Where The Missouri Meets The Mississippi

 West Alton, MO

Francis knows not to look at the camera.

Edward “Ted” and Pat Jones-Confluence Point State Park 

Today we went to Confluence Point State Park.  It's about a 40 minute drive from where we are staying with a 5 mile dirt road at the end of the drive.  It's a pretty minimalist state park with a parking lot and a few signs to tell you the history of the area.  The trail to the point is paved about half of the way and at the point there are a few cool monuments which I took photos of so you can see them below.  There are also a lot of birds in the area and even an Audubon Bird Sanctuary very close by.

The trail was really well maintained and there were a lot of trees.  Sometimes areas around The Mississippi River feel more like a wasteland but not here.

There is a trail that goes right into the water at the point.  On the right is The Missouri River and on the left is The Mississippi River.

I didn't dip my toe in even though I kind of wanted to.

After getting back I decided to head to Perennial Artisan Ales to have a beer and pick up a few to go.  It's a brewery that has been on my list of places to visit for quite a while now and we are running out of days here.

It was a big space with a lot of outside seating as well as inside seating.

They had a bunch of my favorite styles of beers on tap but I was driving so I went with this very low ABV American Lager.  It was good.

I also got to play a free game of Pinball!

I brought a few bottles home and Donna and I split one later that evening.

That's it for today.  If you missed the previous post, Art and Chocolate, check it out.  We saw art and bought some chocolate.

Friday is packing day and we hit the road for 3 days of camping on Saturday.  We check into our next Airbnb on Tuesday in Cincinnati, OH!  Our stay here has been the perfect amount of time because just now we are feeling like we are ready for change and change is coming soon.

Art and Chocolate

 St. Louis. MO

Kemper Art Museum

Today we went to the Kemper Art Museum in St. Louis on the Washington University campus here in St. Louis, MO. It's another free museum here in St. Louis and it's a good one.  It isn't huge but that is a good thing in our opinion.  They have a great collection of art from various art movements and have a few pieces by big names.  

Illumination - Ai Weiwei.  Made of Legos!

Sleeping Effort - Jackson Pollock

New York Rhapsody - Grace Hartigan

Vertical Form - Barbara Hepworth

Primo - Anne Truitt

Maton - Katharina Sieverding.  This is a photograph shown next to a mirror.

When the piece says to open the drawers you oblige!

They had a great African Modernism in America exhibit.  There were some really cool paintings in this collction.

Three Faces - Skunder Boghossian

Olumo Rock - Afi Ekong

Untitled - Yusef Grillo

Oba Akenzua II - Ben Enwonwu

Image #6 - Ibrahim El-Salahi

Vision of the Tomb - Ibrahim El-Salahi

Ana Mmuo (Land of the Dead) - Uche Okeke

Yoruba Forms #5 - David C. Driskell

This giant ball swung back and forth at times.  I am not sure how they got it started.

La Tour Marine (Tower of the Sea) - Yves Tanguy

Diamond Cove, Isles of Shoals - Childe Hassam

After our museum visit we went back to the Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Factory that we toured a couple of weeks ago to buy some more damaged goods.   They had a new selection of flavors so we bought a few bags.  We hit the road Saturday and need road snacks!

More discounted chocolate!

That was it for today.  If you missed yesterday's post, Walking From Illinois to Missouri and Back on Route 66, check it out.  We only have a few days left in St. Louis.  We are looking forward to the upcoming road trip and the stay in Cincinnati.  

Walking From Illinois to Missouri and Back on Route 66

 Granite City, IL & St. Louis, MO

Route 66 Selfie

Old Chain of Rocks Bridge

Today Donna and I drove across the Mississippi to Illinois and then walked back to Missouri on The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge.  This bridge crosses the Mississippi just north of St. Louis and gets its name from the multiple rock ledges just under the surface of the water that made passage dangerous before the Chain of Rocks Canal was created.  Now barges bypass these shallow waters using the canal.

It's a really pretty place with a lot of trees and birds.  There is free parking on the Illinois side.  We were told there were a lot of car break-ins on the St. Louis side by different people so we decided to park on the Illinois side.

If you go, and you should, make note that there is a one way bridge leading to Chouteau Island.  There is a stoplight at either end that lets cars pass.  We were a little confused when we first pulled up and when we left we saw people turning around because they thought the light was never going to change.  Give it time, it will change.

The road to the parking lot is an Historic Route 66 highway and the bridge used extend this section of Route 66 across The Mississippi River.

There are also a few miles of nature trails on Chouteau Island, the island that we are on.

This is one of the two Water Intake Towers (Tower 1 built in 1894 and still in use) that bring water from the Mississippi River into the Water Treatment Plant and makes the water clean enough to brew Budweiser Beer.

There was info about The Mississippi River but now info on when you crossed the state line or about the Water Intake Towers.

Another shot of Tower #1

The Famous 30 degree bend.  This was created so they could firmly plant the pylons of the bridge in solid rock.

Old Chain of Rocks Bridge was on our St. Louis list for quite a while and we were looking forward to it but it ended up being way better than we expected.  

If you missed my previous post, We're Talking Baseball, check it out.  We saw The Cardinals stomp The Diamondbacks.