"Top of the Arch, Ma!"

For those of you who are cinematically challenged, the line James Cagney delivered just before being blown to smithereens at an oil refinery were, "Top of the world, Ma!" It was delivered a couple of other times to celebrate his rise to fame -- or infamy -- so I thought I'd be cute here and use it myself in celebration of my achievement at finally arriving at the top of the Gateway Arch in St Louis, seen here. (And, no, it didn't blow up while I was there.)


Before going in for my ride, I stopped to take a couple of shots of the arch, although the wind was fierce and cut my inclination to stay and do all the shots I'd planned (any where I wasn't actually supported by something). Still, I had to get a couple.


One last shot -- my homage to Brancusi's "Bird in Space" -- before heading inside to finally get my butt on a tram up to the top. The excitement is growing.


On the way down to the tram loading area, I stopped to take a picture of what I assumed was a miniature mock-up of one of the tram cars. Ha! Little did I know this was the actual size. Maybe they put this here to allow those who are claustrophobic to see what they're actually up against so they can back out gracefully.


And here we are at last, waiting to see what's behind Door #2. Oh, boy. I can't believe after all this time, this is really gonna happen! Woo hoo!!!


And here's our little tin of sardines now, making a hasty retreat into open air once again. Let me tell you, it's really cozy in there for the four minute ride to the top. Thank goodness my companions were all of relatively normal size.


Yep, that's exactly what it looked like back at the exhibit. Doesn't this remind you of one of the escape modules in the movie Spaceballs? Nice lighting.


A quick interior shot of the car to give you a sense of the tight conditions. I sat in the middle seat on the way up, but just a little warning: That's the pod's speaker right there behind your head. Yikes!


And up we go! This little guy was a real trouper, let me tell you. He was totally in awe the whole time and his dad was explaining everything in complete detail to him all along the way. What a cool experience for him.


Ta-daaa!!! At long last, I made it to the top of the freakin' Gateway Arch! At first, it was hard to get my head around the fact that I was actually here, 630 feet up above St Louis and the Mississippi River, but I managed it. Wow.


That said, here's a shot of beautiful downtown St Louis. For a large modern city, St Louis still maintains a certain ancient charm, mixing shiny new buildings with the older rock structures. It also helps that we're 630 feet up.


And looking out the other side of the arch, here's the Mighty Mississippi. Can you imagine all the history that transpired down there on those very riverbanks? It just boggles the mind.


So, after fighting the crowds for a peek out of the tiny windows for as long as I could stand it, here we are waiting for our cars for the trip down. If you think this is crowded, just wait till the cars get here and unload. Like I said, if you can't handle tight spaces and close faces, this is not the ride for you.


A parting shot as I'm leaving the site, as I just can't resist. The sun has now moved into a decidedly more artistic position, and it's spectral flares add a nice touch, I think. For a day with an unfortunate haze to it, I managed to pull off a few good shots, anyway. I just love this thing! Okay, that's done, so it's back on the road again and on to Kentucky. Catch ya later!