View Full Version : I70 Road Trip
My wife and I are taking a road trip along I70 to Columbus, Ohio in early November (my wife's birthday and she wants to spend time with her sister there).
Any suggestions on stops to make or things to see to break up the trip?
We really aren't interested is seeing museums or some famous person's old house.
You might be able to catch a couple football or hockey games on the way. Haha.
Not sure, Last time I was that far east on 70 it was the middle of the night.. I was moving pretty fast also..[Peep]
I'll watch this thread as we have friends that are moving to Ohio (don't ask why) in November. Eventually we're supposed to drive out there to see them.
Any suggestions on stops to make or things to see to break up the trip?
Fly
funkfool
10-05-2010, 16:18
There are some interesting rock formations that can be found near and north of Salina called Mushroom Rock State Park...
Interstate Guide (http://www.interstate-guide.com/i-070.html)
That drive is boring, I do it alot. Take a few more days and drive the gulf coast then head north. It's flat unfilled the end of Missouri
Yeah, head east on 80, at least there are a couple of Cabellas along that one...[ROFL1]
Fly
LOL +1, hate to say it 10x but...while I truly love that "mindless driving" time an I70 cruise is just about as boring as an I80 cruise. Fly ;)
If you dig deep there's always something to "see" and great food abounds if you get off the beaten path but...if/when I make that ride it's "pound the miles to Columbus and just get it done."
The Arch maybe? :confused:
gnihcraes
10-05-2010, 20:13
Made this trip several times a year for 30 years.
Not much between Denver and Kansas City.
Gateway Arch in St. Louis
Missouri Botanical Gardens (http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/missouri/missouri-botanical-garden)
Anheuser Busch Brewery (http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/missouri/budweiser-brewery)
grantsfarm.com (zoo) south of St. Louis - out of the way though.
Lots of places with "Caves", so stop if you see a sign for tours.
Cabelas outside Kansas City.
Indy Speedway is an ok stop. Take the tour bus around the track.
See if you can get a tour of the Lake City ammunition plant in Lake City, MO (Near Columbia, MO)
I can think of a lot of things more south along Interstate 64 from St. Louis, but you're not heading that way.
Driven a lot to/from Kansas over the years, here are my ideas.
Salina KS has a couple good burger joints
http://www.cozyburger.com/index.shtml
the other is Bogey's
1417 S 9th St, Salina, KS 67401-5502
Both are great little joints. Bogey's has a huge milkshake menu.
Junction City KS, has a true army surplus store (Ft. Riley next door)
and a Snow Cone place that is awesome called Pelican Pete's
Kansas City has several "world" famous BBQ places, I still need to try more of them.
theGinsue
10-05-2010, 20:56
It looks like gnihcraes covered everything I was going to tell you about except that he missed Midway USA, but I'll rehash some of the points and add a few others.
Kansas sucks, but many of their rest areas have free wi-fi. You've already been told about the Surplus place in Junction City.
There is an awesome burger place in Topeka off of Wanamaker Road (South of I-70, about 4 blocks down - it'll be on your left) called Freddy's. Best burger you'll ever eat.
As I said before, Kansas sucks and you'll run into a few zones of road construction - especially on the Kansas Turnpike (which will cost you about $2.50) - as of this past Sunday, the East bound lanes were totally closed and traffic was down to one each way lane sharing the West-bound lanes (my wife was stuck in a major traffic jam there. You'll hit the turnpike on the East side of Topeka.
It's about 9 - 10 hours drive from Colo Spr or Denver to the Kansas City area. Cabelas-Kansas City (http://maps.google.com/maps/place?hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=cabela's+kansas+city&fb=1&gl=us&hq=cabela's&hnear=Kansas+City,+MO&cid=7951112651006048864)is officially in Kansas City, KS and by the time you get there you'll probably be ready to stretch your legs. You'll need to get onto North-bound I-435 and then take the West-bound (second) State Ave exit (almost right away after getting onto I-435).
Once you're in Kansas City, MO you'll drive right by the Truman Sports Complex where the Royals Stadium and KC Chiefs (Arrowhead Stadium) are located.
My folks live 7 miles South of I-70 outside of a town called Bates City. Don't blink, you'll miss it (they have a very good BBQ place (http://www.bcbarbque.com/) there).
The next town is Odessa, MO (not TX). Take a gander of the po-dunk town as you go by, that's where I went to High School!
Kansas City has several "world" famous BBQ places, I still need to try more of them.
Gates & Sons (http://www.gatesbbq.com/)has lots of locations in/around KC.
