Mississippi River Day 8: Quincy, Illinois to St. Louis

This article is part of a series about our recent vacation traveling down the Mississippi River. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.

Our drive began on the Illinois side of the Great River Road, visiting an old Moorish-style house south of Quincy that has been converted into a tourist information center. We crossed into Missouri at Hannibal, and continued south on that side.

Around noon, we reached Clarksville, a small town right on the River with a very pleasant riverside park where we had our picnic lunch. Exhibits in the park showed the devastation from several river floods. As in Hannibal, it was quiet, but that seemed normal in Clarksville because the town had much more modest aspirations. Their gateway carries the motto “Touch the Mississippi”, and we did just that.

We had decided we needed to find something really fun to do, and we all enjoy ziplining, so we went a little out of our way to Caveman Zipline Tours in Stanton, Missouri, southwest of St. Louis. It was a good course, with two long (about 1000 foot) runs. But we came nowhere near the advertised 50 miles per hour; more like half that (as confirmed by my GPS).

Coming into St. Louis, we passed through Fenton, Missouri and continued on for a treat that had been recommended to us, Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. This is clearly an institution in St. Louis, having opened in 1941 on historic Route 66. We ordered “concretes”, mixtures of their frozen custard with various mix-ins (mine was oatmeal cookies). They are called “concretes” apparently because their consistency is hard enough to hold onto the spoon when inverted, which the clerk demonstrates as she gives it to you.

Mississippi River crossings today: 1
July 11, 2012