Gateway Arch National Park

We visited Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis, Missouri.

The NPS map:

An interactive map:

Map sign:

Map sign

Old Courthouse, currently being renovated:

Old Courthouse

Gateway Arch:

Gateway Arch

Inside the visitor center, a model tram; eight of these go up and down each leg of the arch:

Model tram

Exhibits:

Exhibits

A model of the observation area at the top of the arch:

Exhibits

Line to the top:

Line to the top

Boarding pass:

Boarding pass

Waiting for the tram:

Waiting for tram

Our tram:

Tram

Looking through the windows in the tram doors to the inside of the arch:

Inside the arch

Trams at top:

Trams at top

Top of the arch:

Top of arch

630 feet high:

630 feet high

Jenn taking a photo out an observation window:

Jenn

Views from top:

View from top

Shadow of the arch:

View from top

Waiting for the tram for the journey down:

Waiting for tram

Selfie in the tram:

Selfie in tram

Inside the arch:

Inside the arch

Out of the tram:

Out of the tram

Tram waiting area:

Tram waiting area

Arch store:

Store

Arch cafe for a snack:

Cafe

Snack

Under the arch:

Under the arch

Arch selfie

A rather unique national park.

Meramec State Park

We stayed at Meramec State Park in Sullivan, Missouri. (Campground Reviews listing.)

An hour out of St. Louis, with a very long road to the campground, and bad cell reception.

Dates:

Check in: 2024-07-13
Check out: 2024-07-16
3 nights
We were originally going to stay 4 nights, but left a day early as the cell coverage was very bad

Weather:

Partly cloudy, some overnight rain
High temps 90-96°F, lows 71-76°F
Some wind, gusts to 24 MPH

Noise:

No road noise
No train horn noise
Lots of neighbor noise on weekend, fairly quiet during the week

Site:

#2, back-in, asphalt
Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
Unlevel site, high on passenger side and front; used hydraulic leveling
Asphalt driveway about 70 feet long by 12 feet wide
40 feet to neighbors on both sides
Picnic table
Fire pit
Tall trees
Somewhat clean site; some small trash

Utilities:

50 amp power, conveniently located
60 PSI water, inconveniently located
Loose sewer connection, inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

Verizon: 18 Mbps down, 0.5 Mbps up, 60 ms ping (okay the first couple of days, then got unreliable)
T-Mobile: 4-13 Mbps down, 0.01-0.3 Mbps up, 60-700 ms ping (unreliable)
AT&T: negligible service
Starlink: not used, too many trees to see the sky
Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Beautiful state park, busy on weekends

This is a beautiful park with lots of trees and green spaces. The two major downsides for us were 1) the access road inside the park was long and twisty and uncomfortable for a big rig to navigate, and 2) the cell coverage was spotty at best, and we work remotely. None of the 3 major carriers got decent speeds, and all the trees made Starlink impossible. Our site was flat, and the hookups were decent, so that was fine. Be prepared for the campground to be party central on the weekend. We camped at Meramec State Park in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Entrance:

Entrance

Deer:

Deer

Other sites:

Other sites

We wouldn’t mind staying here again, but the lack of decent cell reception is problematic for us.

Video

Video: Elberfeld, Indiana to Sullivan, Missouri motorhome travel timelapse

A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 255 miles from Elberfeld, Indiana to Sullivan, Missouri.

Travel from Elberfeld, Indiana to Sullivan, Missouri

We drove our coach 255 miles, about five hours of driving, from Elberfeld, Indiana to Sullivan, Missouri.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading west:

Map

An interactive map:

Water lilies:

Water lilies

Heading on to I-69 North:

Heading on to I-69 North

Pulling up a yellow stripe:

Pulling up a yellow stripe

Love’s fuel stop:

Fuel stop

87.122 gallons of diesel for $367.57; we saved $58.42 off that pump price via our fuel discount card:

87.122 gallons for $367.57

Bridge roadworks:

Roadworks

Wabash River:

Wabash River

“Welcome to Illinois”:

Welcome to Illinois

We haven’t seen a pump jack for a while:

Pump jack

More bridge roadworks:

Roadworks

Rest area:

Rest area

Crossover roadworks:

Crossover roadworks

An interestingly shaped trailer (a mobile stage):

An interestingly shaped trailer (a mobile stage)

Another rest area:

Another rest area

A sign that says “After 11 hours driving, you need 10 hours rest”; we prefer to drive only two hours, but will go up to six on interstates, and stay at least one night when “sprinting”, preferably one to two weeks:

After 11 hours driving you need 10 hours rest

Our first glimpse of the Gateway Arch:

Our first glimpse of the Gateway Arch

Gateway Arch

“Missouri Welcomes You”:

Missouri Welcomes You

Gateway Arch

Six Flags theme park, yep, with six flags out front:

Six Flags

Approaching our destination, Meramec State Park:

Meramec State Park

Our site:

Our site

Miles Landing Campground

We stayed at Miles Landing Campground in Elberfeld, Indiana. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A one night stop on our journey home, but we would have been happy to stay here longer.

