Day 22: Monday, September 25, 2006

We left Columbia, MO this morning and headed towards St. Louis, MO. As we were passing through Kingdom City, MO we saw signs for the Missouri Firefighter’s Memorial/Museum. We decided to stop. The Memorial was recently built and they plan to break ground on the Museum next spring. There is a statue of a praying firefighter that is a replica of the statue they sent to FDNY after September 11. I would like to stop back some time when the museum has been finished.

(Click here for photos from the Missouri Firefighter’s Memorial.)

We then continued our trek towards St. Louis. Arriving at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (aka the Gateway Arch), we were able to see 2 videos, one describing how the arch was built and one about Lewis & Clark’s expedition to explore the west. Additionally we were able to take the tram all the way to the top (630 feet, for those of you interested in that fact.) It is an impressive view from the top, made more impressive after having seen how the memorial was built.

(Click here for photos from the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.)

We then headed south through Illinois (via Illinois Hwy 15 &13) and are now taking a break for the night.

-Lana