“When heading westward in the States, I always picture St. Louis as the most traditional launching point across the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains.” – Old Sean
Grind and Drive
Following my recovery time in Mattoon, Illinois, I began driving West and South, angling for the broad expanses leading to St. Louis.
To be perfectly frank, the trip through the Midwest was quite dull. The plains of the Midwest are unique, as they hide the odd gem and wildly interesting feature. There are pockets with deep caverns, impressive badlands, quiet river curves and amazing little towns. But when heading from place to place, there’s remarkable little to look at.
St. Louis Stays
Regardless, I completed my rather dull drive and made it to St. Louis. There, I met my old friend Thom and his new wife. The three of us collectively demolished three pizzas and swapped old stories from high school.
While my time visiting St. Louis was lovely, I was on the clock. I spent the following day hitting up the sights around the city my company was interested in referencing.
There turned out to be a bundle. Bracing myself against morning frost, I spent the morning in the St. Louis Zoo, which is one of my favorite zoos in the US. The zoo is free entry, making it enormously popular. But more importantly, there’s a nice range of animals in a well-designed layout. I used to visit the zoo somewhat frequently during University, so the return was nostalgic as well as entertaining.
Due to the chilly weather and the fact that it was a weekday, I had the entire place to myself. Most animals were surprisingly active indoors, as though eager to burn off anti-hibernation energy.
Following my time in the zoo, I wandered downtown to see all of St. Louis‘ most famed features. The St. Louis Arch stood stark against a slat-grey sky. I passed the statue gardens near the Capitol Building, spotting the semi-creepy severed head artwork known as Eros Bendato.
For my own pleasure, I also passed by the Cotton Belt Freight Depot, a decaying building with crater-floors and a startling amount of flashy murals and street-art covering the wall.
To round off my evening, I munched on a sleep-inducing amount of stupendous chicken wings at the restaurant known as Carson’s.
Westward Again
Overall, St. Louis is always an interesting visit. It has a truly nice downtown area, but the outskirts of the city are filled with buildings in various states of disarray. There are gentrification projects cropped up all around the city in seemingly random areas. All of it is somewhat still and empty-looking under the grey skies of deep winter.
With my time in St. Louis done, my next drive was imminent. I spent a solid few minutes hyping myself up, as I’m now required to drive all the way to Denver.
This is a route I’ve taken before, and it’s a route that causes me some concern. It’s long, odious and horrendously boring. I’ve already stocked up on heart-attack inducing energy drinks to get me through the trip.
So until Denver,
Best regards and excellent trails,
Old Sean
Written January 23rd 2019
Read more about visiting St. Louis and seeing the world by visiting Leftfade Trails Destination Info.
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