Gateway Arch

Meghan and Skip and bottom of arch

We have stopped in Granite City, Illinois to visit my niece, Meghan and her husband, Brent, and also tour St. Louis, MO. We are at the KOA, which is located about 15 minutes from downtown St. Louis. Meghan took us in to do the "touristy" Gateway Arch and go to see the famous Clydesdale horses. The arch was built on the banks of the Mississippi River to remind everyone of the role St. Louis played in the expansion westward of the U.S.   
     For the ride up, you enter a "pod" which holds five individuals for the ride to the top of the 630 ft. arch. The ride is 4 minutes to the top and the return ride is 3 minutes.


inside the pod

view looking down from Arch

Meghan and I at top of the Arch

Afterwards, we went to Anheuser-Busch. There is a free tour of the plant if you wish to learn about beer and get a free sample. We skipped the full tour - went to stable area to visit "their best advertising" - the Clydesdale horses. They are beautiful, big, and live in a stable that is not to shabby!!!!! Loved the chandelier!!!!



 Had dinner at Brent and Meghan's home. Thumper got to see Spencer (last time was 2 years ago). Had a great time; dogs were happy - they got their own "doggie ice cream" for dessert.

Meghan's sous-chefs

doggie ice cream!!!!!

 Over the weekend, we all went on an excursion of St. Louis. We saw the beautiful Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis,

outside Basilica

inside Basilica

section of ceiling in Basilica

 drove by Washington University (where Meghan went for her master's degree) and then to Forest Park. This park has a golf course, tennis courts, various lake areas, the Museum of Art, a visitor and education center, Saint Louis Zoo,  a skating rink in winter, and many more attractions to visit or just sit back and enjoy the beautiful grounds. . We went to The Boathouse for lunch (when you eat outside, your dogs come along). There are plenty of water bowls around for your dogs, plus when you are seated each dog gets his own water bowl. Doesn't get any better than that!!!!!

Great time in visiting St. Louis and Meghan, Brent and Spencer. Our next stop is home to Connecticut for awhile. Thumper misses her friends and being off a leash. Skip and I miss our family and friends, and Skip also misses his cars and car shows.

Presidents, an outlaw and great ribs!!!! - all before we left Kansas and Missouri. On our way we stopped in Abilene, Kansas at the Eisenhower presidential museum and library. Being the Commander of the allied forces during WW II, there is a lot to see as you walk through various exhibits of his years in military service and as president.

entrance of museum

upgrading infrastructure

 

Main Street Wichita - Thumper and Ike

 

When we reached Missouri, we got a campsite in Peculiar, Missouri (no joke - that's the name of the town), which is about 15 miles outside of Kansas City, MO. The next day we drove to Independence and the presidential museum of Harry S. Truman. Another walk through WWII and his policies re: economic recovery, NATO, and Korea, and relieving Gen. McArthur of his command. They are both excellent museums and if you are in the area, please visit them. 

Skip outside museum

Truman presidential office

Pres. Truman letter to Gen. McArthur

 On a lighter note, we went to dinner that night at Jack Stack Barbecue, which was recommended by one of the ladies in the campground.  Food was terrific as well as the service. In fact, we ended up dining there 2 nights in a row. Even during the week, the restaurant is crowded.

Jack Stack's onion rings!!! HUGE!!!

 On our final day, we drove to St. Joseph, Missouri to see the house that Jessie James lived in with his family and subsequently gunned down by Bob Ford. The bullet hole is visible in the wall.  Another piece of American history.

 Jesse James home

living room

bullet hole beneath needlepoint

  We are heading to Granite City, Illinois. The KOA Campground we are going to is the nearest to my niece, Meghan and her husband, Brent. We are also right over the Mississippi River from St. Louis. Meghan promised to take us see the Clydesdale horses at Anheuser-Busch and go up the Arch. Can't wait.

After over 9 months, we are now heading east - towards home!!!!

  We have been busy on the road. We left  Moab, Utah via scenic Route 128 to I-70 East into Colorado,

Thumper hunting lizards

rafting on Colorado River

a winery on Route 128

on Route 128

then I-76 into Nebraska and on to route 81 south to Saline, Kansas on I-70.  Lots of miles going through these big states. It was not dull. Entering Colorado, you head up and up through the Rocky Mountains (go past well known ski resorts)

highway through Rockies

reaching summit at Vail

and then near Denver you are descending. About 30 miles or so east of Denver, the roadways are straight and no mountains. What a difference in landscape from one side of Denver to the other side.
  While driving through Nebraska, the winds picked up and slowed our driving down. We spent last night in Gothenburg, Nebraska. Around 8 pm. the lightening started, the winds really picked up, rain began and the town's tornado alarm went off. Right after that, my phone started screeching with a message of a "tornado warning" and to get to a safe place. The owner of the campground came by with his alarm and everyone staying at the campground went up to the office to sit out the nasty weather that hit. With the winds picking up, rain came down on an angle pounding the office/store (cement structure, thank God). There were about 50 campers and 2 dogs (one was Thumper) all together waiting out the storm. When winds subsided, everyone returned to their motorhomes, etc. waiting for the rain to stop. Welcome to Tornado Alley!!!!!!

finally into Nebraska

farmland

 This morning was beautiful. We were up early and out - on our way to Kansas, the breadbasket of America.

made it to Kansas

farms on both sides

One night we took a ride down the Colorado River. It was a nice, pleasant ride and another way to see the rock formations. On the way we encountered rain showers with some lightning way out in the next county. We turned around about 18 miles down the river near the potash plant (makes fertilizer). On the way back, we lucked out getting to see the beaver. He was huge.

one of a few climbing the rock

jug handle arch (few try and climb the handle)

beaver

  Following day we went to Canyonlands National Park, approx. 30 miles from Moab. Where at Arches you look up at rock formations, in Canyonlands, for the most part, you look down into deep, vast expanses. The main road is the Island in the Sky Scenic Road. There are viewpoints all along the road.  This is where the Green River meets the Colorado. Another beautiful area to explore. There is also The Needles area and The Maze (need to go with a ranger for these tours). Also need 4-wheel drive to get to some of the back trails. You could spend weeks here and not see it all.

Skip on edge

me in front of edge

upheaval Dome - meteor hit in 1988

 

 

You could spend weeks here and not see it all. We also stopped at Dead Horse State Park. Legend has it that back in 1800's, cowboys would herd wild horses out to the point because of  access being 30 yards wide and deep canyons on 3-sides (drop in 2,000 ft). Believe me, it is far down to the Colorado River that winds through. At some point, cowboys forgot to feed and water horses and they died - hence the name of the park. Forward to the 1990 and for those who have seen the movie THELMA AND LOUISE - welcome to where the final scene was filmed of going off the cliff.