The iconic site (and sight) in St. Louis is the Gateway Arch. We saw it about ten miles away, but it didn’t show up in my photo. I’ll substitute a picture taken in 2012 when grandsons David and Nathaniel were with us. John and I went up in it when our daughters were young.

We left St. Louis through a sad part of the city, a wasteland of burned out buildings. That gave way to a halfway area where several houses in a block would be in shambles. Finally there was the outer suburb with lovely homes set in manicured lawns. Wouldn’t it be great if the bad parts were razed and a new city raised up from the ashes? Guess they’d have to rename it Phoenix.

As we crossed the Missouri River, John spotted a flood wall holding back the river. It’s left of center in the photograph, if you can see it through the bridge.

We ate lunch in a former KATY train station in Columbia, Missouri. John liked the sign on the fence of the outdoor eating area. It said, “Please, NO EXCESSIVE NOISE.” I’m laughing as I write this, because all caps denotes screaming.

In Kansas City we drove by Union Station, so named because several rail lines converged on it. Most of the building is used for educational purposes now, although the train station is still in use.

John had fun driving the route of the trolley line in Kansas City. The city center seemed to be a thriving place with very few empty storefronts.