America's tallest monument is the Gateway Arch in Saint Louis. It is a metaphorical monument to the westwards expansion. I have to be honest, espeially compared to some of the other monuments we've seen on this trip, that's a pretty lame monument. Physically it looks really cool. We strolled up to the Arch expecting to stand under it and galk but to our surprise we found that there is an underground museum beneath it. We walked through it but again, the westward movement doesn't really excite me.
So the arch is also apparently a ride. It's hollow and there are little elevator cars inside that take you to the top. I was worried it would be cheezy but for $10 you can't really og wrong. Now this mechanism was built in the fifties or something so I was a little worried about its structural integrity. We entered into these little pods and began our ascent. At the top is a very small area that looks like the inside of an airplane. There are tiny windows that you have to lean out to look through.
Staring out the windows was very surreal. We were looking down 600 plus feet at the ground below us. My stomach churned but eventually adjusted. There was a great view of Saint Louis and the surrounding aread from up there.
Back on the ground we walked through another museum which was very unimpressive. Overall, Saint Louis is rather drab. The Arch was cool though.
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