Tanks for the Memories: Escape to the Cape
- Lindsay Britts
- Aug 10, 2017
- 3 min read
Getting inspired to do a little cruisin’ of your own? Ready to hit the road for a weekend ride to a place you’ve never been before? We can show you the best trips in your neck of the woods and you won’t even have to stop to fuel up. Each week, we pick a starting city and plan a getaway to some of the most charming, energetic, and just plain fun places that you’ll only need one tank of gas to reach. When it’s all over, you’ll be able to say… TANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!
Starting City: St. Louis, Missouri Destination: Cape Girardeau, Missouri Distance: about 120 miles In olden times, an eclipse used to be taken as a sign of bad things to come. Nowadays we know that the sky’s sudden darkness is thanks to the moon crossing in front of the sun: no biggie. Total solar eclipses are a rare occurrence, but a small section of our nation will get to experience two total solar eclipses in the span of seven years. If you’re in St. Louis, you can visit this “Eclipse Crossroads of America” on one tank of gas by heading south to this 9000-square-mile patch of land. Within this lucky rhombus sits a town on the Mississippi that you can explore when the sun is out: Cape Girardeau, MO. Known to locals at “the Cape”, Cape Girardeau started out as a trading post established by Jean Baptiste de Girardot in 1733. It became a full settlement sixty years later. It was incorporated as a town in 1808 and then as a city in 1843, and the early 19th century saw great growth for the town around the river industries as the biggest port between St. Louis, Missouri and Memphis, Tennessee. The first bridge to connect Missouri with Illinois was built in 1928-- they used to cross by ferry-- and was replaced in 2003 with a modern four-lane cable-stay bridge that sees traffic from 26,000 cars a day.
Source: visitcape.com
The county of Cape Girardeau has 59 places in the National Registry of Historic Places, including 39 within the city limits. This includes the Cape Girardeau Court of Common Pleas built in 1854, the newspaper offices of the Southeast Missourian built in 1924-25, and the Cape Girardeau Commercial Historic District on 2.5 acres. If you like viewing your history in convenient sections, the Mississippi River Tales Mural on the riverfront contains 24 panels that showcase local history from the time of the first settlements until now.
Like in the past, riverboats travelling down the Mississippi still dock at the Cape, and occasionally you’ll get a glimpse of the docked ships like the Queen of the Mississippi or the American Dutchess giving its passengers a break from sea (or in this case, river) legs. The riverfront has many events like markets and concerts. But… does it have a classic car show, you ask? Yes! The 40th Annual River Tales Classic Car Show will be held September 17th with 41 classes in which to compete. While you’re visiting downtown, you can stop into local restaurants like Cup ‘N’ Cork coffeehouse, Katy O’Ferrell’s Irish Pub, and Smokehouse 61 for some of that delicious Missouri barbeque.
Source: visitcape.com
As nearby towns like Carbondale, IL also hold their own eclipse festivities on August 21st, Cape Girardeau will be hosting a viewing party at the Cape Sports Complex. The area hasn’t had a total solar eclipse pass overhead since 1257, so you’ll definitely want to grab a commemorative T-shirt on the way in! The day prior, there will be a presentation called Astronomy at the Crossroads at Southern Missouri University’s Dempster Hall, which will talk about the science behind the next day’s spectacle. Cape Girardeau is a quiet river town that is a great place to enjoy the natural phenomena of the water, the land, and the sky.
STRETCH YOUR LEGS: It’s possible to take the Mississippi River Road to the Cape from St. Louis, but you can also take the modern highways. Off I-55 just outside Festus is the town of Crystal City and the Crystal City Underground, which is a former sand mine refitted to become an entertainment complex complete with barge rides, treasure hunts, sand volleyball, and other activities. Did I mention all the activities are underground? Unfortunately excessive flooding has closed the Underground at the moment, but when it does reopen, make sure to swing by!
LEARN MORE:
http://www.cityofcapegirardeau.org
http://www.visitcape.com/default.aspx
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