Comments: Ride Time was 30 minutes, average speed: 8.2
We awoke early the next morning to drive to Cape Girardeau with plans to add the state of Missouri to our list of states biked. This beautiful river town where the “river turns a thousand tales” displayed its history along a mural-painted wall. In 1956 work began on a flood wall to protect the city from devastating floods. The project was completed in 1964 at a cost of $4 million and has saved the historic downtown area many times over. We walked the 1,100-foot-long Mississippi River Tales Mural and enjoyed the tale of Cape Girardeau’s history and heritage through the 24 life-like paintings. We then continued on to view the Missouri Wall of Fame Mural honoring famous people with ties to Missouri.
For mural descriptions and more information see:
http://www.semissourian.com/gallery/floodwall/page2.html
The staff at the Cape Girardeau Visitor’s Bureau were helpful in suggesting areas to visit and Fort D, an historic Civil War site was recommended. The earthworks fort was constructed in 1861 and is the only surviving fort of the four that protected the city from Confederate attack.
We also spent some time on the river campus of Missouri State University where we encountered a 200-year-old beech tree with branches larger than most tree trunks. This Beech is one of the largest and oldest trees in the State of Missouri. A registered “champion” tree, it is approximately 200 years old. Quite possibly it was alive at the time of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. This slow growing hardwood may live 300-400 years and attain a height of 70-120 feet.
Our short visit to the Cape was an unplanned gem we were glad we made time for but we still had a 4-hour driving journey to get us to Alabama in time to bike day 1 of the Southern Tandem Rally.
A final farewell to Cape Girardeau, Missouri
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