Drive Across Kansas or Nebraska? (Topeka, Salina: college, live, military)

[2000_Watts]

Originally Posted by cattalk1

Not sure of your budget, unless you are doing a 'business meeting' or 'sightseeing' in KC near specific tourist stuff, rest of hotel offerings are seedy until you get outside of I-435. Some of the churches moved the immigrants into the other motels and can easily catch the bedbugs...VERY hard to get rid of and VERY expensive to treat. Also recommend you check on the road construction and events in KC so you can avoid sitting on highway in 'parking lot' conditions bumper to bumper for hours. Is recommended you drive through during workday or wait until 7pm. Is better to get gasoline on I-435 or on edge of town, as there are just too many drive-by shootings along I-35 and other HWY arteries through the city due to gangs. You want to choose hotel near the 'attractions' most are on edge of run-down drug-infested neighborhoods so if you want to walk the area or go driving, need to watch the area as things can get into bad neighborhood quickly and mugged or worse. This is also the tough thing about getting into hotel near 'entertainment' districts.

Dude (or lady), you seriously need help...

I-35 in Kansas side KC Suburbs is ENTIRELY suburban. No drive-bys there

None of our highways are so congested such that you will sit there for hours, even with construction

None of the hotels near attractions are in "run down drug infested neighborhoods..."

LOL @ the "gangs" comment

Quit spouting lies...

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

Go to the YouTube website, in the search box, type in "Omaha to Denver" or "Kansas City to Denver" and there are several videos taken with dashboard cameras, and you'll be able to see exactly what the country side looks like from Omaha to Denver and from Kansas City to Denver and then compare the 2 and decide which route you would like to take.

Originally Posted by DannyB07

Mid September I'll be driving from Des Moines to Denver, but I'd like to make a 1 night stop between the two Cities. My big question is, should I drive to Kansas City for the night and then drive across Kansas to Denver or drive to Omaha for a night and then drive across Nebraska to Denver?

This is all part of a multi-week cross country road trip, so I will have additional time to stop and see things along the way, not half days or anything, but stop for an hour and then move on type of deal. Stopping in Kansas City for a night versus Omaha adds 122 miles to my trip, in your opinion am I missing anything by not driving across Kansas?

Thanks!

[AnywhereElse]

Someone mentioned road construction, and I remembered this website that gives such info, it might be helpful: KanDrive Portal

[DannyB07]

Originally Posted by cattalk1

Not sure of your budget, unless you are doing a 'business meeting' or 'sightseeing' in KC near specific tourist stuff, rest of hotel offerings are seedy until you get outside of I-435. Some of the churches moved the immigrants into the other motels and can easily catch the bedbugs...VERY hard to get rid of and VERY expensive to treat. Also recommend you check on the road construction and events in KC so you can avoid sitting on highway in 'parking lot' conditions bumper to bumper for hours. Is recommended you drive through during workday or wait until 7pm. Is better to get gasoline on I-435 or on edge of town, as there are just too many drive-by shootings along I-35 and other HWY arteries through the city due to gangs. You want to choose hotel near the 'attractions' most are on edge of run-down drug-infested neighborhoods so if you want to walk the area or go driving, need to watch the area as things can get into bad neighborhood quickly and mugged or worse. This is also the tough thing about getting into hotel near 'entertainment' districts.

Thanks for the tips. I'll make sure to stay away from those areas! budget is between $200-$300/night for hotel.

[skeddy]

As mentioned earlier in the thread there are a number of interesting things to do in Kansas. With that being said, I did a road trip with my daughter from DC to Denver on Route 70 and I gotta tell you, from KC to Denver it's a long boring drive.

[Okey Dokie]

Originally Posted by skeddy

As mentioned earlier in the thread there are a number of interesting things to do in Kansas. With that being said, I did a road trip with my daughter from DC to Denver on Route 70 and I gotta tell you, from KC to Denver it's a long boring drive.

Scan the horizon for the furthest grain elevator you can see. Track on odometer to see how far away it really was. Rinse and repeat. You laugh, but it's a good way to waste 30 minutes.

[empires228]

Originally Posted by DannyB07

I had not thought of stopping in Topeka, if you were to choose, would you stop in KC or Topeka?



Thanks!

Well, honestly, I would prefer to stop in KC, but Topeka often has cheaper hotels . The Kansas State capital building is a worthy stop as a tourist. The Brown VS Board of Education Museum is in Topeka as well if you're interested in that.

Originally Posted by KSinmyrearviewmirror

The Sternberg Museum in Hays houses over 100,000 square feet (10,000 m2) of dinosaurs, fossils, prehistoric animals, giant sea-swimming lizards and fish that inhabited Kansas over 70-80 million years ago.
Would be 5 hrs short of Denver.

As the local Hays resident on this forum, I cannot recommend Sternberg. The main attraction of the museum is currently off in another state, and a lot of the other attractions, such as the florescent rock exhibit, have been broken or only half functional for several years now. The museum hasn't really changed since I visited it as a young child, and that's not a good thing in this case. I can't recommend visiting "Fort Hays" either, as it isn't as authentic as what one would find if they were to visit Fort Scott, Fort Dodge, or Fort Larned elsewhere in the state. "The majority of the fort's buildings were auctioned off or sold for scrap in 1902." while Fort Larned and Fort Dodge are almost fully intact.

