The Arch
Part 4 (and final!) of our 3-Day Weekend in St. Louis

Our last stop on our way out of St. Louis was at the Arch, a.k.a. Gateway to the West. After having attended a graduation, then a wedding, then visited with new friends, we were more than ready to come home, relax and get our life back in track, but the family decided at the last minute that they wanted to go up the arch... so up we went.

It was a lot more fun that I anticipated. The kids had a blast and it afforded me some awesome photo ops... (click any of these pics to super-size them)


I am a sucker for modern architecture and this is the epitome of modern architecture... a sleek, shiny, steel structure that towers up above the city of St. Louis. The Arch is the tallest national monument in the United States at 630 feet!


And the best part is.... you can ride it!


Up at the top I couldn't resist taking some pics of the city. I love this one (east side) because it shows the shadow of the arch over the river...


This one (west side, showing the Cardinals baseball stadium) is cool too because it actually shows the curvature of the horizon...


I got vertigo while shooting this one... eeek!


After the arch, we goofed around for a bit...


What a fantastic way to end this fun-filled weekend!