Crossing Missouri in 2023 Trip Report

[TRex2]

Since the summer is almost upon us, I thought I would post a trip report I wrote last August.

My trip across Missouri was in Late Sept 2023.

Entering MO near Norfork Lake, and traveling to Hannibal.

We chose the route, partly, to avoid going anywhere near St Louis.

I waited a while so the thread wouldn't get buried in the months in between.
(Plus, I procrastinate a lot.)

My wife and I tend to travel as cheap, slow and as uneventful as possible.
We don't cover a lot of ground, compared to most Americans, about 300 miles per day.

The first day, we drove to West Plains. The West Plains Motel, in previous years, was a "cheap but good" place to stay the night. It appears to have gone down hill, and I no longer recommend it.

As a side note, on the way back, we stopped at the Country Inn along US-63, on the north side of Licking, Missouri, and it was much better, and may be a more accurate "halfway" point for the trip.

Across the highway, and almost one block to the East, the "Feedlot" (Formerly PJ's, it is almost invisible, between Dollar Tree and Sonic) is a good breakfast place.

Travelier Motel at 509 US-54 BUS in Fulton, Missouri, is my backup plan.

More in next post.

[TRex2]

As we continued North, the next morning, we traveled up US 63 to Willow Springs.
(Recall that we spent the night in West Plains, something I don't plan to do, again.)

The Loves Truck Stop is a nice place, with a conveniance store and dog park. They had some
sort of breakfast wraps and good coffee, and those are the kind of things we eat, on road trips.

We stopped going to McDonalds, when they installed those kiosks to place your order.

Traveling North, from there, US 60 and 63 run together for a few miles, then 60 turns west.
The highway is in good condition and we passed through Rolla.

I had checked the MoDot website and Google Maps before we left, and they showed
no construction, along the route. The only slowdowns we encountered at the beginning
of the trip were mowing machines along the road. There were a couple minor repair crews
working as we returned.

US 50 runs along with 63, South of Jefferson City and US 54 runs along with it across the
river. Traffic was lighter than we expected, the lanes and signs are clear and straightforward.

I took US 54 North.



Terrain trasitions from tiny "mountains" (bedrock shows at surface)
to plains (good farming ground), around Kingdom City.

While we were East of the Severe Drought area, this area has been in moderate drought
for a long time, and the corn in the fields shows a lot of damage.

In Jefferson City, and later, along US 54, we encountered traffic circles. As long as everyone slows
down and watches what they are doing, these are useful intersection control structures, but I fear
in the future, people will be careless and in a hurry and they may become dangerous.

Terrain, North of New London, returns to showing bedrock at surface level.

Motel 6, Hannibal

We stayed the night in Hannibal, at the Motel 6. The accomadations were reasonable,
following the national trend of queen and king sized beds. (Also, despite being "Motel"
in name, the building is in a "Hotel" configuration.) Coffee bar in the lobby is just
coffee, but on the other side of the parking lot is a nice breakfast restarant.

A note about Motels vs Hotels. For those who don't know the difference, Motels have the
doors facing the parking lot, and Hotels have the doors opening into a hallway. Usually,
the higher priced ones are Hotels, and they have things like breakfast bar, indoor pool,
gym, and a public washer and dryer.

Recovering from the Pandemic. The pool is still closed, and there is still a sign about
social distancing in the lobby. I consider this to be a sad note.

This was last September. Hopefully things are better, this Summer.

The national trend of having a shower over the tub creates some hazards, and the bathtub here
is not designed right, for that. The bottom of the tub slopes to the drain and become slick.
Too much slope.
I cracked some ribs across the side of the tub.

I don't consider this a serious injury, so I didn't report it, and won't take legal action.
But people should be aware. After a week, they were still just a little tender.

The next post will mostly be general observations:
the signs of our times.

[TRex2]

A bit of a correction on my original post.

I said "Since the summer is almost upon us, I thought I would post a trip report I wrote last August.

My trip across Missouri was in Late Sept 2023."

Obviously, I wrote it in October, upon my return.

It is a trip I usually make in July, so August would have been my normal time to write a trip report.

Last year, my trip was delayed, and so was the report.

[SunGrins]

Nice trip. I always thought the Ralls County Courthouse in New London was perhaps the state's prettiest -- built in 1858.




The Old Courthouse in St. Louis is equally pretty but no longer serves as a courthouse.

[TRex2]

Third part of my trip report.

Keep in mind, these are my opinions and observations.


