St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is located near the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.

In 1803 Lewis and Clark embarked on their Journey of the Corps of Discovery from just west of St. Louis on the Missouri River. The city has many nicknames the most popular being "Gateway City" as it is seen as the Eastern/Western US dividing mark. St. Louis is also called "Gateway to the West" on behalf of the many people who migrated west through St. Louis via the Missouri River on the first leg of the Oregon Trail.

St. Louis was the fourth largest single city in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century, although the city proper has since slipped to 52nd. The 1904 World's Fair and the 1904 Olympic Games, the first ever held int eh U.S. Were both held in St. Louis.

We stopped here to revisit (we had been here in 2004) the Gateway Arch and the Museum of Westward Expansion that is underneath the Arch. We could have spent several more days in St. Louis as there is lots to do here be we wanted to get on down the road – so a 2 night stop. We did manage to camp just across the river from the Arch at the Casino Queen campground where just across the parking lot we were able to infuse the local economy with dollars left in their slot machines.