Gateway Arch National Park / Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
This is the Gateway Arch in St. Louis that rises 630 feet into the sky. Its stainless-steel curve is striking as it frames the city behind it and reflects the light that changes with the time of day.
This monument is a symbol. It represents the westward expansion of the United States, marking St. Louis as the historic “Gateway to the West”. From here, explorers, settlers and expeditions moved outward, into territory that would shape the country’s future.
Completed in 1965, the Arch was designed by architect Eero Saarinen, who envisioned something modern, bold and lasting. Its clean sweeping form stands in contrast to the more traditional monuments, yet it carries the same purpose: to remember and to define.
The site became part of the National Park System in 1935, when it was established as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This preserves the historic significance of this location along the Mississippi River. In 2018, it was redesignated as Gateway Arch National Park, giving it full national park status.
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Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
The rolling grasses and soft morning mist of Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, one of the rarest landscapes remaining in North America. The preserve protects a small surviving piece of the vast tallgrass prairie that once stretched across millions of acres from Texas north into Canada. Today, less than four percent of that original prairie ecosystem still exists. The Flint Hills became one […]
Mississippi National River and Recreation Area Minneapolis
While we were in Minneapolis teaching, we took some time to explore the Mississippi River. I had always associated the Mississippi with places much farther south, so it was particularly interesting to see the river here in Minnesota, relatively near the beginning of its long journey across the country. The Mississippi begins at Lake Itasca […]
Voyageurs National Park
I have explored many National Parks on solo driving tours. There is something about the quiet rhythm of the road with long stretches of highway and time to think. Driving to Voyageurs in northern Minnesota was one of those journeys. I followed the North Shore of Lake Superior for part of the trip, marveling at its vastness. […]
