Gateway Arch National Park

A funny thing happened on the way to the arch from our home.  My husband John got off highway 64 and could not find the arch!  My sister Linda (from Atlanta) was his copilot, I was sound asleep in the backseat.  John ignored the signs for downtown and thought there would be one specific for the arch, and doing so missing the exit which would get him to the arch.   My sister feels very certain that there is no highway exit signs for the arch grounds.  Yes, I know, the arch is big enough that you can not miss it.  And we did get there fairly easily once we got off the highway.

It was an overcast day, just great for walking around a park where there is no trees and little hope of finding shade.  We had not been here for at least 20 years.  There was a grand opening of the park this past summer- it was built between 1963 and 1964, but major changes were made to the grounds and entrance to the museum in the past two years.   I thought that those changes would mean shaded walkways, benches and picnic tables.  Boy was I wrong, and we had packed a picnic lunch.

 

  We parked in a garage north of the arch down by the river (quite fortunate at finding that place, our daughter parked west of the arch and paid double the amount we paid).  Anyway, as we walked toward the arch along the river we did come upon some picnic tables.belonging to various food carts which were not open for business the day we were there.  Pictured above is a view of the Mississippi River from the arch steps.  By the way, the riverfront is part of the national park.

Paved paths took us over a large grassy area to the entrance of the underground museum- I was intrigued- not a park bench in sight.  If one got exhausted climbing the many steps up from the river and then hiking across the arch grounds, there would be no place to rest!  Or else, to avoid that,  pay for a more expensive parking garage close to the entrance of the underground visitor center and museum.  Pictured above is the Old Courthouse, which is also part of the national park.

Above John is looking at decals which has recently been placed at the entrance to the arch by the Maplewood artist Margaret Keller.  It is a temporary exhibit.  Her artistic work represents 735 navigable miles of the Missouri River from St.Louis to Sioux City, Iowa.  The river is the longest in North America.

 

The new entrance into the visitor center and museum is quite impressive.  Coming down the escalators we saw a large map of the United States with all the major rivers shown.  It brought back many pleasant memories of the rivers we have crossed while traveling in the past ten years- the Ohio River, Mississippi, Missouri, Columbia, Colorado, Brazos and Rio Grande- to mention but a few.
Despite the cloudy, warm day there were many visitors to the arch, and the lines were long for the tram ride to the top.  Changes that have been made to the museum and grounds are good and long over-due.  I still think, however, that the grounds are a bit austere.

.