By the time this publishes, I will have my entries for the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon in my possession. So I can reveal what pictures I entered this year.
Here they are:
Selected for Display
Not selected for Display
Selected for Display
Not Selected for Display
Next year I promise to put more effort into the contest, but let’s face it, I probably won’t. But I look forward to giving a less than average effort next year. Until then…
Time to share the cell phone pictures from Day 2 of the Route 66 Road Trip – Phase 1.
We started the morning in Springfield, Illinois and ended up just west of Saint Louis at the Meramec Caves Campground.
Our 1st stop of the day was the Shrine of Our Lady of the Highways
We stopped for breakfast in Litchfield. There is a famous cafe in this town called The Ariston Cafe.
But we ate at the Route 66 Cafe based on the recommendation of a guy we met at the town’s drive-in movie theater.
He told us some old lady would cook for us there. But turns out that she has passed away. Some 20 year old was doing the cooking.
But that twenty something can cook!
We met Bobby and Diane and Carol. Carol was the only person on the trip to refuse to be in a picture with us. These ladies were super fun! Set the right tone for the day.
One of our next stops was the cemetery where Mother Jones was buried.
My first sticker that I put out up on the trip. This was the Soulsby Service Station.
Another sticker went up at Henry’s Rabbit Ranch in Staunton, Illinois.
Another stop was Pink Elephant Antiques.
Left a sticker there too.
Another stop was the Chain of Rocks Bridge. It goes over the Mississippi River and has a sharp turn in it.
We met a couple of interesting old men on this bridge.
See how the bridge makes a sudden turn in the middle of the river?
Back on the Illinois side of the river.
Another sticker out in the world!
Those castle looking things used to be the intakes for Saint Louis’ water supply.
Memorial for 2 women murdered on bridge. More on this at the bottom.
Andy found a restaurant in Saint Louis for our other meal of the day.
These are homemade arancini balls.
It was in a small room in a basement. I would go back in a second!
We each ordered half a pizza cause Andy is a picky eater.
My half was the Johnny “B” Good. Homemade Italian sausage, bacon, onions, mushrooms and extra cheese. It is named after a firefighter that passed away. When they went to clean out his stuff they found a receipt for this pizza in his pocket.
I think this was the best meal of the trip.
This is Tanya. The owner of Monte Bello.
Last stop of the day was Ted Drewes Frozen Custard!
I got the Muddy Mississippi. A concrete with chip, peanut butter, and cone pieces.
Left another sticker there.
We camped on the Meramec River at the Meramec Caverns Campground. It was the last night the weather was nice.
This campground had the best toilets and the 2nd dirtiest shower on the trip. Also the worst smelling sinks. But that toilet man, I’ve never seen a toilet with so much flushing power! It was incredible and worth the price of admission!
That night the air condition in the RV stopped working which would portend future overnight stays for the trip.
Here is some more information on the murders that happened on the Chain of Rocks Bridge from the Wiki:
On the night of April 4/morning of April 5, 20-year-old Julie Kerry, 19-year-old Robin Kerry, and their 19-year-old cousin, Thomas Cummins, were on the Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi River. Gray, Antonio Richardson, Reginald Clemons, and Daniel Winfrey went to the bridge that night together. The two groups, who did not know each other, had a brief conversation. Gray showed the other group how to climb down a manhole cover on the bridge down to the pier. Then the two groups separated.
Prosecution’s version of the events
According to testimony offered on behalf of the prosecution, several minutes later the group of four men decided to rob the three, with Winfrey testifying that Gray said he “felt like hurting somebody.” They returned and Gray told Cummins, “This is a robbery. Get down on the ground.” The two girls were grabbed and held on the ground. Richardson held Julie down while Clemons raped her and then the two swapped positions. Gray, Richardson, and Clemons then alternately raped Robin and Julie. Cummins was then robbed of his wallet, wristwatch, cash, and keys, and the three victims were forced down the manhole cover to the concrete pier. The two Kerry sisters then were pushed, and Cummins jumped as instructed. Medical witnesses testified that Cummins and Julie Kerry survived the 48-foot (15 m) fall to the water below. Cummins testified that after he surfaced, the current pulled him over to Julie, but then she drifted off after he began to drown. Cummins swam to shore and survived. The body of Julie Kerry was found three weeks later near Caruthersville, Missouri; the body of Robin Kerry was not found.Police initially refused to believe Thomas Cummins’ version of the events. They theorized that the other men never existed and he had made up the story to cover up his attempted rape of his cousins. They believed Julie had fallen off the bridge while resisting his sexual advances, Robin had jumped in to save her, and both had drowned. Cummins was initially charged with murder but released due to lack of evidence. He later won a settlement from the St. Louis Police Department for wrongful interrogation techniques.
Daniel Winfrey, who was 15 years old at the time, confessed to the murder in the presence of police and his parents. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and forcible rape and testified against the other three in their trials. He received a 30-year sentence. He testified that Clemons and Richardson were the ones who had pushed the two girls. Winfrey was the only white member of the convicted group, which has been raised as a criticism since he was the main prosecution witness. However, since Winfrey was only 15, he would’ve been ineligible for the death penalty, even under state law at the time.
Winfrey was granted parole in the summer of 2007; when released, he had served 15 years.
Clemons was sentenced to death but his conviction was overturned in 2015. On December 18, 2017, Clemons pleaded guilty to five counts: two counts of second degree murder, two counts of rape and one count of first degree robbery. He was sentenced to five consecutive life sentences with the possibility of parole.
Richardson was also given a death sentence; however, it was commuted to life in prison by the Supreme Court of Missouri on October 28, 2003, since he was a juvenile at the time of the murder. The court cited his sentencing by a judge rather than a jury to be in violation of Apprendi v. New Jersey (a case that was decided long after the imposition of sentence). Richardson had been the focus of strenuous efforts by death penalty opponents due to his alleged mental deficiencies and because of his age at the time of the murders, even though his own psychologist and his mother testified that he “know[s] the difference between right and wrong.” In 2005, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that executions of persons who committed their crimes as juveniles were unconstitutional.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Julie_and_Robin_Kerry
Still 4 more days of Route 66 cell phone pictures left to share!