walking trip: St. Louis south

I enjoy long walks, but today was an especially long walk. I got up early and decided that what I really wanted to do was to walk across the city of St. Louis. I'd been kicking around the idea for awhile- the city is actually only five or six miles across the widest point East-West, and perhaps double that in the North-South direction. I'd figured out a route from the Shrewsbury metrolink station to the Lacledes' Landing metrolink station, which angles Northeast and cuts sharply north from Soulard.

The best way to get something done is to start, so I started with a mile walk to my local metrolink station, and caught a train down to Shrewsbury. The first thing you do is cross the river DesPeres, which my old DP professor referred to as the river DisPair, with good reason: constant low water, highly contaminated, ugly as sin. Actually more canal than river. Northhampton is a pretty boring first-ring suburb, although I found a donut shop down there for breakfast.

I walked past Civil Life, the brewery/public house, but it wasn't until I hit Cherokee street that I was really entertained by the urban fabric, which melted the distance. I stopped at Mud Cafe for coffee, and ran into a former professor of mine and we chatted a bit. From Cherokee street, I continued to Betton Park, and Soulard before heading north into the desolate and industrial zone outside the downtown. Finally, I passed by the Gateway Arch and made it to the train station, approximately four hours after I started.

The total distance was 10 miles, not including the 2 additional miles for the walk to the metro station and back. I could do it again, and skip everything west of Grand, and north of Soulard.