Route 66 Day 11 St. Louis, Mo – Pontiac, Il

Day 11 St. Louis, Mo – Pontiac, IL

Nothing waking to a symphony of screeching, crunching , thumping, smashing, grinding sounds as the Hilton’s dumpsters were being heaved into a truck at 5:00 am below our room to get your day started. How did they know we were staying there?

After breakfast we took a hike to the St. Louis Arch on the shore of the Mississippi River. Dang, that thing is gigantic!

630′ across the base

54′ Wide at the bottom of the arch

630′ Tall

For some reason Kathy didn’t have any interest in taking the gondola, elevator or what ever it is to the top of arch.

Mississippi River Queen

Bridge over troubled waters

Old Courthouse

Time for rock-paper-scissors

With rain in the forecast we checked out of the Hilton and worked our way around town until we found a way across the Mississippi to Illinois. Once there we went to the base of the old Chain of Rocks Bridge to check it out before picking up route 66 to continue our trek to Pontiac, Il.
Jumped back in car only to have the steering wheel suddenly drop into my lap as the bracket holding the steering column to bottom of dash broke. Connecting with my inner redneck enabled me to strap the column up with a combination of tywraps and wire. Another example of my excellent field engineering skills.

This segment of Rt. 66 doesn’t have as many of the roadside attractions as we’ve seen so far but it is still a great drive through beautiful country and a number of small towns that are pure Americana.

Nilwood, IL