i've never been to missouri before. in fact, i've never been to most of middle america: missouri, kansas, oklahoma, nebraska, iowa, arkansas. so i was excited to go on this road trip; i knew that i would finally get a chance to check out some of these states. but nothing prepared me for driving from louisville, kentucky through indiana and illinois, crossing the mississippi (!) and staring up at the gateway arch.
gateway arch fun facts: it stands 630 feet tall and is 630 feet across at the base. the legs are 54 feet at the base and the top is 17 feet across. and it's taller than the washington monument in dc by 80 feet.
every time i looked up at the arch i was convinced that it was moving or swaying in the wind. it was kind of terrifying.
but according to the arch facts website, the arch doesn't sway, although it's designed to. in fact, it should be able to withstand 50 mile an hour winds before swaying.
unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of time in st. louis -- we had to drive all the way to tulsa, oklahoma that night -- so we didn't get a chance to go up the arch. we asked the people at the desk if we could go up the arch quickly and then come back down, but they said we had to go through the whole museum tour, a 45 minute affair we were not interested in. bummer city, but it gives me a reason to go back. because let's be serious, there must be more to st. louis than just the arch, right?
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