Happy Graduation !!

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Graduation Maps for Sale!

Add your Own Color!!!

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May is graduation month, so please enjoy the

first & only High School Graduation Story-Map of Saint Louis.

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This map is a culmination of all good things about being a kid in Saint Louis,

combined with the many classic American teenage foods

that were invented or popularized in Saint Louis.

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Saint Louis is an amazing city for families and children,

and this map sends graduates off into the world with an appreciation

and love for their hometown.

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The map is for sale in packets of ten on a tear-off pad,

suitable for parties and for practicing your art.

Use your sharpie to draw yourselves, your family and friends

as stick figures on the maps,

and color the maps with colored pencils —

thus creating one-of-a-kind personal art mementos

of childhood and teen adventures.

Perfect for graduation parties or Sunday family activities!

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The maps come to life when colored,

and are perfect for posting on your refrigerator,

social media account or dorm wall or door.

Be proud of your city!

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Packets of the “Fly Away Home” story-maps come with this guide

printed on the back of each map

to help students better appreciate their city:

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Packets of the story-maps are available at:

The Nook in Ladue

The Webster Groves Bookshop

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Also available for immediate download on Etsy

ENJOY

Advertisement

 

French Lover Map

Happy to drop off a pillow in July 2023 if you wish to purchase for $35 each.

I have three pillows left for sale!

Viola! The first French story-map of Saint Louis in over 100 years, according to the Saint Louis History Museum.

After many field trips and much research, this map was created with the help of an 8th grade French teacher who likes to take students on local field trips. You can still visit many of these sites during the pandemic!

The journey begins at ​Laclede’s Landing where the streets are still cobblestone and the signs are still in French. This marks the spot of the first French trading village built by french fur trader Pierre Laclede​. It is here that the future city of Saint Louis was named in honor of ​King Louis IX of France.

French culture is firmly embedded in the architecture of Saint Louis, as evidenced by ​City Hall​, a replica of the Hotel de Ville (city hall) in Paris, noted for its…

View original post 439 more words

 

Happy Holidays

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Happy Holidays from Green Spiral Tours!

We’ve gone to sleep and will see you on Groundhog’s Day 2022…

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If you’re looking for a fun gift,

look no further than REI !!!

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You can pick up our book of “hyper local” adventure maps

along with your stocking stuffers and such.

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If you have guests in town

and are looking for covid-safe activities,

remember the King Louis “story-map” in the vestibule of the Old Cathedral.

Teens, tots and grand-parents all love it.

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Around Epiphany, (Jan 6), the Old Courthouse

can be super fun, especially if the King’s Ball is in session.

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Climbing to the top of the cupola is covid safe,

and teens and toddlers alike love that.

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“Love your City” and Enjoy!

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P.S. We’d love to feature your children’s art or funny essays based on the adventure maps.

A prize for submitting them to Green Spiral Tours @ gmail .com

should we select your submission for future publication.

 

Veteran’s Day

Normally, Green Spiral Tours would be leading a trip via metro

to the Soldier’s Memorial each year on November 11 …

…but these are not normal times.

Meanwhile, please enjoy this map and consider visiting on your own.

https://mohistory.org/memorial

 

Happy Graduation !!

2021-May

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Ta Da! Please enjoy the one and only Graduation Map of Saint Louis. This is a culmination of all good things to be found about growing up in Saint Louis. It was created to help your student “fly away” with strong roots from home. #FlyAwayHome

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You can buy a nifty magnet for the dorm refrigerator at the Nook in Ladue for $15

The Nook

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Green Spiral Tours has five of the above shopping bags left for $10 each

Pick one up at the amazing Green Spiral studio near the Lion Gates in UCity!

GreenSpiralTours@gmail.com

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Here’s an adorable small pillow you can buy on Zazzle for about $35 each.

It is 12″ x 16″ and very durable; it makes a perfect car pillow or dorm room accent pillow.

Zazzle Fly Away Home Pillow

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“Fly Away Home” is the one and only Graduation Map of Saint Louis.

Saint Louis is an amazing city,

and for those who want to take a deeper dive,

here’s the decoder guide for the story-map:

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It’s fun to watch Saint Louis fall in love with itself,

and sometimes young people go away to find out there’s no place like home.

Isn’t life funny that way?

#LoveYourCity

#FlyAwayHome

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Bluebell Hunt

Stardate: April 15, 2021

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Quick reminder that NOW is the time to go on a bluebell hunt!

