We spent most of the day in St. Louis, Missouri – the “Gateway to the West.” We snapped a few shots of the ginormous arch (yeah, I know it’s not a word, but I think it describes it well) located on the river. We went to the Museum of Westward Expansion which is located underneath the arch. It was fascinating and FREE. Here we learned more about Native Americans, Lewis and Clark, and the land out west.
D&K at the St. Louis Arch. This picture required some creative balancing of our tripod!
Would ya look at the size of that thing!
At the Museum of Westward Expansion — under the St. Louis Arch
Our next stop in St. Louis was the Anheuser Busch Brewery which oddly enough was also FREE (Dan and I let out a big woo-hoo to 2 free attractions today!). We took an educational tour through the brewery. We learned about the process of brewing beer and the unbelievable quantity of beer that Anheuser Busch produces. Here’s a fun factoid: instead of closing during Prohibition, Anheuser Busch branched out and produced baker’s yeast, soft drinks, ice cream, and truck bodies (that converted into a camper!).
Another free tour in St. Louis — this time at Anheuser Busch
D&K in front of the Anheuser Busch visitor center
Giant pipes carry the brew from building to building.
Two of the trademark Budweiser Clydesdale horses
D&K in front of a restored Budweiser wagon once used to deliver beer.
An amazing production line.
On our way out of St. Louis we hopped on and off Route 66 where we found fun finds such as a Route 66 museum with Route 66 memorabilia. The museum was located on Times Beach (fascinating true story about a resort gone awry – google it to learn more). We also came across some teepees owned by a Native American couple.
At the small Route 66 Museum near Times Beach in Missouri
A newspaper ad from 1925 advertising lots for sale at Times Beach. The beach was later evacuated because of contamination.
At a very interesting Native American sales outpost near Rt. 66. We bought a pound of Buffalo Sausage and talked to the owners for quite a while.