St. Louis, July 5, 2010

We set off at 8:15 this morning for the St. Louis Arch. We had made reservations online last week for 9:30. Having done that, we were able to skip the ticket line, and head for the tram that ascends the arch. Underneath the north and south legs of the Gateway Arch, you can board one of two enclosed trams, each of which has 8 cars. Each car seats five people. The cars are very small, so if claustrophobia is problem, this may not be the ride for you. Ray is sitting in the seat with the most headroom in the photo, and he couldn't sit up straight. The side seats are worse. But then, it's only for 4 minutes up, and 3 minutes down. Anyway, after a narrated trip, you’re at the indoor Gateway Arch Observation Area. There, thirty-two windows (16 per side) allow views across the Mississippi River and southern Illinois, and the City of Saint Louis and St. Louis County to the west beyond the city. On a clear day, you can see up to 30 miles. It was a clear day, and the views were great. On the observation deck, we met a couple from Madison, WI who had been vacationing in Texas, and on their way home. The husband was an electrical engineer working at a regional airport in WI. They recommended that we visit Texas, more particularly a town called Fredericksburg-west of Austin. Sounded like a nice place. Maybe on another trip... We did note that the Mississippi River was over its banks at the Arch. There were stone benches down by the water that were surrounded by water, and we saw equipment pushing the mud around by the river bank. Apparently, the river has been in flood stage for quite a while, some areas worse than others.

After browsing the museum in the monument base, we started for the St. Louis Basilica.  Our first attempt had us at the door of the "old" basilica located near the Arch. This church was closed. We then found that we had to drive a few miles to the newer Basilica. What a treasure! They started construction in 1907, and didn't finish all the mosaic work until 1988. It is the 2nd largest assemblage of mosaic work in the world. The 1st is at the Vatican. Every bit of the ceiling, and much of the walls are covered in fabulous glittering mosaic. This place is jaw-droppingly amazing.

We then set off for a hotel just south of Kansas City, that will be a jumping off point for our visit to the Grasslands National Monument tomorrow.