Monument Rocks Kansas to Springfield, IL

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Monument Rocks Chalk Pyramids

May 5

From our motel in Garden City we went to Monument Rocks Chalk Pyramids in Oakley, Kansas, about 1 1/2 hours away. These are one of the 8 natural wonders of Kansas.  These marvelous chalk formations are hard to fathom unless you actually see them.  In the middle of dry nothingness and the occasional ranch there rises, like the Emerald City, Stonehenge-like towers of chalk.  From the route we took from the south, we drove a gravel road for over 20 miles before finding them.

No question they are worth the detour off the main roads if in the area. Interestingly, they’re actually on private property, but all are welcome on a goodwill basis. There was one other couple there, so we swapped taking pics of each other.

Kansas City, Missouri

Our next stop was Jack Stacks BBQ restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri.  The best coleslaw in the world comes from Jack Stacks, which we discovered on our 2017 road trip.  I secured reservations for 6:30 pm dinner. We were about 5 hours from the restaurant.  I also secured a room at the Courtyard by Marriot in Kansas City.

It was a long drive for coleslaw, but oh so worth it! Of course the bbq is pretty damn good, too!  After dinner we walked around the area, which is the Country Club Plaza section of Kansas City.  There was a very nice park and fountain across the street from the hotel.

 

Then, we continued walking around the campus of the nearby Kansas Art Institute. Being an art school, there were some very cool sculptures throughout the campus. Not a good place to go to school, however, if one has arachnophobia.

We ended the night at the hotel bar with drinks.

Off to bed.

Jefferson City, Missouri

May 6

We got breakfast at coffee place in Country Club Plaza near the hotel, and we walked around Country Club Plaza a little more.

Then we headed to Jefferson City to visit the State Capitol building. The Capitol was typically ostentatiously beautiful.  But the Capitol grounds were equally impressive.  The Governor’s mansion and gardens, cool statues, and a waterfall fountain surrounding the Capitol building were worth the trip to Jefferson City even without the Capitol building. The whole area is Jefferson City’s main tourist attraction, and it’s obvious why.

While in Jefferson City there was a Ford/Shelby car show along the downtown strip adjacent to the Capitol Grounds.  We walked up and down the street admiring the cool cars, and then got some hot dogs from a street vendor for lunch.

Then we headed off toward our final stop on our road trip, Springfield, Illinois, about 200 miles away.

Along the way, we just had to stop at Ozarkland general store in Kingdom City, Missouri. According to a sign on the building it’s a “road trip tradition”, so of course we needed to stop in. It did not disappoint.  I think they carried just about everything that nobody needs, but everybody wants…gifts, candy, souvenirs!  I got candy and cherry soda pop.

About two hours from Jefferson City we drove through Louisiana, MO.  Our Roadside America app noted a few things about this town.  Per the app we looked at several of the dozens of historic scene murals in town from the car, and then we drove to high-ground Riverview Cemetery for a fantastic overlook view of the Mississippi River.  Finding the cemetery proved daunting.  We first went down a wrong, one-lane road on the banks of the river, and realized we might be going down a road with no way of returning without backing up.  Fortunately, we noticed this in time and found a tight place for a 3-point turnaround. We eventually found it off of the maze of tiny, hilly, poorly paved residential streets. We got the view, eventually!

Crossing the bridge into Illinois we ended up at the Drury Inn and Suites in Springfield, IL. for the night.

Springfield, Illinois

May 7

We spent our final day of the road trip tooling around the capitol of Illinois, which is dominated by its Abraham Lincoln history. Our first stop was the Lincoln Home National Historic Site.  This is where Lincoln lived as an adult and congressman, and the last place he lived before becoming President.  The neighborhood is preserved, and so you are immersed in the streets and homes as they were in the 1800’s.  We took a ranger-led tour of his house, which was excellent.

From here we drove about a mile to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.  This was both hokey and informative at the same time.  We attended a living history one-man performance in the theater, toured a replica of his boyhood Kentucky log cabin, took a picture with family….such nice people they were, and I even joined in on the Lincoln-Douglas debate!

We had fun here, and we learned a thing or two.

From here we went to the Illinois State Capitol building.  We thought this Capitol was one of the most beautiful we had seen.  That turned out to make a lot of sense since we learned that this Capitol building shared the same architect (John Cochrane) as the Iowa State Capitol Building, which we still agree is the most beautiful of all.  Our timing was excellent as we were able to join a guided tour in about 10 minutes.  It’s always great to get a guided tour of a Capitol building.  There is just so much history, and so many little known, interesting facts about them that the guides bring out.

Finally, our last stop in Springfield, and our final stop on our month-long road trip was Lincoln Tomb. There is a full-time state park ranger stationed here who was helpful and informative.  He was also confident that we were in the safest place in Springfield at that time because the tornado warning siren was now blaring.  During the siren, even he was now inside the tomb…most likely really would be the last thing standing.  Good timing to be inside Lincoln Tomb.

We hung out in the tomb for about 15 minutes longer than we normally would have because we were waiting for the tornado warning to cease.  Once the danger passed, we got in the car and made our way home to South Haven, Michigan about 4 hours away.

The end of our 2023 road trip!