Road Trip Day 3 – Exploring Caves and Remembering Joplin
After bidding farewell to St. Louis, we headed west on I-44 on Day 3, taking short jaunts on old Route 66 just for fun (or should I say just for kicks?) from time to time. We had no real plans for the drive, but ended up making a few memorable stops (including having our first meal at Sonic!). Exploring Caves Our first stop of the day was in Stanton, Missouri — home to the Meramec Caverns. If you are driving anywhere in this area — hell, anywhere in Missouri, even — you can't miss the endless advertising for this natural attraction. There were billboards every half mile or so for at least an hour before we reached Stanton. In fact, I've even seen ads painted on the roofs of barns as far north as Ohio for these caves. When it comes to something so advertised and exploited, there's always a fear that it won't actually be worth the admission fee. Well, with the exception of perhaps the $50 zip lining over the parking lot, I think the Meramec Caverns ARE worth the adm...