Today, we spent the morning doing chores. We ate an early lunch, then headed out to explore St. Louis. We thought we'd start with the Gateway Arch and a riverboat ride on the Mississippi. It is hard to believe that the Gateway Arch is 50 years old! It opened on June 10th, 1967. There is quite a renovation going on of the grounds of the arch that won't be completed until 2018, so the Visitors Center is now in the Old Courthouse a few blocks from the arch. What a neat building! We entered on one side where the Gateway Arch National Park has their offices and Visitors Center. After purchasing tickets for both the Gateway Arch and the riverboat ride, we were able to walk through to the other side since the building was open at both sides . The dome was beautifully painted and had patriotic decorations.
 

Since the Gateway Arch tram tickets were for later in the day, we purchased tickets for the riverboat ride on the Mississippi River. The boat had a paddle wheel on the stern, but after the boat got underway, I went back to see how the boat is being propelled. The paddle wheel was a "prop" (no pun intended) and the boat was being powered by a diesel engine. Another give- away is that no smoke came out of the double smokestacks! But the skipper was a good tour guide, pointing out all the important building and bridges up and down river of the St. Louis city skyline.
 

On board the boat the skipper told us that the normal parking lot for the riverboats is 20 feet underwater right now because of all the rain that the upper mid-West has been receiving. So we took some pictures before we headed back on the overpass to the Gateway Arch. 

A quick thumbnail sketch of the history about the Gateway Arch, which is part of the larger Jefferson Expansion National Memorial:
1935 - The Jefferson Expansion National Memorial was approved and placed under the National Park Service oversight.
1947 - A national contest was held to find the best idea to commemorate the westward expansion of the United States - besides revitalizing the riverfront in St. Louis.
1948 - Eero Saarinen's idea of a stainless steel arch was chosen as the design that would best represent the JENM.
1959 - Groundbreaking for the new national monument.
1961 - Saarinen perfected his design and excavation began for the Gateway Arch.
1965 - The building of the stainless steel arch was completed.
1967 - The tram was completed inside the arch to take visitors to the observation deck at the top.
2009 - A non-profit organization (CityArchRiver2015) spearheaded a project to update the Visitors Center and build a museum to the Jefferson Expansion beneath the Arch.
2015 - Gateway Arch celebrated it's 50th anniversary.
2018 - The new pedestrian bridge over the Interstate connecting the JENM to downtown St. Louis, new entrances with more accessibility and of course the museum which highlights President Jefferson's role in the "Louisiana Purchase" which opened up the lands west of the Mississippi to settlement will be completed.

When I stood right by the Arch, I felt so small! Now I know what it feels like to stand next to me! We walked down a wide ramp into the new Visitors Center (still under construction) and looked around the place until it was time for our ascent to the observation deck. There was a "relief mural" dedicated to all the men and women who worked tirelessly to construct the Arch. In the first picture of the mural you will see how tall other monuments are in comparison to the Gateway Arch (first picture the Statue of Liberty and Natural Arch in Utah ~ in the next picture it shows how much taller it is than Mt. Rushmore, the Old Courthouse, the Washington Memorial, and a sailing frigate. By the way, the Gateway Arch was built under budget and not one person was killed during construction! Quite an amazing feat, especially if you see the film that they show on how the Arch was constructed!
 


When it was time to go up to the observation deck, they counted out forty people at a time. They don't split up couples or families unless those involved agree. There are 8 pods in the tram and 5 people per pod. It looks ominous when the doors open to show 5 seats realizing that everyone is going to be in everyone's personal space! There is a little jerking as the pods move to remain level while ascending the Arch. It takes 4 minutes to go up the Arch. The doors open just slightly shy of the top of the Arch and you walk up a flight of stairs to the observation deck, which is curved because after all it is the top of the Arch! There are small windows on each side, so you have to take turns with other people there. But what a view!


After watching the film in the Tucker Theater on how the Arch was built , we headed back to the truck to head home. When we walked by the Old Courthouse, we noticed a statue and stopped to read who the figures were in the statue. It was Dred and Harriet Scott, who filed for freedom in this Courthouse. The case ultimately went to the Supreme Court in 1857. The decision was that all African Americans are not citizens. Opposition to this ruling was one of the causes of the Civil War ~ and also a defining moment in the Civil Rights Movement. Again, we walked through the old courthouse with a greater appreciation of the history that had taken place here. One feature that we had missed earlier is that there are spiral stair cases on both sides of the dome, going up to the courtrooms and judges' chambers.

We enjoyed an impromptu dinner at a downtown Italian restaurant located in a historic building on our way back to the parking garage.

The next day, we rested most of the day, with plans for the evening. We drove to the Missouri Botanical Gardens as they were having a showing of the Garden of Glass in the the Gardens and in the Climatron (glass dome). It was a beautiful evening. The sun was setting but it doesn't get dark until about 8:30. Here are a lot of pictures that we took in the Gardens. The glass flowers and birds are the work of Craig Mitchell Smith. We tried to put descriptive titles on the pictures to assist you in the enjoyment of what we saw!
 

After the tour of the gardens, Sharon and I went on a date night to a Dairy Queen to get some ice cream! On the way back to the freeway, we noticed that diesel was a lot cheaper in Missouri than it was in Illinois!! So, I stopped and "dieseled-up" at $2.07/gallon, while across the river, they were paying $2.59/gallon. It's a wonder the border state gas stations don't go broke...I, for one, would cross the border!