Saint Louis, MO - Jun. 19 - 21, 2006


On June 19th we head east to the Dr. Edmund A. Babler State Park about 20 miles west of St. Louis.  This is a beautiful park, with concrete pads and patios surrounded by well-maintained grounds and forest. While there we were visited by bunnies, deer, horses and a turtle that rambled through out site, under the RV and out the other side, focused on a mission only he (she?) understood.

We spent most of our time in St. Louis.  We took a 6-hour Grand City Tour, and returned the next day to visit the St. Louis Zoo, Museum of Art and St. Louis Union Station.  The city tour took us to the Arch, various neighborhoods, Forest Park (the site of the 1904 World's Fair), and the new St. Louis Cathedral. 

We took the tram to the top of the Arch for view of the city and beyond, then did a quick walk through the Museum of Westward Expansion at the base of the arch and the old St. Louis Cathedral built in 1834.  We had lunch at the Museum of History in Forest Park, and toured the extensive, special Benjamin Franklin Exhibit. 
The highlight of the tour was the new St. Louis Cathedral famous for its mosaics.  This is the largest mosaic collection in the world, created by 20 different artists and covering 83,000 square feet. The installation, containing 41.5 million pieces of glass tesserae employing over 7,000 colors, began in 1912 and was completed in 1988 by the Ravenna Mosaic Co.  If ever in St. Louis do not miss visiting the new Cathedral.

We were so impressed with St. Louis we decided to return the next day to spend more time.  We read that the St. Louis Zoo was named the best zoo in the U.S., and we have to agree.  It beautiful zoo with many threatened and endangered animals.  The zoo is noted for its internationally cooperative breeding program to release endangered species back into the wild.  The habitats seem to be well designed and larger than other zoos we have visited.  However, on this very hot and humid day (heat index 106), we felt sorry for the polar bear, and really enjoyed our visit to the chilly penguin habitat.
After the zoo we dragged our hot, sticky bodies over to the Museum of Art for a wonderful lunch at Puck's and a tour of the Museum.  In addition to the extensive collection of fine arts, the museum has an impressive collection of decorative arts, including a fascinating collection of armor, swords, lances and ornate, early firearms from the Europe.
After our animal and art experience we strolled across the park to the Metro Station to catch the light rail to St. Louis Union Station. The station is now a shopping mall with many shops, eateries, pubs, and a Hyatt Hotel.  Our first stop was to a pub for a drink, where we met Denny and Katie.  After chatting with them a bit, they insisted on escorting us upstairs to make sure we didn't miss the 65-foot barrel vaulted ceiling, frescos and art glass windows of the Grand Hall.  It is truly grand.  One can imagine what the station was like in its heyday when 83 trains a day stopped at this French fortress inspired limestone structure.  Ah, for a time machine.
Speaking of time, it was late and the following day was a travel day.  So back to the truck and the drive "home".