Yesterday we heard that the Cahokia Mounds "Woodhenge" would host a special summer solstice program at 5:20 AM this morning. Of course, we had to attend. So, we hauled our tired butts out of bed at 4 AM and left by 4:30 so we could arrive by 5:00 AM in case there was a problem finding parking in the relatively small lot they have at Woodhenge. We arrived by 5AM and, as you might guess, there was no problem with the parking. So, we waited around in the parking lot. There was some confusion about what was to happen and there was a certain contingent of people that followed a particularly loud gentleman to the far side of Woodhenge because he proclaimed he knew where he was going. Since we were promised guidance (and since I was pretty sure the loud gentleman was mistaken), we waited for the tour guide to show up. And he did, right at 5:20 as promised, with a ladder, which was a development I did not expect. We proceeded to the center pole of Woodhenge (not where the loud gentleman led, therefore I felt no small amount of schadenfreude). Soon, the purpose of the ladder was revealed. Essentially an outdoors rostrum; he used it to place himself above the audience while delivering his lecture (he seemed a scholarly sort).
The solstice program was decent. The lecturer described how they found the site (excavations for a highway overpass uncovered the site), how they reconstructed the site (they used traditional tools to prepare the tall polls planted in the ground, and raised one poll following traditional methods [and the rest with the machines because they couldn't raise the volunteers necessary to do the whole thing through traditional methods]), and how Woodhenge operates (one stands a bit back from the center pole such that the center pole aligns with the Winter Solstice, Summer Solstice, or Equinox pole and on the appointed day, the sun should rise directly in line with those poles. Although the solstice program was held the day following the actual solstice, the alignment is still about correct. Apparently during the solstices the sun rises in about the same spot for six days. According to our guide, this doesn't work with the equinox because the sun rises nearly a whole sun's disc worth North or South from the previous day (did not know that). The morning was a little cloudy so the rise was not terribly dramatic but it was a fun excuse to get up early in the morning and explore anyway.
Our next stop: coffee. We found a little shop (Kayak's Cafe) near Forest Park that made good mochas and lattes. Bailey opted to stay at the hotel (didn't want to get up at 4AM for some reason) so we didn't want to do any major touring without him. So, we found the St. Louis Walk of Fame was within walking distance and took a quick look while we caffeinated. Beth also had an itch to see the Giant Concrete Turtle Park, which we drove to. Predictably, there were giant concrete turtles, but, SURPRISE! snake.
We went back to the hotel and collected Bailey. Beth's grandma Herkenratt told Beth before we left that St. Louis was the place to see the Budweiser Clydesdales. Since this was one of the few travel suggestions we received, we followed up on it. Grant's Farm was actually pretty close to our hotel and we got there just shortly after their 10AM opening. When we took a look at the brochure we received when we got there, we found out that it is basically a whole zoo's worth of animals. Since we had just seen the zoo, we decided just to visit the Clydesdales. We spent some time looking at the horses (and trying to figure out why the signs warned of "electric fences" [in quotes, yes, we are punctuation / grammar pedants, even if our own is suspect]). The kids posed for a picture with one of the horses and were allowed to pet it and talk to the trainer.
Abandoning our attempt to avoid crowded places in St. Louis on the weekend (and planning on today being our last day in the city) we went to the St. Louis City Museum next (arriving just before its 11AM opening). That place is crazy. There is no way I can do it justice in this write-up or in the photos I took. You MUST visit at some point, and please bring a small person. Adults may go unaccompanied and can access most places in the museum (so far as I know) but only kids can take advantage of some of the small cracks and crevices that are available for crawling through. Seriously. Cracks and crevices. I am not exaggerating. I did crawl through a couple that I felt I could fit into and I was amazed by 1) the array of interconnecting passageways of various sizes 2) the fact that there were little entrances/exits to these passageways EVERYWHERE (with children either disapperaing into or emerging from them) 3) how amazingly, within these things you could become bewildered, but not full-on lost 4) that somehow, everything seemed to be safe (the whole thing is constructed of industrial-type materials [piping, sheets of metal, tile, rebar, concrete, but I never saw or felt a sharp edge and no one got more than a hurt knee from crawling all day) 5) that somehow, everything seemed to be safe (if you don't read parenthetical comments, you think I'm repeating myself, but NO, there are things arranged in a way never intended by God or men. There were amazing concoctions of crane parts, fire engines and small aircraft. Again, you probably think I'm exaggerating, but really, there are these concoctions there! You must go see them!). So yeah, there was that. It was crazy. We stayed until 4 and were completely wiped when we were done.
So. What do you do when you are completely wiped out? How about walk 14 blocks (I lied and told my people it was 7 blocks, oops) to the Gateway Arch, mull around for an hour waiting for an appointment with a tram, then squeeze into a little pod drawn directly from 2001: A Space Odyssey, then stand in a small room with WAY too many people and peep through small hand and face smudged windows? How about that? Well, that is what we did. Which may, perhaps, partially explain our final assessment of the Gateway Arch: it is better viewed from the outside. We've been in high places before and have an idea of what things look like from up there. While I appreciate a scenic overlook, this one was not worth the hassle. However, there is no way we could have come to St. Louis and not gone to the top of the Arch, and so now it is done, for all of us (except Beth, who wisely decided she would not like the experience).
That was pretty much it. We headed back to the hotel and called it quits for the night.
No comments:
Post a Comment