ROAD TO SEDALIA AND SOUTH DAKOTA: The Gateway Arch In St. Louis

Blog #3- Wednesday, June 20, 2012- St. Louis, MO-Gateway Arch

From Summerset, PA, we traveled to St. Louis, MO by way of Columbus, OH and Clarksville, IN. Our first adventure was a visit to the Gateway Arch-formally known as the "Jefferson National Expansion Memorial-or "Gateway to the West".

As we walk up the many steps to the entrance of the Arch, the top of the Arch looms overhead, and one suddenly thinks "I am not too sure about going up to the TOP and peering out over the city-630 feet up"!

But, we brave souls venture down into the Visitor's center and purchase our tickets for the "ride to top". We enter a small cubicle containing five seats similar to a space capsule and begin our assent to the top, which takes four minutes. When we reach the top, we leave our little capsule and bravely walk across the top of the Arch. We are pleasantly surprised that the small, narrow windows we peer out from to survey the city are not nearly as threatening as we anticipated:-)

WOW! What a fantastic view of St. Louis, the Missouri River, the St. Louis Cardinal's Busch Stadium-Go PHILLIES!!! It was fantastic! We return to our little cubicle for the three minute ride down. WHEW! That was great!

A wonderful museum containing early history of the Westward Expansion is housed "under" the Arch. The Louis & Clark Expedition frames the chronological display portraying all the events and persons responsible for settling the West. Of special interest were :

. Wall of Presidents

. Animals of the Plains

. Moon Landing-Stage Coach

. Native Americans

. "Round Boat" (Lynn Kiehl)

. Tucker Theater

A very special morning was enjoyed! And, it was overcast which made it more comfortable than the 98* we had been promised. After visiting the Arch, we toured the Budweiser Brewery. You are invited to tour the Brewery in our next Blog!

Until them, keep cool, and we miss all of you. But we are not coming home early:-)

Blessings, Mary Ann, Les & Pollybird