Road Trip!

It's been awhile since I've blogged.  We headed out on a road trip that put over 3,000 miles on the car.  I don't like long road trips without the promise of seeing the sites along the way, or as I like to call it "stopping to smell the roses".'

Our first day was the longest leg--800 miles to St. Louis, Missouri.

It took about 12 hours to get there and we arrived right as the sun was going down.  I booked us a hotel right night to the arch and we felt safe enough to venture out on foot to find some dinner and get a few night shots.

My heart is happy when I see a National Park Service sign.

The Old Courthouse is part of the park, however, it is currently closed for renovation. The courthouse is entrenched in the history of slavery in this country. Slaves were auctioned from the courthouse steps   It was the site of the Dred Scott trials in 1847 and 1850, where he and his wife won their freedom and it's said that decision hastened the start of the civil war.  It's also where a trial for women's right to vote took place in 1870.  I would have loved being able to tour the courtrooms.  Next time.

I had purchased tickets to ride to the top quite some time ago.  We were the first group of the day.  I didn't really know what to expect.  How the heck do they get people up there?  They have everyone queue up based on their ticket times and then they assign you a pod.

Here's what it is...five seats in a very small space with a door that closes, fortunately it has a window.  I likened it to being inside a porta potty with four of your best friends or in this case, complete strangers.  Takes about three minutes to reach the top of 630 feet.  If you're very claustrophobic or very much overweight or if you have mobility issues, you may want to skip the trip.

Once you reach the top you have 10 minutes to look out the very small windows.

Beautiful views to the west towards the Old Courthouse.  Nice shadow shot.

You can also see Busch Stadium in the upper left of the above picture.  There was a lot of condensation on the windows so it was hard getting a good shot.

Another view where you can see the dome that the Rams used to play in.  For some reason I have no pictures towards the east and the Mississippi River.

This will show you how small those windows are.  Irv didn't have to worry about falling through.

We took some time to walk around the grounds.

I love the reflection of the Old Courthouse in the modern skyscraper across the street.

Statue honoring Dred and Harriet Scott.  They were so brave.

Irv and I sweat like crazy during our walking.  This was our first taste of humidity in quite some time.

The arch is a beautiful structure.  Construction started in 1963 and was finished in 1965 and opened to the public in 1867.  It beautifully represents the westward expansion of our country.

This will give you a perspective of just how large each end of the arch is.

My artistic shot of the day.

Then it was time to jump in the car and head to our next stop...Nashville.  Here we are crossing the Mississippi into Illinois.

The arch is definitely worth a visit!