St. Louis MO
Just outside Cuba, we rolled by McGinnis Wood Products. It is a family owned cooperage and stave mill that has been operating since 1968! I thought these logs would make an interesting photo. As we rolled past the mill, I thought they may build barrels there, since there were stacks of planks aging all over the yard. It was a good guess; according to their website, they have a proprietary drying process which they claim makes them one of the finest white oak barrel crafters in the world!
Well it’s a good thing, since the next town is Bourbon MO, they probably need a lot of barrels around here. I didn‘t see any distilleries from the road, but there are several in town, according to the internet.
Mike and I were zipping down a sweet downhill and spotted a stone arch, I hit the brakes and circled back to take a photo, Then I noticed the barn in the distance with a stone silo! Even better.
Lots of I-44 frontage road today, but the morning section had been freshly repaved, and was smooth sailing with a gentle quartering tail breeze and nice rollers.
Of course when your are following the Interstate, there are many large billboards, I thought this one was clever!
The legend behind these Teepees is that the owner built them to attract tourists. However, every time Lon has passed through the owner comes out and tells him to go way. It was a bit confusing, there were ‘open’ signs and ‘no trespassing’ signs right next to each other.
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| Bourbeuse River |
This tangle of roadsigns is fairly typical when following Route 66. There are two Historic Byway options, the original 1926 alignment, or the 1934 alignment. Today we followed the 1934 alignment at this junction. Lon selects the route that is the most interesting and safe.
There are countless motels along Route 66. The top one is a good example of one in near ruins. The second, appears to me a newer structure with an old roadsign, but not in operation. The third was the Beacon Motel. It opened in 1946 and closed in 1980. In 2004 a full restoration was started and in 2018 it reopened as a car and dog wash!
This eye catching mural did its job. I stopped to take a photo, then went around to the front to check out what the Eclectic Trading Company had in store. Unfortunately it is closed on Monday and Tuesday, so I rolled on.
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| Kathy |
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| Doug |
Kathy and Doug flashed by when I stopped to check out the Eclectic Trading Company. I caught them as we rolled into the recommended lunch stop, a Subway near a Walmart. It wasn’t too busy and we had a decent lunch.
During lunch Doug commented that the climbing in Missouri had been easier than expected. Well, that comment was just a little too soon! The last 12 miles of today’s ride had some serious climbing. My computer shows one of the upcoming climbs, a double dip affair that climbs 930 feet in four and a third miles. All those nifty colors represent the steepness of the climbs, the red and dark brown segments are the steepest, and some short segments were up to 18%! That is officially steep!
We should have guessed there was climbing to come, we followed High Ridge Road!
After a bit of expressway riding on Route 30, we hopped off onto a minor road that rolled through a nice park, lovely homes, and an uphill finish to our hotel.
Tonight it is a Holiday Inn Express, and compared to some of the historic motels of the last several nights, it seems like a 5 star resort. Pool side to dry the clothes and stretch in the water, and a lovely meal in the hotel restaurant.
The only thing left on today’s agenda was to hop in the PacTour van and head to Drew’s Frozen Custard for dessert. Ted’s is on our route, and has been there since 1941. Since we will pass by tomorrow before they open, we went after dinner tonight. I had the Cardinal Sin concrete mixer (vanilla custard, dark cherries, hot fudge) and it was delicious. Joe, a local hot rodder was there too and was happy for us to check out his ride. Look close at the shifter, Joe is a Marine!
Tomorrow, another early start to ride to a diner for breakfast. Load and depart at 0615, there will be coffee in the hotel lobby and pastries at the trailer!
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