Here are more general notes about Hotels and Motels that I stay at.
(Those that are within my meager budget.)

Public Wi-Fi at Hotels and Motels has gone downhill. The peak was about 10 years ago but, between people abusing it (meaning they had to defend against their own customers) and everybody carrying "smart" phones, things have gotten steadily worse.

So called "Smart" Phones provide two factors working against the local wifi.

First is that, with everyone being able to connect to the 4G network, most people don't need local wifi, and are unaware of any connection or disconnection to local wifi.

Second, many so called smart phones are set up to attempt connection to any local wifi within range, so instead of a half dozen computers attempting connection, now there are more than two dozen cell phones attempting connection (even if they don't need one).

Television provided in the rooms is provided by the "lowest bidder." Plenty of channels, but none of the niceties like pause and rewind you are probably used to. And most places don't have any sort of menu of channels, so finding something good is chancy.

Still, quite a few channels: better than 50 years ago.

Printing. There were several things I wanted to print from my laptop (notebook computer). Many years ago, there was a printer the size of a Pringles Potato Chip can. Seems to be another convenient, but low tech, item we have lost in the past two dozen years.

Motels tend to be short on electrical outlets and the ones they have tend to be worn out.
Might be a good idea to bring your own multi-plug.

There is a washer and dryer available at most Hotels, and a few Motels. The price is often higher than it would be at a typical laundromat (between $5 and $10 for one load). Most of them still take quarters, but I hear rumors that many are going to take only credit or debit cards in the future. (Don't forget to bring your own detergent and dryer sheet, else that is another $1.25 each.)


Other general notes:

Typically, Alarm Clock Radio in a motel room is a thing of the past, but one Hotel I stayed in has a really good one, just made for a Hotels.

Hotelo 3940032 had a Full 2" display, battery backup, and two outlets.

https://www.menards.com/main/electri...clocks-radios/
westclox-1-4-led-clock-radio-with-2-usb-charging-ports/80227wm/p-10338754666838353-c-12559.htm

https://cellularnews.com/mobile-acce...ckup-for-2023/

(I get nothing for these links, except the satisfaction that someone may find something they need.)

Packing: as you get older, this gets harder. Eventually, you have to remember to bring extra shoes, and almost everyone over 60 is on some sort of medication, and we need a particular soap or shampoo.

My wife and I are considering a tackle box to carry medications and soaps. Something I learned from a young woman (Janet, in case she is reading this) in the Air Force, in the early 90's.

Convenience stores and vending machines are quite high priced (always have been), but Dollar General is your friend.

Motels have black out curtains, and lamps. I have decided I want to carry a night light, and it needs to run on batteries, in case of power outage.

Cash: carry a lot of $20's and $5's. The $5's are for tips. If you are not putting at least part of your tip in cash, you are helping to feed "the beast." (Hat Tip: Dale Dribble ) If you can't afford more than $5 for the tip, you can't afford to eat at a restaurant.

[Floorist]

Try a southern route. You might like it.

[TRex2]

Originally Posted by Floorist

Try a southern route. You might like it.

My objective was to drive from (somewhere near) North Central Arkansas to (somewhere near) Springfield IL.

It is a trip I have made every few years.

Many years ago, I used to cross at St Louis, but that route is too dangerous now.

These days, I drive up to Hannibal and cross there.

[SunGrins]

Originally Posted by TRex2

Many years ago, I used to cross at St Louis, but that route is too dangerous now.

You might be surprised but thousands of people do this every day.

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by TRex2

My objective was to drive from (somewhere near) North Central Arkansas to (somewhere near) Springfield IL.

It is a trip I have made every few years.

Many years ago, I used to cross at St Louis, but that route is too dangerous now.

These days, I drive up to Hannibal and cross there.

You know you get through downtown STL and East STL pretty damn fast on the highway but if you like your new route stick with it.

[TRex2]

Originally Posted by SunGrins

You might be surprised but thousands of people do this every day.

Yep. And thousands drive without seat belts, too.

The point of this thread, BTW, is to introduce people to the social and geographical landscape of SE Missouri, not to see who is daring enough to take risks.

Originally Posted by MUTGR

You know you get through downtown STL and East STL pretty damn fast on the highway but if you like your new route stick with it.

In the 70's I would go straight through.
In the 80's I would take 270 around to the North.
In the 90's and early 2000's I would take 255 around to the South.

I started taking this route a few years ago.
I like my new route.