In the morning on Saturday, August 2, 08 after we gratefully evacuated ourselves from the hotel from hell we headed down to Old St. Louis along the Mississippi. The gateway to the city as marked by the unforgettable Arch. The monument that celebrates the westward movement of civilization (if you will) in this country. It is part of what is called the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. It is part of the trio of monuments that also include the Museum of Westward Expansion, and St. Louis' Old Courthouse. It is a grand site and has a lot of history. It is the first site designated by a president as a national historic site after having been given the powers by congress to do so.
There was a competition to create a monument for this area in St. Louis as businesses set an intention to bring the area back to life after it had fallen into disrepair when business interests shifted focus away from the port area back in the day. The architect that won, with his design of this massive 630 foot tall and 630 feet apart from base to base, stainless steel arch was Eero Saarinen who won the competition in 1948 never saw its construction even begin. The Arch was built between 1963 and 1965 and Eero died in September of 1961. What a shame that is. This arch is most beautiful and very strongly associated with St Louis.
We spent a great deal of time in the old court house and with the kids doing the junior ranger program. The had to move all about the building searching out answers to the questions found in the prepared booklet that were designated appropriate for a variety of different age groups. This was an activity that Jasper tolerates because he wants the badge but dislikes the reading and having to look to uncover and reveal the answers. However Michaela, just loved the challenge and was totally into the process and earned her first junior ranger badge in her life as a result. At one time, when we were standing in one of the court rooms answering one specific question about how do you think it would feel for you to be in this actual court room during a trial, she looked up at me and said, "Judgeful." After we had completed the booklet and were walking towards the ranger station to have it reviewed and to receive her badge, she looked at me and exclaimed, "This is the best day of the trip so far." She is a great student of learning.
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the city. Visiting Busch Stadium and eating at the Spaghetti Factory before we headed back to Dave and Sherries to collect our bikes and head out to Hannibal. Here are some of our photos of the day.
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