Last Time to Poplar Bluff

I somehow got roped into driving Lydia down to Poplar Bluff, MO for her second covid vaccine shot. Let the record show that I've driven to friggin' Poplar Bluff, MO four times in the past month.

One silver lining of going to that city again, which I swear to almighty Thor will be the last time I set foot in that place, is that there is a state park nearby that we didn't get to see any of due to rain.

Lake Wappapello State Park is apparently full of overgrown and abandoned cemeteries.

I like it when they put benches in perfect spots like this in parks.

STL Beer Garden Hopping

We were now both vaccinated but only the one shot and so were still cautious about venturing outside. In the end though, I'm a selfless man of the people and so I felt compelled to venture forth and patronize local businesses in my community. 

It was a super nice sunny day so we hit the patio at 4 Hands Brewing Co.

Urban Chestnut's Midtown Brewery & Biergarten is situated in an old 1920's garage.

I'm sort of like a 1980's cathedral.

Earthbound is my favorite brewery in St. Louis. They are scrappy and are always experimenting with weird stuff.

I had them pack me a lunch box.

What a Super Bridge

Lydia was a good sport and watched NOVA: Super Bridge with me today. It was originally broadcast in 1997 and chronicles the construction of the Clark Bridge that spans the Mississippi River near Alton. Tom worked on it and briefly appears in the program is the main reason for my interest.

They've been roasting the governor of Missouri who shall not be named because he did such a poor job allocating vaccines in the state.

Every time I read about people having to drive long distances to get vaccinated I fondly recall my horrible journey to the middle of nowhere to get my own shot.

You know who doesn't have to worry about how to get to Alton or how to get to not die of the plague? Ant larvae. Quite a few of them are now my roommates.

MO Parks MO Beer

Time to crush Missouri state parks.

Did some riverside hiking at Current River State Park, which consists of land and buildings originally developed as the Alton Club, a corporate retreat used in the 1930s and 1940s by the Alton Box Board Company.

Echo Bluff State Park sits on land belonging to the former Camp Zoe, which was seized by the DEA for hosting music festivals where $500k worth of drugs would be sold each weekend. It had a cool sign, too. 

The Roger Pryor Pioneer Backcountry is a 60,000-acre area of private land that is managed by MO for hiking and backpacking by the public. It is home to some 400-year-old trees!

On our way back through St. James, Missouri we were tempted into stopping for a refreshment at Public House Brewing Company.

Cold beer + warm fire = expert level body temperature regulation