We continued our tour of SE Mo., hiking and sightseeing at many of the state parks in the area. As we approached St Louis, three days of rain greeted us. The point of going to St Louis was to do the Gateway Arch, something that we had bypassed in past trips as we hurried west. The view from the Arch was a bit disappointing, no doubt due to the rainy weather. We did see a movie on the making of the arch - what a marvel of architecture, engineering and stainless steel construction! It was completed in 1967 at a height of 630 ft. McDonalds is planning an adjacent golden arch;>)
Across the Mississippi we visited the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, former home of the largest prehistoric Indian settlement north of Mexico with 10 to 20,000 residents. Heading into southern IL, we camped at Giant City SP. We found the natural beauty of these huge sandstone bluffs and unusual rock formations to be a hidden treasure, mostly enjoyed by locals. A little further south, we hiked in Cache River State Natural Area, a swamp with the same federal designation as the Everglades and the Okefenokee. Pat’s highlight was watching me jump as I almost stepped on a large snake. (The snake and I parted company quickly, so no ID was possible - a missed hospital visit opportunity).
After my last Dr. visit in Memphis, we were ready to head east. Fall Creek Falls is the most popular state park in eastern TN. There are four main falls there, the tallest drops 256 feet. In NE TN we spent a week in the Big South Fork NRA. A lot of areas to explore there, a great place to visit but not well know outside the local region, fortunately for us.
A little further north we stopped to see Cumberland Falls in KY. Besides being one of the largest falls in the east, it is the only place in the world (except for Victoria Falls in Africa) where you can see a “moonbow”. A moonbow is formed by the mist from the falls and the moon light. At the Cumberland Gap we learned how critical the Gap was to westward expansion.
We met up with Lois and Eldon in Warm Springs, VA. We all stayed at a B&B there and took a soak in the “Baths” and hunted for fossils. Eldon and I were the oldest fossils found that day.
We retuned to the MD area to continue my doctor visits and to get some work done on the RV. I was able to attend a training course in Emmitsburg, MD to get certification credit for my operator licenses. A quick visit to the VW dealer turned into a two week ordeal fighting to get our transmission replaced under our extended warranty. Eventually the warranty paid over $6K for a rebuilt transmission. After the brakes and transmission were done, the RV dealer repaired our toilet. This downtime gave us ample opportunity to visit with friends and family. Special thanks to the Chandlers, Tom & Julie, Eldon and Lois, and Pat’s parents for their hospitality.
We are back on the road for now, although being stuck camping in the Mid Atlantic area was not where we wanted to spend the summer. We are revising our Australian trip plans to make it even more exciting and memorable.
