Kids on the North Riverfront Trail Ride Saturday, April 20, will do more than just ride their bikes along the Mississippi River. There are lots of other activities during this unusual Earth Day activity.

In February and March editions, Young Saint Louis.com featured articles on upcoming Earth Day 2002 activities. This trail ride article is the final one leading up to the Earth Day 2002 weekend, Saturday and Sunday, April 20-21.

(For other special Earth Day activities visit the website www.stlouisearthday.org)

Nineteen-year-old Shemika Jackson is an Americorps members who will help along the trail route. This is her second year of helping with the Earth Day trail ride.

The 11-mile trail route runs from LaClede's Landing in downtown St. Louis north to the Chain of Rocks Bridge. That bridge is located south of where Interstate 270 crosses the Mississippi River.

The old Chain of Rocks Bridge has been reconditioned. It now links the Missouri and Illinois parts of a bicycle trail that's open to the public. The Earth Day ride is a good chance to check out other riding possibilities along the Mississippi. .

One of the first extra kids' activity on LaClede's Landing will be making clay models of fossils and bugs. Those clay pieces will be fired later and used to complete the very large North Riverfront mural project.

Artist Catherine Magel is coordinating work on the mural. She's using a variety of artwork, including the kids' clay art. After the trail ride, she's going to bake the clay models and then make them a part of the floodwall mural.

Shemika said, "After the entire mural project is completed, kids are going to be invited back for the dedication. At that time, they can see how their models were used."

The riders will then travel north to the U.S. Coast Guard building. They'll get a chance to see how the Coast Guard personnel control activities on the Mississippi River.

While there, the kids will get a chance to plant native wild flowers and other plants. There is a nearby prairie restoration project in that area.

Kids planting prairie plants along the river.

Also, riders can get a tour of the water purification plant operated by the Metropolitan Sewer District.

A nearby tourist attraction features a plaque remembering the Underground Railroad during Civil War times. This wasn't an ordinary railroad. Rather, it was the name given to places where slaves fleeing north could find food and shelter.

Many places in the St. Louis area--on both sides of the river--were a part of that secret escape network.

Further upstream at the Humboldt rest site, kids will be a chance to buy a reconditioned bicycle. The Seeds of Change is a group of Northside kids who meet every week to repair and recondition used bikes for resale. That is another Americorps activity.

Shemika said there will be "lots and lots of bikes for sale." Half of the proceeds from the sales go to the kids who did the repairs. The other half is put back into the program to buy new parts needed to fix more bikes.

"We'll have a big selection of bikes with prices usually below $40," she said.

Also at Humboldt Park, kids will be able to use spotting scopes. They allow you to see long distances up and down the river.

A typical river scene along the trail ride route.

The trail ride route then goes to North Riverfront Park. That's just a little ways south of the Chain of Rocks Bridge.

At the North Riverfront Park, there will be refreshments and food. Also, kids can have unique balloon sculpture done for them.

Shemika said riders can join the trail ride at different parts of the route. They also can stop and turn around whenever they want. The ride starts at LaClede's Landing at 10 a.m. Saturday. Those riders then head north.

But, some kids and their families might want to start at the north end, at the Chain of Rocks Bridge or North Riverfront Park. Other might start in the middle, near the Coast Guard facilities. Parking is available at all of those locations.

On the day of the ride, there will be signs showing the way to the various parking spots