Gateway to the West

While Danielle sleeps beside me, snoring up a storm so that I cannot sleep, I will entertain you all with another tale from our recent travels....

Today we did not go very far but it was one of my favorite days yet!  We began in St. Louis at the Gateway National Expansion Memorial AKA the St. Louis Arch.  Some of my friends from college work there now.  Both of them are away from the park for the time being but they still got me up inside it for free! Danielle and I were lucky enough to make the acquaintance of a ranger named Jeff who was wonderfully helpful.  He let us go up in the arch and then gave us the pictures of our journey when we came back down. The elevator ride was a little frightening and while we were at the top we could feel the wind shaking the building but it was worth every second!

After we left St. Louis we traveled down the road a little further and found Ted Drewes Frozen Custards.  Yes, it seemed a little cold for ice cream to us, too.  But we got some anyway because their Concrete is a Route 66 classic.  I got Lemon Crumb.  Yum!

Another short drive and a few small towns later, we came to Stanton, MO.  Home of Meramec Caverns.  When we pulled in the lot we thought the place was already closed.  Turns out, it was about to close in a couple of minutes but we caught them just before they did!!  Danielle and I got a private tour through the caverns.  It was very extensive and extremely interesting!  I love caves.  It had been too long since the last time I was in one!  Our tour guide was fantastic.  This was the cave Jesse James used as a hiding place and as a way to escape from the law at one point in history.  Pretty interesting stuff!

It was getting dark when we left the cave.  So we decided to call it a night in Cuba.  We found a place to stay at the Wagon Wheel Motel which is the oldest continuously operating motel along the whole of Route 66!  They have upgraded it and it is actually a really nice place.  We walked next door for dinner to eat at the Missouri Hicks BBQ Restaurant.  I ordered the sampler platter since I've never really gotten BBQ before.  It was SO good! True BBQ.  Apparently MO is known for their BBQ. And so, with a full stomach and a great need for sleep, I sign off for the night.  New adventures await around the corner.