Giant City Campground
The campground is about 12 miles south of Carbondale. It has 85 sites, restrooms, showers, a dump station and electricity at most sites. We picked a great time for a peaceful stay ... there may have been 7 other campers.
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| It's time to leave |
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| This was almost a private campground |
We left the campground at around 11am. Our 138 mile trip took us to St. Charles, MO (about 25 miles NW of St. Louis).
The route: North on US-51 to Carbondale, west on IL-13 to Murphysboro, west on IL149 to IL-3, north on IL-3 to US-50, US-50 to I-255 (crossing the Mississippi River), to I-270 (around St. Louis), to MO-370, west on MO-370 to MO-94, south on MO-94 to St. Charles.
Along the way
This was a scenic route that took us along the Mississippi River part of the way. We passed small hills, fields and fertile river lowlands.
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| I-255 Jefferson Barracks Bridge takes us over the Mississippi River |
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| The Missouri state line is mid-river |
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| MO-370W takes us over the Missouri River |
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| The wide Missouri River |
Campground
We're camped at Sundermeier RV Park. It's bit like being in a Wal-Mart parking lot (lots of cement, little landscaping). But, the staff is helpful and the amenities are very nice. We're staying two nights.
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| Site #81 |
The park managers suggested we visit the historic district of South St. Charles for dinner and offered some recommendations.
Dinner first ... we chose Mother-In-Law House (www.motherinlawhouse.com). It's been in operation for 33 years and we could see why. The dining experience was exceptional. The owner personally visited with each guest and brought warm blueberry muffins to their table. Carol had the special (chicken with brandy and pineapple) with rice and a salad. Dick had liver and onions with a baked potato and a salad. Dessert was highly recommended. Dick had peach cobbler with ice cream; Carol had banana cream pie. The Victorian dining room was beautifully decorated and would have been a wonderful experience in itself. We ate on the patio and enjoyed every morsel.
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| The owner |
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| We ate on the patio |
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| And met the owner |
The festival ... we learned that the Festival of the Little Hills begins tomorrow and runs through Sunday. It's held in the historic district and is the largest festival of the year (200,000 visitors). They were starting set-up tonight in Frontier Park and along Main Street.
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| 300 craft booths being set-up |
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| Municipal Band plays in Frontier Park (Between Riverside Drive and the Missouri River) |
Scenes along Main Street ...
Tomorrow
We'll explore downtown St. Louis tomorrow.
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