Day 146, June 20, St Louis, MO

Twice we’ve driven through St. Louis, MO, over the Mississippi River and twice gawked at the magnificent arch sitting on the edge of the water. But today we squeezed ourselves into a tiny compartment that uncomfortably and claustrophobically fits 5 midgets and made our way to the top of the arch for a gander over St Louis and the mighty Mississippi.


Gateway Arch is the most unique of the national parks we’ve visited and took the least amount of time but was so very worth the trip. At 630 feet tall with 630 feet between spans, it’s a stupendous engineering feat. 




After marveling at the sheer size of the stainless steel monster structure from underneath, we watched a 35-minute movie detailing it’s construction. Anxiety gripped me multiple times as I experienced both vertigo and acrophobia from there vantage points of the building crew atop the structure. They weren’t harassed in during the 60’s when it was built and bragged about losing no men. It was sheer fortune they didn’t. 





The museum was very well done and quite delightful, detailing much about St Louis, the westward expansion across the Great Plains, the displacement of millions of native Americans, and Manifest Destiny and the building of the great American west. 




I didn’t think we’d be able to visit the top of the arch due to the fact that timed entry tickets sell out in advance, and we had lost our reservations when we experienced the truck breakdown a couple of days ago. But luckily there were 2 seats still available for today. I’m ever so glad we were able to snag them and ride the cubicle to the top. It’s was way more cool than I anticipated, and Kasper felt the same.




Good deeds: Unwilling to fold my laundry on the not-quite-clean folding tables at the laundromat, I did the right thing and took Clorox wipes to all of them, not just mine. This exercise of daily looking for good deeds has the added benefit of stimulating me to “do the right thing” even if it isn’t my job or requires some extra time and effort on my part. “Do the right thing” is a great motto for my selfish person to adopt. 




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