Road Trip Day 2: Chicago - St Louis and "All That Jazz" in Between

"The Bean"

 Even though we left at 5:30 am (Central Time now), we still got stuck in traffic going into Chicago that made what should have been a 45 minute drive take almost 2 hours.  Still, going in at that hour on a weekday allowed us to see the city’s attractions without many other tourists.  We went to one of the main parks in the city that features the “Bean”, a large, bean shaped mirror that curves in such a way to get some cool, distorted pictures of the skyline. And of yourself.  We also visited Navy Pier, a large tourist center with small museums overlooking Lake Michigan.  Even though it was a bit rainy we had fun spending the morning wandering the windy city.  I really like Chicago.  It has a large city feel but seems fairly clean and the people quite friendly.  After a lunch of classic Chicago deep dish pizza we got back on the road.

Navy Pier

Skyline view from the "Bean"

Lake Michigan from Navy Pier 

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library

This day was our shortest driving day to St Louis MO, and stopping in Springfield IL, home and burial place of Abraham Lincoln.  We got there a little after 4, just too late to go to the Abraham Lincoln Museum.  We were able to walk around in the Presidential Library which apparently features some of the museum exhibits when they are not on display.  From the look of things, we didn’t miss too much.  We also were able to visit Lincoln’s tomb. As we left Springfield, we picked up Route 66.  We could have done most of the trip from Chicago to Albuquerque along this historic road.  However, many turnpikes these days run parallel to the road, and allow one to travel at a speed limit of 75 mph instead of 55 mph on the classic road.

Lincoln's Tomb

Outside of Lincoln's tomb

Cahokia Mounds Display

We also stopped at the Cahokia mounds, a Native American burial place that was incredibly buggy.  (I got over 20 bites from this sojourn). We were able to climb one of the mounds to get our first glimpse of St Louis.

View of St Louis from the mounds

One of the mounds

St Louis, MO

Then we arrived at St Louis. We got there just around sunset, a perfect time to see the city.  We went to the arch first before it closed. It’s situated at a picturesque location on the bank of the Mississippi River. Going to the top of the arch is really fun – the “elevator” is more like a roller coaster that curves along the sides of the arch.  And of course, the view from the arch.  Enough said.

The St Louis Arch             

The Mississippi River 

View of St Louis from the top of the arch

After that we got dinner and went back across the Mississippi to our lodging for the night, at a Kampgrounds of America (KOA) in Granite City, IL, 15 minutes outside of St. Louis.  Never having been to a KOA before, it took us a while to find our cabin and figure out how to get our key.  Finally, we closed the day on all that jazz.