Arthur Bryants (http://www.arthurbryantsbbq.com/)was the worlds first (and may still be the only) 4 star BBQ place. Their main store is off of Brookyn Ave and this is NOT in a good neighborhood - don't recommend going there @ night.
While Kansas City (MISSOURI) is known for great BBQ, the best BBQ I've had is in Concordia, MO about 45 miles East of Kansas City - a place right off of I-70 (to the South) called Biffles (http://www.bifflesbbq.com/HTdocs/home.html). I love the place and if you like BBQ at all (esp smoked), I guarantee that you will NOT be disappointed!
Of course, Midway USA is in Columbia, MO which is about 1/2 way between Kansas City and St. Louis.
Grants Farm (http://www.grantsfarm.com/) in St. Louis is free but it costs $11 per vehicle to park (used to be free!).
The Gateway Arch is a MUST do if you've never done it before. The ride up in the tiny sit down elevator is an experience in itself.
The "Cross at the Crossroads (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/4116)" will be right along your route near the IL and IN border. No need to stop unless you really want to, but you will never see a larger cross and you can see the glow coming off of it for miles at night.
If you couldn't tell, I grew up in the Kansas City area and was stationed just outside St. Louis for 10 years.
Hitman 6
10-05-2010, 22:24
As an over the road truck driver I can happily advise you that you are in for a whole lot of nothing to St. Louis, which is pretty cool, especially if you drive Around/through the city at night. You'll understand what I'm talking about if you stay on I-70 through St. Louis, not take 270, which I advise if you are pulling off a valid road trip. Past that, uhh there is a huge cross on the south side of the road somewhere in IL, and if you stop at the Flying J (which is now merged with Pilot FYI) on I-465 on the south side of Indianapolis, there are more Truck stop hoores than you can shake a stick at if you're in for that kinda party, and some of them are surprisingly hard to turn away, at least they were the last time I was there. And after that its a quick 175 mile blast to your final. Oh yeah, Springfield Armory is in Geneseo, IL don't forget to stop there and remind them of what a quality product they produce.
ChunkyMonkey
10-05-2010, 22:36
... and I am leaving tomorrow for Branson, Mo. 12-13 hours of lovely drive!
micah360
10-06-2010, 10:37
I'm from Hays Kansas (went to college in Manhattan) and will say that the drive through Kansas does suck (especially in summer or winter)... but at least you are going at a good time.
I just drove from Denver to KC and back last week and the coolest thing on that trip was the big wind farm just west of Salina. It was really neat. You can't miss it, unless you are driving through Salina at night.
Close to Quinter KS there's Castle Rock. It has cool rock formations (for Kansas).
There's an amazing Catholic church in Victoria KS called The Cathedral of the Plains.
I haven't been there since I was very little, but there is a crazy place called the Garden of Eden in Lucas KS (a few miles north of I-70 between Hays and Salina).
used to take that trip all the time growing up. my dad grew up in mansfield, OH.
not much to see along the way to be honest. lots of farm ground I guess, you could look for something that interests you in major cities along the way. We always drove straight through.
the only thing we always stopped for was in Indiana, at a little place called Notre Dame right there in South Bend (happens to be my favorite college football team!)[Beer]
ETA: just saw you are taking 70, and not 76.
well, I know 70 to eastern, CO and a bit into KS and there is nothing, I mean NOTHING along the way!!!
Appreciate the comments. I guess take along a lot of CDs.
I've seen enough of airplanes. I don't like the way they treat passengers any more so I avoid them if at all possible.
theGinsue
10-06-2010, 20:15
... and I am leaving tomorrow for Branson, Mo. 12-13 hours of lovely drive!
Wished I'd known this earlier. My folks own a cabin down in Branson that they use once every few weeks for mini-vacations. (My dad uses it the most - I think he just wants to get away from my mom for a couple of days a month.) I've never been to the cabin myself, but they keep encouraging me to stay there.
Enjoy and report back to us what shows you catch.
Appreciate the comments. I guess take along a lot of CDs.
I've seen enough of airplanes. I don't like the way they treat passengers any more so I avoid them if at all possible.
Oh yeah, CD's will be the saving grace. As far as how the airlines treat you, you need to ride on a flight that sniper7 is flying and name drop when you get shitty service ("Hey, I need another bag of peanuts - I know the pilot.")
gnihcraes
10-06-2010, 20:25
Leave Denver at about 3-4pm on a Friday, drive to Hays KS. ~6 hours. Stop for the night. That kills 6 hours of the "Plains" and you can't see it.
