Day 4: Kansas City, MO to Indianapolis, IN: 525 miles

Whew! We're getting close!

We left Kansas City this morning around 7:30 am and drove straight to Saint Louis, MO. We got there at 11:30 and found a GREAT parking spot - so great that it is worth mentioning here haha We spent 2 hours in Saint Louis all at Jefferson Western Expansion Memorial National Park. The arch was pretty amazing, we spent some time in the visitor center/gift shop/museum that is located under the arch and then took the north elevator up and the south elevator down. The elevator system was installed in the 70s and consists of a string of little (literally, 4ft tall and 4ft wide) 5 person pods that are able to go up the curved sides of the arch. The view from the top was gorgeous as well. To mom's pleasure, I completed the Junior Ranger badge. I had to explain myself slightly to the rangers, as 13 is the highest listed age, but after saying that I've been doing them since I was 10, they were happy to give me a badge.




We drove from Saint Louis to Indianapolis with only a few stops. We saw a large Dinosaur that breathed fire, the world's largest cross in Effingham, IL (the crossroads of America) and a large bowling pin in Terre Haute, IL and ended our day in  Indianapolis, IN where we had the best dinner.






So, today we crossed 2 more state lines, crossed yet another (and final) time zone, crossed the Missouri River (twice) and the Mississippi (both of which have an insane amount of water in them). On to Strongsville, OH tomorrow to visit my aunt, uncle and cousin!

Also: I was driving when we came to this intersection. Can anyone tell me - I wanted to take the I-70 East. Tell me which way I should have gone! I still cannot figure this out!!

This one was just threatening

Patricia's comments:  Last night was CRAZY with lightening, thunder, rain and wind.... thought we were going to have to park ourselves in Kansas City as there was no way I was going to challenge that kind of chaos.  All Praise to the various gods who convened during the early morning hours to clear the skies so we could enjoy a beautiful day in St. Louis.  (burnt offerings to follow) Our hotel tonight is practically attached to IUPUI - love Priceline, but this location is downright odd...  We lost yet ANOTHER hour to shifting time zones and found ourselves checking in at 8:30 pm and while Sam was ok, I was in dire need of food.... NOW.  How fortunate the hotel had a little bar/grill that had killer food! Fish tacos to die for!!  AND we got to watch The Miss USA Pageant.... ("my favorite past times are manicures, space exploration, rifle shooting, shuffleboard .... and world peace...") pahahaha   Have we mentioned that we're getting 29-30 mpg!?

We did see flooding of many fields throughout IL and IN. The Mississippi was flooding near the park that the arch is on. There was quite a bit that was underwater (steps, docks etc).  More rain and thunderstorms coming this way - I just ache for the losses these folks are experiencing.  Looking forward to seeing Rob, Renee and Bailey tomorrow... I think we've got the World's Largest Mortarboard to see also!  Goodnight all and thanks for keeping us in your thoughts.