Tuesday 4-29-25 Rainy Day

 

Rainy Day

 

The rain came in at 2:00 in the morning while we slept. It stayed around until 9:00. We didn't have rain for a few hours. Around noon it came back. We had steady rain for an hour or so. The rain went away at 2:00 but the roads were still very muddy and wet.

We watched the park workers try to clean the roads throughout the campground. They also were power washing the sites. Due to flooding the park had just opened Friday, they had cleaned many of the sites but some still had mud. Some of the mud was caked on the pavement. One guy had been power washing sites for the last two days. When the rain slowed down he was back working on the sites. We saw a gentleman driving around on a bobcat with a brush on the front cleaning the mud off the roads. 

We can relate to the problem, for the last couple of days when we were walking we had to avoid mud. Sometimes it spanned the entire road and it you stepped where the mud was you slid. We had to be extra careful.  

 

Cleaning up after the rain

  

If the rain had stopped we planed to move on to Springfield. Today Springfield had severe storms knocking out power in businesses and homes. They also had small tornadoes, that knocked down power lines. It didn't seem promising so Larry got online and paid for another night.    

We spent the day indoors reading. Larry started another book and finished it. I continued reading Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray. It's a great book about Frances Perkins, she was the first woman to serve as a presidential cabinet secretary. The book is about the challenges she faced in political service during early 1900's. She actually was a real person who worked for women's rights, the rights of workers, children labor and other human rights.

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Easy Street Mini of five games. It took me 13 minutes and 24 seconds to complete, which put me in 15th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds. 

After the rain went away Larry and I went on a walk around the campground. Larry walked with for 40 minutes and I continued the walk another 20 minutes. By the end we had walked 2.3 miles  I did another walk after dinner for an hour for another 2.5 miles. By the end of the day I got 14,000 steps.

Monday 4-28-25 Hot Windy Humid Day

 

Camping at Meramec State Park

 

We had a hot windy humid day with a high of 87 degrees and a low of 59. The sun was out and dried up all the rain.

I crawled out of bed at 7:30 and got dressed. Then we had apple cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast. Afterwards we got ready to go for a hike. We started the hike from the campground by Fisher Cave. We took the trail in front of us, which was an old road. The trail took us up a long hill through the trees. Once on top the trail leveled out. We hiked one mile when the trail got to a main road. We walked the road for .25 mile to the yellow trail marker. We were going to hike this trail for about a mile and turn back but it was too muddy. We went back the way we came. We only hiked 2.5 miles total. We were disappointed but we knew the trail could be muddy because of all the rain we had yesterday.

We relaxed with a book for about an hour. Then we decided to go to town. Larry wanted to dump the tanks and fill the water tank. Before doing this we went to Sullivan, which was about 6 miles away. We stopped at Walmart because we were getting low on some items. 

After putting the groceries away we walked to Little Caesar's to buy a pizza for lunch and dinner. It was just next door to Walmart. The lady who helped us was very friendly and she was by herself until noon. She said sometimes it very busy but she manages to handle it. We took the pizza back to the Minnie and had lunch.

While we were eating lunch we heard a bang on the side of the Minnie. Someone was too lazy to put their cart in cart storage area. The wind blew It into the Minnie. There was no damage because it hit the corner and it was protected. The thing was the cart area wasn't that far away. I put it in the area.

After lunch we went back to the campground. We stopped at the dump. While Larry was filling the Minnie with water he said I could walk back to the site if I wanted. That way I could get some steps. So I did. I walked to our loop and walked around it once, when Larry showed up I directed him into the spot.

Once we were plugged in we were back in business. We got water today and dumped the tanks that way we don't have to when we leave. The weather forecast has been calling for rain starting Tuesday thru Thursday. The chances for rain has been dropped a bit so we're not sure when we're leaving Meramec State Park. We'll just have to wait and see.

I played my games. Before doing my Daily Challenges I played some other Solitaire games so I could double my scores. It's just something to do every Monday. I did the Daily Challenge Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Tri Peaks Adventure of 20 games. It took me 1 hour, 14 minutes and 56 seconds, which put me in 11th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds.

While I was playing my games Larry went over and took a shower. When I finished my Solitaire games I walked around the campground for a half hour to get my steps. I ended up doing 16,600 steps for the day. When I finished I went over and took a shower.

