We busted a flat in Springfield. A cheap trip turns expensive.

Sam shows off her Lincoln impression while we wait for the tires.

The clothing of the Mennonite visitors to Lincoln's home made us think we went back in time.

Up close and personal with the Illinois State Capitol.

A flock of birds flying back and forth between precepices.

The site of Governor Blagojevich's empty office.

Inside the dome of the Illinois state capitol.

Sam thought it was funny that the building was engraved with the names of Brooks and Dunne.

The sun was setting when we got to Saint Louis, which means we got good photos.

We were invited by a St. Louis panhandler to be mugged at a nearby ATM.

The moon and the clouds make this a cool photo.

The refelctions of light appeared to createa tiny arch on the arch.

Looking back at St. Louis as night falls.

A walk down the river as the sun quickly sets.

A view of the St. Louis Art Museum in Forest Park.

The best zoo in America is the St. Louis Zoo. It is free, has healthy animals, and is friendly.

We arrived during "Ottertoberfest" and had beer and brats on a porch overlooking flamingos. Surreal.

Ottertoberfest German band. Classic St. Louis.

The giraffe at the St. Louis Zoo in Forest Park was very friendly.

A tribute to Saint Francis was fitting after our zoo trip.

The monarchs stopped by the Jewel Box on their way south to the quiet mountain groves of Mexico.

Pond outside the Jewel Box in Forest Park.

We toured the vast, gilded palace where America's favorite brewer, Anheuser-Busch produces Budweiser.

The tanks where "beechwood aging" occurs. I still dream of the hugeness of these tanks.

Renard the Fox perched above the Busch factory: He was the mascot for Busch's non-alcoholic Prohibition malt, Bevo.

The Anheuser-Busch factory, to us, seemed like the Willy Wonka factory of Roald Dahl fame.

The ultra-modern bottling room at the Anheuser-Busch factory. The day we toured it was not in operation.

We share our free sampled of Busch beer after the brewery tour and debate whether to trek to Memphis.

We reached the Mississippi in West Memphis during the night.

We ate and drank at the Rum Boogie. The atmosphere on Beale Street was electric.

We witness the famous ducks which greet visitors to the Peabody lobby.

We also walked to Beale Street, which semed to have a mighty hangover.

A Beale Street establishment the morning after...

A tribute to the famed acts of the Rum Boogie Club in Memphis.

Memphis Beale Street.

The Lorraine Motel, where on April 4, 1968, time stopped.

The balcony of the Lorraine where Martin Luther King was gunned down. The hotel has the air of a grave.

Elvis is king in Memphis...

Sun Studio, where Elvis, Johnny, Roy, Jerry Lee, and company got their first big break.

Sun's 1950's facade. It is the birthplace of true blue rock'n'roll.

The real birthplace of rock'n'roll.... the cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta.

Metropolic, Illinois. Home of Superman?... or just fiberglass Superman? Big John is much bigger.

I pause for some reflection in Metropolis.

Sam investigates a hole in a huge tree in Shawnee NF, Illinois.

A bald cypress tree of southernmost Illinois.

Fall colors in Shawnee National Forest.

More colors of Shawnee.

Sam and I prepare for a long drive home.