Fort Massac (Massac County, Illinois)

Fort Massac is the remains of the reconstructed structures of a French colonial and later early National-era fort along the Ohio River near Metropolis Illinois. And since it was on my route home as I drove between St. Louis and Atlanta, I had to stop and check it out. Though there may have been a Spanish fort nearby as early as 1540, the actual Fort Massac was built by the French in 1757, during the French and Indian War. Apparently, it was destroyed by the Chickasaw sometime after 1763 and rebuilt by the early American Troops in 1794. Today, the site is recognized as an Illinois state park.

Parking my car near the visitors center, I make the short walk out the the reconstructed structures of the 1794 site. Several wooden buildings stand here today as their counterparts must have over two centuries ago. As I walk out towards the Ohio River, I notice the raised ground and mote-like fortification of the actual fort aspect. This includes the very common and highly defensible corners where cannons could get a wide sweep of the land surrounding the fort. I walk around this area a little bit before heading back to my car and continuing my journey home. While not much remains of this historic site, it's always interesting to visit what does.

Stonefort Trail (Jackson County, Illinois)

I'm always on the lookout for interesting historical, geological, and archaeological sites in my travels. As I was planning a trip back to my hometown, near St. Louis, I stumbled across information on the Stonefort Trail. This is remnant of an ancient rock wall atop a bluff in the Giant City State Park of Southern Illinois. Archaeologists are unsure of the exact purpose, but they do not believe it was defensive in nature. Regardless, it seems just the kind of interesting site that I want to check out.

After parking my car, I start the short hike up the bluff along a cascading stream. The trail is well marked and once I reach the top, I'm struck by the wall, which was obviously a human construct. While much of it has been destroyed over time, long sections still remain and seem to create a defensible barrier facing the forest, while the tall bluff we're atop provides a very likely unclimbable barrier to any attacking from that direction. For whatever the evidence that the experts have relied on to move away from the defensive structure theory, I'm not convinced. This is one of the best fortified areas, I've ever visited.

While I would love to stay and explore more, I still have several hours of driving and one further stop to hit before I make it home. This was only a short hike of 0.4 miles, but a very interesting one nonetheless.

Snake Road (Union County, Illinois)

My next stop along this long drive home to Atlanta from St. Louis takes me to the infamous Snake Road. I don't recall where I first learned of this place, but since it was only a few miles out of my way, I decided to pay it a visit and see if it lived up to it's reputation. This gravel road sits in the flood plane between the Big Muddy River and the continuation of the bluff system that continues north. From my reading, many snake species can be found crossing the road here during April and October as they move between the wetlands of the flood plain and the higher ground of the bluffs. 

The road is closed to cars during these periods of high snake traffic, but a small parking area is offered at the northern end and the signage indicates that foot traffic is welcome. I leave my car and begin my trek, with eyes scanning everywhere for any dangerous species, which will likely include water moccasins and potentially copperheads and timber rattlers. I'm sure there are many more non-venomous species in the area as well, but I'm less concerned with them.

In the distance, I see a couple walking the road ahead of me and take note of where they stop along the way. While I don't see any snakes right away, I am enthralled by the beauty of the area. It's just a nice forested gravel road, which seems to be pretty well maintained. I'm sure it's a popular spot for people to hike given it's reputation. 

As I continue scanning either side of the road, some areas of which are stagnant ponds of river overflow (very "snaky"), I fail to see any of the slithering residents. I eventually catch up to the couple and we chat briefly. Apparently, they had seen a large water moccasin on a log in one of these areas, but after taking a couple of pictures, he swam off into the brackish water. I wish them well and continue south.

I climb over a couple of small inclines, but eventually decide that I need to head back and hike back the way I came, still on alert for any legless visitors. Once I reach my car, I'm thankful to have arrived safe, but somewhat disappointed at the lack of sightings. Perhaps, it was just an off day. Total distance hiked (or rather walked) was only about 2.7 miles.

Piney Creek Ravine Rock Art (Randolph County, Illinois)

Over my years living out west, I have sought out and explore many areas with ancient Native American rock art. I know that there are also some examples near where I grew up in Southern Illinois, and since I'm traveling through on my way home from St. Louis, I decided to detour and visit one of them.

The Piney Creek Ravine State Natural Area sits in and among some mildly rugged rock formations, with the ravine carved out by the creek the area is named for. I really didn't know what to expect, but was anxious to see what the site had to offer. From the small gravel parking area, the trail follows an old dirt road along a couple of pastures before taking a quick right and beginning a slow decent into the ravine. 

