Today I am so glad to have been listening to my audio of Undaunted Courage! It was very helpful because I lost my gas cap! I'd stopped for gas and lunch at a 7-11 after visiting the Missouri farm of Gen. U.S. Grant. I wan't paying attention to my actions because I forgot to replace the gas cap and left it on top of the car. As I pulled into the street and started to pick up speed I heard something rolling on the roof of the car. Looking out of the rearview window, I saw this little ball-shaped thing hit the pavement. Knowing then exactly what it was, I determined to retrieve it. I went to the first light, turned around and headed back. I saw it lying in the street, but a red van was approaching! I hoped ... but to no avail ... the car smashed it to smitherines (sp ?)! Now I had a problem, and guess who I was blaming? But in listening to the tape, the story of Lewis waiting for his keelboat to be finished in Pittsburg was very helpful. He was so frustrated with the boatbuilder. The guy was to have the boat finished when Lewis arrived there July 20, but he never got it until August 30th. And there was really nothing Lewis could do but wait; the guy was a rascal and a drunkard! My problem was nothing compared to his. By the end of the day, I'd found a VW dealer who had the part and I replaced the cap ... I was good to go! And the new cap even has an attaching cable so I won't ever have to put the cap on the roof. Yippee!
The other aspects of my day were terrific. I broke camp at around 9:00 and headed off to see Ullysses S. Grant's farm here. I hadn't known he had a home here until yesterday when I was at the Arch. In some film they mentioned White Haven, his home, and since I've been exploring Lincoln, I was intrigued. And now I am more intrigued. He seems like a fascinating man. And from this site one gets the sense that there is a wonderful story to learn about. His wife Julia grew up with slaves on the farm you see. Her father was a confederate. One brother, Grant's Westpoint roommate, fought for the Union, while another brother sympathized with the south. Grant grew up in a strict abolitionist family. Neither family was happy with the marriage. So it's a great love story ... to read excerpts of their letters to one another is enlightening. And Grant was an interesting president, too. He really tried hard to implement and enforce Lincoln's concept of reconstruction, though Andrew Johnson hadn't helped things along much.
Around noon, I left there and had my gas cap fiasco, but continued on, crossing back over the Mississippi to Hartford, IL to see the reconstruction of Camp DuBois where L & C wintered the year before they set out. The reconstruction was neat, but of course it may not have looked quite like this place looked ... still it's based on records and drawings that Clark had made. What I really loved seeing from this location was the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. Of course, that's not where it was in 1804 either, but it's similar ... those pesky rivers move on us! What is cool is that you truly can see a slight difference in color; hence you can pick them out. In the picture below, I'm not sure you can see that, but if you look to the left of the barges on the water surface, you may pick out a little variation.
I met a woman in a confluence viewing tower who told me about locks just upstream ... said they were a must and that they didn't take long to see. So I went. I didn't take a tour, just took in the scene and walked through the museum very fast there. (This would be a great trip ... you are able to follow the Mississippi north through Illinois, stopping along the way at historic sites and national parks. It actually would be very neat. It is industrial, but not dense ... for instance, the guide at the viewing tower was talking about a new pipeline being built from Alberta, Canada by Conoco that will come into Hartford.)
This is looking south into a lock so it was ready for a boat from the north. There are 29 locks between St. Louis and Minneapolis. Pretty amazing!
Okay, here are some things that puzzle me and make me laugh: I am in a motel that has "stress-relief" facial soap! What in the world do you suppose soap is supposed to do about stress? And I marvel at the way beds in motels are made these days. The pillows sort of "stand up" and there are usually four; the bedcovers are turned back so that one-third of the bed has the sheets exposed. What is that? It's not that I mind because it is attractive; it's just that I can't understand people who sit around and think this stuff up. Oh well, it's time to go get into one of those beautiful and inviting beds.
Coordinates at St. Charles camp are N 38 46.152' W 90 29.519'. Oh, and by the way, today I had to rely on my own brain and a map to get me to a couple of places. For some reason, state historic sites don't seem to come up; neither did my current hotel! Odd, but true!
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