In the evening I continued reading Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray.   

 

 

Relaxing with a book

 

Sunday 4-27-25 Rainy Morning, Reading & Walking

 

Rainy Morning

 

We had rainy morning. The rain came in early in the morning and was steady until noon. It sprinkled on and off for a couple of hours. The morning temperature was 53 degrees. 

The rain was gone at noon. It's suppose to be back on Tuesday and stay through Thursday. When the rain slowed down and stopped Larry went to the entrance shack and paid for another two nights. We were going to move onto another state park but it didn't have cell service. If we were going to be held up for a few days because of rain we might as well stay here where we have cell service and lots of paved roads to walk.

I finished reading Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley. This was the second book about Guncle and is very cute. He uses humor throughout the books. The books about a gay uncle Patrick, who helps his brother Greg raise his niece Maisie and nephew Grant after their mother Sarah dies. I really enjoyed reading both books. I laughed and cried while reading them. They brought back memories of movies I watched while growing up. 

After finishing Guncle Abroad I went back to reading Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray. Larry finished a book he started yesterday and started a new book.

 

Relaxing with a good book

 

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: World Tour Mini of 10 games. It took me 46 minutes and 52 seconds, which put me in 8th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds.

Once the rain went away we went for an hour walk around the campground for 2 miles. After dinner I walked around the campground for an hour for 2.5 miles. In places mud has run across the road so we have to be careful where we step because our shoes would slide.

By the end of the day I had done 13,000 steps. 

    

Saturday 4-26-25 Hiking at Meramec State Park, Camping & Reading

 

Overcast Day

 

We had an overcast day with a lite breeze. The morning temperature was 52 degrees.

I crawled out of bed at 7:15 and got dressed. Then we had  bowl of oatmeal for breakfast.

After breakfast we went on a 4 mile hike for about three hours. We started from the campground and walked to Fisher Cave, which was right across the street at the entrance. Fisher Cave was closed for the season. It will open May 18th for tours and closes on September 8th. We climbed stone stairs to get to the cave entrance. I looked at the entrance of the cave. Then we hiked the Fern Loop Trail, which was .5 mile around the cave and through the trees. At the beginning of the loop we climbed a steep hill to the top of mountain. Once on top we got a pretty view of the campground. When we got back to the cave we picked up the Deer Hollow Trail, which was 1.25 miles one-way. We hiked it to the parking lot of the store, restaurant and cabins. We walked to the trailhead of Bluff View Trail, 1.5 mile loop. We only hiked part of it about a mile. This trail was challenging because you weaved through the trees and had rocks, loose gravel, under trees and creek crossing. It was challenging but it had switchbacks to help. We got where it Y'd off to get back to store or campground. We took the campground way. At that point we saw a beautiful gazebo made by the CCC, it gave you a great view of the Meramec River. We hiked this trail until it got to another gazebo, from there we picked up the river trail to the left. This section of the hike was very narrow and at places there was a big drop off. You had to be very careful. It also was muddy at places due to the flooding. The trail ended at the Group C camping area of the park. The rest of the hike was down the campground road about .5 mile. We had a super hike and perfect weather. 

 

 

Campground from Fern trail

 

 

Staircase from Fisher Cave

 

First overview gazebo

 

Gazebo for the River trail

 

Fisher Cave is open for guided tours by a naturalist. It cost $14 for adults, $12 for teenagers (13 to 17), $10 for children (6 to 12) and free for children under 6. The tour takes you through the cave, it has low, narrow streamside passages to huge rooms filled with calcite deposits.

 

Fisher Cave entrance gate

 

What I saw at the gate to Fisher Cave

 

We spent the rest of the day relaxing with a book. Larry started a new book and I continued reading Guncle Abroad.

I played games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Spider and 5 Free Cell). It took me 1 hour, 6 minutes and 14 seconds, which put me in 18th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds.

About 3:00 I went for a 50 minute walk around the campground, two laps. I ended up doing 1.75 miles. 

For dinner I barbecued sausage links. We also had chips and a flour tortilla. After dinner Larry and I walked around for a half hour. When we got back we put the grill away. 

