Eastward Expansion - Day 8: St. Louis, MO to Grayville, IL

In Part 5 of the blog, we traveled past Uranus to make it to the Gateway to the West, St. Louis, Missouri!

Family Arch selfie!

Despite the KOA St. Louis West RV park being crowded on a Friday night, everyone was extremely respectful (even the screaming Boxer), and we slept pretty well (a little bit of freeway noise and a few trains, but that's to be expected).  This would be our day to see St. Louis (what we could see with these two nuts in tow, of course), and we started off with a good breakfast of pancakes and bacon, as well as a meander around the grounds.

The girls near the stream that runs through the back of the KOA's property

Breakfast time!

Before too long, we were on the road, heading east into St. Louis proper, about a 30 minute drive.  As we drew closer, we started to catch glimpses of its star attraction and our first destination, Gateway Arch National Park.

I see it!

I see it from a different angle!

We parked in a lot near our lunch pick, the downtown location of Sugarfire Smokehouse, changed the girls into their walking harnesses, and started the short stroll to the Arch.  Unlike in Tulsa, the streets of downtown were busy, and the girls did pretty well, despite being a little weirded out by all the traffic, new people, and different smells.  Before too long, we were in the Park, cuddling up to the Arch and romping through the lovely grass.

After we took this, a guy with his family kidded us about teaching Zoe to pose for the camera.

I was like, sir, this dog does whatever the F she wants, but thank you for thinking so highly of us.

This was a truly stunning day - a bit warm, but sunny and calm

Romp time!

The Big Muddy - that's Illinois on the other side

The girls were tuckered and we were hungry, so we strolled back to the truck.  I waited with them (in the AC, since it was in the 80s) while Chris put in a to go order at Sugarfire; when we returned, we feasted on amazing BBQ, including fried green tomatoes, ribs, fresh cut fries, and a pulled pork sandwich (we ate the mac and cheese later, and it was also incredible).  

The sign in the parking lot said no tailgating, but I don't think this was exactly what they had in mind.

"Did I hear you say 'ribs'?"

Amazing food, friendly people, and plentiful servings - we highly recommend it!

As I mentioned in a previous blog, our initial plan for this week of travel was to drive one day, then take a rest day, spending two nights in each location.  However, as we've learned throughout our travel trailer adventures in the past four years, you have to be aware of what's going on at all times and be willing to call an audible, should it become necessary.  We normally check out our driving plans the day before we undertake them (I do this months in advance, of course, for route planning purposes) to see what closures and weather conditions may be coming our way; in doing so for the final drive from St. Louis to Lexington on Sunday, 4/14, we started seeing some concerning warnings on Google Maps.  Apparently, rivers and streams in southern Illinois and Indiana were starting to swell due to heavy rain experienced in the area the week before, and there was a possibility that if they rose another two to three feet, they could inundate the 64 freeway, a main thoroughfare through this part of the country.  Although we'd likely be traveling through the area of concern before the rise could occur, we didn't want to chance it.  

While I was piloting the truck home from St. Louis, well exercised and stuffed with smoked meat, Chris called the KOA in Grayville, Illinois, seeing if they were experiencing any of the flooding ("heck no, it's fine" said the lady, and she was right), and if they had a spot for us for the evening ("sure we do!  See you soon!").  We made it back to the St. Louis KOA around 1, and by 2, we were all back in the truck with Zelda the trailer attached, once again on the road to stay the night in a new state.

Crossing the Mississippi!

Another sticker for the trailer!

These two were not impressed - we obviously did a good job wearing them out near the Arch

We made one quick stop along the way, but the route was pretty short (just about 3 hours), so before dinnertime, we were pulling into the KOA in Grayville.  This KOA is western-themed (why? no clue, honestly) and includes a putt-putt course, a shooting gallery, and even a saloon onsite!  Setting up quickly, we all hunkered down for the night and enjoyed the cool evening breeze.

Yee-haw!  Howdy, pardner!  Welcome to a rompin' stompin' good time...in Illinois.

Zoe, keeping an eye out for Chris - he went to grab a grilled chicken dinner at the saloon.

Bea, keeping an eye on me, apparently.

That's the off-leash dog park just behind the girls, which was super convenient.

Sitting super normal in the grass

After dinner, we all headed inside for the evening, into our super-close quarters to watch some tv before bed.  We were beat from our busy day in the sun, and we all sacked out pretty quickly.

Later!

Amy