Thursday Arch Series

            

The park extension at the north end of the Arch grounds offers some new views and combinations. It's about time.            

Other Arches

As you can see in recent pictures, the land-side ends of Eads Bridge are made of double-deck arches. They reminded our architect colleague S.C. of Roman designs. Many of those on the lower level are open, providing an interesting view of the new park extension and the Gateway Arch itself.

And there will be a Thursday Arch photo tomorrow. Something a little different.              

Burlington Northern & Sante Fe

I'm sure I've mentioned it here before. There is a railroad tunnel that runs below the Arch, coming out at the north end of its surrounding park. The track runs through a passage in Eads Bridge and then north to wherever. This exposed part runs over what used to be the foot of Washington Avenue before all the renovations. You can just see this trestle in the second picture of the last two days' posts.            

Bridges

I never get tired of making pictures of Eads Bridge.  The angle of view is a little different, a little lower from the new Arch park extension. Now there is this new sweeping ramp to add another curve to the diagram. Better brush up my calculus.            

Something New

There is a view of the northern end of the Arch grounds from my office window. It seems like a couple of years since the garage there was demolished and a very different type of park constructed. It's full of swirls and curves, multiple layers leading to uncertain destinations. A swooping walkway leads down from the main park grounds, beside Eads Bridge and into the sunken terraces.

It just opened to the public so I went for some shots notwithstanding the gray day. Good first impression but I'm waiting for spring and summer when the foliage starts to grow in. 

               

It's Okay, He's Supposed To Know This

Guns are as much a part of the culture of rural Kansas as lenses are of mine. I'm not going to editorialize about it. Some people hunt. Some just shoot targets, which is what is going on here. Above is my nephew Josh with (I think) an AK 15. He is a third year cadet at West Point, the United States Military Academy, so he is required to know this stuff. Below, D.J, my niece's husband, gives a lesson to Brody, my - I'm not sure - grand nephew? I get confused about the terms for more distant relations.

I've never owned a gun and never will. I've fired one just a few times, probably all in Kansas. The great emphasis on safety these people have is impressive. Where I grew up, the only people who had guns were the police and a limited number of bad guys. Different worlds.

      

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Transitions

I don't have any new local material so I had to dig into the archives for this one. Not at all local, in one sense. It's the first billboard we saw outside of the Lhasa, Tibet, airport. We have an American icon, written first in English, then Tibetan, then Chinese. That's a transition.

And there is a link to the home town of this blog. Look closely at the can, where it says Anheuser Busch, Inc., St. Louis, MO, USA. The world keeps shrinking.