By the end of the day I had done 21,000 steps. I know it's a lot of steps but I needed to do something besides sitting.    

 

 

     

Friday 4-25-25 Laundry, New State Park & Walking

 

Smile and have fun

 

We had rain overnight. The rain started late last night and stopped early this morning. It was very hard for awhile. We woke up to 66 degrees at Dr. Edmund Babler State Park (Wildwood, MO) and the high was 80 at Meramec State Park (Sullivan, MO). We slept under the fan. 

I woke up at 7:30 and got dressed. Then I made mini waffles for breakfast. We took our time getting ready to move on. We put everything away and secure. We were ready to leave at 9:00. Today our adventures take us 50 miles down the road to Meramec State Park, which will be our fifth state park. 

Our drive was mainly interstate. 

On the way to Meramec State Park we stopped at Inside-Out Laundry in Sullivan, MO. The laundry was about 5 miles from the state park. It was a very modern place and well kept up. It was clean and had a lot of washers and dryers. I used the smallest front-end washers, that cost $2.75 per load. I did two loads. The washers worked great, after the last spin their were almost dry like at home. The dryers cost $1.00 for 20 minutes for additional time $.25 for 5 minutes. I used one dryer and put enough money in for 30 minutes. I used medium heat and the clothes were dry. While we were waiting for the clothes to dry a couple of people decided to do donuts in the dirt parking lot out back. The owner came out and put a stop to it. They were just tearing up his parking area and they came very close to the Minnie. We were afraid they were going to hit it. Rich's Famous Hamburgers was right next to the laundry but we decided to go to the park to have lunch.

We arrived at Meramec State Park around 12:30. We stopped at the check-in booth. The lady and gentleman at the booth asked if we had a reservation. We said no. They suggest a site and Larry asked if he could drive around. They said yes but we need to come back to make sure it was available. They told us it was the first day the park had been open in the last month due to flooding. That's why there was no openings yesterday. We parked the Minnie and walked around to check out sites. We found a couple we liked. Then we walked over to the booth and they registered us in 166 for two nights. We thanked them for the suggestion for a site but it was too far away from the shower-house. It was a great site with a lot of privacy. 

 Meramec State Park is a hugh park with three sections and three group sites. Section 1 has 14 sites with electric and 52 sites with water and electric, Section 2 has 18 full hook-up (water, sewer and electric), 41 electric and 52 primitive and Section 3 is with 29 electric sites.There are three group areas. Some sites are by the Meramec River. They have two shower-houses and the pit toilets were locked. The park has a playground, boat ramp (closed due to the flood) and fields to play in. It has a lot of trees but you don't have much privacy. The sites have a picnic table, fire pit with grill and a hook. They did an excellent job of cleaning the park up from the flood.

We setup the Minnie for the weekend. Afterwards we shared a pasta salad for lunch. 

Then we relaxed with a book. Larry finished another book. 

I played my Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Tri Peaks Mini of 5 games. It took me 9 minutes and 14 seconds, which put me in 11th place in my group. I played Angry Birds. Then I continued reading Guncle Abroad.

For dinner I barbecued seasoned pork. After dinner we walked around the campground. Larry walked with me for 45 minutes. We walked by the Meramec River and through the three sections of campsites. While walking by the river we saw a jet boat go up the river. The river appears really shallow and the current is very strong, we are guessing they have to use jet boats. Larry went inside and I walked around for another half hour. By the end of the day I had done 13,000 steps. LIFE IS GOOD!!!!

 

Meramec River

 

Boating down the river

 

Camping at Meramec State Park

 

Learning how to fly a kite

 

Watching the jet kite

 

       

Thursday 4-24-25 New Campsite, Relaxing & Walking

 

Camping at Dr. Edmund A. Babler Memorial State Park

 

We had another warm day with sunshine. It started out at 57 degrees and got up to 81. We slept with the fan going and had to run the air conditioner in the afternoon. We were going to move on to another state park today but it does not open until tomorrow. We decided to stay here one more night, we had to move to another site because our site was already booked. There were a few open sites. Larry reserved site # 46, which was three site down from us. It wasn't perfectly level but it wasn't bad, didn't need our leveling blocks..

