Gateway Arch National Park

Noelle and I had visited "the arch" before, back when it was called the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. However, within the last few weeks this places name has been changed to Gateway Arch National Park. This time we were excited to be visiting with Sierra. We found parking in a garage downtown and made the short walk to the arch grounds,

passing the Old Courthouse.

We had some time to kill before we could use our times tickets and so we explored outside a little bit.

Sierra even hugged the arch!

It was cold outside though, and so we headed underground, through security and into the mostly empty visitor center. The visitor center is undergoing a renovation, so there isn't much inside, just a few exhibits.
Finally, it was time to get in line. We waited a bit in line, got some boarding passes,

and then it was time to board our "pod". We took the ride up to the top

and were rewarded with wonderful views of St. Louis

and the Mississippi River.

The weather was much nicer than the last time Noelle and I had visited in the rain. After about 20 minutes up top we took another pod down to the visitor center. We used the restroom, ate a snack and then headed over to a playground we noticed fro the top of the arch. Then is was lunch at Imo's Pizza before we headed to the outskirts of town and the Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site.