Day 56 and today Frank is in St Louis!

Yesterday he crossed the great Mississipi..by car! As it happens there is a spaghetti junction of routes with pedestrian paths which make it just about impossible to negotiate on foot. He therefore reluctantly accepted a lift and was glad he did so when he realised the lay of the land. He has now not seen rain for around 6 weeks and temperatures are still in the high 20's C (85F). He is not impressed with the middle of town which he says is almost derelict and devoid of all interest with a few banks, some shopping malls and a few high class hotels, but nothing of real interest. As with previous towns the main commercial centres have moved to out of town malls with large carparks playing to the motor-car culture. Indeed Frank is in an interesting predicament as he needs a new pair of walking boots, but the only place he can buy them is a mall about 12 miles outside town, and there is no clear public transport to it! The advice he has been given by the shop itself is that he needs to go by taxi, the tourist office say he should take a metro to an intermediate point then take a bus from there, but no-one is sure if this actually operates! So it seems not having a vehicle in this part of the world puts you at a distinct disadvantage and the anyone using alternatives is at quite a disadvantage! Frank has had quite an interesting week with things happening to him almost daily. Four days ago he took a short nap by the side of the road resting on his pack and later carried on. The local sheriff then passed by and asked if he had just stopped on the roadside then pulled him in and asked him more questions. It seems a passer-by had reported seeing an apparently naked body by the roadside and reported to the Sheriff on their mobile! They hadn't stopped to check if this person was OK, just told the Sheriff to sort it out! The Sheriff was OK and offered to take Frank to his next rest point!

Lets hope Frank finds a new pair of boots and breaks them in quickly.

Watch this space for the latest developments!