Trip West 2003 - The Midwest

DAY 1 - September 27, 2003

Here's a little self portrait. Timber and Sugar are in the "extra" cab behind me. I take out the seat and put in a foam covered board that I made so that they can have all the space back there.

He usually doesn't let me take pictures of him, but I managed to be quick and get this snapshot of Kenny. We are good friends (you'd better be on a trip like this!) and have a good time on these trips. It takes a day or two to get used to each other, but by then we are a couple of goofy nut cases hurtling down the highway.

This awesome thunderstorms looms ahead of us in Midwestern Illinois. I start to get that little uneasy feeling that you get when you are heading into something that looks really bad. The sun get's covered up and the dark wraps around you...

... We're getting closer to the Missouri border and St. Louis. The storm was putting down the wind and lighting! I could never get a shot of the lighting though.. and drive too.

Once we get through the storm I looked back in my mirror and saw an incredibly bright double rainbow.

I took this shot from a rest area off of I-64...

The turbulent clouds paused for a moment and kind of looked like an Angel, at least to me. She was looking over the rainbow.

Just after leaving one rainbow behind we find another. Here we're crossing the Mississippi looking over at St. Louis and the Gateway Arch.

I have stopped at the Arch many times. Its a nice park and a good place to get out and stretch. The exit for the riverfront is right in downtown St. Louis and at the intersection of I-64 and I-70. Luckily after doing it a few times, it's getting easier to be in the right lane at the right time to make our way down to the riverfront...

St. Louis has really made this a nice place to come to...

... This big boy was all dressed up and waiting for someone to take a carriage ride along the riverfront.

Timber, Sugar and I are on the steps leading from the riverfront up to the Gateway Arch. I remember when I first came here a few weeks after the Great Flood of 1993, you could see where the river had gotten almost three-quarters the way up to the top of the these steps. Considering how high these steps are and the breath of the Mississippi here, the amount of water it took to do that is incredible.

Here Kenny holds Timber and Sugar directly under the Arch and in front of the Old Court House. The Arch is in the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial National Historic Site. How's that for the name of a beautiful park.

The Arch is a fantastic piece of architecture...

... Here I'm standing almost directly underneath the center of the arch looking up. The stainless steel appears to change color to match the sky as it approaches the top of the arch. You can barely make out the viewing windows. I do want to go up to the top someday, but I usually have the dogs to take care of and they are not allowed on the elevator!

You can read more about the Gateway Arch here

I hated to see that the McDonald's that was in this river boat had been replaced by a restaurant. It was pretty cool to just run in and get a Big Mac, then sit out on the boat deck with the dogs and watch the river traffic go by.

Here we are at the end of the day. Looking south down the Mississippi river, the setting sun is still shining on the high thunderheads. You can hear thunder rolling in the distance to the East.

Back to Trip West 2003 or on to Day 2