Day 4: The Gateway Arch & Meramec Caverns

Sherry and Diane in the pod, preparing to go to the top of the Gateway ArchWe started the morning with a trip to the top of the Gateway Arch.  We entered through the visitor center which is underground. A tramway takes you to the top; it’s a four-minute ride up and a three-minute ride down, although it seemed much quicker.

The “tramway” is actually a train of five-passenger pods. Each pod adjusts as you travel up the “leg” of the arch to keep you upright, much like a Ferris wheel seat rotates to keep you head up.

We left St. Louis and drove through the towns of Pacific, Gray Summit, Villa Ridge, and St. Clair on the historic route.  We stopped just outside of Stanton at the Meramec Caverns. Legend has it that Jesse James used these caverns as a hideout, using the underground river to make a hasty escape through the “back door”!

We spent the night at the RV Self Park, a first-of-its-kind fully-automated RV park. 

See the Instagram page for pics and the Google Photos album for my raw pics.