I'm actually pretty impressed by the topography and geology here. There are some waterfalls and the creek bed is a single sheet of limestone, at least in some areas. Once I get to the main area, where the creek forks, I'm forced to do a rock-hop to cross one of the branches. I saw a sign along a bluff on the far side and I assumed that might be where the rock art could be found. After making my way back up the hill, I found my assumption to be correct. Scattered along the walls of this bluff there is a combination of ancient pictographs and petroglyphs, along with an overwhelming amount of more modern (but still historical) graffiti. The more modern carvings are generally names and dates, which appear to be mostly from the late 19th and early 20th century. Unfortunately, they have hidden much of their more ancient counterparts.

As I walk along the bluff though, I do find a few examples that are still visible. The more noteworthy examples include a petroglyph of two humanoid figures standing side by side and a series of pictograph ungulates (probably deer) in a row painted with a red stain. I spend a few minutes exploring all around the area and see many more areas that might contain more rock art, but with what appears to be a storm approaching, I don't want to linger too long. 

Back at my car, I see I've hiked only about 1.6 miles, which isn't much, but I still have more stops planned along this trip home. This is an interesting site though and when I have more time, may be worthy of a more detailed exploration.

Confluence Point Trail (St. Charles County, Missouri)

After yesterday's busy day in downtown St. Louis, which included a half-marathon, a ride to the top of the Gateway Arch, and seeing my Cardinals take a loss from the Red Sox, I'm headed north to my actual home town of Alton, Illinois this morning. It's only about twenty miles from downtown and I'll be spending today and tonight there visiting family and friends before driving home to Atlanta tomorrow. 

On the way over though, I decided to check out a small park built at the confluence of two largest rivers in the nation, the Mississippi and the Missouri. The drive is a few miles out of the way on gravel roads, but I'm not in any big hurry. As I pass through this area though, I'm reminded of the great floods this area often sees. Back in 1993, which is the biggest one recorded, I even helped sandbag several of the businesses in Alton's downtown area in a futile attempt to persuade the muddy waters away. It didn't work. I imagine this lowland area between the great rivers takes a beating during floods, which is probably why they haven't paved the roads are done any extensive development. 

The park includes a small parking area and a couple of trails. I'm most interested in the Confluence Point Trail, which leads out to the actual confluence. It's a short 0.6 mile hike on gravel and some small sections of pavement to reach the area. Out there, some markers indicate which river is which and offer some historical tidbits, including a panel describing the many Native American Nations that once used these waterways. While visually, the confluence is nothing impressive, the importance of it in social, economic, and even patriotic terms cannot be overstated. This is where nearly half of the rain that falls across the entire contiguous United States finds its path to the Gulf of Mexico. It's truly a grand junction.

Gateway Arch (St. Louis County, Missouri)

When I planned my trip to St. Louis, I had to check back in the history of this blog. I was sure I had written about the Gateway Arch before, but as it turns out, I was incorrect. That said, I figured it wouldn't hurt to make a return to trip to symbol of my hometown. I've visited many times over the years, but it's always a great stop.

The Gateway Arch, built as a monument to the westward expansion of our great nation, stands 630 feet tall above the Mighty Mississippi River and welcomes travelers to the vast stretches of the west beyond. It was built between 1963 and 1965 and includes an underground museum. My memories of this place include walking through the museum as a child on a field trip and later of dancing with my senior prom date under the starlight and stainless steel behemoth after dinner and on our way to the actual dance, which was held on one of the riverboats below. It's also worth noting that the term 'arch' is a little misleading, as the shape of the structure is actually an upside down catenary, at least in mathematical terms. If you were to hold a string between your hands and let it go from taut to loose, the shape formed would be a catenary. Now flip it upside down and that's the Gateway Arch.

Oddly for having grown up so close, I didn't actually ride the tiny elevator cars to the top of the structure until after I had moved away to Reno and returned to St. Louis on a business trip. That said, I figured I would do it again today. I bought a ticket in advance and as the time approached, I made the short half-mile walk from my hometown to the park grounds. 

Entering, I quickly found where I needed to be after passing through an airport-like security check. I suppose the park service can't be too careful with a structure like this. They line us all up in a room and show a little video on the walls of the waiting area, which details what was going on in the world in the 1960's when the monument was built. Even for an old guy like me, this was just a little before my time, but I'm very familiar with the culture of that era.

Once the video is complete, we load into the eight tiny cars that are a combination of elevator and escalator. If you think about that, it make sense given how the cars must travel to the top. It starts out my vertical, but as we approach the top becomes much more horizontal. It's a tight fit, as I remember, in this car, but I'm with a nice family and we chat a little bit during the four-minute ride to the top.

