Big Barrel Bob

Spotted MoDOT's Barrel Bob doing his job out on a Missouri road construction site. In case you can't tell, he's facing the opposite direction. :)

Rumor has it that Barrel Bob has a girl friend, Betty Barrel. I haven't seen her...yet.

Fun fact: When Barrel Bob needs a bit of repair, he goes to a plastic surgeon.

Ha ha! Get it? PLASTIC surgeon. :)

The Big Pump

Fill 'er up! I found this giant-sized gas pump in King City, Missouri. It was built in 1937, and at that time, it was a working filling station. These days, it is on display at King City Tri County Museum.

Bevo Mill, St. Louis, Missouri

It would be cool if this was a postcard, wouldn't it?  But it's not, it's just a photo I snapped a few days ago.

This is the Bevo Mill, a well known landmark in St. Louis, Missouri. It was constructed in 1916 by August Busch, Sr.

I predict some sort of 100th anniversary celebration next year. :)

Santa And His Straw Bale Tractor

Back in November, I spotted Santa resting in his custom-made straw bale tractor with built in Barcalounger. No, I wasn't at the North Pole, I was in rural Missouri, and so was Santa. Weird, huh? :)

I give major props to Santa or whoever came up with this extremely clever and fun idea!
 
(I know it's New Year's Eve, but I just had to give Santa and his tractor some blog time to finish out the year. I can't believe I forgot to do it pre-Christmas!)

Chester Bridge, Chester Illinois

This is the Chester Bridge. It spans the Mississippi River to connect Missouri and Illinois.

I drove across it today, from the MO side over to the IL side.  I had to pull over to snap some photos. It just looked so darned pretty. :)


In other news, Game 3 of MLB World Series tomorrow night. GO ROYALS!

Branson, Missouri Postcard

Happy Monday!
Just a pretty fall postcard to start the week.

Back of card says:
The autumn landscape in the Branson area explodes in an array of rich colors beginning in mid-September and lasting through late November. Great ways to see fall color in the Ozarks are via plane, helicopter, train and boat at one of the area's many excursion and sightseeing attractions.

Gas Jockey Switcheroo

 I always notice this happy, eager-to-please, squeegee in one hand, gas nozzle in the other hand, gas jockey guy every time I drive through Crystal City, Missouri. 

It had been a while since the last time. So, just this past week, I find myself there again, in Crystal City. And to my horror, I find this....

....my gas jockey buddy is GONE! He has been replaced by THIS guy!

What happened to the happy guy?? This guy doesn't even have a sqeegee!

At first, I thought happy guy got a makeover, new hairdo, new cap, new overalls, new shoes, dropped some pounds. But NO, this is a different guy!

I'm a little rattled.

Kansas City & The Scout

I ended up in Kansas City, Missouri, earlier this week. I remembered that I had this beautiful view of the KC skyline on a postcard.

 I decided to track it down in person....

...And I found it!

The rainy weather cleared up just in time for this gorgeous view!

A little info on the statue:

Official name:The Scout
Height: 10+ feet (3+ m)
Sculptor: Cyrus E. Dallin
Depicts: A Sioux Indian on horseback surveying the landscape.
Timeline: Conceived & sculpted in 1910; exhibited in San Francisco, CA, in 1915; Officially dedicated in Kansas City, as a permanent memorial to local Native Americans, in 1922.

Baby Blue Bicycle

Just a fun sighting of a fun looking bicycle on its way to some unknown fun destination in the fun state of Missouri. :)

St. Louis Skyline Postcards

Recently, I found a couple new (to me) downtown St. Louis postcards. And as a bonus, they are both night views!

It's always nice to come across something new, especially from the area in which you live. :)

Amish Horse, Buggy And Cart

Spotted this Amish horse and buggy with cart, in southwest Missouri this past week. It's always an interesting and fascinating sight to see.

World's Largest Rocking Chair, Cuba, Missouri

This past week, I was cruisin' through the area of Cuba, Missouri, so I stopped by for a revisit. I'm a sucker for anything that's advertised as the "World's Largest".  :)

The rocking chair is located on the premises of  Fanning 66 Outpost. It is packed with Route 66 souvenirs, postcards, t-shirts, etc.

It's well worth a stop if you ever find yourself on I-44 in the eastern side of Missouri!

Big Pink Suit

I know what you're thinking..."that must be a mannequin in front of a Men's Wearhouse store", right? But it's NOT! Thank goodness. (I wish I had a dollar for every time I have heard their "You're gonna like the way you look. I guarantee it" commercial.)

It is actually a creation of Austrian artist Erwin Wurm. A 9-foot (2.75m) tall aluminum statue depicting a pink suit and white shirt. (Size 144).

It is located in Citygarden in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, which is an urban park and sculpture garden. Of all the many art objects there, I have to say that the "Big Suit" (it's official name) is, by far, my favorite!

Gesundheit

I Love Bridges

This narrow bridge crosses the Mississippi River, connecting Missouri and Illinois....

...specifically, Chester, Illinois. Home of Popeye!

Oil Tank Cows

Either these two cows got way too hungry and ate some oil tanks, or somebody out in rural Missouri was blessed with both a great sense of humor and dazzling creativity!

I Love Kettle Corn

So, there's this Kettle Corn stand at the Flying J truck stop in Sullivan, Missouri. I make it a point to stop there whenever I'm in the area. Sometimes it's open, sometimes it's closed.

<---Open means happily stocking up on cinnamon and regular flavor kettle corn.
Closed means, well, dealing with a bout of "kettle corn sadness syndrome".

This is normal, right?

Outgoing St. Louis MO Postcard

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Back on January 8, this card featuring a beautiful view of downtown St. Louis began its long journey to JO-Ya in Taiwan.
Seventeen days later, journey completed!

Outgoing St. Louis Arch Postcard

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Two more "back in January" cards! This pretty view of the Arch in St. Louis didn't travel very far at all. Desiree lives in Missouri, a neighboring state.

Outgoing St. Louis Arch Postcards

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Klaus in Germany has an unusual, cryptic, mysterious, poetic profile, so I chose this sort of mysterious foggy view of the Arch in St. Louis to send. Plus, he's already sent and received over 2,000 official cards, so finding something new to send him was a bit of a challenge.

I bet he didn't already have this exact group of stamps on any of his 2,000+ cards.

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Kristin in Washington state had listed lightning as one of her likes.
Match!

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Elina in Latvia said in her profile that all postcards were welcome, but handmade ones were appreciated. I am so gonna try to make some handmade cards... maybe.... someday....... possibly... as soon as I find a construction paper, glitter and glue store.

Amazing stamps!

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Olga in Russia was open to any kind of card, so off it went.

Compared to the previous amazing stamps, these are on the boring side. And even the Arch picture isn't all that great. I must have been in a bad mood or something, that day.

And finally, this beautiful sunset view of the Arch and the St. Louis skyline was sent to Nives in Croatia, a fellow postcard blogger, and eater of a really delicious looking cake called "kremsnita" : )

And now, the last set of stamps. I'm looking forward to seeing who the first "living" people will be on US stamps, now that the USPS changed the rules about the people not having to be dead for at least 5 years before they can show up on a stamp.