6.16.2024
Day 3 of the drive home, day 20 of the trip.
Behold the round breakfast!
After that well rounded meal (haha, couldn’t resist), I left Effingham at 8:30.
This day became a day of driving past things, not stopping, and regretting it.
Regret #1:
Seeing and not capturing the Giant Cross.
(Maybe I shot it on a previous road trip from I-70, which has a far superior view to the one from US40. Too lazy to look right now. Using the internet for an image).
DID capture a hay rake!
I had a brief encounter with the fabled Rout 66 in Edwardsville, IL.
Regret #2:
The Filipino bakery in Saint Louis
There were So. Many. Things. I could have eaten. If Severo had been with me, we would have made a U-turn.
Twenty miles later, getting more and more hungry, I spied a Trader Joe’s as I was sitting at a light. Yes! Time to replenish my food stash! I bought a selection of delicious items including Lemon Scones. I picniced in the parking lot, immediately scarfing down two.
About two hours later, I came upon the green rolling hills of the Ozarks.
Regret #3:
The Giant Cowbell in Belle, MO.
Through the Ozarks, I was routed onto a lot of empty county roads. I felt “in the back of the beyond” and had the eerie feeling of entering the land of the Ozarks TV series.
And no phone reception.
I crossed over Lake of the Ozarks to a slightly horrifying view of a maybe 5-story wall of lakeside condos. (Did not look as scary on Google Street View. Was it my imagination? Maybe I was in a trance).
The land flattened out again as I approached the Kansas state line.
I reached my destination, Fort Scott, KS, at around 5:30
My lodging was the charming, historic Courtland Hotel, built in 1906 for the burgeoning railroad trade. I relished staying in the old fashioned atmosphere, complete with old fashioned hospitality.
Dinner was a combination of Trader Joe’s food.
Day 20 complete, 406 miles, 9 hours.
Love that you show all the fotos, makes it so fun to read and scroll through. also I'm amused by the Springfields being so close next to each other. how many Springfields are there in the US?
I think I've seen that cross or another just like it. I love hayrakes! There is something about them that really appeals to the artistic (miniscule as it is) side of me. I know some may think they look like instruments of torture, but I just think they're beautiful.
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