..........day number two; through the gateway to the West!!!

Today, we left Clarksville, Tennessee and headed northwest. We traveled through western Kentucky, Illinois, and then into Missouri. This was the first time I have ever seen the big farms that are the life-blood of this part of the country. Corn fields literally went for miles on end. I would have taken a picture of it, but it was raining. Our primary destination today was St. Louis, where we went to the Gateway Arch.



Here's a shot of the Gateway Arch (taken by Lisa - as all pictures will be). Underneath the Arch is an area where you can learn all about the structure, see films about the Arch and the Western Migration, and, of course, go to gift shops. We bought tickets there to go up into the Arch. You get into what seems to be a very small escape module (it reminds me of Dr. Evil escaping from the rear of the Shoney's boy in the Austin Powers movie). Five people can fit in the module. Now I am only 5'-7" tall and I had to bend over slightly inside of the module. It takes four and one-half minutes to travel the 630' to the top of the Arch. At the top, you can get out and look out across St. Louis and the Mississippi River area. When you're done looking (which took about five minutes with the number of really stupid people present in the observation area), you board the same modules to the bottom. It takes three and one-half minutes to go to the bottom again. It was pretty cool. The Arch was built as the result of a design contest in 1947 to commemorate President Thomas Jefferson and his work to explore the western frontier. The Arch is made of steel and concrete; and is covered with stainless steel. It was raining when we got there. The resulting water running down the side of the Arch was cool looking. The Arch was designed to move a total of 18" from side to side at the top for wind. Again, this was pretty cool (amazing American design).

After touring the Arch, we traveled to Kansas City. The main purpose of this trip (279 miles from St. Louis), was to eat BBQ at Arthur Bryant's. We did just that. It was a very small "joint" in a not-so-great part of town, but the food was outstanding. It was really crowded on a Monday night. There were pictures on the wall of all the famous folks that have eaten there. These include: President Carter, Steven Spielberg, and Emeril; just to name a few. Like I said, the food was great. They offered ribs; as well as, pork, beef, and turkey BBQ. The portions were way over the top! None of us finished what we were served. All the meat was served with what we call here in NC as "light bread" (thin sliced white bread). The sauces were great, too. After Bryant's, we got back on the interstate and headed northwest to find a hotel for the evening. In doing so, we passed through part of Kansas. Wow, five states today!

Oops! This picture should have been right under the Arch. It is a picture of Busch Stadium (where the Cardinals play), that Lisa took from the Arch observation area.

We have to cover about 650 miles tomorrow. We are getting up early and heading for South Dakota. I forgot to get today's milage before leaving the car - I'll report it tomorrow, but I think it was in the neighborhood of 450 miles.