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Hey, my friends and I will be doing a road trip from Chicago to Austin at the end of March. On the way there we will be stopping for a night or two in Kansas City, and on the way back we will be stopping for a night in Memphis. Major cities we be passing through are Dallas/Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, Little Rock, and Des Moines, along with all of the small towns along the way.
Is there anything worth seeing in those cities or any small towns on either route? Any scenic areas as well that any of you would recommend stopping to see or driving through?
We have a good idea of what we'll be seeing/doing in Austin, Kansas City, and Memphis, so I'm mainly interested in finding interesting places to stop at while we're driving.
Might be worth asking this question in their respective city forums. In OKC, might be worth stopping for lunch in brick town. It is also interesting seeing the OKC bombing memorial. The cowboy and western museum is pretty interesting and awesome, totally worth a trip if you have enough time. Also right off Route 66, there's a unique gas station that sells every single pop known to man it seems, called Pops in Arcadia. It's also a restaurant and they have some pretty good food. It's like 6 miles off of 35 just north of OKC. That's kind of a cool experience. The kids will like it also.
Downtown Ft. Worth is pretty hip and happening on a weekend night. There is some good love music down there and food.
Make sure you stop at Oklahoma Joes BBQ in KC!!! Best BBQ ever, better than that Texas BBQ.
Iowa City is a fun pit stop about 4 hours outside of Chicago. College town with tons of bars and restaurants if you want to stop for lunch and wander for a bit.
If you like the outdoors, check out the state parks in Arkansas. You can stay in the cabins, hike the trails, see the waterfalls, etc. When we moved from Chicago to Austin our favorite part of the trip were the state parks we stayed in. About the same price as a hotel...and so much more fun!
I can't believe no one has mentioned St. Louis- easily the most exciting urban stop between the two cities. You must go to the City Museum, and don't get turned off by the word "museum"-- it is anything but dull. There is absolutely no place like it in the world- you will not be sorry. If you have time, get out of downtown and into the neighborhoods-- the Central West End, Soulard, Lafayette Square, the Loop, Cherokee Street, South Grand, The Hill, etc. are definitely worth exploring. Lots of good food, interesting stores and incredible architecture. In fact, here's a great 24-hour guide to St. Louis that Rust Wire published today: http://rustwire.com/2013/02/13/an-im...s-in-st-louis/
If you head through Fort Worth, check out the Stock Yards. You'll get to understand quite a bit of the Texas Culture there and it's always a good time with bars, parties and events.
Des Moines's East Village is a fun place to walk around and a good lunch stop between Chicago and KC.
Kansas City has a fantastic WWI museum, and it's a fun city to explore.
Arkansas and southern Missouri are gorgeous. Don't miss the Ozarks!
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