Sunday Afternoon in North County (Cakes 83-88)

Last night I discovered from the Facebook Cake Groups that the Taille de Noyer cake is only accessible from 1-3 on Sundays, when the gate is unlocked. When I told Tom this morning, he mapped out a cake trip for us this afternoon. I love it when he helps us get cakes!

The first stop was the Old St. Ferdinand Shrine in Florissant. Weddings and funerals can be held here, and there are festivals, too. Wikipedia says that the site is a link to American pioneer times, as the 1819 convent is the site of the first Catholic school between the Mississippi River and Rocky Mountains. This was the home of the area's only canonized Catholic saint, Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne. 

On to Ferguson for the Ferguson Station Depot cake. This is my favorite cake of the day. According to the STL250 site, "located in the heart of downtown Ferguson, the railroad depot was the hub around which the city grew and developed. It was built sometime between 1879 and 1885 using a standard station design common throughout the Midwest. It is the only known example of this design remaining in Missouri." 

The next cake location was Taille de Noyer. This cake is right next to a house, which is gated, and located behind McCluer High School. I was very confused by this cake, I will admit. So I researched it a little. According to the STL250 site, Taille de Noyer is the location of the Florissant Valley Historical Society. The house itself is a "historic antebellum home with stately pillars across the front veranda." It's believed to be one of the oldest remaining homes in St. Louis County. The original log cabin (built by a French trader) was purchased in 1805 by John Mullanphy, a merchant, trader, and St. Louis' first millionaire. The house grew as the Mullanphy family lived there for five generations. In 1960, the Ferguson-Florissant School District aquired the property, so that they could expand McCluer High School. So that's why it's on the campus of the school. The Florissant Historical Society arranged for preservation of the home, and raised funds to move the structure 200 yards to it's current spot. Now what that means to me, is that the historical society had a big fit when the school district was going to tear the house down. They fought for it, and won, and that's why it's there.

"Things only seem impossible until they're done." Nelson Mandela said, "It always seems impossible until it's done." Close enough, right?

So I understand why tours are only on Sundays from 1-3, and by appointment. There were lots of cakers here. Of course, right? Our access to this cake is severely limited!

The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge was our next stop. I like this cake, too!

http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/route66/chain_of_rocks_bridge_illinois_missouri.html
If you follow the link and read all about the Chain of Rocks Bridge, you can see what a beautiful thing it was in its heyday. Building this bridge was a massive undertaking, and was completed at double the budget. People paid a toll to drive over the bridge, which was rerouted to become part of Route 66. It was closed in 1968, almost blown up once, was even in a movie, and in 1999 became a walking/bike riding path. Cool, right? Sure, until you read the part at the bottom of the website that warns about how the Missouri access to the bridge is closed due to extreme car vandalism. This is why Tom had to accompany us, and he stayed in the car while Holly and I jumped out and took the pictures quickly. We ducked under the locked gate. Holly wanted to walk along the bridge, since we saw other people there, but I was worried that Tom might have to shoot people if we stayed too long. So we didn't dilly dally, and we didn't explore or appreciate the fact that the bridge was built with a 30-degree bend in it. Other cakers say to park on the Illinois side, but that's so far out of the way, and then you have to walk or ride across the bridge to this side anyway.

Oh well, we were fine, the car was fine. Not a single trouble anywhere in sight. It's a shame this isn't a safer spot to explore. 

Our next cake was located at the General Daniel Bissell home. Tom joked that he made vacuum cleaners in his later life. This was a very pretty house, open to tours with advance reservations only. You can see pictures of the inside of the house and read more about it here. The Bissell family gave this house to the county in 1961, and it still has a lot of its original furnishings. 

This cake is interesting because it's the only cake we've seen that was actually decorated like a cake...look at the dimensionality and design of the decorations. I don't know what they used...Tom wondered if it's drywall mud with something in it. I figured it was caulk, but he said that's too rubbery, and the designs don't feel rubbery. At any rate, it's just like a real cake. And you know, when I was taking these pictures of Holly, some cakers pulled up in the driveway right in front of the house and behind the cake. I couldn't believe that they didn't park in the parking lot. They photobombed my pictures with their stupid car! (You can see their dumb old car in this next cake picture. Grrrr!)

Our last cake for the day was at Fort Belle Fontaine. This was a very interesting location! There was a guard at the entrance to the park, and he took down our license plate and we had to explain why we were there. Apparently they have all visitors sign in. He was very friendly, and directed us to the cake. It was in a gorgeous spot! Just look at the Missouri River!

Holly and Tom thought it would be fun to scare me; I was completely freaked out when Holly was sitting on the edge...there's a big drop with lots of stairs! They laughed at me...I'm really afraid of heights. You can see where I was comfortable standing!

Here's what Holly's thinking in this next picture: "This is the second cake we've seen where there are dry paint drips! Geez! I could have done a better job painting this cake!" I wish they had let Holly paint it. It would have looked a lot better! I'm really wondering why the paint was drippy like that, and why it wasn't fixed...is it heat? Or just using runny paint? Or not letting it dry well enough? Or being too lazy to do touch-ups? Have some pride, people!

The Saint Louis County Parks and Recreation website says that Fort Belle Fontaine Park has been a St. Louis County park since 1986. It was the first U.S. military installation west of the Mississippi River, established in 1805. Lewis and Clark's expedition spent the first night of their expedition on an island opposite Cold Water Creek, and their last night two years later at the fort, which was established during their journey. Other expeditions left from this site between 1805 and 1819 to explore the new Louisiana Territory. Fort Belle Fontaine was replaced by Jefferson Barracks in 1826. (And as you should know, Jefferson Barracks is located right by my house.)

We liked walking up and down these stairs! The view here was beautiful!