St. Louis, MO

Well here we are in St. Louis where we met Judy’s brother and his wife from Chicago. We spent several enjoyable days together visiting, sightseeing, and dining. St. Louis is a big city with many sites to see. Lucky for us there is a campground (really a blacktop parking lot) conveniently located near downtown.

Some of the sites we saw were:



Lewis & Clark Boat House and Nature Center





What an amazing journey they took from St. Charles, to the Pacific and back again. They traveled 8,000 miles and took 28 months to explore the land the U.S. acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. This was where they spent 5 months preparing for their journey into the unknown.









St. Louis Arch




The St. Louis Arch which commemorates the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 is more than twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty. It is 630 feet high and covered in stainless steel. We took “The Journey to the Top”! Five people get in a VERY little barrel-shaped capsule that is joined together with seven other capsules to form a train-like vehicle that runs on tracks inside the hollow legs of the arch. It is a four minute ride to the top. There is an area where you can look at the city from this height through very small windows. Then you get back in a little tram and take the three minute ride down. There is a “train” of capsules going up/down each side of the arch. It’s quite a view!

This is inside the cramped capsule going to the top. There are two other people inside here with us.



Here is a view from the top. You can see the new Cardinal ballpark.





Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House

The heart of the Butterfly House is the Tropical Conservatory, and tropical it is! It is a carefully controlled environment glass structure that houses 2,000 tropical butterflies in free flight. There are as many as 80 butterfly species and 150 tropical plant species.

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard is a part of St. Louis history since 1929. They are known for their concrete shakes, so thick you can turn them upside down and they'll stay in the cup. We enjoyed them so much we went back for a second history lesson.

Forest Park




Forest Park is 1,300 acres of lush greenery. It is home to many cultural attractions such as the Zoo, History Museum, Art Museum, and Science Center.

We also visited Laclede’s Landing and Union Station. These areas are loaded with restaurants and shops.