Gateway Arch is NOT my idea of a national park, more of a monument. An impressive structure, but I suspect the 2019 designation as a national park was to secure federal funding to clean up the downtown St. Louis area. It worked, everything was clean and antiseptic, with no crowds or traffic on this Tuesday afternoon.

If I come across as a national parks snob, it’s because I grew up with western national parks like Yosemite, Sequoia, Yellowstone and Grand Canyon. They are big, with natural beauty and grandeur. The arch may be amazing architecture, but there is no natural beauty to be seen.

This was my least favorite ‘Park’ of this trip, but it got better from here out.