Gateway Arch National Park

In a somewhat last minute decision I purchased a plane ticket to travel RT to St Louis. Decided to knock two more parks off my list while at the same time visiting my sister at Iowa! Worked out great. Now those who know me, know both parks on this trip were not high on my list of expectations. Its surprising to me that Gateway arch has national park status, as its VERY different from the others. Aside from this I still had a fun time.

I stayed right in downtown St Louis at the Hilton – chosen for being walking distance from the arch. The first thing I got to see was the Old Courthouse. This building was closed for repairs but several signs noted it as one of the sparks for the Civil Rights Movement. This was the location of the famous Dred Scott case, where he sued for his freedom, along with his wife and two daughters. A statue depicting him and his wife is in the picture below!

You’ll notice, unsurprisingly, most of the pictures in this post will be of the arch! Not much else to see but I still got a pretty great variety of angles and views.

Despite the warmer temperatures when I was here, fall foliage did seem to be in full swing here!

When I was imagining the tram ride in the arch prior to my arrival I can guarantee it was nothing like what I actually saw! If you’ve never been, here is a sneak peak. They have you line up on these stairs at the different number locations. Normally I think they would have PACKED us in these little cars – but with social distancing I got one all to myself.

The best way I can describe this was that it looked like a little alien pod ship. Those doors from above opened about 4 feet tall and you sort of climbed into this little car. Even the lighting was a little eerie

Cannot imagine squeezing 5 people in here! Below was one picture of what the tram ride to the top looked like. Mostly bars and stairs surrounding us.

Here I am still masked up and excited to reach the top!!

As someone who often struggles with a fear of heights this was not my favorite place. The shape is the same as the arch – the trapezoid – with tiny windows you can view through. Another COVID bonus was that with the social distancing rules we had this top area all to ourselves! We each got our own window on each side of the arch.

Thanks to great phone cameras I got some cool views of the city below despite the tiny windows! I LOVE how the arch shadow is visible – really helps show the size.

Here are some exhibits that show the arch with the downtown area and how the tram looked. There was a huge museum and a lot of cool information about the construction of the arch.

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If I am being honest – and I usually am – I probably won’t come back here. It was a really cool experience but I am not sure I have any need to return. Highly recommend at least one visit to this national landmark!