Cruisin' Across America
-The Mighty Mississippi thru a stretch of IL
In honor of Illinois Scenic Byway week I want to share this trip from last summer. I'm continuing to enjoy each and every trip I get to take along the
Mighty Mississippi. While down in St. Louis I got a chance to have a
quick day fling with her as me and my buddy took a ride into Alton,
Illinois which was celebrating it's 175th Anniversary that weekend. On
the way into town we rode thru Hartford Illinois which is about 15 miles
north of St. Louis. It sits where the mouth of the Missouri
River
meets the Mississippi. It's also where Camp Dubois was set up which is
where Lewis & Clark spent the winter of 1803-1804 before heading off
on their now historic expedition.
Hartford, IL
There
are a couple of places commemorating the brave expedition the two of
them and the many men with them made over 200 years ago. They have an
interpretive Center
where people can go experience "...over 14,000 square feet of exhibits,
displays, artifacts, and multimedia renderings that emphasize the
Corps’ preparations for the expedition" Then there's also a Tower which
rises "high above the point of departure to take in the Spectacular
panoramic view of the rivers" We stopped in to check it out and arrived
just in time to take the last tour of the day.
Another
great stop with some spectacular views that's well worth the $5
donation. "Climb 50, 100 and 150 feet above the confluence of the
Mississippi and Missouri rivers and look down on their waters and the
story where two explorers began their journey westward. From the three
levels, vantage points give way to communities, history and stories of
life along the riverbanks."
The
tower does indeed have an elevator and if you choose to take the tour
you'll be guided by a local volunteer who will share with you his/her
knowledge of this once booming town which is now an area filled with oil
and gas pipelines. I saw the Koch brothers set up shop nearby. Hartford
is also the birthplace of actor
Clint Walker
who many of the old timers here on LTH may remember. Our guide was a
great guy and proud to be showing us the area where he's from. I have
yet to visit a
river town that isn't interesting in one way or another.
View of the confluence at 50 feet
View of the town at 150 feet
This
tower began as a project by a grassroots citizen group that wanted to
do something to honor the bicentennial celebration of the space where
the men courageously set out on their expedition. 20,599 cubic yards of
concrete or approximately 3,433 concrete truck loads later, it's a great
place to check out while riding the Great
River Road in Illinois. On we pushed as we rode into the historic town of Alton shortly thereafter.
Alton, IL
Located about 7 miles up the
river from Hartford is another very interesting
river town. Alton Illinois is famous for its picturesque limestone bluffs along the
river
which make for a beautiful scene as you drive by. It's also well known
for its importance in the American Civil War as it was an important town
for abolitionists with Illinois being a free state across the
river
from the slave state of Missouri. It was the site of the last of the
Lincoln-Douglas debates and is said to be the most haunted town in
America. It's most famous resident was probably
Robert Wadlow
who was the tallest person ever. Alton was once a booming industrial
town with some big steel companies taking up residence there but these
days it thrives more off of people who like to go antique shopping, tour
historic areas and gamble. It hosts quite a few weddings year round as
well.
Riding around Alton
I
wish we had more time to further explore this historic city which is a
popular weekend destination for those from down this way and bikers
riding the Great
River Road.
One of the most popular stops for folks from all walks of life is Fast
Eddie's Bon Air. Its here where you can mingle with big old burly biker
men alongside beautiful young women counting down a bachelorettes last
days as a single lady. If the name sounds familiar but you know you've
never even been to Alton you may remember Fast Eddie's being featured on
Alton Brown's "Feasting on Asphalt" series on Food Network.
The legendary roadhouse/eatery in Alton, IL
"The
Legend begins with beer—Busch beer to be exact. But this was just the
beginning. In 1921 Anheuser Busch decided to open a drinking
establishment in the picturesque
river
town of Alton, Illinois. A yellow brick building known as Bon-Air, was
constructed right on the corner of three streets, 4th, Pearl and
Broadway. Approximately ten years later, Busch had to sell the tavern
due to a change in the statutes, which prohibited breweries from owning
drinking establishments." Well 90 years later and the purchasing of the
place in 1981 by Eddie Sholar things have changed.
Some views from inside
Fast
Eddie's has quadrupled in size and it is now said by some that it is
the #1 bar in terms of beer volume in the world. So that means it's
pouring alot of Budweiser and cracking many caps off the bottles of Bud
Light these days. Alton is a town of about 28,000 people but on a good
day at Fast Eddie's that number can rise by a couple thousand. We were
there on a Saturday and it was rocking, of the 100's upon 100's of
places to sit at including the area they built outside with a roof just
so people could smoke, there were maybe 4 or 5 seats open. We found some
at one of the many bars stationed throughout the place.
another view from one of the drinking areas
Most
come here to drink and while they do that they like to snack. Fast
Eddies takes the "sell our food for cost while bringing them in to drink
lots" approach. The menu isnt big but they have beef, chicken, pork and
seafood selections ready. You can imagine that a place packed with
1000's of people may have some problems as far as serving food goes but
at Fast Eddies they have a system and they got it down pat. The line
starts where the sign says it does, it then extends around the main bar
which is what greets you as you enter. As you wait in line you'll see
about 25 feet of grill space where each section has certain things being
made. If you want some of their cocktail shrimp, you tell the guy who's
in the middle.
