St. Louis, the Arch

Woke up to warm muggy morning. Actually at 6:30 and it might have cool for a bit....and it just feels "buggier" out here.
Got on the road fairly soon because I had prepurchased tickets for the documentary movie about the Arch and the tram ride to the top. We stopped the jeep so at least we weren't navigating downturn with the RV. There RV park is only about 30 minutes away on the Illinois side of the Mississippi. Drive in was fairly easy, not much traffic, just kept missing various turns so spent a little bit of time going in circles. Eventually got to where we needed to be.
Wow, the Arch really is quite breathtaking. In your mind you know it is big, but in person the scale is just seems so enormous. Beautifully built, just standing a clear grass field on the edge of the river.
We headed into the visitor center fort the documentary about the build. The documentary was really interesting, and I just don't remember this being completed in the 60's. But what a project!
We then queued up for the tram ride to the top. Who would've dreamed of birth only building this Arch, but providing access to the top. And the access is so "sixties"! These little egg shaped pods that only hold 5 people at a time, there are a total of 8 of them moving, as a group, up or down the Arch with passengers. Unlike any experience I have had before. The seats even reflect Saarinen, they have the shaped feel of his tulip table and my chairs.
The ride is about 15 min or so, and you get out to this small corridor like space at the very top of the Arch. Small window slots on both sides so you have these huge views east and west of St. Louis. We had about 10 minutes at the top and then back in our pods to the bottom. ("Please open the door Hal")
Then we spent another hour or so going through the on site museum dedicated to American history. The Arch is a memorial to the western expansion. Great museum, but hard to appreciate after the documentary and ride. One segment does give a good understanding of the history of the Arch. The documentary is more focused on the actual building of the Arch. We loved this visit!Read more