After stopping in Nashville to have coffee with a friend and spending one night somewhere in Illinois, I made it to my first destination on a two month trip out West. I don’t recall what initially made me consider stopping in St. Louis. I had already taken Interstate 40 on a desert trip before and I wanted to take a different route this time. Knowing my first “real” stop was Colorado, I guess St. Louis seemed a natural stopping point…plus, I’d get to see the Arch. I didn’t know much about the Arch, but it looked like a cool bucket list thing to do. In fact, it was only days before my trip, while talking with my parents, that I learned you could actually go up the Arch. My Dad had been stationed at Fort Leonard Wood when my parents were first married and they had spent time in St. Louis.
I pried my Dad with questions about the Arch and why it wouldn’t just fall over. Only because he worked in the design/build field all his life did I give credit to his answers and finally trust that it was safe to go up. So the decision was made. Going up the Arch was to be my first adventure of the trip.
I didn’t know the Arch was a symbol for America’s expansion into the West. Turns out, this was a most fitting start to my trip. I passed through the Gateway as I embarked on a self-expanding adventure. This entry you’re reading marks the start of a most incredible trip and experience I lived last summer. It’s the real reason I started this blog. For a year now I’ve thought of sharing my hundreds of photos and now I begin.
Aspen's Adventures 