 

The camper, who took our site

 

We didn't have anything on our agenda so we spent the day relaxing with a book. Larry finished reading The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley and went back to reading the book he started before this book. We have about 11 days before The Guncle Abroad has to be returned to the Houston Public Library so I put  Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray on hold for a few days. I wanted to read The Guncle Abroad before it has to be returned.

Larry has now checked out two books using the Houston Library card and he has used it to read newspapers like: The NY Times, Dallas Morning News, The Guardian and USA Today. There are 100's available from all over the world, of course for some you would need to be able to read in different languages.

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event today was Event: Pyramid Adventure of 20 games. It took me 1 hour, 36 minutes and 36 seconds to complete, which put me in 20th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds.

About 3:30 I decided to walk around the campground for an hour and ten minutes for 3 miles to get some steps. I did another walk around the campground after dinner for another hour and 10 minutes for another 3 miles, By the end of the day I had gotten 19,000 steps. 

While I was walking after dinner Larry walked over and took a shower. When I finished my walk I did the same.

We had a very relaxing day.

 

Wednesday 4-23-25 Saint Louis Art Museum, Carousel & Butterfly Museum

 

Awesome Day

 

We had an awesome day. We woke up to the temperature of 53 degrees and got up to 78 degrees. We slept with the fan going and the heater running in the morning. Great sleeping weather.

I got up around 7:30 and got dressed. Then we had oatmeal for breakfast. Today were going back to the Saint Louis area to visit a few sites. 

After breakfast we got ready to go by putting things away. Our first stop was 27 miles away. We had to drive the interstate through St. Louis. Because it was rush hour it was very busy. There were a couple of bottlenecks but at least traffic didn't stop. I was glad Larry does the driving and we have a small rig.

Our first stop was the Saint Louis Art Museum, which is located in Forest Park. Forest Park is a gorgeous park, that covers 1,326 acres. It opened in 1876 and host several significant events such as Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904 and the 1904 Summer Olympics. It has a hugh fountain in the center of the park by the parking lot. In the park you can visit St. Louis Zoo, St. Louis Art Museum, the Missouri Historic Museum and St. Louis Science Center. 

 

Forest Park fountain

 

The Saint Louis Art Museum is in a huge three-story building and has a dramatic entrance.  Admission is free but the special exhibit cost $20.00. The museum opens at 10:00. People say you need to get there early to get a parking space in the two lots, that are free. They have a parking garage at the museum but it cost $15.00. We couldn't take the Minnie in the garage so we had to get there early. We arrived there at 9:30 and had no problem finding a spot. 

 

Entrance to the Saint Louis Art Museum

After parking the Minnie we walked through the park to the museum. The fountain was breath taking, it was so hugh with grassy hills surrounded it. The hillsides were a great place to have a picnic and relax, which people did when we were returning to the Minnie. There was a large bronze and limestone sculpture of King Louis IX of France (1214-70). We were early so we walked around the grounds and looked at the sculptures. When the museum opened we climbed the stairs to enter the museum on the second floor. The lady, who gave us the map and information about the museum was very friendly and explained where to go and how to read the map. The level we entered on was Level 2, which had exhibits of European Art, Asian Art, Ancient Art and Rotating Exhibit. Level 1 had exhibits of Decorative Arts and Design, Arms and Armor, African Art, Oceanic Art, Ancient American Art, Islamic Art, Contemporary Art and Textile Art. Level 3 had exhibits of Native American Art, American Art, Egyptian Art, Decorative Arts and Design, New Media and Ancient Art. The exhibits were of painting, sculptures, cultural objects and ancient master pieces around the world. They also had works from European masters Matisse, Gauguin, Monet, Picasso, Corrado Giaquinto, Giambattista Pittoni and Van Gogh. Kehinde Wiley had Ashley Cooper pose like Charles I of England. This was cool to see art from 1633 and 2018. It took us over two hours to walk through the museum and look at the art. I was surprised to see a lot of school kids at the museum. It was amazing to see how well preserved the art was. We were disappointed with the sculpture garden because it only had a few sculptures and they were dark in color. We had a great experience.

