More Than A Road... It's A State Of Mind
There is a thrill that is hard to describe, when you are standing in the presence of something gigantic. Our nation’s tallest monument The Gateway Arch. While at the arch Labor Day weekend we lined up with people from around the world to experience this amazing structure.
Getting a photograph of the entire structure is nearly impossible unless you are far away…and since you have a lot of time to spend waiting in line to go through security (over 1 hr. the holiday weekend we were there) you have a lot of time to experiment at how many ways you can photograph segments – or get family photos to show that you were really at the arch and not just a giant silver panel (secret – shoot up!).
Once past security, and in the underground museum, there is a wonderful documentary, “Monument to the Dream” by Charles Guggenheim, on the making of the arch. We were on the edges of our seats watching the steel workers assembling the pieces as the arches rose toward their meeting point 630 feet above the Mississippi River bank. Not one life was lost during its construction.
The journey to the top of the arch took about 7 minutes in a 5-person tram that rotated like a “Ferris Wheel” chair. At the top we took turns peering out small rectangular windows overlooking either across the Mississippi River or the St. Louis Cardinals baseball game on the city side.
While in St. Louis we enjoyed dinner in the Italian district at The Hill. We then got chance to go to the Steel Guitar Convention; the area shopping districts including historic St. Charles; and a moon lit drive through romantic Forrest Park with its lighted statues, lakes and buildings constructed for the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.
Our adventure to St. Louis proves that even in the big city you can stay in a BlueHighways “state of mind” and explore the good things happening!
Best wishes for the month of September,
Denise Hitchcock
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