A bit of Kansas

Kansas was miles and miles of open highway surrounded by miles and miles of rolling prairie. It was raining off and on and the hidden sun was making an eye aching glare. To break the monotony of the road, I found myself watching for the old homesteads and farms bordering the roadways.

Our journey wasn't all travel or photos....we stopped at antique stores, junk stores, yard sales. We wedged more of our collected loot into the van and had a great time just looking.

Then, on one of the back roads that we favored, poking above the countryside was this odd looking structure. Seeing workmen outside of it we stopped and asked questions. I was told that it is used to store the salt needed to clear the snow from the winter highways. Being a resident of the far west, I had never seen such a building before.

The dome shape keeps it from having to have interior posts and supports so the trucks and salt loaders can drive inside.

Age isn't a matter of calendar months. It is an Attitude. So do not let anyone tell you that you are too old to do anything that you want to do.

St. Louis, Missouri

Ahhh, St. Louis...the gateway to the west. There's a lot of history to uncover in this city, but we were focused on the archway. As you approach the Mississippi River from the Illinois side the first thing you see even before the river is that shining silver arch soaring into the sky. My reaction was simply WOW! It was early morning and the commuter traffic hadn't started yet so I pulled off the road on to a wide shoulder posted with no parking signs. At first I thought I might have broken something when I hit one of the deep pot-holes there, but luckily both the van and ourselves were fine. Hmmm....maybe that is why the signs were posted? Anyway...I was determined....so I hopped out of the van and started taking photos.....no prize winners but reminders of my day. All of a sudden the roadway was packed with vehicles heading into St. Louis. I jumped back in the van and waited nervously for a break in the flow and took it.....scaring myself in the process. Need I mention that I am not a brave driver?

The Arch is very impressive from a distance but is overpowering when you are standing under it. This is at the base....I hadn't dreamed it would be so huge!

The Arch is situated along the Mississippi river in a park setting. As I was standing there several heavily loaded barges came by me.

You enter the exhibit underground. There are beautiful 3-D displays on Louis and Clark, the construction of the Arch and other related things. Located here also are the tram entrances, the gift shops and the video theaters.

Yes, I said trams. There are two, one in each side of the Arch.

You ride them up the inside of the actual arch until you are standing inside the top of the arch at 630 feet. The observation area at the top of the Arch allows you a birds-eye view of the surrounding city.

This was a fun day and another "Must see" attraction crossed off my list of things to do.

The road that is built in hope is more pleasant to the traveler than the road built in despair, even though they both lead to the same destination. ....Marion Zimmer Bradley

Confederate Memorial

Over the years I have heard much about the beauty and artistry of the memorial carved on the side of Stone Mountain near Atlanta, Georgia. It really is an amazing sight and worth a visit. But sadly it is combined with a hillbilly style amusement park. It is just my opinion, but having this impressive memorial to the Confederate heroes stuck next to hee-haw silliness makes as much sense as a merry-go-round in a cemetery.

The day we were there the park was packed and the roads were filled bumper-to-bumper with people coming and going. There is a cartoon laser light show focused against the mountain every evening that tends to attract hundreds, possibly thousands, of viewers a night. So bring the kids, cousins, aunts and grannys. Have fun, eat some barbecue, but take time to remember why that sculpture is there.

This is the largest high-relief sculpture in the world. The carved surface covers more area than a football field. The sculpture depicts three heroes of the War Between the States; Confederate President Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee and General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson.

The monument was began in 1924 by Gutzon Borglum who later was responsible for Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. Borglum worked with pneumatic drills and dynamite as did the second sculptor, Augustus Lukeman, who took over from Borglum in 1925. The monument was finally finished in 1970 by Walter Hancock who used thermo-jet torches which allowed the removal of tons of stone a day. That is amazing progress, in less than 50 years, both in machinery and technique.

The monument is much larger than it appears from viewing it from the park. Workers could stand inside the horse's mouth. The deepest point of the carving is Lee's elbow which is cut 12 foot back into the mountain surface.

If you want full details, facts, figures, history etc. check;

http://stonemountainpark.com/outdoors-recreation/outdoor-detail.aspx?AttractionID=486