TRJF's 4,000-Mile Road Trip!!!

[TheRealJoeFish]

Day 8: St. Louis, Missouri

On day 8 (today), I drove down to St. Louis, Missouri. Although it was technically just another 100-some mile drive, this was a very symbolically meaningful trip for me - it was my very first sojourn across the Mississippi River, the dividing line between the east and the west of the U.S. (Although more than 2/3 of the country geographically is west of the Mississippi if you count Alaska, 58% of the US's population lives east of the Mississippi.)

The fourth-largest city in the country as recently as 1910, St. Louis is now only the 60th-largest city, it's dwindling population prompting a sort of exodus of businesses (and, famously, the NFL's Rams, who returned to Los Angeles after 24 years in STL). Still, though, St. Louis remains extremely historically important, its cultural resources far exceeding its remaining industrial ones. Walking its streets, I was very much reminded of Boston, and I think the comparison is valid - as Boston was the first real city in the U.S., the entryway to a new land, so too was St. Louis the entry point to the west, the first real city on the far side of the Mississippi.

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The first order of business in St. Louis: gettin' me some BBQ. St. Louis is more famous than any city in the country - save the king of barbecue, Memphis, Tennessee - for its ribs, pork and other delicious sweet spicy meats. It was raining heavily, so I was lucky enough to make it into Bogart's, one of the most well-known rib joints in the city, without waiting in line. The ribs were incredible.

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The Gateway Arch, as seen from downtown. One of the most iconic monuments in the world, the 630-foot (192 meter) tall Gateway Arch was finished in 1965 and commemorates the westward expansion of the United States. The middle portion of the country was purchased from France in 1803 (the Louisiana Purchase), and explored by Lewis and Clark the next year, starting in Missouri and ending in what is now Washington.

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Outside of the old St. Louis Courthouse, which can be seen under the Arch in the previous picture, a monument to Dred and Harriet Scott. Scott and his wife were born into slavery, and in 1847 they sued for their freedom, having been located in Missouri - a free state - when their owner died. In the St. Louis Courthouse, a jury found in favor of the Scotts. The case, however, was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and, in a ruling that will forever soil this country's history, the court ruled that no person with African ancestry could be considered a U.S. Citizen under the Constitution in 1857. This ruling rapidly accelerated the percolating tensions in the country, and was a large factor in the beginning of the U.S. Civil War in 1865. The decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford was overturned by the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1866.

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Underneath the Gateway Arch, a monument to its builders.

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From the bottom of the arch to the top!!! To reach the top, you need to get into a small pod (about 6'x6'x6') and ride the 650 feet up over about 3 minutes. Each leg of the Arch is 54'x54' at the base but shrinks to under a third of that at the top. This is the city from above!

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A shot of how extreme the curvature (and small the interior) is at the top of the Arch. People are leaning out into the slightly extended windows to get a good view.

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Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals, from above. The Cardinals are one of the MLB's most storied franchises, and have more World Series Championships (11) than any team other than the Yankees (27).

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The Arch from underneath.

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A few blocks from the Arch, there was a park with a dozen or so large sculptures. This was certainly the most... distinctive.

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For the next 8 days, I'll be with my brother in northern Mississippi, about 30 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. I plan on spending some time in that city, in rural MS, in the national forest nearby, and even across the mighty Mississippi in Arkansas. I'll duly document all with picture evidence!