Originally Posted by skeddy

As mentioned earlier in the thread there are a number of interesting things to do in Kansas. With that being said, I did a road trip with my daughter from DC to Denver on Route 70 and I gotta tell you, from KC to Denver it's a long boring drive.

That's subjective. It isn't truly flat and barren until you're past Wakeeney, and I find the worst section of the drive to be from Oakley, KS to Deer Trail, CO, which is rather tragic because some of the prettiest areas of the state aren't far south of Quinter and Oakley and north of Goodland.

Originally Posted by DannyB07

Thanks for the tips. I'll make sure to stay away from those areas! budget is between $200-$300/night for hotel.

Don't take cattalk1 seriously. Every single post they make is a conspiracy theory.

Originally Posted by 2000_Watts

Dude (or lady), you seriously need help...

I-35 in Kansas side KC Suburbs is ENTIRELY suburban. No drive-bys there

None of our highways are so congested such that you will sit there for hours, even with construction

None of the hotels near attractions are in "run down drug infested neighborhoods..."

LOL @ the "gangs" comment

Quit spouting lies...

Thank you. I'm tired of being the only one who calls them out.

[Qazulight]

Originally Posted by DannyB07

Thanks for the tips. I'll make sure to stay away from those areas! budget is between $200-$300/night for hotel.

I think Omaha has a nicer downtown. But I only stayed there a couple of nights. Personally, interstate is interstate. But after visiting the George Bush Museum in College Station, I think the Eisenhower would be a "not miss".

Also, because I am getting more and more interested in Lewis and Clark, and the steamboat era that followed on the Missiourri river, Kansas City has some interesting things.

I thought is was, and it probably is, a big tourist trap, but after I visited the steam boat museum at the downtown farmers market, I recommend it to anyone spending time in Kansas City. Allow two hours for the museum and another hour for the market.

There is another place, if you have read "Undaunted Courage" that you might like. That is the park at Kaws Point. It is across the river from Kansas City at the confluence of the Missiouri and Kaw river. To get to it you have to go through an industrial area, like over the tracks and through the big rigs. Not the best part of town. But, I found it interesting with plaques indicating the people who were there when Lewis and Clark camped there. And, there is a nice view of the sky line.

But if you are not pretty familiar with Lewis and Clark, it will be too much effort and time for the gain.

I drive through Kansas City 2 to 4 times a year. Either coming down from and returning to Des Moines from Texas, or running from Texas to Sioux Falls. I schedule my time to miss the bulk of rush hour, or on the weekends. Google maps will often re- route on the fly for traffic backups. Most of the time I lose little or no time to traffic, and I think once I lost 15 minutes.

I made a flying trip through Nebraska twice, the road is good. I didn't see much, but I heard that there is some kind of train thing that people travel from all over the world to see. The best I can say about Nebraska, "You want get your audio book disturbed much."

Cheers
Qazulight

[SunRunnerKel]

For a side trip off I-70 at Salina, consider visiting Coronado Heights, just outside of Lindsborg, KS. (Lindsborg is 23 miles south of Salina.) Coronado Heights is a small fort built by the WPA in the 1930s. It sits on a bluff and the views of the Smoky Hills are nice.

At the I-70 /I-135 interchange on the west side of Salina take I-135 South toward Wichita. Proceed on I-135 about 20 miles then exit at Hwy 4 (exit 78). Turn Right (SW)on Hwy 4, proceeding to Coronado Heights Rd (Winchester Rd). Continue west and turn Right at the stone gate. Lindsborg is a quaint little town known for its Swedish heritage.

For more info:
Coronado Heights Park - Lindsborg, Kansas

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...rg_Kansas.html

Välkommen to Lindsborg, KS - Official Website


For a side trip off I-70 at Oakley, consider a brief drive to see the Monument Rocks (also known as the Chalk Pyramids), designated a National Natural Landmark by the US Dept of the Interior.

Exit I-70 at Oakley (exit 76), then take Hwy 83 South for about 22 miles and turn east at the sign. Follow the gravel road to the chalk pyramids. It's an interesting place for photos if you enjoy that sort of thing.

For more info:
Monument Rocks, the Chalk Pyramids - Kansas

https://roadtripusa.com/the-road-to-...onument-rocks/

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...ey_Kansas.html


I hope you enjoy the Kansas portion of your road trip!

[DannyB07]

Originally Posted by Okey Dokie

Scan the horizon for the furthest grain elevator you can see. Track on odometer to see how far away it really was. Rinse and repeat. You laugh, but it's a good way to waste 30 minutes.

I see myself doing this.......

Originally Posted by Ivory Lee Spurlock

Go to the YouTube website, in the search box, type in "Omaha to Denver" or "Kansas City to Denver" and there are several videos taken with dashboard cameras, and you'll be able to see exactly what the country side looks like from Omaha to Denver and from Kansas City to Denver and then compare the 2 and decide which route you would like to take.

Never thought of this! I did just have a dash cam installed, should be fun.