St Louis–Gateway to the West

First off. . .in all my imaginations of “The Arch”

I pictured it straddling the Mississippi River. . .

you know. . .one foot in Missouri. . .

one foot in Illinois. . .

well. . . guess I found out different. . .ha ha!

In retrospect, and now that I’ve seen it. . .I realize. . .

that would’a had to be a mighty, mighty big structure!

630 feet was plenty big for me. . .

the ride to the top was in a little barrel contraption with seats. . .

five seats containing five full size bodies. . .aii yaiii yaii. . .

a wee bit of panic set in when it stopped at the top, and the door did not open immediately. . .

the observation deck was a wee bit like being in a submarine. . .

about 15 small windows on each side. . .

and about a hundred people milling around. . .rotating windows.

not really my favorite tourist experience ever. . .

but I’m glad I did it. . .and the views were worth it!

The Old Court House and Downtown St Louis

Busch Stadium

and our lovely home. . . parked across the river

The Journey to the West Museum located at the base of the monument was extremely interesting. . .

those pioneers chose a very, very difficult life for themselves and their families. . .

I think I like my covered wagon much more than theirs. . .

One of my favorite things to do is check out the postcards in the gift shop. . .

I figure those photographers know all the best angles. . .

based on their findings, I got a couple of good shots. ..

this one from the train station at the Eads Bridge. . .

and this one from the front of the Old Court House

our sightseeing cruise we had scheduled on the paddlewheeler was cancelled. . .

just ‘cause the river was out of it’s banks and there were

logs and trees everywhere in the water. . .go figure. . .LOL!

and last stop. . .Lacledes Landing. . .lots of little touristy shops and pubs. . .

the Old Spaghetti Factory came highly recommended. . .delicious!

the Casino Queen RV Park worked out beautifully as a home base. . .

a little pricey at $49 per night for big rigs. . .but with a Good Sam discount. . .only $45. ..

fabulous 24 hour security, and a shuttle to take you to the casino and the train station. . .

we never took the Jeep out of the lot. . .and would not have unhooked it at all. . .

except that the pedestals were located at the very rear of the parking space,

and I didn’t want to drag out every inch of sewer hose we owned. . .

the buffet at the Casino was way above your standard buffet fare. . .really great. . .

and best of all. . .no smoking in the Casino. ..so a very pleasant atmosphere.  .

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay, and will return in the future to tour more of the

outlying areas around the city. . .today, we are headed to Indianapolis. . .

and the Eastern Time Zone. . .oh boy!  Temps have been staying in the

lower 80’s the last couple of days. . .which is lovely. . .

another ten degrees lower will be fantastic!

Until next time,

Janice