Another Day in St. Louis

You know even when I don't set an alarm and give myself the option to sleep in it rarely works. Today I was up at 6:00 am. So I got dressed, had some breakfast and loaded the car. A couple of days ago I got an email that the hosts of the Space Odyssey event were going to leave the boxes in place through this weekend, so I decided since I was up so early that I would return to Klondike Park and get the boxes I didn't have time to get last weekend. I made the short drive down Mo94 to the Park and parked near Shelter #1. I figured from this location I could get to the remaining trails and not have to move the car. I got my letterboxing gear and clues as well as the map of the park and at 7:15 am I was on the trail. I started in Sector C - Cobalt (Lake Loop) where I found five boxes plus a bonus box. From here I made my way to Sector O - Orange (Lewis & Clark Trail, Western) where I picked up two more boxes. I then crossed a road and continued in Sector O - Orange (Lewis & Clark Trail, Eastern) for two more boxes for a grand total of four boxes in these sectors. I had one more sector and that was Sector B - Brown (Outlook & Hogsback Trails) to complete. At the end of this sector I had found ten more boxes. It was now a little after 10:00 am and I was done with all the boxes at this park. So I made my way back to the car and figured out what I was doing next.

I made my way from the park back into St. Louis and headed toward Emmenegger Nature Park and found a spot to park. I had clues for two letterboxes and one series of boxes. I read through all the clues and formulated a plan. So I hit the trail and not long after I found the first of a series of six boxes. The letterbox series is A Brain, A Heart, A Home, The Nerve and the boxes are - Are We There Yet?, The Blonde With the Wand, I'm Melting, No Brainer, Have a Heart and Scaredy Cat. What an amazing series! The park was wonderful and I enjoyed the trails but the pièce de résistance were the stamps - really amazing carves - I absolutely loved them. I was so glad I decided to do this series. And while I was at this park I also looked for 'Neath the Chinkapin Oak and I Bet It's That Tree Over There! These were also great carves and I was really glad I decided to stop at this park. Well I had found all the boxes that I had clues for at this park and I figured it was time to move on. Very nearby was another park I had read about and wanted to visit - not just for boxes but for the artwork. This park is Laumeier Sculpture Park and there is collection of outdoor art that you can explore. I parked and went to the office and picked up a map and headed out on the trail. I followed the trail and viewed the art and while I was doing that I was also looking for landmarks so that I could find a few boxes. I had clues for three boxes here. After about 15 minutes of walking around I spotted a landmark and quickly found FSL - Ernest Trova and it was an easy find since it was lying on the ground in full view. It was also very wet. The box was one of those soap holders you use in your travel kit. I cleaned up the box as best I could but I didn't have that much with me. I dried the box and stamp and put the wet logbook into a second baggie so it wouldn't get any worse. And after stamping in I rehid the box and made sure to add a couple of rocks to hold it in place. Then I continued on and shortly thereafter I came to another landmark and I followed the rest of the clues to the next box. To find this one I had to do a lot of bush whacking to get to it. Once I got through all the brush I found Queen of Cards - Laumeier Park. When I opened the box it was also wet inside. Again I dried it the best I could and then stamped in. I put it back in place and bush whacked my way back to the trail. After I got back to the trail I found a bench and took my computer out to see if I had internet connection. I wanted to get my boarding pass for my flight tomorrow on Southwest and luckily I was able to connect and get my boarding pass in the middle A's. So then I put the computer away and read the clues for the last box I had. But to be honest the clues weren't making any sense so I returned to the main trail and tried to make some sense of the clues. After about 20 more minutes I decided to call it quits and head to the next place. It was midafternoon and I debated about going back to the hotel and getting things packed for the trip home or going back to Tower Grove Park to find the two boxes I missed yesterday. My flight isn't until tomorrow afternoon so I decided to go look for the two boxes. Last night I looked online at a map of the park and located the statues I needed and I also looked at the clues (pictures) and felt like I had a better handle on finding the boxes. So I parked in the middle between the two statues I needed (or at least where I thought they were) and headed out. It was amazing how fast I found those boxes after knowing where the statues were and having a better understanding of the locations from the pictures. So I found Mr. Henry Shaw's Gifts: von Humboldt and Mr. Henry Shaw's Gifts: Columbus. I am glad I did, they were all nice stamps and I really enjoyed the park.

By this time I was getting hungry and I decided to look on the Garmin for the nearest restaurants. And at about a mile away I found a Steak 'n Shake. Thomas and I had eaten at one of these when we were in Indianapolis a few years back and I had been seeing them during my travels and I decided that is what I wanted tonight. So I pressed 'Go' on the Garmin and headed out. I really like their hamburgers (I had two) and the fries. I also had a large vanilla shake. Now back at the hotel I am trying to get this blog done so I can get packed. This is my final post for this trip. It has been amazing and now I have a list of things I want to come back and see again sometime. As soon as I get home and get settled I will try and put together a slide show and get that posted. I took quite a few pictures and had a fantastic trip. And notice I changed to calling the Garmin by its real name and not my Nimrag - that is because he did an excellent job on this trip - I am so excited about that.