At the top, we climb a few stairs and then head into the observation deck. Here, sixteen windows per side offer spectacular views of the city. Since the shape of the arch is actually a triangle, the windows are fashioned with a carpeted area to lean out onto and take in everything to be seen from this amazing vantage point. I take a few minutes to lean over several windows and see the city and river below me before heading back towards the elevators. 

After about ten minutes, we are asked to prepare to re-board the elevator cars and they call our groups one by one. The ride down is just slightly faster thanks to the gravity assist, but we arrive back at the base in one piece. I think the young man who's family I shared the car with was impressed by the entire experience. I wish them well and once we reach the bottom, I head towards my next destination for the day.

Greater St. Louis Half-Marathon (St. Louis County, Missouri)

Some months ago, I decided to get myself back in shape. Since the new year, I've been eating very healthily and running regularly. One of my goals was to get back to running half-marathons in non-embarrassing times and the first one I signed up for was the Greater St. Louis Half-Marathon. I grew up on the Illinois side of the river about twenty miles north of downtown, but when I asked, I just claim St. Louis as my home town. That being said, this will sort of be a homecoming. 

On Thursday night, I drove up north of Nashville after work and then finished the drive on Friday morning. I did stop to visit some family as I passed through Kentucky, which I don't do often enough. After arriving in St. Louis on Friday afternoon, I picked up my bib and checked into my hotel, which is just across the street from Busch Stadium, where I'll be joining an old friend to see the Cardinals play the Red Sox tomorrow night. I grabbed some dinner and relaxed in my room, anticipating the early wake up for the race.

I woke up feeling fantastic and ready to run. I had picked up a new red running shirt and cap, along with some red sox for the race, all in honor of my beloved St. Louis Cardinals. From the hotel, I had to walk about half-a-mile towards Union Station for the races start, but I arrived in plenty of time and quickly found corral K, where I had been assigned. From what the announcer said, the race has more than 10,000 runners, though that is a combination of marathoners, half-marathoners, 10k and 5k participants. Still, that's a pretty good turn-out. 

As the starting time hits, the corrals begin running east on Market Street one by one. Being back in corral K, it takes a few minutes for me to get started, but it's a grand view. The sun rises just a little to the left of the skyline and we appear to be running directly towards the Gateway Arch, which has a dark silhouette across the orange-pink morning sky. The air is a bit chilly, but once we get started it should be perfect running weather.

Finally, my group reaches the starting line and we begin our journey winding through the streets of downtown St. Louis. I start out pretty fast and pass a large number of runners. I really am feeling great this morning. We take a couple of turns and then right right past the my hotel and the hall of famer's statues outside of the ballpark, which was nice planning for the route. From there, it's a few more twists and turns before we hike down to wharf street right along the Mississippi River and running directly below the Arch. What a grand image it is to run here.

Heading towards Laclede's Landing, we face a couple of minor up hill sections, but I'm still feeling good and run every step. Turning left, we run across the river on the Eads Bridge and then do a quick 180° and return to the Missouri side of the river. From there, it's back into the Arch grounds, as we run close enough to touch one of the giant stainless steel legs of the monument.

The next section of the race takes us into Soulard, where large groups of supporters line the streets with signs and cheers to encourage us to continue. I'm still feeling pretty good, but I definitely feel a couple of hot spots on my feet. Wearing new socks was probably a mistake, but they were red! As we reach the southern part of the course, we pass by the original Anheuser-Busch Brewery and the smell of hops gives me a little extra encouragement to keep moving. 

Now approaching mile nine, I'm starting to feel a bit taxed and my pace slows a little bit, but I force myself to keep running. The music pounding in my head phones definitely helps. I really want to do well at this race and as long as I'm not ready to pass out, I promise myself to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

We head back towards downtown and then turn west to do a lap around Lafayette Park. Here, more supports cheer us on and I start to get my second (or maybe seventh) wind. I'm going to finish this race strong. Returning to downtown, I make the final left turn at Memorial Plaza and in the distance the finish line comes into view. I focus what little energy I have left and cruise to the end.

My feet are hurting a little bit and I probably have a couple of blisters, but otherwise, I'm feeling great. My official time was 2:11:17, which is not my personal record for a half, but only about 12 minutes off and much, much better than my last several races. In fact, this is the fastest half-marathon I've run in nearly seven years and my fifth fastest ever. I was hoping to come in around 2:20:00 and so, this is an achievement to be proud of. All of the hard work has paid off. Now to just keep at it.

After enjoying some post race snacks in the form of a banana, a roll, and some cold water, I rest a few minutes in the park and bask in the glory of the event. Soon, it will be time to walk back to my hotel and shower. I have a lot of other things to do today, but this was certainly the right way to start things off. Now, to look forward to my next race and see if I can get under that two-hour mark once again.