Mississippi River Day 10: St. Louis to Memphis

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.

Today was the longest driving day of the trip. The most direct route would have taken us down the west side of the Mississippi most of the way, but we wanted to cut through western Kentucky so that we would visit all of the states bordering the river. So we traveled south to Cape Giardeau, crossed into Illinois yet one more time there, and then (across the Ohio River just above its confluence with the Mississippi) into Kentucky. We stopped for a picnic and visit at Wickliffe Mounds, which had exhibits on the native artifacts of the Mississippian culture (1100 to 1350 AD) found there.

As we crossed into Tennessee, we had our first rain of the trip, a short but intense shower. Most of the Midwest is having a severe drought this year, and we have encountered much less rain than I expected. The rest of the drive was routine, and we easily found a hotel in Memphis close to the Mississippi.

Mississippi River crossings today: 1
July 13, 2012