(Photos with captions coming real soon!)
On the morning of Day 10 we left Dubuque, Iowa and continued traveling south along the Great River Road to St. Louis, Missouri for a two-night stay in the city nicknamed The Gateway to the West. The previous day we had driven along the Great River Road section that followed the eastern side of the Mississippi River, primarily through Wisconsin. On this day we opted to drive along the western side of the river, which took us through Iowa and Missouri. Because the drive from Minneapolis to Dubuque had been five and a half hours long, Joe was concerned about the time we would need to reach St Louis, which was roughly 380 miles away (or about 130 more miles than what we had traveled the day before). The last place we wanted to arrive in at night was St Louis, considered to be one of the most violent cities in America. And for the record, our stay in St Louis, which I thought was a beautiful city, was great. But there are several crime-ridden areas around the city that made us (two geezers traveling alone) a little cautious. To shorten the drive we chose to take a major highway for the part of the journey that traversed most of Iowa, getting back onto the Great River Road near Fort Madison and continuing on the Great River Road from there into Missouri. I don't think we missed much in Iowa. The scenery consisted of flat farmlands in every direction, at least the areas we passed along the highway. In Fort Madison we stopped to visit the preserved remains of Old Fort Madison (early 1800s), the first U.S. military outpost in the upper Mississippi region. From there we continued on to St Louis. Our hotel, the Drury Plaza at the Arch, was literally next door to the city's famous Gateway Arch. During our stay in St Louis we went to the top of the Gateway Arch for panoramic views of the city and walked through the City Garden (another sculpture park) and through the downtown civic center. On our first night, we also tried our luck at the Caesars Horseshoe Casino located a fifteen-minute walk from our hotel. Unfortunately, we ended up giving back a third of our previous casino winnings. Incidentally, the areas around this casino were a little sketchy. When we asked one of the security guards to give us directions to another nearby casino (hoping to change our luck), he cautioned us not to venture there by foot since it was located in the East St Louis area. We got the message and returned to our hotel. One of the most enjoyable things we did in the city was to visit the fascinating City Museum. Rarely does anything make me feel like a kid again. This place did just that. We had a blast! In fact, I loved this museum so much I will include an additional webpage just to showcase it. This museum, together with the Gateway Arch, should not be missed if going to St Louis.