I was ready for a break from campgrounds in the middle of nowhere. So, we had a layover of three nights at the Triangle H Farm in Edwardsville, Illinois - about 30 minutes outside of Saint Louis, Missouri.
The horses had a good-sized paddock with a run in shelter. $25/horse each night. Our biggest complaint was the amount of manure in the paddock. It obviously hadn’t been cleaned for at least two weeks. My husband took at least twelve wheelbarrows out in order to get it cleaned for our horses. The horses also shared a fence line and water trough with the owner’s horses. We put out our own water buckets in the hopes that our horses would drink from the buckets to minimize the horses sharing germs.
The parking area for the LQ was really well done. Plenty of room for large rigs. Electric hook-ups only. $25/night. The first two electrical pads had an open ground, so we moved to the third slot. This is why it is good to carry a device that checks the electrical before you plug in your LQ.
There were three large arenas (one covered), a round pen, and an obstacle course. We spent one morning working our horses in the arena and round pen, just to do some tune-up work. My horse was really not paying much attention to me, so I ended up dismounting and doing ground work with him. Sometimes it is good to get back to the basics.
There was an Amazon locker about ten minutes away, so I ordered some items we wanted on Amazon. A repair kit for our screen door, a kit to patch dings in our windshield, some more cookies for my horse and some vitamins.
The campus for the South Illinois University Edwardsville is about ten minutes away and we explored the gardens and campus which were quite beautiful. Saint Louis is amazing…so much to do and see.
The highlight of our stay was visiting the Saint Louis Arch. The Arch was designed by a Finnish architect.
You can ride to the top of the Arch. The whole ride to the top takes about four minutes. The car you ride in is shaped like a dryer drum and not recommended for anyone who suffers from claustrophobia.
Once you get to the top of the Arch, you have about ten minutes to enjoy the observation deck. On one side, you can see Missouri.
On the other side, you can see Illinois and the Mississippi River. This is a helicopter pad on the river.
On the observation deck, Ari and I talked about other observation decks we have stood on and whether they were taller than the Arch. The Sears Tower in Chicago is taller. We visited the World Trade Center in New York pre-911 and that was taller. The Empire State Building, the Eiffel Tower, the Seattle Space Needle, and so on are all taller, but no matter - you can’t beat the view. Plus, it’s always good to get a different perspective.