Week 52 - St. Louis, Iowa, Illinois - 08-12-2007

Hello from the Heartland,

We bid farewell to the beautiful Garden of Elks in Cape Girardeau, and headed along the Mississippi River to St Louis, Missouri.

In 1933 Luther Ely Smith had a vision to create the Jefferson National Memorial park as a tribute to Thomas Jefferson's 1803 vision for an America stretching from the Atlantic the Pacific. In 1947, after many setbacks a memorial design competition was held. Architect Eero Saarinen's arch was the winner. Forty blocks of rundown buildings were cleared next to the Mississippi River. It took 14 years of struggles and opposition to begin construction in 1961. The "Gateway to the West" was completed in1966.

We camped in East St. Louis, Illinois in the "pot of gold" at the bottom of the arch. In this case the pot of gold was the Casino Queen RV Park.

The Arch is 630 feet tall and 630 feet wide. At it's base, each arch leg is 54 feet thick and 17 feet at the top.

Trams on each leg carry 8 cars of 5 persons each. After a 4 minute ascension you get fabulous views of St Louis, Busch Stadium and the Mississippi.

The all stainless steel arch reflects beautifully in the daylight (and with lights at night).

We took a great tour of the Busch Brewery campus. It spans several blocks and is nearly a city unto itself. The entire complex is pristine, even where they house the Clydesdales. The building in the second photo was built in 1898. All the buildings share the beautiful brick and stone motif.

The interior of the plant feels more like a luxury hotel than a beer processing plant.

Camping along the Mississippi River in Canton, MO. This $12 camp was one of the best spots we have ever had.

On the way to Illinois we stopped by Pete's birthplace, Burlington, Iowa. Below is the house at 2600 West Ave where Pete lived until he was seven. Originally, this was a multiple-story house. Pete's dad, Walter, removed the upper story and put a flat roof on the house. At seven, the house seemed enormous. Today, it looks tiny for a family of six. And the roof is no longer flat!

We had a great week. A bit too hot, but praise God for air conditioning.

Love, Pete and Ellen

Photos from Aug 2007