Day 17, Sunday, Oct 7, St Louis, Missouri

We boarded the bus on a foggy, 24.4C (69F) morning. Today we are going to the Missouri Botanical Gardens, which were founded in 1859 and encompass 79 acres.  It includes a 14-acre (5.7 ha) Japanese garden, the Climatron geodesic dome conservatory; a children's garden, including a pioneer village; a playground; a fountain area and a water locking system, somewhat similar to the locking system at the Panama Canal. 
 










The first thing we saw when we entered the Linnean House, a greenhouse which was built in 1882, was the "Corpse Flower". It had just bloomed a couple of days ago, but there was no longer any putrid smell! It can go for years without flowering and when it does, only stays open for a day or two.  It is best known for making a big stink.

The Climatron is a greenhouse enclosed in a geodesic dome initiated by then Garden director Frits W. Went, the dome is the world's first completely air-conditioned greenhouse and the first geodesic dome to be enclosed in rigid Plexiglass (Perspex) panels.






The Japanese Gardens were beautiful with very interesting plants & flowers, and a small lake with a fountain. 

We also visited the Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum, which was constructed between 1859 and 1850. It is one of only five original structures at the Garden built by Henry Shaw.Made of Missouri Limestone, and locally made bricks,  many of the original features remain, including tile floors, built in bookcases and woodwork. The original ceiling mural painted by Leon Pomerade, restored in 1930, has been recreated to incorporate identifiable plants, many of which are found in the garden.

This place mat indicates what is painted on the ceiling and the other side explains what the plants are - fascinating!

After touring as much of the gardens as we had time for, we stopped at the "Best of Missouri" Market for lunch and enjoyed brisket on a bun.

Then it was back on the bus and off to Anheuser-Busch brewery for a tour. The brewery is huge and opened in 1852. Nestled in the historic Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis, our largest and oldest brewery site was selected based on its access to the Mississippi River, the large presence of German immigrants in the 1800’s, and the natural cave formations that were used to store beer prior to artificial refrigeration.
On the tour, we stopped at the stables where the Clydesdale horses are housed.
The Budweiser Clydesdales are a group of Clydesdale horses used for promotions and commercials by the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company. There are several "hitches" or teams of horses,^[1] that travel around the United States and others that remain in their official homes at the company headquarters at the Anheuser-Busch brewery complex in St. Louis, Missouri. At St. Louis, they are housed in a historic brick and stained-glass stable built in 1885. There are eight horses driven at any one time, but ten horses are on each team to provide alternates for the hitch when needed. Assorted Clydesdales are also used as animal actors in television commercials for Budweiser beer, particularly in Super Bowl ads.

Of course, there was the sampling of Bud Light included. Marcel was happy since he had two samples!




There was another sample then a bottle as a gift after the tour. 

Then it was back on the bus and off to church! We visited the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis.

The Cathedral was completed in 1914 and was designated a Basilica by Pope Jean Paul !! in 1997. The church is known for its large mosaic collection, which is one of the largest in the western hemisphere. Completed in 1988, the mosaics collectively contain 41.5 million glass tesseraepieces in more than 7,000 colors. Covering 83,000 square feet (7,700 m²), it is the largest mosaic collection in the world outside Russia. Incredible! 
More detail at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_Basilica_of_Saint_Louis_(St._Louis)

On the way back to the campground, the skies became ominously dark, with lightening. When we got off the bus at 4:00, there were a few raindrops as we returned to our trailer. Moments after getting inside the skies opened and a thunderstorm arrived!
By 6:00 the rain subsided and we settled in for the evening.