Images from a 70 day, post-retirement journey in our RV with two Airedales from Washington DC to the redwoods of northern California, returning across the northern plains. We started almost on time on 2 May.

After a long day of rain, innumerable construction delays, and lots of West Virginia hills, our first stop was Milton WV--the only RV camp anywhere close to the highway and about half-way to St Louis. Milton is the home of Blenko Glass and 5 miles from the largest mall in WVA. Nice overnight, then off to Scott Air Force Base (AFB), Illinois, just outside of St Louis.

Scott AFB is the home of a very large airlift wing of C-17's--all deployed, not one on the ramp> We stayed in the RV Park in the on-base family camp near Scott Lake about a 1/4 mile off the runway. Spent two nights, I road my Elliptigo all over the base, we went to the commisary and stocked up on fresh veggies. It felt good to be on a real operational Air Force Base again among these outstanding young men and women.

We spent the afternoon in St Louis at the Gateway Arch. The Gateway Arch, or Gateway to the West, is an arch that is the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, Missouri. It was built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States. At 630 feet (192 m), it is the tallest man-made monument in the United States, Missouri's tallest accessible building, and the largest architectural structure designed as a weighted or flattened catenary arch. Located on the west bank of the Mississippi River where the city of St. Louis was founded, the arch was designed by Finnish American architect Eero Saarinen and structural engineer Hannskarl Bandel in 1947. Construction began on February 12, 1963, and ended on October 28, 1965, costing US$13 million at the time ($90 milion plus today) today. The monument opened to the public on June 10, 1967.

Located in a beautiful riverfront park, we had a gorgeous day and took a ride to the top. Take a look at the trip to date and this magnificent arch.