After our day visiting the Amish we left Springfield to drive the comparatively short 100 miles to St Louis, Missouri. On the way we intended to visit the famous Chain of Rocks Bridge which is just down the river (approx 12 miles) from St Louis and was part of the original Route 66.
The Chain of Rocks Bridge is no longer open to traffic but is a cycling and walking route across the Mississippi river. The state border between Illinois and Missouri runs down the centre of the river so the bridge spans both states. We set the SatNav as best we could as the bridge did not come up as a point of interest but when we arrived we crossed the river on the new bridge and could see the old bridge but could not find how to access it at either end. After driving up and down the riverside road a couple of times on the Missouri side we pulled into a gas station (as they call it in America) and asked some locals how we could access the bridge. Although helpful they seemed to have no idea, even though they worked in sight of the bridge, but one customer thought you could access it just before you crossed the new bridge. We drove off back towards the new bridge and found no such access so ended up again on the Illinois side of the bridge where we took a chance on taking the first right turn and again, by chance, found the way to Chouteau Island where the eastern end of the old bridge is. After all that effort it was disappointing to find that the bridge was closed (notwithstanding the sign below) which also seemed to surpise the local people who turned up to take a walk.
We drove the remaining 12 miles to our hotel in St Louis and thought we would check out the downtown area so went for a short walk to the Gateway Arch National Park (the smallest National Park in the USA and the only one in a city). This was a good move as we were able to book for the next day our tickets at the Arch visitor centre for a boat ride down the Mississippi river and a timed ticket to go up to the top of the Arch on what they call the “Tram”.
The next day dawned and we boarded the boat, the Tom Sawyer, for our 1 hour trip on the Mississippi river. The running commentary told us about the industrial history of the city and its waterside and how that had evolved over the years particularly since the railways came to St Louis in the mid 19th century due to the construction of the Eads Bridge which carries cars and trains, although now only local metro trains. The river is still heavily used to transport fuel, soya and corn in barges down to the Gulf of Mexico where it is transferred to bigger ships for export.
We then went up to the top of the Arch on the Tram. The Tram comprises 8 small pods that hold 4/5 people each and are specially designed to climb the Arch like a lift but have to deal with the curved shape of the Arch. It takes 4 minutes to get to the top and 3 minutes to get back down. The views from the top on a good day, that we were lucky enought to have, are worth the trip and it is estimated you can see for 30 miles.
After the top of the Arch we saw the 45 minute film put together by the National Park Services, which manages the Gateway Arch National Park, about the building of the Arch in the 1960s, which was designed by architect, Eero Saarinen. The film is worth seeing as it gives a concise view of the challenges of building a structure of its shape.
Next we leave for Springfield, Missouri and the next leg of Route 66.
Copyright: Words and pictures John Cruse 2022
Really enjoying your posts and good to see Ted with you, Sue!
Hi Liz, great to hear from you. Hope the weather is better where you are. It’s torrential here when driving =:( Sue