Postcard from Missouri- 1

30 September - 2 October 2012

St. Louis

We're cheating a little here. The campground was actually in Granite City, IL. But it was relatively close so we could easily visit the Gateway Arch. This was the Admiral's first visit and my second. Pretty amazing piece of work and the view from the top of the arch is unlimited all the way to the distant horizon.

The project was actually started in 1937 with a design competition which was won by a guy named Saarinen. The construction, however was delayed many years since a couple wars got in the way. The 2 halves of the arch didn't join till 1965. For the faint of heart, you don't walk to the top of the arch which is something like 632 feet above the ground... about 28 feet short of an 1/8th of a mile. There's a tram of 8 'pods' that carry 5 people each up to the top. 4 minutes up, 3 minutes down. The interchange of people leaving the pods with people boarding them is more of a collision, but most folks happily shifted as necessary to let folks pass. I doubt there's the same feeling of friendly cooperation on a hot summer day!

And since this is a federal facility, there are no weapons allowed including knives over 4" overall. My little pocket knife (1.5" blade) with opening-assist was marginal. Since they couldn't get it to open completely with the assist they let it slide. A different guard on a different day might not be so helpful.

The day was pretty much ugly with a little bit of rain and solid cloud cover. So the photos are a mixed bag that I'm not so proud of. But that's how it is sometimes.

It's an old park but adequate. WiFi is a joke.

The Arch is essentially on the Mississippi River.

The arch has a stainless skin with
structural steel inside.

Like heading into a subway. The underground
area is cavernous.

Here's the ticket counter (museum store in the
background)...

... and the information kiosk.

The Admiral was doing her best to not
look claustrophobic as we all sat bent
in half inside what is not much more
than a very large oil drum!

View from the top out across the river.

One of the bases.

And the stairs from the street.