April 30, 2011

Today we drove Rt. 66 to Devil's Elbow. The committee realigned this part of the road in 1946, but before that it went through this cut, Hooker's Cut, which was once the deepest rock cut in America.

We drove into Rolla, but despite finding Rt. 66 signs, we didn't see much in the way of old buildings. The college there seems to have built many new buildings along the route, so may have torn some of the older structures down.

In Stanton, we drove 3 miles and went to the Meramec Caverns. The Caverns are near the Meramec River, which was overflowing its banks. Actually, as we came east we could see that many of the the rivers were very high, and there was a lot of standing water in the fields.

The Meramec Caverns opened in the 1930s. They claim there are 5 floors of formations. It was a cool 60 degrees. The floors were wet and some were slippery. The tour lasted a little over an hour. Outside there were people attaching to a cable and sliding over the river from one tower to another.

We came upon a sign that said "Route 66 State Park." When we got to the end of the road, the old bridge was closed, but there was a visitors' center in an old building that once housed a restaurant.

In St. Louis, we took a picture of the Arch and the Mississippi River as we crossed it into Illinois. Drove through on 70 and into Indiana, thinking we would stay in Terre Haute, but all the motels were full, so we are staying just west of Indianapolis tonight.

Pictures today: Old 66, Hooker's Cut at Devil's Elbow, Meramec Caverns, Route 66 Visitors' Center, St. Louis Arch, Mississippi River, large Cross near Effingham, IL.

(Bottom picture is from yesterday)