West, part one

The great adventure began in Starkville, MS. I drove to Memphis on February 12, 1998, and stayed overnight. The next morning I drove north to St. Louis to see the Arch. No trip to the West would be complete without starting off at the Arch -- the gateway to the West!

You know the routine -- click on the image to get an even bigger image.

The Arch, as seen from a distant parking lot.

A "McDonalds" steamboat, among all the casino steamboats. All I can figure is that Missouri considers it a gamble to eat a Big Mac, so McDonalds has to set up shop on a steamboat on the Mississippi River.

The base of the Arch.

The top of the Arch.

This, and the following pictures, are view from the inside of the top of the Arch.

Kansas.

While driving along I-70 in Kansas, a tumbleweed flew across the highway in front of my car. Since I had never seen a tumbleweed before, I pulled over onto the sholder, fetched the tumbleweed, and photographed it.

A nondescript segment of highway in either Kansas or Colorado.

After visiting Denver, I proceeded to head west into the Rocky Mountains. I stopped at a small mountain town for some coffee, and took this wonderful picture.

I stayed over in Grand Junction, CO, that night. Here's a photo I took near the hotel the next morning.

Downtown Grand Junction has some very interesting artwork. Here's a metal thing of a dinosaur riding a bicycle.

More of downtown Grand Junction

Colorado highway with mountains in the background.

"Welcome to Utah!" ("hope you have plenty of gas!")

This and the following pictures are scenic Utah.