Here’s a lovely micro-map from an earlier Green Spiral post…

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Check the earlier Green Spiral blog for details on this hike…

BLUEBELL HIKE

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OR, check the official Rockwoods Reservation trail-map by the MDC…

ROCKWOODS RESERVATION

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Green Spiral believes this to be the most magical bluebell hike,

but YOU be the judge.

If you find a better bluebell hike, please post so below!

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Happy Hunting…!!

🍃

 

Tennessee Williams Hunt

Stardate: 2021-April-08

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Let’s follow the “Tennessee Williams Trail”

and go on a Tennessee Williams hunt!

Tennessee Williams considered himself to be a poet first,

but here’s a peek into why he’s considered to be America’s greatest playwright:

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Spring in Saint Louis is the perfect time to go on a Tennessee Williams hunt.

Here are your clues…

starting with Tennessee’s birthday in March,

you can go looking for the violets that have broken the rocks…

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Tennessee’s grave-marker at Calvary Cemetery can be hard to find.

Take a picnic on a lovely Sunday and

look for the red-bud tree that blooms in early April…

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The marker is located in a corner of section 15A –

pick up a map that looks like this

at the front gates of Calvary Cemetery.

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CALVARY CEMETERY

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In 1918 “Tennessee” (Tom) Williams moved to Saint Louis as a child when his father,

a traveling shoe salesman,

was promoted to a job at the International Shoe Company.

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Remember this would have been in the wake of WWI and during the 1918 pandemic.

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The International Shoe Company is now the City Museum,

and the first home of Tennessee Williams has now been occupied by Our Little Haven,

a home for traumatized children….

Thomas’s father was an abusive alcoholic…

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Our Little Haven is located across the street from the Saint Louis Basilica,

where services were held for Tennessee Williams upon his death in 1983.

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You can buy timed tickets to the City Museum,

where Thomas got a job as a teen and escaped via the “Stairs to the Roof”,

so a Tennessee Williams hunt works well as a pandemic adventure.

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CITY MUSEUM

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Perhaps a better starting point might be Writer’s Corner

and Left Bank Books.

LEFT BANK BOOKS

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Start at the Tennessee Williams sculpture

and have a warm weather walk around the CWE neighborhood looking for clues….

Here’s your adventure map!

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Much was written by Tennessee Williams

and much has been written about him.

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We’ll leave the words to professional authors like the Wash U Professor

for which this story-map was created.

Professor Schvey discovered a “new” poem by Tennessee Williams

and wrote a whole book about it…

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BLUE SONG

by Henry Schvey

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It’s fun to watch Saint Louis fall in love with Tennessee Williams,

and perhaps Tennessee Williams is also falling in love with Saint Louis.

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Be sure to post clues about your Tennessee Williams adventures below,

and finish your hunt at the annual Tennessee Williams Festival in May!

TWSTL

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Rocketship Park

Stardate: 20-Mar-2021

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If kids could vote, Rocketship Park would win the prize as favorite playground.

It’s a launchpad for fun!

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Rocketship Playground is located in Deer Creek Park, and a warm day near the vernal equinox is a particularly nice time to visit. Most people who visit America’s national parks never stray far from the parking lot and the same is true of Deer Creek Park. If you are one of the few who likes to get off the beaten track, this map’s for you!

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Rendezvous with friends at Rocketship Playground, search for the “secret steps” down to the creek, and start exploring. Then follow the bouncing star over the bridge, along the creek, and hunt for the secret spring, the “ghost trolley” and climbing boulders. You get the idea; the map is a starting point for your explorations but here’s a journey guide to tell you exactly where to go and what to look for:

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If you begin from the top of the park (near the ghost trolley and MayPop), look for three waterproof adventure maps that were hidden in the daffodils on the Spring Equinox, and if you find one, let us know below!

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Here’s the secret spring you’re looking for; it tends to dry out as the summer wears on, so spring is a good time to go. Keep an eye out for water sprites and woodland faeries! Building strong imaginations in early life is the secret to creating strong innovators later in life.

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Download the above map for print out

or save your ink and buy our book of ten adventure maps on Amazon,

HERE

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If you want to make your very own adventure map,

here’s a black & white download:

ETSY

Print out the map, draw your unique adventures in stick-figures and send them for us to see!

Send us your very own adventure map, funny family essay or children’s artwork,

we’ll print the very best of them for all to see!

Enter submissions via email to Green Spiral Tours @ gmail.com

REI customers love our adventure maps.

They sell out in about a week!