View of some of the grill
Once
your at the register you order what you want and are given a number on
your ticket which you better not lose. After that you go wait while on
the loudspeaker groups of #'s are called. When yours is in the group
"NOW SERVING #'s 73-87" you give your ticket to the guy who gives you
your food which you can top with whatever at the condiments section. I
took the "might as well try it all" approach and the bill came to $13
and it's not like they jack up the price of booze with the lowering of
food. I got a brat, red hot, burger, chicken on a stick, a Big Elwood
aka steak and peppers on a stick and a bunch of shrimp. This was alot of
food for two people and I was actually pretty happy it's a "you get
what you pay for experience" as far as that goes. I didn't want to eat
all of that which you see.
Eats at Fast Eddies
First
off, the shrimp was bad and so the 14 of them that I got were a waste
of my $4 but I liked the brat and red hot. The brats come from a
longtime 100+ year butcher down the block called Schwegal's and I liked
the extra kick of black pepper in their family recipe. That and the red
hot which was a sausage with red casing like those popular in the south
were worth the $.99 pricetag and a good eat with an ice cold beer. The
burger was bordering just below being ok but at $1 I cant complain. It
tasted like the ones your buddy who isn't much of a cook makes, where he
just throws a big hunky fresh patty of beef on the grill and cooks it
all the way thru. The chicken stick tasted like it was full of the
stadium where the Knicks play and the steak was better but not by much.
All that said, well worth the stop if you're looking for cold beer and
fun atmosphere. After that we rode off to Grafton.
Riding the Great River Road from Alton to Grafton
There
was once a time when Alton was a faster growing metropolis than its
sister city St. Louis. But a group of St. Louis businessmen would plan
to build a competing town to stop its expansion and bring business to
St. Louis. The result was Grafton, Illinois.
Entering Grafton, IL
Grafton sits at another scenic point along the Great
River Road. Its here where the Illinois
river meets the Mississippi. Also near is where Route 66 meets the Great
River Road.
During the late 1800's The Shafer’s Wharf Historic District was one of
the largest commercial fishing centers along the Mississippi. These days
Grafton's dollars come from mostly tourism as it is the center of the
regions bald eagle watching and has some fun local shops along Main
Street including some wineries and restaurants. Its a popular place when
the leaves start to change colors. As we were riding thru and I was
lucky to find a couple food recs online.
A locals and people passing thru's favorite in Grafton
O'Jan's Fish Stand sits right along the Main street which rests right along the
river. Its the type of spot you should expect to find when riding the Great
River Road.
I'm sure back in the day there were many more places like O'Jans but
these days there arent as many so Grafton is lucky to have it. They
double as a market where you can buy fresh from the
river fish.
If
you wish to just eat something they make rather than you, you can just
walk up to the window and place an order. It's all fish here and they're
secret breading is used to hand batter upon ordering. I was going to go
with the obvious choice of catfish or maybe a catfish fritter sandwich
but when I saw buffalo fish, which I'm familiar with, See:
Here. I had to go with that.
Fried buffalo Fish Sandwich
Portions
come in sandwich size or as full fried dinners but after alot of eating
in St. Louis and then Alton me and my buddy shared a sandwich. It comes
with two nice hunks of freshly fried fish each placed on a piece of
white bread with the options of mustard and raw onions available. Hot
sauce is there for you to put on as you like. Orders come in old
cardboard boxes so that its easier to walk with them in case you have a
few and want to eat on the deck overlooking the
river. I would imagine this is a seasonal joint since there is nowhere inside to eat at.
The view from the deck at O' Jan's
As far as O'Jans goes, its another great old school stop found while riding the
road.
I'm a fan of buffalo fish, for those who haven't had any, its very
flaky and I like to rip each little piece off the skin which is then
left bare to go in the garbage with the paper plates. Just like many of
the old time Coney Shops around the Midwest, I was excited over the fact
that there was another competing fish stand/market right down the block
from O'Jan's.
Also in Grafton, IL
I
was lucky to get the final fish sandwich made for the day at O'Jan's
but unfortunately Beasley's just down the block closes at the same time
(7p) so I'll have to wait another day to try theirs. If they were open I
would of got a fritter sandwich and seen what was up. After that it was
time to ride back and get ready for the night ahead in St. Louis.
See ya next time on "Riding and Gobbling up the Great River Road"
Lewis & Clark Confluence Tower
435 Confluence Tower Drive
Hartford, IL 62048
(618) 251-9101
Fast Eddie's Bon Air
1530 East 4th Street
Alton, IL 62002
(618) 462-5532
O'Jan's Fish Stand
101 Main Street
Grafton, IL 62037
(618) 786-2229
