An Unexpected Ride

DAY 3 ~ Our Great River Road Adventure

 Our first moving day began early – our bodies are still on Georgia time!  We again crossed the Mississippi on the Hernando DeSoto Bridge, entering into Arkansas and then traveling on into Missouri.  For hours we viewed lush green agricultural crops with irrigation ditches fed by the river and its tributaries.

For lunch we pulled into a downtown park in Cape Girardeau where we enjoyed viewing the mural of famous Missouri natives along the flood wall. Afterwards, we continued our journey up the River Road, taking in the sights of St. Louis via interstate: Anheuser-Busch and the Gateway Arch. 

Lunch by the Flood Wall in Cape Girardeau, MO

 Feeling a bit guilty for not detouring through the city streets to tour St. Louis, we were happy to hear on the news later that the Arch is closed for construction.  Jamie and I have been to the top of the Arch; once is enough.

St. Louis’s McKinley Bridge took us to Illinois.  We headed north on the Great River Road and were delighted to find the Lewis and Clark observation tower.  For $4 each, we rode an elevator to a platform 150 feet in the air.  From here we could see the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and the St. Louis skyline.  An incredible view. Well worth the $4.  And our guide Mary Ann was a delightful hostess, quite enthusiastic about the fowl which pass through along the Mississippi Flyway twice a year.

Lewis & Clark Observation Tower near Alton, IL

River view from the L&C Tower

Caged in atop the tower

Our journey continued along the Great River Road into Alton.  From the truck window, we saw the park where Lincoln and Douglass debated.  The bluffs that followed were picturesque: just what we came for!  The wide expanse of the Mississippi River, complete with barge traffic, to our left; the bluffs on the right – I was having a Sandra Sullivan moment – I’ve seen it in magazines and now I’m here in person! Breathtaking.

Pere Marquette State Park is our home for the night.  The stench is repulsive.  Almost knocked us out when we got out of the truck.  There are no water or sewer connections at the individual sites, so where is that sewage smell coming from?  That question would remain unanswered for a couple of hours.

We settled into our campsites and prepared dinner.  The temperature was a hot 97 degrees.  No bike ride today!  We had intended to ride along the bike trail that spans from this park to St. Louis, but this heatwave made us cross that off of our to-do list.

 Following dinner, we ventured around the park, taking the scenic drive up to an overlook where we viewed the Illinois River, a couple of lakes and farmland.  The stench followed us.

We ventured by the Brussels Ferry. Wait. A ferry.  A free ferry to the other side of the river.  What’s over there?  Let’s go. So we did. We drove the truck onto the ferry and in less than five minutes we were on the other side headed to Brussels, Illinois, a quaint village boasting population 150.  Jamie and I reminisced about a ferry ride we took in Seattle to Bainbridge Island late one night with the children more than a dozen years ago – the return ferry was canceled; we waited a while to catch a ferry back to the mainland that night. Fortunately, the Brussels Ferry operates 24 hours.

On the Brussels Ferry

Looking up river from the ferry

We also followed the stench to its source: Swan Lake, part of the Two Rivers National Wildlife Refuge.  In high water the lake is fed by the overflow of the Illinois River.  When the water is lower, the lake stagnates, trapping fish from the river.  A still pond of dead fish.  Huge fish – no need for fishermen to exaggerate on the size of the fish here. What must the dead fish count be to saturate the air with this miasma?

Dead fish in Swan Lake

The rain is here. Maybe tomorrow will be cooler.

And that sums up our 75^th night in the SolAire.