 

King Louis IX sculpture

 

Clacs Oldenburg (Giant Three-Way Plug) 

 

George Rickey (Two Open Triangles Up Gyrator II) 

Italian Plate c. 1500-1520 

 

French Lancet Redemption Window about 1220

 

Piero di Cosimo Madonna and Child Enthroned with Sts. Peter, John the Baptist, Dominic and Nicholas of Bari  (1481-85)

 

Kehinde Wiley Charles I 2018 (Ashley)

 

 

Daniel Mytens I Charles I 1633

 

Sioux artist Possible Bag (1890)

 

George Caleb Bingham (Jolly Flatboatman in Port) 1857

 

Giovanni Paolo Panini (Interior of St. Peter's Rome) 1731

 

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French) and Richard Guino (Spanish) Venus Victorious 1914-16

 

We had lunch at the Panorama Restaurant. It was a formal restaurant with a fresh tulip on each table. We sat by the window to get a view of the outside. The staff was very friendly and the service was excellent. We shared a burger and chips. The chips were homemade and burger was cooked perfect. The food was delicious.  

 

Panorama Restaurant 

Lunch

After touring the Saint Louis Art Museum we went back to the Minnie. Larry programmed the GPS for our next location. It was Faust Park and on the way home. It's a very nice park with the Saint Louis Carousel, Butterfly House, Historic Village, Playground, Trails and more. 

Larry thought I would like to ride the carousel. The Saint Louis Carousel was built by the Dentzel Carousel Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1927. It was installed in 1929 at the Forest Park Highlands amusement park. In 1960's St. Louis Community College purchased the land for their new campus. Before the agreement was made a fire broke out on July 19, 1963 and destroyed all but the swimming pool, observation tower, and five of the rides including the carousel. A businessman Howard C. Ohlendorf purchased the carousel and donated it to St. Louis County. The county operated it outdoors at Sylvan Springs County Park in the summertime through 1979. By that time the carousel was in bad shape and needed to be restored. The St. Louis County Historic Buildings Commissions and Faust Cultural Heritage Foundation raised money and restored the carousel. They installed the carousel inside a building in Faust Park in 1987. It now cost $2.00 to ride the carousel and I rode it twice. The lady, who ran the carousel was very friendly and made it fun. We counted to three and said Giddy up at the beginning. At the end we counted to three and said whoa. The first ride I rode a horse and the second ride I rode a deer. The second ride another couple joined me. I had a super time.

 

The Saint Louis Carousel 

 

Climbing on the horse

 

I made it

 

Waving at Larry

 After riding the carouser we walked over to the Butterfly House. It was a cute area with a enclosed atrium the butterflies fly around. Before entering in this area an attendant would give you a chart to see what butterflies you see or you can download it to your phone. Then he guided us to the entrance and explained if the butterfly would lands on you just relax and let the butterfly fly away. When he let us in the atrium we were free to wander around looking at the butterflies and the plants and flowers. They had a small waterfall surrounded by flowers, that attrack the butterflies. When you were finished the attendant would have you turn around to make sure no butterflies were on you. Then you walk through a beautiful garden with flowers and other plants. It was a pretty little walk. As you walk around they had some butterflies with a stick for you to play a tune on the butterfly by tapping each wing. It was very nice.

I'm a butterfly

 

Entrance and exit sign

 

A giant caterpillar

 

Little black and yellow butterfly on the green leaf in the middle

 

A blue and black butterfly to the left

 

The waterfall surrounded by flowers

 

Little white butterfly on the yellow flower at the top right

 

Afterwards we went back to the Minnie and went back to the campground, which was 15 miles away. We stopped by the visitor center so I could take a picture of the CCC Worker. By the time we got back to our site it was 3:00.

 

Dr. Edmund A. Babler Memorial State Park Visitor Center

 

CCC Worker statue

 

I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. I also played the Daily Challenges of Mahjong from yesterday. The event today was Event: Two Game Tango of 6 games (3 Spider and 3 Tri Peeks). It took me 17 minutes and 34 seconds, which put me in 24th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds.

While I played games Larry read. He started a book yesterday and finished it today. He had checked the book out of the Houston Public Library. It was the second book of Guncle called Guncle Goes Abroad. 

I made leftover for dinner. After dinner I walked around the campground for an hour and a half for 3.75 miles. By the end of the day I had done 16,000 steps.