Today, we reversed up the I-44 to see what the
Meramec Caverns had to offer. Turns out - a whole lot! 26 miles of underground wonder... The outlaw Jesse James hid there a number of times, and it was a saltpeter (potassium nitrate) gunpowder manufacuring facility in the civil war. This photo is just before the "Wine Room", where
botryoids that look like wine grapes are formed. It's also where the largest one of only two known onyx Ragonite formations (formations with legs and no other connections) are found. Obviously, they are also staggeringly beautiful.
This is one of my favourite photos from the tour (I took a lot!). It's a 15 second exposure (there's not much light underground), and because the tour guide turned off the lights as we went along, after I waited for everyone to get out of the way, I had to undo the tripod quickly and run along (in the dark) to catch up with the rest of the group. It happened a few times. Nothing like being in an 26-mile underground maze to get the pulse racing... the things we do for art, eh?
After an hour in the cool 15° caverns, Morag needed to warm up on the rocks of the Meramec River. Not for long, though - as our next stop was Arkansas (pronounced Ar-kan-saw) - "The Natural State".
We started to drive through some more geographically unique countryside - this photo is of the Ozark mountains. Prior to this it was the interstate (freeway, or motorway to UK folks) and many, many farmlands and prairies - I won't bore you with photos of those. The most remarkable thing about this area (I'm sure it isn't alone) is that one minute you see a billboard for a Baptist Church, and the next one is advertising guns and bullets!
We found an original Route 66 Gas Station! It has been serving petrol and fixing cars for over half a century. We spoke to an elderly gentleman by the name of Wayne, who asked us if we knew some-one in Yorkshire that he and his wife had been to visit. The souvenir shop next door was closed (the woman had retired), but we found a few momentoes from what was left of her stock.
Morag found a gas (petrol) pump very similar to the ones her Grandpa used to use in Skye! It was great to see authentic roadsigns and equipment, instead of the ubiquitous generic americana that we've found all over Route 66 so far. Real dirt!
This car was for sale (not sure how much), but reminded us of the gangster cars of the 40's. Also looked like the police car in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and the
Sheriff's car in Pixar's Cars movie. For those interested, it was a Ford Mainline V8 Flathead (1953, I think).
Down the hill were a few rusting hulks ("project cars", the sign nicely said) that were a good metaphor for what happened the original Route 66 when the great Interstate was built. For more information, see the first "Cars" movie. I thought they had a distinctive aura of authentic history (much like the garage itself), and if only we could wait long enough, most of what we call 'outdated' becomes 'retro', 'classic' and then 'of historic importance'. That's what my Dad always said about his flares and his crocheted waistcoat, anyway.
A beautiful sunset, seen from a gas station just outside Little Rock. I can still feel the mosquito bites. Scary, but on the way out of town we saw a truck spraying DDT - some of the little blighters carry brain-hemorrhagic fever. I'm
fairly sure we are out of the danger zone - will keep you posted!
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