upon this road.057

Steve thought we should have proof that this bit of gravel, just wide enough for one vehicle, is an actual road.059

There really wasn’t anything too photo-worthy in Kentucky, so we continued on to Illinois.064

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These signs were the highlight of the section of Illinois we drove through.  So we continued on to Missouri.  Here’s the bridge over the Mississippi River from Illinois to Missouri.069

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Once we crossed over into Missouri, we decided to get on the highway and cruise on in to St. Louis.  The closer we got to St. Louis, the more snow we saw.  Here’s a picture of the landscape.075

At last, we arrived at our hotel where we shall stay for the next two weeks.  I’m sure there will be several posts in the next few days, as St. Louis has so much to do.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing your fun adventure with us. I can tell you are traveling with my son. The bath tissue scene seems familiar to me. Were those baby bald eagles o.k.? I look forward to see what happens next. Lots of Love, Grandma Robin P.S. The owl looks unimpressed lol

California Lemon Law said...

Wow!! this was a great experience. By reading your fun and about different locations, we feel that we are at that place. We also got a good experience. All are very nice places. You baby is so cute. Hope you all enjoyed your tour successfully. Thanks for sharing. Amazing. No words to say our happiness. We also decided definitely will plan a tour like this. Great!!! never forget sweet memories like this. Illinois Lemon Law

Illinois Lemon Law said...

Its a great thing to know about your experience. I love 'Mississippi River from Illinois to Missouri'. Its very beautiful. Thanks for sharing. Your baby is soooooo cute.... I think she enjoyed this tour very much.
California Lemon Law