MO
TS8 Hop 7: St Louis MO to Tupelo MS
376 miles via I-55, TN 175, US 78, I-22, Natchez Trace Parkway and MS 178, with lunch and refueling stops. Cumulative TS8 route miles: 1997. Cumulative car miles: 2316. Miles since the end of Hop 6: 418. Most of the 52 extra car miles were due to the trip to the St Louis Zoo. This … Continue reading
The St Louis Zoo
A few of you may be old enough to remember Marlin Perkins, host of the Wild Kingdom TV show that ran from 1963 to 1988. He was director of the St Louis Zoo, one of the preeminent zoos in the US. I like a good zoo and have always wanted to visit it. I got … Continue reading
TS8 Hop 6: Lombard IL to St Louis MO
308 miles via IL 64, IL 83 and I-55. Cumulative TS8 route miles: 1621. Cumulative TS8 car miles: 1899. Miles since the end of Hop 5: 383. The extra 75 miles were mostly due to my trip to the Art Institute of Chicago. This was pretty much a direct shot down I-55, with only 15 … Continue reading
TS7 Hop 14 – Lee’s Summit MO to Omaha AR
Yes, there is an Omaha in Arkansas. I was surprised, too. 224 miles via I-470 (south of Kansas City), I-49, MO-7, MO-13, I-44 and US 65. Cumulative tow miles: 2833. Truck miles: 308. Cumulative truck miles: 4158. The extra truck miles were primarily due to a not-very-interesting auto tour of the KC area. You probably … Continue reading
TS7 Hop 13 – Oxford IA to Lee’s Summit MO
310 miles via I-80, I-35, I-470 (east of Kansas City), a short stretch of I-49 and some final miles on I-470 to Lee’s Summit. Cumulative tow miles: 2609. Truck miles: 375. Cumulative truck miles: 3850. I refueled in Lamoni IA, just north of the Missouri border. This was a pretty easy hop, in good weather, … Continue reading
GTE Hop 4: Branson, MO, to Georgetown, KY
2 days, 633 miles, mostly via I-44. I-64. I-57 and I-75 Day 1: Branson, MO, to Benton, IL This was the longest day of the GTE – 359 miles, almost 6 hours of driving. With a refueling stop lunch break and a nasty construction delay in Illinois, we were on the road for over 7.5 … Continue reading
Branson, MO
How to describe Branson? Las Vegas for the geriatric? Times Square on downers? A town whose existence can’t be explained? It is a small town far removed from any major metropolis (Springfield, not exactly a metropolis, is an hour away), with no major roads and no major scenic attractions which nevertheless has attracted a very … Continue reading
QTE Hop 3: Oklahoma City, OK, to Branson, MO
1 day, 300 miles via I-44, US 412 and US 65. This was a 1-day hop that compensated for the previous 3-day hop. Both I-44 from Oklahoma City to Tulsa and US 412 from Tulsa into Arkansas were very hilly – lots of up-and-downs, the result being very poor mileage. Most of the route was … Continue reading