seven cones
Today, I would love to show you my hotel-room view of the iconic Gateway Arch in Saint Louis.
However, I was on the other side of the hotel so here are seven iconic orange traffic cones instead.
Saint Louis, Missouri
photographed 8.30.2026
travel/day
It was really quite warm inside the airport terminal the other day – summer-in-hell heat levels, with about a million percent humidity.*
In an effort to try to stir up a bit of a breeze, I went back and forth on the moving sidewalks for a little while. It did not make things any cooler and it may actually have made me seem a little deranged. But I don’t care: I’ll never see those people again and I got a photo out of the deal.
Saint Louis Lambert International Airport
Saint Louis, Missouri
photographed 9.5.2026
*My spouse once told me, “You ALWAYS exaggerate.” He said it without realizing that his sentence was itself an exaggeration, a thing that still makes me laugh more than I should. But still: that sentence has already been spoken. No need for you to bring it up: I am aware.
awake
This parking structure takes up three-quarters of a block in downtown Saint Louis. There used to be shops and restaurants, and even a police substation, on the street level. All of it is gone now and even though there are FOR LEASE and DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY signs posted, things don’t appear to be hopeful.
There is a strong graffiti presence.
And in the quarter-block that’s not this giant ruin, there’s a surface parking lot with a security guard who will invite you move along when you step into the lot to take photos.
Saint Louis, Missouri
photographed 9.2.2026
shedding the light
Every September since 2002, the Gateway Arch goes dark every night in September. It’s a way to help keep fall-migrating birds from becoming disoriented by bright nighttime lights. The National Park Service estimates that 40% of the U.S.’s migratory waterfowl use the Mississippi River corridor for a migration route.
I was lucky enough that my visit spanned the end of August and the first of September, so I got to see the Arch both ways. Honestly, I sort of like the non-lighted September version better.
Also it was very hot while I was there (feels-like temperature one day was 109°) so it was hard to imagine that anything fall related was very close to happening. I mean, obviously it will because pumpkin spice everything is creeping onto menus which is the most certain way to tell the seasons are changing. I guess.
Gateway Arch
Saint Louis, Missouri
photographed 8.30.2026
especially if you’re looking for a truck
If you want a Chevy pickup, please note that God Answers Prayers.
Lubbock, Texas
photographed 8.28.2026
One Day | One Image 