More Arches

2018-09-28
Gateway Arch, St. Louis, MO, IL, IN, OH

Today's stop was at another national park. It's currently the newest park (added February 2018) and smallest park at less than 100 acres. It's also stuck in the middle of a city. I traveled up to the top of the Arch in a very small "tram" car, which is sort of like an elevator except sometimes it goes sideways and fits in the area near the top of the Arch. Also it's a collection of 8 cars that each hold 5 seated people. It's not quite a Wonkavator though. There are also stairs going up the inside of the Arch, but they won't let you use them.

The people look like ants. The circle is the entrance to the visitors center, which is underground.
The people look like ants. The circle is the entrance to the visitors center, which is underground.

I also watched the movie about the construction of the arch which I thoroughly enjoyed as you'd imagine. It's quite an engineering feat to get the two arch segments to connect, and the cranes had to ride along the back of the arch segments because at 630 feet it is much too high for a normal crane. They essentially created a railroad on the back of the span as it was built and removed the tracks on the way down. Since it was constructed in the 1960's they have a lot of actual footage of parts being assembled which was very cool.

The view from the Mississippi river
The view from the Mississippi river
It looks even taller than it is because the top is much thinner than the base
It looks even taller than it is because the top is much thinner than the base

While I enjoyed the experience and engineering immensely, I agree with the crowd that says that this should be a National Monument or National Historical Park rather than a National Park. It hasn't fit the vibe of any other park I've been to and at 0.14 sq miles it is a tiny fraction of other parks. It was definitely a political move to increase visitation. Nevertheless, it was on the way, and I'm glad I stopped regardless of designation.

I seem to be moving west with a pocket of good weather, so it was another sunny day. Everywhere I leave is supposed to be colder tomorrow (high 60's to low 70's), but near 80 today. Hopefully that colder air catches up with me soon. I'm good without rain though. That makes the photography easier.

View from the shadow
View from the shadow

Once I finished experiencing the Arch, I continued on through Illinois and Indiana and into Ohio. This route along Interstate 70 involves a lot more cities than my western route; today alone I experienced St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Dayton.

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