Dietz Summer Road Trip

St. Louis, Missouri was only about 1.5 hours from Springfield. So it was a nice mid-day stop and we ended up spending a lot more time there than we thought. We planned to see the Gateway Arch, otherwise known as the “Jefferson Expansion Memorial”. The Gateway Arch is a symbol of the expansion into the west credited to Thomas Jefferson, its situated right on the Mississippi River.

  
We started by going to the visitor center which was in the old courthouse. This courthouse was also the location were Dred Scott and his wife applied for his freedom and ultimately led to the Supreme Court decision that upheld the belief that African Americans were property.

 
Inside of the courthouse you can get tickets to inside of the arch. We bought tickets to also ride the tram car to the top of the arch. It was a 10 minute walk over to the base of the arch. You have to go through multiple layers of security until you find yourself waiting for 1 of the 8 tram cars that take you to the top. They are like a pod that fit  5 people very very snug. It is very crammed and you heear the gears clicking the whole way to the top.

 
But once you get to the top you are at the very top of the arch and can walk pretty much the length of it. The observation sights are like little slits and you have to lean over to see out of them. It was narrow and crowded, so we didn’t hang out too long. But there are some awesome views of St. Louis, the Mississippi River, and the Cardinals stadium.

 
We waited for the tram car to take us back down to firm ground. It was cool to be at the top and to say we were there, but it was a little unnerving unlike the Seattle Space Needle.

  
 Across town is a place called Pappy’s that is open only during the day for lunch. They have all of their smokers outside and have all kinds of amazing bar-b-que. They only make a certain amount of food so they are open until about 4pm or until they sell out. From start to finish we waited in line about 30 minutes. Apparently this restaurant was on Man vs. Food and as also had all kinds of famous visitors.

 
We ordered Pulled Chicken (beans and vinegar slaw) and Ribs (Sweet potato fries and fried corn on the cob). At each table they had 4 different types of bbq/ hot sauce. The food was defiantly worth the wait and there was nothing left on our plates.

   
 At this point it was getting late in the afternoon and we still had to drive to Kentucky. So we headed out, crossed the southern portion of Indiana and into Kentucky. There was more corn, that has been the scenery for the past few days. We ended up getting into our campsite at Mammoth Caves National Park around 9pm. At this point we are pros at setting up the tent and air mattress. In a matter of 15 minutes we were settled in for our last night in the tent!