Dates:

Check in: 2024-07-12
Check out: 2024-07-13
1 night

Weather:

Cloudy, light rain
High temp 89°F, low 70°F
Negligible wind, gusts to 11 MPH

Noise:

No road noise
No train horn noise
No neighbor noise

Site:

#4, pull-through, gravel
Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t
Mostly level site, a little high in the front; used air leveling, since only one night
Gravel driveway about 70 feet long by 15 feet wide
20 feet to neighbor on passenger side; about 50 to neighbor on driver side
Picnic table
Fire pit
Some small trees
Clean site

Utilities:

50 amp power, conveniently located
60 PSI water, conveniently located
Didn’t use sewer connection, but conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe would be needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

T-Mobile: 60 Mbps down, 50 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
AT&T: 160 Mbps down, 60 Mbps up, 90 ms ping
Verizon: 11-70 Mbps down, 2-25 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
Starlink: not used
Campground Wi-Fi: none?

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Lovely spot for a quick stop

This is a nice campground not far from the interstate but far enough away that you don’t hear it. Our pull-through site was long enough that we didn’t need to disconnect our tow vehicle, which was very convenient for a short stay. We also enjoyed the nice view of the pond and wetlands below the campground. We camped at Miles Landing Campground in a Motorhome.

Tip for Other Campers: Your GPS will lie to you about the road leading to the campground and where to turn….

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Other sites:

Other sites

Pond view:

Pond

A nice campground; we would be happy to stay again, and for longer.

Video

Video: Park City, Kentucky to Elberfeld, Indiana motorhome travel timelapse

A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 165 miles from Park City, Kentucky to Elberfeld, Indiana.

Travel from Park City, Kentucky to Elberfeld, Indiana

We drove our coach 165 miles, about three hours of driving, from Park City, Kentucky to Elberfeld, Indiana.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading northwest:

Route map

An interactive map:

Toading up:

Toading up

I-65 South:

I-65 South

Bridge:

Bridge

Fun with zoom:

Fun with zoom

Exit to a service area:

Exit to service area

Huck’s service plaza:

Huck's service plaza

Lunch:

Lunch

“The Journey is My Home”; that could be our motto:

The Journey is My Home

Back to our coach:

Back to our coach

I-165 North:

I-165 North

We had a fun new issue: we turned on our generator while driving, so we could run our air conditioners, it being rather hot. But when we tried to turn it off via the switch on the dash, it didn’t turn off. I also tried using the Coach Proxy web app, which also failed, and reported an error:

Coach Proxy screenshot

This has been a problem since; we’ll probably get it looked at when we go back to Red Bay in December. In the meantime, I have to open the generator compartment (once we stop, of course) and turn it off via the switch on the generator itself. A bit of a pain.

Owensboro water tower:

Owensboro water tower

Rusty twin bridges over the Ohio River:

Rusty twin bridges over Ohio River

Ohio River:

Ohio River

“More to Discover in Indiana”:

More to Discover in Indiana

I-69 North:

I-69 North

Road to the campground:

Road to campground

The GPS alleged that the road had a 10 ton weight limit, but it didn’t (I knew about that ahead of time from reviews of the campground):

GPS

Pond with water lilies:

Pond with water lilies

Entering the campground; no human interaction required:

Entering the campground

We just headed to our site:

Approaching our site

2024 travel map

Back in January I published a map of our planned travels for 2024. We’ve mostly stuck to that plan, though have changed a few stops. Here’s an updated map of our motorhome travel route this year; click or tap for a higher-resolution image:

I thought it’d be fun to share a Google Maps edition too; an interactive map with markers for our stops. Click or tap this link to view the map.

Without the above image to guide you, the east coast part of the Google map would look like a random distribution of markers!

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park

We visited the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park in Kentucky, a small park with the country’s first monument to Lincoln, enclosing the Symbolic Cabin, a reconstruction of the tiny cabin where Lincoln was born. The memorial was built between 1909 and 1911.

Entrance sign

56 steps up to the memorial, one for each year of Lincoln’s life:

Memorial

Info

The symbolic cabin inside the memorial:

The symbolic cabin inside the memorial

Peeking inside:

Peeking inside

Model of the cabin:

Model of the cabin

Info outside:

Info

Boardwalk to the visitor center:

Boardwalk to visitor center

Visitor center:

Visitor center

Parents and kids:

Parents and kids

Visitor center

Passport stamp:

Passport stamp

Gift shop:

Gift shop

Family Bible:

Family Bible

More exhibits:

Exhibits

Table made by Lincoln’s father:

Table made by Lincoln's father

Boundary oak tree:

Boundary oak tree

Exhibits

Model of the memorial:

Model of the memorial

Our first Buc-ee’s

Buc-ee’s is a popular gas station and convenience store chain, based in Texas, with some in nearby states. It is known for a large number of pumps and large stores, serving brisket, beef jerky, etc, and a beaver mascot. Their branch in Sevierville, Tennessee is the world’s largest convenience store.

We’ve driven past Buc-ee’s gas stations several times, but hadn’t stopped in one until this occasion in Smiths Grove, Kentucky. It isn’t one of the largest ones, but still an interesting experience.

We can’t stop at Buc-ee’s when driving our motorhome, as they are actively hostile to larger vehicles, not allowing 18-wheelers, and not accommodating large RVs like ours. But we visited this one in our pickup truck.

Buc-ee's