Where We Be
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| Nighttime view of the Gateway Arch and downtown St. Louis from our riverfront room at the Casino Queen looking across the Mississippi |
| Gateway Arch -- St. Louis, Missouri |
Each time we make the road trip from Colorado
to Maine, we try to take a different route and
see a few new sights along the way. This time
we mostly followed I-70.
Our first stop was in Goodland, Kansas -- home
of "The World's Largest Easel" -- to see a giant
Van Gogh replica of "Three Sunflowers in a
Vase." The 80-foot-tall easel is a tribute to Van
Gogh's famous sunflower paintings in regions
around the world that have strong ties to sun-
flower agriculture. The project was conceived
by Canadian artist Cameron Cross.
Our next stop was at the famous Gateway Arch
in St. Louis -- known as the "Gateway to the
West." If you go, we recommend you take the
claustrophobic ride to the top in one of the
cramped five-seater pods inside the Arch. It's a
strange 4-minute journey: from the pod window
all you can see are girders and tightly spiraling
interior stairs. Once you exit the pod you climb
a few extra steps to an observation platform
inside the Arch, where you can peer out from
narrow windows at the dramatic views.
Afterwards we continued east, vising several
important Civil War sites (covered separately).
to Maine, we try to take a different route and
see a few new sights along the way. This time
we mostly followed I-70.
Our first stop was in Goodland, Kansas -- home
of "The World's Largest Easel" -- to see a giant
Van Gogh replica of "Three Sunflowers in a
Vase." The 80-foot-tall easel is a tribute to Van
Gogh's famous sunflower paintings in regions
around the world that have strong ties to sun-
flower agriculture. The project was conceived
by Canadian artist Cameron Cross.
Our next stop was at the famous Gateway Arch
in St. Louis -- known as the "Gateway to the
West." If you go, we recommend you take the
claustrophobic ride to the top in one of the
cramped five-seater pods inside the Arch. It's a
strange 4-minute journey: from the pod window
all you can see are girders and tightly spiraling
interior stairs. Once you exit the pod you climb
a few extra steps to an observation platform
inside the Arch, where you can peer out from
narrow windows at the dramatic views.
Afterwards we continued east, vising several
important Civil War sites (covered separately).
| We spent a long happy hour enjoying the view from our room |
| By the time we left it was pouring rain -- so we took shelter under the Arch itself |
| The Old Courthouse makes for a pretty sight from above. The landmark Dred Scott case was tried here. |
| Looking west you can see Busch Stadium, the Old Courthouse, and downtown St. Louis |
| You clamber out of the pod and up some steps to the observation platform, which is inside the Arch at the very top. The windows are narrow but they offer good views. |
| Our first pause along our route was at "The World's Largest Easel" to see a huge Van Gogh replica of “Three Sunflowers in a Vase” in Goodland, Kansas |
| Next afternoon the skies were threatening but it wasn’t raining (yet) as we walked towards the Gateway Arch |
| Goodland, Kansas |
| Gateway Arch -- St. Louis, Missouri |
| This is one of the five-seater pods that takes you to the top in four minutes. It's a claustrophobic ride! |
| We killed some time in the museum and learned that Eero Saarinen provided the winning design for what became the Gateway Arch |
| Looking east you can see the Mississippi River and the Casino Queen where we spent the night |
| In the morning we caught this interesting two-toned effect |