Getting my kicks

I got up this morning to get on the road to head south. I went over to Charlie Parker’s Diner (Another place on D, D-I & D) for breakfast. It did not disappoint. The food was excellent and the people were friendly. I then got on the road to head south. My day today could be largely broken up into three segments: the road to St. Louis highlighted by a trip to the Cahokia Mounds; in St. Louis, primarily a Cardinals-Dodgers game (baseball for those less athletically inclined); and the road from St. Louis, the main attraction being a trip to Meramec Caverns.

Upon arriving at Cahokia, I was amazed at what I found. I had an understanding of what would be there, but to see it in person was another matter. It was a city of giant mounds built by a group of American Indians between 700 and 1400 AD. It was the largest native pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico. The tallest of the mounds was over 100 ft. high. I could see St. Louis clearly from the top of the mound. It amazed me what mankind, even in its primitive pre-European state, could accomplish. It also made me wonder what would have happened to the Aztecs and Inca if the Spanish had not come to the new world and conquered them. It wouldn’t surprise me if a similar fate had not befallen them and they would have just fallen apart.

I went on to St. Louis and was able to park right across from the stadium and go into the game. The seats weren’t bad; I ended up in left field, about 5 rows from the front. Since the Dodgers were in town, this gave me ample opportunity to observe Manny Ramirez up close. I ended up rooting for the Cardinals, as they were the home team, though as a Yankees fan, I didn’t care a whole lot for either team. As I was leaving St. Louis, I stopped for White Castle (quite good) and stopped to get ice cream at a St. Louis icon, Ted Drewe’s Frozen Custard. If you’re spending more than a day in St. Louis, you really must make time to get out there. I’d never had frozen custard before but I was very impressed. It’s thicker and heavier that ice cream, but just as tasty. I had a chance, while driving through town to see the Gateway Arch. The Gateway Arch, for those who don’t know, is part of a westward expansion museum centering on Lewis and Clark’s expedition. The Arch is an impressive building, as is Busch Stadium (where the Cardinals play) and much of the rest of St. Louis.

My final major stop was at Meramec Caverns in Stanton, MO. Much of what I saw there took my breath away. Part of the attraction of the cave is

history. It was the hideout of Frank and Jesse James during their crime spree; and before that

it was a Union Gunpowder factory. These parts of the caverns have been accessible for over 150 years. However, the rest of the Caverns were just gorgeous. Stalactites(Cave formations hanging down from the ceiling) and Stalagmites(Cave formations growing up from the ground) flowing like water from the ceiling and the floor. The cave contains the third largest stalagmite in the world. The cave’s drapery formations were immense and astonishing. The cave had a formation that so far as is known, there is only one other like it in the world. The thing about it is that these parts of the cave were only discovered about 60 years ago, while some of the formations in the cave have been growing for hundreds of thousands of years (leaving aside old earth vs. young earth creation theories). It got me to thinking about the caverns, and cave systems like it. It’s amazing when you compare what was in that cave to the mounds of this morning or the city of this afternoon. The other two can’t compare. God’s been working on that cave for hundreds of thousands of years, for nothing other than just to enjoy. No one else could see it but Him, yet He continued shaping and fashioning it into something that is something that is absolutely gorgeous. It gives me hope that if he continues to work on things that are, arguably, inconsequential that no one sees but Him, how much more will he work on what he has promised to work on and bring me and all others who are saved to completion.

Off to Joplin.