St Louis, Missouri

We left the Elks Lodge in Joplin, Missouri and drove almost five hours at our towing speed to a campground on the other side of the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri.  The campground was in the city of 'East St. Louis' which is in the state of Illinois and not Missouri.

 

Although it was noisy at the campground due to train tracks nearby, it was convenient to get to the things we wanted to see in St. Louis.  The campground was behind a casino with a metro stop on the property so we could leave the truck and not worry about parking the beast.  

Entrance to the campground

 

We had a nice view of the St Louis Arch from our campsite.

Our first activity was to take a tour of the Budweiser Brewery.  

 

 

A different Covid reminder; "Please keep 1 Clydesdale between Buds"

While waiting for our tour to start we looked at the history displays in the lobby and visited the gift shop. 

One of the first stops on the tour was the famous Clydesdale's barn.  

The thing I was most excited to see on the tour were the Clydesdale horses but this was the best view we had of them.  That was disappointing. 

The outside of the "barn"

 

Next it was time to learn about the beer brewing process.

The buildings had beautiful tiles and architecture.  The property had a Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory feel to it.

It was impressive to see the variety of  beers that are sold by Anheuser Busch.  

 

 

More interesting tiles and mosaics

Then it was on to the bottling area.  

Bottle Line #34, Capacity: 1,300 - 12 oz. Bottles Per Minute

Bottled fresh for you today....

Our souvenir, a bottle of Golden Light beer

 

Once the tour was over, it was on to the good stuff, free samples!

Another day we took the metro to cross the river and visit the Gateway Arch.  Last time I was at the arch was when my friend and I drove from Pennsylvania to California in 1991!  30 years ago!

The Arch consists of over 43,000 tons of concrete and steel making an iconic, elegant arc 63 stories high into the Midwest sky. Shaped by the inspired design of Finnish-America architect Eero Saarinen, the Gateway Arch celebrates the westward expansion of the United States and the pioneers who made it possible. Since its completion in 1965, the monument has taken millions of visitors on the trip to the top to enjoy stunning views stretching up to 30 miles to the east and west.

The Old Courthouse and the Gateway Arch

 

 

Thanks to a tip from a friend, we purchased tickets in advance to ride the elevator to the top.  

While we waited for the elevator there was a light show displaying interesting facts onto the elevator doors.

Comparison of the Gateway Arch to the new One World Trade Center in New York City

The ride is 4 minutes up and 3 minutes down and there are 5 seats per car.

 

 

The highlight of a visit to Gateway Arch National Park is a ride to the top of the 630-foot Gateway Arch, for a panoramic view of the surrounding area. The trams are a one-of-a-kind invention, conceived in just two short weeks by an amazing man who never received a college degree. His name is Dick Bowser. 

 

 

Bowser's Unique Design: Riding the tram to the top of the Arch is like stepping into the future as it was envisioned in the 1960's. Each of the 16 tram cars, or "pods", holds five seated persons. While taking the 4-minute journey to the top riders may look out a small window for a view of the Arch interior. Once at the top the observation area features 16 windows looking east over the Mississippi River and the Illinois communities and countryside, and 16 windows looking west over the city of St. Louis. Finally, a combination of the elevator principle and the Ferris wheel principle was developed into a train of capsules, and Bowser had his solution:
• Eight small capsules, used in each of the two Arch trains.
• Each train capsule has a 5-foot diameter barrel that is open on the front and closed on the back.
• There are five seats in each barrel, so the weight of the passengers helps keep the capsule in an upright position.
• Each capsule rotates approximately 155 degrees during the trip to the top of the Arch.
• Each of the Arch trains carries 40 passengers and is capable of making a round trip with passengers in 9 minutes including loading and unloading passengers in both directions.
• When running near capacity each train typically carries 200 to 225 passengers per hour.
• The trains have been operating for over 25 years, traveling a total of approximately 200,000 miles and carrying over 18 million passengers.

The capsule with the doors closed and en route to the top.

 

Observation Area

 

Some of the windows

St Louis Cardinals Busch Stadium

Mississippi River with the Casino and the RV Campground in Illinois

The campround

A barge on the Mississippi

Due to Covid, we were allowed only 15 minutes at the top.  After taking in the view and taking photos, it was time to head back down.

Staging area for the elevators

Al inside an elevator car

At the bottom there is a museum which opened in 2018 so this was new for me.  Included was this beautiful mural.  It was so big I couldn't get it all in one photo!

The Gateway Arch and the museum are run by the National Park system so I achieved another Junior Ranger badge.

 

We moved outside to admire the arch at different angles.

The little windows are visible in the observation area of the arch.

One of our goals for retirement was to visit many Major League Baseball stadiums as we travel the country.  Each stadium is unique plus we enjoy baseball.

We haven't made much progress on the goal until now when we watched the Atlanta Braves play the St. Louis Cardinals game at Busch Stadium.

Pitcher Dizzy Dean, Hall of Fame Class of 1953

Picnic area outside the stadium

Cardinals Retired Numbers

 

 

Final score:

Back when we were at the Elks Lodge in Joplin, MO, some people at the bar recommended we eat dinner at Zia's Restaurant "on The Hill" in St. Louis.  We found a way to get there via the metro so off we went. 

A bit of history on the train, President Clinton rode the MetroLink on June 24, 1994.  This was the car he rode in.

 

Next to the restaurant is this beautiful little park called Piazza Imo.  

 

Piazza Imo is a privately run, Italianate style piazza in the heart of The Hill, St Louis' historic Italian neighborhood. 

Fountain is made from hand sculptured marble imported from Italy

Chess Tables donated by the St Louis Chess Club

We had an okay meal but it was worth the trip to visit the little park and the Italian neighborhood.  I felt like we were in Italy while there.  

Well that was all of our sightseeing in St Louis.  Next we're moving closer to Chicago.