St. Louis, MO

Wednesday, April 27

Today, Andi and I planned to take Tory and Aden into downtown St. Louis to visit the Gateway Arch National Park The front desk person at our campground in the nearby suburb of St. Peter recommended we not attempt to drive into the city before 9:00am, so I was able to complete my workout in the morning at the campground, then Aden and I went for a walk by the lake. It was a beautiful spring morning with temperatures already in the 50’s and the sun shining brightly.

Around 9:00am, Andi and I drove the RV to a parking area at 370 Lakeside Campground. We decided to leave the RV parked there for the day while we drove the Jeep into St. Louis. Already, we are loving the flexibility of having the Jeep as a second vehicle! We would have never attempted to drive the RV into downtown St. Louis so having a smaller car to drive into busy urban areas is awesome.

Around 9:30am, the four of us were on our way to the Gateway Arch. I read online that tram tickets to the top of the arch sell out fast, but there were lots of available options for us on a Wednesday morning. We also purchased tickets for a documentary movie about the Arch’s construction. Tory’s 4th grade “Every Kid in a Park” pass granted us reduced admission.

Showtime for the movie came first, so we made our way to the Tucker Theatre inside the Gateway Arch complex to watch it. Building the Arch was a huge construction feat! It was interesting to learn how architects and engineers overcame many challenges to make the monument a reality. Let’s just say there were a lot of complicated math formulas involved. Construction began in February 1963 and was completed two years later in October 1965.

After the 30-minute documentary, we made our way to the South Tram area to take a ride to the top of the arch. This part was a bit like herding cattle as we waited for an available tram car to ascend 630 ft. While we waited, a Gateway Arch tour guide shared information about the construction of the two trams systems - North and South - inside each of the arch’s legs. The trams were completed in 1967 and 1968, respectively.

I thought it was interesting to learn about the design of the tram cars. A simple elevator couldn’t be used to take passengers to the top because of the arch’s curves. People would topple over inside the elevator as it went up! The idea of an open-air Ferris wheel was considered, but rejected. In the end, the two ideas were combined to develop tram cars that rotate as they move along tracks inside the arch. Passengers inside the cars remain seated in a vertical position while the exterior of the tram car spins and adjusts based on its location along the curve. This is a replica of how the cars work.

The tram car was not large inside! I imagine it would be an uncomfortable ride for someone who was claustrophobic. Each car had five seats and a small window which presented a view of the arch’s interior.

Once at the top, our group was free to walk around and look outside small windows on either side. What a view! The park ranger encouraged the kids to climb onto the half-wall to get a better view which delighted Aden. “She told me it was OK to climb up here!” he exclaimed. On one side of the arch, we could see the Missouri River below and the state of Illinois in the distance. On the other side, we could see downtown St. Louis including the old courthouse building and a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game underway.

We had around 10 minutes at the top of the arch to admire the view before our group was ushered back to the tram cars. It only took four minutes for our tram car to return safely to the ground.

Afterwards, we made our way to the Gateway Arch Museum to complete the kids’ Junior Ranger packets. The museum shared information about St. Louis’ history and the purpose behind the arch as a monument to westward expansion. This Junior Ranger activity was not an easy one! It took all four of us working together to complete the booklet.

Tory and Aden returned the booklets to the park ranger front desk and collected their Gateway Arch Junior Ranger badges. This officially marks the 22nd national park our family has visited.

By now, it was close to 2:00pm and we were all hungry. I wouldn’t say we dawdled inside the Gateway Arch by any means; it took us a solid four hours to see everything. The four of us hopped into the Jeep and drove to a restaurant Andi selected called Flavor 360. He specifically chose this place to eat because they offered healthy, pre-made meals he thought would be convenient for the RV, but unfortunately they were completed out of those. Instead, we ordered a Mediterranean sandwich, a carrot salad and a spring veggie & rice bowl for he and I to share. While the food was being prepared, we picked up chicken tenders from Raising Cane’s for Tory and Aden.

Andi and I wanted to get on the road to our next campsite before St. Louis rush hour, so we bee-lined it back to St. Peters to pick up the RV, hooked the Jeep to the back of it, and then drove south toward Ellington, MO. I’m thankful for Andi’s excellent driving skills as he maneuvered the RV/Jeep combo through six lanes of interstate highway. Luckily, traffic wasn’t too terrible and we made it through the city in about an hour’s time.

Andi used an app called Hip Camp to book our campsite for the night. We arrived to Four Creeks Campground around 6:00pm and were greeted by a very nice woman and a slew of farm dogs. She invited us to park anywhere we liked on her property, so Andi pulled the RV onto the banks of a small creek running through there. What a beautiful, quiet place to spend the evening!

Right away, Aden ran outside to play with the dogs. Two of them named Remy and Buck immediately became his side-kicks. Across the creek in the distance, four horses grazed in a pasture.

We decided to take a walk by the creek, and the dogs followed along. Tory wasn’t very happy about having new four-legged companions, but she handled her fear of them pretty well.

The dogs didn’t want to leave our side, even when we tried to take a nice family picture by the small waterfall.

Back at camp, we ate leftovers for dinner and then turned in for the night. Tomorrow we’re excited to explore the area which is supposed to have some great trail riding and state parks nearby.