St Louis to Lebanon

Today started without the car. We took a walk down to the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial for a trip up the Gateway Arch. Standing 630 feet tall it’s the largest monument in the US and to get to the top you have to cram into a small capsule for the four minute ride to the summit.

But once you get there it’s worth it, as the views west across the city are amazing. The ones east, not so! You can see for around 20 miles on a clear day and although it was sunny there was a bit of haze that cut our view to around 12-15 miles. There isn’t much room at the top and only about an inch of steel between you and the outside!

We went back to the hotel to pick up the car and continue our journey west. Just outside St Louis, we stopped at Ted Drewes to try his famous “concrete” – frozen custard – and continued onto our next destination.

The Meramec Caverns, just outside Stanton, MO are a series of caves famous for being a hideout of Jesse James. The caves are quite impressive and the guided tour informative without getting boring. However, the finale was something else! Let’s just say it consisted of lights being flicked on and off to music. Badly!

After the caverns, it was a straight drive onto Lebanon where we checked into the Munger Moss motel, a Route 66 classic with huge neon sign, and were greeted by the ever so friendly and sweet Ramona.

Miles travelled today: 182
Total miles travelled: 512

Number of bugs splattered on windscreen: 172