St. Louis

We stayed just outside St. Louis because we knew that any bridge we went over would show us the Arch.  Josh chose a route that would give us the best perspective as we traveled over the Mississippi river. The Eads bridge, which we learned was actually quite controversial while it was being build because it was the first time and forged steel would be used in the construction of a bridge and the architect who designed it had never built a bridge before. The Eads Bridge is named for its architect.

There’s a park that surrounds the Arch and tall trees hide it from view as you’re walking towards the monument so until you are right up to it you cannot appreciate how big it really is.  I’m not a good judge of size, but now I understand how high 630 feet actually is.

I realized very quickly that there was a line forming to get into the Arch so while Josh was snagging some more pictures I got on line.  I had read that there was security and it could take awhile to get through and on this particular day it took about 15 minutes.  We also didn’t realize that you could get in through both “legs” of the Arch, so if you’re ever there and there’s a line at one “leg” the other side might be open.

When you enter the Arch you’re actually underground with the Arch overhead.  There is a museum that depicts and explains America’s expansion west, several shops, and two movie theaters showing various things important to the Arch and its history.

We had to wait about and hour and a half for our tram time slot.  They do this in order to keep the people going up in the Arch orderly otherwise it could get crazy.  The museum is free to anyone in the Arch lobby so we walked around in there while we waited for our time slot. 

The museum is really cool.  I never realized how important St. Louis was to America’s expansion westward.  There’s a huge timeline, an explanation of the U.S. governments relationship with the Chiefs of several Tribes, and various entries from Lewis and Clark’s Journals.  All in all it was really informative and worth the time we spent there.

When it was time for us to go on the tram we got into another line where they took our picture and then send us into this area decorated to look like St. Louis back in the days of Lewis and Clark.  We were handed cards with a number on them.  This number corresponded to the tramcar we would be taking up to the top.  I have to take some time to explain the tramcars.  They move like a Ferris wheel cabs, but they are shaped like pods.  There are five small seats inside and a small glass door that even I had to bend down to get through.  It’s a 4-minute ride 630 feet up into the air and it goes by pretty fast. 

The top of the Arch is small.  That’s really the only adjective I can use to describe it.  It’s a small space to walk in with small windows you need to stand on a step to see out of.

The view is AMAZING! You can see at least 30 miles on a clear day and this was a clear day.  On one side there is a great view of St. Louis and on the other side the Mississippi River and all the bridges that lead to the city.  It’s crazy to look straight down from that height. After a few pictures we were ready to head down and unlike coming up the Arch, you don’t have to wait long to go down. 

When we reached the bottom we walked back the car and realized we need to eat in St. Louis.  Josh searched the Internet and found a place that seemed promising.  The Highway 61 Roadhouse is a New Orleans themed BBQ joint.  I had a burger with chorizo, bleu cheese, bacon, and onions and Josh had a BBQ sample platter. Great way to end our time in St. Louis.

We headed south the Branson from there.  Needless to say, we were more than excited to sleep in an actual bed. Our room at the Wyndham Mountain Vista more than met our expectations.  After a shower we very much appreciated clean sheets and central air conditioning.