August 7th
We made it to the Gateway Arch in St.Louis but were very disappointed that the lines were very long to get into the arch to the elevator. After waiting in line for almost two and a half hours just to get inside the arch we found that we had at least another hour or so wait to go up in the elevator. Standing in line that long, our patience grew thin and we could wait no more, but not before getting several pictures of the arch from ground level. We decided to hit the road and head for Kansas City, MO. My son and his wife live there so we arranged to meet up with them for breakfast the next morning.

We had driven approximately 168 miles from Metropolis to St. Louis and were hoping to make Kansas City (another 250 miles) by dinner time, however heading west was brutal because we had the sun right in our line of vision and finally pulled into Boonville, just one hundred miles from Kansas City.

We've seen hundreds of motorcycles on the road and learned that this coming week (9th - 15th) is the big rally in Sturgis, SD. That may change our plans to see the Black Hills or for that matter, even finding accommodations. It's been very hot and humid most of the way which is sometimes very wearing on us, but the Triumph has been doing very well even in the intense heat.

People along the way continue to be very friendly, waving and cheering us on. Earlier we had a group of young studs rev up past us, holding up a sign which said "show us your ----". My thought was that as they approached us from behind, they saw Russ at the wheel and I was sporting a floppy-rimmed hat to keep the sun off my head and neck. I guess they thought I was a young lady. Boy, were they surprised when they saw it was me and how quickly that sign was withdrawn. It was pretty funny. I told Cindy about it and she said I should have lifted my shirt anyway.