#PlayOutside

REI

 

Three Flags Day

10-March-2021

Three Flags Day has come and gone again, without much fanfare. March 10th is the birthday of Saint Louis, which is possibly the most fascinating city on the planet. Three Flags Day is the day three flags flew over Saint Louis, in succession, as the Louisiana Purchase passed to America from France. Saint Louis was under Spanish jurisdiction at the time. On March 10, 1804, first the Spanish, then the French, then the American flag were hoisted in succession over Saint Louis.

Remember Aaron Burr, who shot Alexander Hamilton? Shortly after that dastardly deed, Aaron Burr hatched a conspiracy with the Saint Louis governor to take Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mexico, AND the Louisiana Purchase, to create a new empire, installing the brilliant Theodosia as empress. As often happens, the seditionists lost their nerve, the conspiracy fell apart and Aaron Burr ran off into Indian territory, never to be heard from again.

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Speaking of little known stories, check out this movie about Toussaint Louverture. Known as the “Black Napolean” from Haiti, Louverture single-handedly stopped the french Napolean from sailing ships straight up the Mississippi River to set up camp in Saint Louis. We owe our very democracy to this brave fellow, and more people need to know about him and Three Flags Day in Saint Louis.

These two stories are little gems, and can be found in this 1960s book of Saint Louis history written by Ernest Kirschten, an editorial writer for the Saint Louis Post Dispatch. See why it’s important to read books? There’s treasure hidden inside the books!

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Here’s the opening quote in the above book:

“We may be through with the past, but the past is not through with us.” – Bergen Evans.

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Saint Louis has long been a battleground,

and somehow the battle ultimately tilts towards the light.

If history is written by the victors,

then let’s go looking for Three Flag Day adventures,

and keep historic victories alive.

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If you know of a “Three Flags Day” adventure,

please post below!

 

Harriet & Dred Scott Day

2021-March-06

Mark your calendars on March 6th for a Harriet & Dred Scott adventure hunt; the Old Courthouse in downtown Saint Louis is a good starting point. March 6th is the anniversary of the preposterous Supreme Court decision in 1857 that decided “Any person descended from Africans, whether enslaved or free, is not a citizen of the United States.”

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For every action there is a reaction — the Supreme Court got it wrong and reaction to that judgement helped spark the Civil War. Your destination is the Harriet & Dred Scott sculpture that faces the Arch and the Mississippi River. It’s sitting on a slave auction site.

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The Old Courthouse in Saint Louis is a very majestic building and stands a living temple to the Rule of Law. It’s modeled after the Vatican and was built at the same time as the US Capitol in Washington. It’s free to visit and important for children to do so. Enter through front doors and explore the exhibits; kids especially like the underground railroad and finding the secret staircases that lead up to the top of the cupola. Here’s a previous adventure guide with clues on how best to do that:

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The Old Courthouse is incredibly grand and worthy of many repeat visits. Don’t forget to say hello to Harriet Scott, Lucy Delaney and Frankie Freedom on your way into the building, as women are often behind many successful struggles for freedom.

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Not far from the Old Courthouse is the home of Dred Scott’s lawyer, who was Eugene Field’s father, Roswell Field. Eugene Field was a poet who became famous for his children’s poems, notably Wynken, Blinken and Nod. Eugene Field loved toys, so the Field House also houses a toy collection and interesting toy exhibits.

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The Field Museum is located near the Old Courthouse but too far to walk; it’s fun to visit during the holidays to enjoy the home in full seasonal splendor, and maybe to pick up an old-fashioned wind-up toy to add to your collection.

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The tour of the home is quite interesting, but more suited for older children as are the changing exhibits, including the exhibits on Dred Scott and Saint Louis history. It’s sort of dear to know that Saint Louis children collected pennies to help save this historic home for posterity.

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Your third destination on the Harriet and Dred Scott adventure hunt is Calvary Cemetery, where Dred Scott and Harriet Scott are buried. Their grave-sites were hard to find in the past, and can still be hard to find, which makes it a worthy adventure hunt. Dred Scott’s new gravestone makes the hunt a little easier. See section 19 on the Calvary Map:

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Many people bring pennies to leave as an offering; place them Abe Lincoln side up!

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March 6th is a great day to go on a Harriet and Dred Scott adventure hunt, or any day for that matter. They say Saint Louis is the most fascinating city in America, it’s also an important city, a historic city, a legendary city. Be sure to bring your pennies with you and then share the wealth with others.

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Speaking of pennies, there’s a penny drive to help pay off the balance of the Harriet and Dred Scott statue recently installed near the Old Courthouse. There are 22 more sites you can visit on your Harriet & Dred Scott adventure hunt!

Dred Scott Heritage Foundation