SP Campground Rating – Babler State Park (St Louis, MO)

We stayed here for a week while visiting St Louis, MO.  Overall a great little place to stay.
Link to campground here: Dr. Edmund A Babler Memorial State Park, MO
Link to map here: Babler State Park, MO

  

1. Site Quality = 4.5/5
   There’s really not much negative to say about the sites here. The campground has very large, concrete, level sites which are nicely spaced, set in trimmed grass and amongst trees. Picnic table and fire-pit at each site, plus a good selection of electric hook-ups (30 amp). The sites in the 2 left-hand loops (as you enter the park) are set in older forest and are a bit more narrow. Also the end-turns are tight. In the right-hand loop (#13-#33) the sites are more open and much larger.
2. Facilities = 4/5
   Decent State Park facilities. There’s flush and vault toilets, hot showers (free) plus central dump & potable water at several locations. Everything is kept clean and presentable. Around the State Park there’s plenty of picnic locations and playground areas.
3. Location = 4/5
   We really liked this location. The park is set in the middle of a large, natural area with plenty of forest, hiking trails and biking (it’s very popular on the week-ends). Also, it’s ~30 miles from St Louis and within a short driving distance to any shopping you’d need to do.
4. Pet Friendliness = 5/5
   Great for pooch. Lots of space to hang out in the grassy area around camp, plus trails galore in the forest.

Overall Rating = 4.4
BONUS ALERT = Quiet forest and only 30 miles from St Louis 

Summary: This was a great park to explore the St Louis area. It’s in a really nice area of town, set smack in the middle of 2,500-acres of natural woodland and nicely quiet despite being so close to civilization (~30 miles from central St Louis). The entrance is quite fancy with a massive stone gate, broad avenue and statue of Dr. Babler. The sites are also great. Very large, concrete and nicely flat with the bonus of electrical hook-ups available. Campers are well separated and there’s access to hiking and biking (13 miles in total) straight from the campground. During the week the place is practically deserted, although it tends to fill-up in the week-ends. Overall a great stop. We’d come by again. 

 Extra Info:  AT&T Cellphones & Verizon wireless both worked. Selection of reservable and electric sites. Sites are $21/night for electric in high-season, $19/night in off-season (full rates here). Central dump and potable water. 

Typical site in right-side loop (as you enter park)

View down right-side loop road. You can just see our site (#15) on right.

Another view of right-side loop

Typical site in left-side loops. These are smaller & set in older forest.

View down left-side loop

St Louis Riverfront Style – Arch & Paddle-Wheel Boats

The St Louis Arch. It's really, really big....really it is

All I really knew about St Louis prior to coming here was that it had a really, really big Arch and a famous plane carried her name across the Atlantic in 1927. Both as it turns out, are true the only difference being that the Arch is physically in St Louis whereas the plane was merely funded from here and now resides at the National Air and Space Museum in DC.

So, off to see the Arch I went.

I’m always somewhat skeptical of large architectural projects, at least as far as enjoying them, but I have to admit the Arch is quite the thing to see. This unique structure is the tallest national monument in the US spanning 630 feet (192 m) wide at its base and 630 feet (192 m) tall. It was built as a memorial to Thomas Jefferson’s role in the “opening of the West”, and took 2 1/2 years (1963-1965) and $13 million to complete, rather a bargain. For the not-so-faint-of-heart (that would be not me) you can ride to the top in a tram and scare yourself livid by looking down the void. Right next to the Arch is a replica 19th-century paddle-wheel boat, and while I was there we had the bonus of a Corvette Club rally (Batman’s car was there!) along the Mississippi. The Arch is a cool little side-visit in this “almost West, almost South” town and worth the “wow, it’s big” comment from seeing it in the flesh.

Well, that concludes our short visit to civilization and we’re back off into the boonies where many would say we belong. Have a great week-end, everyone!

Corvette Rally on the riverfront

The paddle-wheel boat on the Mississippi

The Wierdest Little House in St Louis, MO

“Live life fully while you’re here. Have fun, be crazy, be wierd” Anthony Robbins 

Bob's restaurant at City Museum

I’ve often been told I’m a little odd. I like to think it’s part of my natural attraction, but it may just be my inner child, or perhaps my inner gnome . Either way, in line with that particular slant to my personality I like to seek out odd things to do, just for the fun of it. You see, doing unusual things really can be fun, especially when you stretch yourself a little. So, driving into St Louis I decided to find the oddest thing to do, and that I did when I came across City Museum.

This wacky place is in the centre of town and is an eclectic mix of old history pieces and architectural collections surrounded by a psychedelic playground. The museum was designed by artist Bob Cassilly and everything in it is made to be climbed, touched, and experienced. Rooms are filled with slides, life-sized slinkys and secret climbing tunnels surrounded by unique exhibits such as the “Puking Pig”, the “Vault Room” (containing a vault from the 1800′s), and the head of a life-size Bowhead Whale. Sprinkled in for fun are a few historical artifacts such as a collection of shoelace machines from the 1890′s, a 1923 Wurlitzer Pipe Organ, an exhibit of insects, and vintage opera posters. And to top it all off, on the 4th floor is one of St Louis’ largest 2nd-hand clothing stores.

It’s all quite nuts and the whole lot of it is sprawls over 600,000 feet of space and 4 levels, including an outdoor area. You could literally spend hours discovering new things in here. The kids who go have a blast, and the adults who participate seem to have even more fun. I crept through a bunch of tunnels, wound my way down a giant slinky,  slipped on the slides and tried on ridiculous outfits in the 2nd-hand store. A thoroughly weird and useful outing.

One of the many giant slinkeys you can crawl into and explore

View from the 3rd floor

Clothing for $1 at The Bale Out vintage store

I wonder where this goes...?

SP Campground Rating – Knob Noster State Park, MO

This was another nice stop-over off Hwy 50 in Missouri on our way to St Louis.

Link to campground here: Knob Noster State Park
Link to map here: Knob Nostre State Park

  

1. Site Quality = 4/5
   Very nice sites here. They’re hard-gravel back-ins, very long and quite flat. Good space between campers, nice shade and picnic table and fire-pit at each site. Electric sites available.
2. Facilities = 4/5
   Another good State Park in terms of facilities. There was flush and decent hot showers (free), dump station, potable water and even a laundry (which was only $0.75 per load). Lots of picnic areas and rest areas around the park too.
3. Location = 3/5
   This is more of a stop-over location. It’s in a lovely, natural setting surrounded by forest, 2 lakes and trails, but with only the very small town of Knob Noster close by. It’s conveniently located off Hwy 50, however, and back far enough that it’s nice and quiet.
4. Pet Friendliness = 5/5
   Another great park for doggie. Lots of hiking trails, good nature and space to hang out.

Overall Rating = 4
BONUS ALERT = Meeting point of prairies, forest  and savanna 

Summary: This was another nice little stop-over for us on our way to St Louis. State Parks, in general, are  great options in the MidWest. Lots of space, lovely natural settings and all the perks of hot showers, flush toilets and electricity at a fraction of the cost of a developed campsite. This was no exception. Knob Noster is set in  3,934 acres of natural habitat which is a unique mix of prairie, forest and savanna. The sites were flat and large with electricity and shade, plus lots of hiking trails right from your doorstep. There was even a laundry. We’d stop-over here again. 

 Extra Info:  AT&T Cellphones & Verizon wireless both worked. Selection of reservable and electric sites. Sites are $21/night for electric in high-season, $19/night in off-season. Central dump and potable water. 

Entrance to Knob Nostre

Typical site view

Picnic table and fire-pit at each site

View down the road showing our site