Gateway Arch in St Louis, made of metal, I thought it was concrete! - Nikon D90 with Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 1/250th ISO 200
Kiki and I suddenly left Florida one Saturday night in early November. I had long been wanting to do it, but with such things sometimes they just happen all of a sudden due to the sudden rising of circumstances. We did have a destination though when setting out -- Iowa. To get there it brought us through a few U.S. landmarks that I had never been to before. One of them was Gateway Arch in St. Louis. This will be the first post in a series called Westward Bound.
There was still some foliage in the St Louis area though it was a very warm day over 70F! - Nikon D90 with Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 1/250th ISO 200
To my pleasant surprise there was still foliage in St. Louis. It was a long time since I saw any colored leaves. However, it was a really warm day, almost felt like Florida with temps about 70F and the sun out strong.
Trying to get dizzy looking up at the Gateway Arch - Nikon D90 with Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 1/320th ISO 200
I imagined the arch was made of concrete. I guess that would not make sense though to use such a rigid, easy to crack material to construct an arch shaped object of that enormous size!
Walking toward the Gateway Arch you pass this church - Nikon D90 with Tamron 17-50mm at f/11 1/200th ISO 200
The path to Gateway Arch is marked on the sidewalks of downtown St. Louis. I parked for free on a side street!
I could not walk under the Gateway Arch as I had hoped due to all the renovations to the grounds surrounding it - Nikon D90 with Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 1/250th ISO 200
Unfortunately I could not walk under the arch like I really wanted to in order to symbolically enter the West. The entire arch was fenced off with some huge renovations going on for a new amphitheater and landscaping. Apparently, it had been going on for a long time or is often being renovated according to one person there.
Gateway Arch could stand to be power washed! - Nikon D90 with Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 1/160th ISO 200
Even with not being able to walk under Gateway Arch it was great to finally see it in person. I could not decide if I thought it was not as big as I expected or as big, its size is funny that way.