Tuesday July 6. Dani, Kathy and Cheryl:
Wednesday July 7. Dani, Jonathan, Kathy, Cheryl, Leo, and Jane (unaware of upcoming wetness):
Barbara:
Thursday July 8. Dani, Kathy, Leo with a stick, and Cheryl:
Barbara and Lee:
Saturday July 10. Cheryl took this picture of Cindy, Jane, Leo, Barbara, and Art:
Mike asked if we could be gone by 8 am because of the sign he’d posted at the road. But we were able to move out of the way and stay a bit longer to see what happened when the sweet corn was ready at 8 am. It actually started the previous afternoon: cars drove in, someone got out to see what was available inside the barn. Corn? Tomatoes? In the morning, there were many who arrived early to find ! corn ready for purchase.
A constant stream of customers.
Another wonderful Harvest Host experience. Thanks Mill Creek Farms!!
An overnight stop at a Harvest Host farm.
Mike and his wife retired from teaching at the University of Illinois, bought 14 acres and started their business.
We shopped inside the barn as soon as we’d set up. Exciting: the first locally-raised tomatoes of the year. OMG! Incredible. And corn picked that day and more:
Paid via the Honesty Box, the wooden box was full of coins to make change:
I stood in front of Sallie and rotated to the left to take the following pictures of the farm:
Inside the greenhouses:
Down the road was a pumpkin patch
and beyond an asparagus field after the season was over:
The best part: the weather had cooled, we were in a quiet place by ourselves in a beautiful location where we could open the windows and enjoy sleeping without the AC turning on occasionally.
After Laumeier Sculpture Park, we headed to The Hill. We had specific stops we wanted to make including lunch when Guido’s opened at 11 am.
Followed by dessert at Gelato Di Riso. The doors to St Ambrose Catholic Church were open, so we quietly stepped inside to take a look:
We spent TWO weeks in the St Louis area and it was quite worthwhile. Lots of great bike trails and parks with good trails and roads. Plus other fun places to explore in and around the city. The MCT bike trail system across the river in Illinois was great. Next time, we’d try to find an RV park in the Edwardsville IL area. Thursday morning, we hooked up Versie to Sallie in front of the RV park office – with gorgeous hibiscus blooming nearby- and drove to our next destination.
Today we finished up those final places we wanted to see or go back to. It was hot and humid even early in the morning as we walked around Laumeier Sculpture Park.
Sitting in the arms of a cat:
Many of the sculptures are huge.
Some of the art is gently interactive like this Treetent, big enough for 3 adults:
This was a solar-powered sound installation with about 7 different boxes that made various beeps, clicks, and rings:
Eighteen salvaged steel oil tanks:
This commissioned piece called Heritage Schooner was a narrative about a beloved employee who loved to play the piano, had a faithful dog. The people sitting in pairs behind the dog were important co-workers or family members each holding something significant. The boat was helmed by her parents.
Landscaping art, 7 different trees in a mounded circle, a well in the center:
It can be frustrating for some people to get lost. It doesn’t bother me, I eventually figure out the route, it’s like solving a puzzle. And sometimes, like today, you discover something really special. The signage on the River Des Peres Trail had been quite good, better than most trails we’ve ridden. And until now, the trail had been in very good condition, then these things showed up, twice. The safest approach was to stop and walk your bike onto the deck.
I rode through Lemay Park and came to an intersection. Across the street was a bridge over some railroad tracks and a side road with an archway that said “River Des Peres” – that must be the way. At a fork, I went left and found
I went back to the fork and took the right branch and ended up in the Ivory Railyard, one of the employees told me.
I could see River City Casino on the other side of the bridge so I decided to ride the sidewalk, there were no shoulders on the roadway. You can barely see the white truck beside the pile of wood in this picture:
The bridge was quite narrow but rideable.
But it also had its hazards:
Once on the other side, all signage disappeared so I took the road in front of the casino and thought about turning around.
I rode a bit further and noticed the top of a sign on the other side of the grassy hill that ran along the far side of the road. I got off my bike and walked to the top … Eureka! A bike trail, impossible to see and no entry points to it. Really?
This sign sparked new interest. Jefferson Barracks was the location of Rhona and husband Leo’s Lococo House I. (On our Katy Trail rides, we stayed at Lococo II. Rhona now lives in Lococo III.) No turning around now.
The Laborer’s House, around it a Wedding Garden:
I didn’t explore too much, I’d been gone for quite a while. On the way back, along the Mississippi River:
I decided to look for entrances to this part of the River Des Peres Trail on the way back. There were NONE, I had to dismount and walk over the grassy hill (levee) to get back to the bridge. This is how the trail ended:
I had a great time on this ride. If I hadn’t persevered after getting lost or if I’d let the hazards dissuade me, I would never have discovered Jefferson Barracks! And I rode 15 miles and survived the heat and humidity quite well!
We came back to Carondelet Park because the first time we took the shortest/fastest route because of the heat. Today we were able to do more exploring.
This was our view when we stopped at a park bench to eat breakfast – pb&j sandwiches.
Holly Hills Avenue:
Christy Greenway:
We took the River Des Peres Trail back to the Carondelet Connector. It was too hot and humid to ride for Billie and she took the connector back to where we’d parked, glad that we’d parked next to a Starbucks. She encouraged me to continue if I wanted. I felt ok so I decided to continue. Maybe I would ride to the end of the River Des Peres Trail and back. I knew it ended at the Mississippi River and there was a casino … which led to the next blog post …
On each of the previous Katy Trail rides, we’ve stayed at Lococo House in St Charles. It was always our starting and ending point. Billie would drive to St Charles, I would fly into St Louis and get picked up. We’d spend the night, leave our vehicle, and then be shuttled to the starting point in Clinton, 225 miles away. At the end of the ride, we’d spend one more night. Over the years, we’ve gotten to know Rhona a little bit, she a joy to visit with. After our early morning ride, we went to Rhona’s for breakfast – she’s a great cook!
Fruit compote above, French toast and a quiche below. Everything delicious!
Billie and Rhona in front of portraits of Rhona’s great-grandparents:
We drove to St Charles and parked at Frontier Park. We’ve ridden the Katy Trail before, me twice, Billie four times. We always started in Clinton and finished in St Charles. 4 miles down the Katy Trail led to the turnoff for the Creve Coeur Trail.
1.5 miles to the beginning of the Creve Coeur Trail but that was on the other side of the Missouri River.
The Creve Coeur Trail headed toward a large man-made lake with a 3.7 miles paved trail around it.
There was a sign at the entrance to one short tunnel to be respectful (i.e. quiet) of the cliff swallows who had built nests inside.
Two trails in one day = 20 very good miles!
We chose a different starting point for today’s ride, at the north end of the 2-Goshen Trail.
Intersections with 5-Watershed Trail:
In Edwardsville, we found a bakery with delicious treats:
After a short ride on city streets, we picked up the 6-Quercus Grove Trail. We stopped frequently at the green wooden structures with the map and a big arrow pointing to “You are HERE” to see if we were truly going where we intended.
Our turnaround point was Hamel IL on Route 66:
Jerusalem Road – a short connector on a gravelly paved road between tall crops of corn:
30 miles today. Another great day of riding on an excellent county trail system. In 2 days, we rode 56 miles on 6 different trails. Cool.
arletelouise 