Ride to St. Louis?

Wednesday, 6/5/2013

So Vickie said "I have been wanting to ride to St. Louis". Well, she wanted to go to the mirror house and that was a fine time. So, let's follow her on her next wishful trek. I suppose Gerry and I would have simply sucked it up and ridden as far as we could get to St. Louis (Missouri) but were quite happy when we learned this St. Louis is here in Michigan, and about twenty miles away.

Riding around here really involves no hills! Very different from our hilly terrain everywhere back home. The farmlands and roadside views are interesting and we stop several times for photos.

This garden lady is made from clay flower pots

 

Can't pass up a bike photo

 

This very old gas station stop had us very intrigued

 

The numbers were not readable so we could not tell what the price of gas was when this was in operation

Owners of the station obviously lived behind the station and had some farming to do

As we rode along Vickie told us we were cycling through the Porter Oil Fields, and lo and behold -- there was an oil drill.

Right beside the road, I don't know that I have been so up close to one of these

A delightful old barn not far from the oil drill

 

Soon felt we were running out of fuel and needed lunch. We had packed sandwiches and goodies for a roadside stop somewhere, and we found the perfect place.

 

Lunch on the porch of an abandoned home

Doesn't get a whole lot better...

Continuing on into St. Louis, we learned (from Vickie) some history of the Pine River that we were riding next to (the river runs from St. Louis to Midland, so we have been with it for most of our ride). Years ago there was a chemical company (not Dow) that polluted the river with DDT, then another chemical company took over and polluted with other chemicals and PBBs. So -- don't eat the fish! The fish actually died for a while and some from adjoining rivers have found their way into the Pine. But still -- don't eat the fish!

 

We approached St. Louis and found ourselves in the "middle of the mitten".

 

When we got into town and found a place for the coffee drinkers to have a "good" cuppa, we learned that the high school senior project of a few of the seniors was happening. They were painting a mural of the "middle of the mitten" and the Spirit of St. Louis.

"Spirit of St. Louis"

Time to head home now and a little (I mean little as in maybe four feet tall) woman stopped to talk to us. Said she was in the "beauty parlor" and saw us ride by with all that bike gear and was proud of us! Never see that around St. Louis, she said -- three women (and I believe she was thinking "of your age") riding all that distance (she was in amazement that we would be riding 40 miles today)! No wonder you have all the gear you need. I wish I could be doing that, but I won't be now anymore (she was maybe my age, possibly slightly younger), should have done that when I was younger.

Made us proud!

 

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