We were all up early this morning, may be we were all keen to get on the road again or maybe it was the trains rattling past (where the train driver gets the idea from that 5 long horn blasts thrills the local area is beyond me) or the residents revving up their u beaut utes as they head to work. We will however take advantage of an earlier start to get out and about. First stop is the old Chain of Rocks Bridge. This bridge was built across the Mississippi River linking Illinois and Missouri, the problem was that the bridge did not meet so they had to put a 22degree angle in it. It's no longer open to drive across it so we walk out to the bend and check out the mighty Mississippi. The water level appears low but its still moving pretty well. Back in Harvey we are heading off to see the ancient mounds at Cahokia the remains of an Indian tribal settlement. We take one of the walks to the top of the biggest mound mainly for the view I think. Walking to the top of what can be compared to the covered over mound of a local tip is amazingly exciting. Not) It's quite hot so we worked up a thirst . So back in Harvey it's morning tea time. Now we head into St Louis to see the Gateway Arch. It is bigger than you can imagine and quite the engineering marvel. The amazing thing is that you can actually go up inside the arch to a viewing area . Under the ground is where the 'tram' starts. We sit in a round pod and make our way to the top in a zig zag fashion. Once at the top we have spectacular views of the city and the river. Back on the ground we are still amazed at where we have been and what we have seen. Time for lunch on the Gateway Arch riverboat cafe on the Mississippi and then back on Route 66. Our aim is to get close to Springfield Missouri tonight but depends on the number of stops that we make. The old Route 66 runs parallel to the motorway so we stay on the motorway to take advantage of the better road and faster speeds. We go off the highway though to visit Meramec Caverns which are huge caves in the rock which go for miles. Legend says that Jesse James used the caves as a hideout from the law. As you walk in the door you go through the customary gift shop and then right in front of us is this huge rock cavern. We are standing right in it and its so much cooler than outside. There is a tour that will take you a mile into the cavern but unfortunately it will take over an hour and it won't start for another 30 minutes. As we would like to get to our campsite before dark tonight we chose to keep on moving. We drive in and past the worlds largest rocking chair ( not really a historical attraction, just something else that's the biggest) and back onto the highway. We also decide to give the Vacuum Museum a miss, we know we may never get this chance again, but we have to make the sacrifice. Driving along we crank up the Route 66 tunes and the miles pass by. Of course before we make camp we have the customary stop at Walmart for dinner supplies, still can't believe how cheap everything is. Our place of rest tonight is just out of Lebanon at Phillipsburg. Unfortunately it is alongside the highway but Liz and Milton have resorted to the ear plugs tonight to block out the noise and we have had no trouble sleeping so should be OK. At least today we crossed one state border so we are now on Route 66 in Missouri. The adventure continues. Goodnight Harvey xx