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…
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.
Close-up of the owl
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!!
We also passed this sign and couldn’t resist taking a picture. Duck plucking!!! Hilarious!
My Girl
We drove on. Then we saw this on the side of the road.
Need a close-up?
Yep – bald eagles, with their babies, on the ground.
Who knew that bald eagles live in Tennessee? Surely not I, until now.
We continued our drive and reached Kentucky!
And then we happened upon this road.
Steve thought we should have proof that this bit of gravel, just wide enough for one vehicle, is an actual road.
There really wasn’t anything too photo-worthy in Kentucky, so we continued on to Illinois.
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.
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.
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.
