St. Louis - Gateway to the West---Starting Louis and Clark Tour

 The Gateway Arch National Park

A tribute to the Lewis & Clark Voyage in 1804 , the westward expansion and an engineering marvel.

view from the entrance to the park

The engineering marvel that would build elevators that utilize self leveling mechanism as it rises to the top.

Riding to the top in a pod that carries 5 people takes 4 minutes

and there are 16 of these narrow windows and 80 people at a time.

There were over 2 million visitors in 2023.

(Those with claustrophobia chose not to come.)

Looking to the west we were able to view the shadow of the arch.

The Mighty Mississippi to the east.

Coming out is a breathtaking view--

(literally)

that can cause you to lose your balance when you look straight up!

The ponds we viewed from the top are lovely.

The "Official" beginning  of the Lewis and Clark Trail

Camp River Debois

May 21, 1804

we started May 21, 2025

How to take 33 men, enough provisions to go up the Missouri River 1500 miles while being able to defend against attacks?

The keelboat was 55 feet long.

Lou with the 1790 Girandoni Air rifle that was used to amaze the Indians with its power. A highlight for Lou as he is into airguns.

Sometimes the men who abused the privilege were severely punished with lashing and then had to work the next day pulling the boats  up the river.

A major part of the voyage was making friends with the Indians by gifting and bartering.

Bear Grease for cooking and mosquito repellant.

Bear rugs are handy.

Three boats were used to haul the equipment up the Missouri river as far as North Dakota. 14 tons in the large keelboat and about 8 tons in each of the large row boats.

And the men had to haul these boats up river!!!

We had a great 'Live Presentation" of one of the explorers in the party explaining the hazards and affairs of the trek.

We heard stories of the rough waters and the need to rescue the important items.

Camp Dubois just north of St Louis where they organized all the supplies before they started the Journey.  

They often had to stay in a camp for months, sometimes waiting for supplies, sometimes building or rebuilding boats, or maybe the weather.

There will be many statues of Lewis and Clark until we reach Oregon!

"Oh the view" St. George Jeepers

 A new trip for the St. George Jeepers

And a beautiful day to enjoy the mesa's and head toward Zion

First time I've seen a cat join us 

(what a delight!)

Lots of dogs on this trip -

Some are paying attention to the leader!

29 vehicles today.

Time to stop for lunch- Buddy enjoys getting to explore a bit.

Look in the distance - you can camp in Zion

( or rather very near to the Park boundary)

What a gorgeous setting for lunch.

Thanks Dave!

Lime Kiln Canyon and Balanced Rock Ranch-with St George Jeepers

                    "Rockin and Rollin"

An easy trail

( mostly)

A great trip this day, lots of beautiful and varied scenery

Enjoying the scenery (and the wind) after some rock crawling.

Tis fun to see the signs of spring.

 A great spot for lunch!

12 rigs this day-a pleasant size group.

Break is over, time to leave for the next destination.

After going thru a huge Joshua Tree Forest,

This is our left turn sign.

The Johnson  (aka Balanced Rock) Ranch

in the Arizona Strip

The spring fed pond is a beautiful surprise 

and the area is a "Wildlife Study Area"

There are such interesting rocks on this property,

and we were told to watch for snakes near the rocks, since they encountered one the last time they were here.

Just weird rocks,

and lovely Joshua Tree blooms.

Heading back to the Mesquite, this is in the Whitney Pocket area.

This was a storage area for the Civilian Conservation Corp in the depression.

In the 30's the CCC built the wall and dam

to capture the rain water.  

Our fearless train guide scaled the steps to check on the water level.

( There wasn't any)

Can be kind of a scary view.

but it makes a nice place for lunch.

"bring your own water"

View from this area of the Gold Butte Monument

Time to "air up" and head out.

A great time was had by all.