I took a lot of photos today and I’m just not going to be able to share everything. We had a full day of American history and ended it with some fun time with friends.
We started off at Fort Dubois, the winter campground for the Corps of Discovery before Lewis and Clark began their journey. While we have seen many forts, sites, and boats related to their travels, I think they were spaced out enough and had sufficient variety that no one grew bored with them.
Katie with Lewis and Clark
The camp of Lewis and Clark, along with the city of St. Louis, sits near the junction of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. A viewing tower was recently constructed so visitors could see where the two famous rivers meet.
Overlooking the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers
Not too far from here are the Cahokia Mounds, the largest Native American settlement north of Mexico prior to the arrival of Columbus. We visited the museum which told the story of the Mississippian culture in the prehistoric years.
Cahokia Mounds Museum
Then we climbed the largest of the 80 preserved mounds, “Monks Mound.” A temple once was located on the summit.
Mark gives Jonathan a ride to the top
Finally we headed to downtown St. Louis. I’ve seen the Gateway Arch many times over the years, but always from a window driving by on the Interstate. The structure is much more impressive in person. Below the arch, the Museum of Westward Expansion tells more of the story of Lewis and Clark. They also somehow manage to get trams to the top of the arch, and Kelli took the older boys on that ride.
The family with Gateway Arch
Across the street from the arch is the St. Louis Historical Old State Courthouse where the famous Dred Scott case was heard. This visit provided us with the opportunity to review one of the most infamous decisions in U.S. history. I might just add here that American history is more glorious and noble the further you are away from it. Our preparation for the trip revealed some pretty ugly people and events.
Courtroom where the Dred Scott case was heard
Then we met up with Geoff and Elizabeth Kirkland, now planting a church in St. Louis. Geoff is a New Testament scholar, but he is still willing to associate with me. If my memory is correct, Geoff is the only student I ever had in three different semesters. (One of the disadvantages of teaching at IBEX is that you usually don’t get repeat students in your classes.)
Enjoying dinner at Imo’s Pizza
In all, we had a great day!
“…museum which told the story of the Mississippian culture in the prehistoric years.” Do evolutionists really believe NA natives predated ANE cultures? My brain has been so thoroughly washed from this nonsense that it sounds so utterly bizarre to hear about people who believe people predated history.
Definition #1 in my dictionary: Of, relating to, or belonging to the era before recorded history.
It’s prehistorical if it predates written records. If we don’t find written records, we assume they didn’t have any.
An important point to make, however, is that the prehistoric age did not end at the same time everywhere around the world. Some people were still living in the “Stone Age” in the 20th century.
Another stop in St. Louis that can easily take up an entire day is the City Museum. No photo or verbal description can quite do justice. It is all about exploring–you can crawl in, around, through just about anything in the building. It is really amazing. It is a work of art in one sense, and in another sense, a giant playground with tunnels, slides, ladders, etc. that gives everyone a good workout. Even an adult with my girth can wiggle through just about any space. We took our 3 and 5 year old boys, and both kept busy for about 6 or 7 hours straight. There were some places where I was a little terrified of the 3 year old because his foot size is smaller than the spaces between the rungs he was climbing.
The general admission price was totally worth it. Next time, I might pay the extra for the roof rather than the aquarium. With general admission alone, though, there is a good day’s worth of things to do. There is a room with all kinds of art supplies where kids can make things (staff are on hand to help you make whatever they are making), a small circus amphitheater with a show or two throughout the day, but what will keep people busy most of the time are the playground-sculptures that you climb and crawl through.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Museum
http://theexhibitionlist.wordpress.com/2012/08/16/city-museum-st-louis-missouri-usa/