Zundfolge
10-06-2010, 20:47
Once you hit Missouri keep your eyes open for a Steak & Shake. I believe there's one on each end of Columbia.
Leave Denver at about 3-4pm on a Friday, drive to Hays KS. ~6 hours. Stop for the night. That kills 6 hours of the "Plains" and you can't see it.
Did it in 4 hours once.[Angel2] Years later, my Mother asked about it,, Told her how fast we were going.. Oh, the 4 hours included 45 minutes for lunch..
Get World War Z on audio book. A different actor reads each different part instead of one person reading the whole thing like most audio books.
Wished I'd known this earlier. My folks own a cabin down in Branson that they use once every few weeks for mini-vacations. (My dad uses it the most - I think he just wants to get away from my mom for a couple of days a month.) I've never been to the cabin myself, but they keep encouraging me to stay there.
Enjoy and report back to us what shows you catch.
Oh yeah, CD's will be the saving grace. As far as how the airlines treat you, you need to ride a a flight that sniper7 is flying and name drop when you get shitting service ("Hey, I need another bag of peanuts - I know the pilot.")
thats right, throw that out and I will make sure you get the full can of coke and as many peanuts and pretzels as you want[Beer]
Troublco
10-06-2010, 21:43
But on the positive side, through most of Kansas you can set the cruise, tie the wheel off and take a nap, eh? Just watch that bend in the road at Junction City....
And don't forget the giant prairie dog, two headed calf and 5 legged steer. All the years I've driven that route, I can never quite ignore the signs....even though I want to!
micah360
10-06-2010, 23:36
Did it in 4 hours once.[Angel2] Years later, my Mother asked about it,, Told her how fast we were going.. Oh, the 4 hours included 45 minutes for lunch..
Wow... that's fast man!
I usually always make that drive in less than 5 hours.
micah360
10-06-2010, 23:40
But on the positive side, through most of Kansas you can set the cruise, tie the wheel off and take a nap, eh? Just watch that bend in the road at Junction City....
And don't forget the giant prairie dog, two headed calf and 5 legged steer. All the years I've driven that route, I can never quite ignore the signs....even though I want to!
and there's the giant ball of twine somewhere in kansas too!
Wow... that's fast man!
I usually always make that drive in less than 5 hours.
Yeah, needless to say, I drove the speed limit on the way home.. [Tooth]
10x, There is also Gorham, parts of Paper Moon were flimed there. Early in the movie, if you look real quick, My two Great-Aunts are in it as "Towns people".
theGinsue
10-07-2010, 18:02
And don't forget the giant prairie dog, two headed calf and 5 legged steer. All the years I've driven that route, I can never quite ignore the signs....even though I want to!
I think all of those things are in Oakley, just off of I-70.
I used to love the signs for vasectomy reversals along the route. yeah, like that's the time you really want to think about getting that done.
There also used to be a sign (or two, or..) for Lamberts Cafe "Home of the Thrown Rolls". The thing is that Lamberts used to only be in Sikeston, MO - about 2 hours south of St. Louis, MO.
Wow... that's fast man!
I usually always make that drive in less than 5 hours.
I make it from Colo Spr to Hays in 5 hours doin the speed limit.
SideShow Bob
10-07-2010, 18:23
Just east of Junction City at the Ft. Riley exit on the south side is a armor display, tanks,tracks and big guns ( open to the public ). And a trail to the top of the hill with a great overview of Ft. Rileys airfield.
And don't forget all of the adult stores all through Kansas at the old Stuckeys buildings.
BlasterBob
10-07-2010, 18:43
Just east of Junction City at the Ft. Riley exit on the south side is a armor display, tanks,tracks and big guns ( open to the public ). And a trail to the top of the hill with a great overview of Ft. Rileys airfield.
I usually use I70 across KS to make the trip from Trinidad to Naperville, IL (Chicago suburb) a few times each year. Although I was stationed at Fort Riley many years ago, I still have yet to figure out where to park the vehicle to gain entry to the foot path leading up that hill to the big cannon. You know? It's usually either too hot, too cold or too windy to make that crawl up that hill but some day I'm gonna do it.
SideShow Bob
10-07-2010, 19:28
Take the gravel pull off and park in the open area, I used to park against the bushes to the SW and use the picnic table about 10 yards into the bushes. It was still there a couple of yeas ago the last time I stopped.
I was stationed there too, in 78-80 and worked at the airfield when the old WW2 style barracks were still near the hangers.
BPTactical
10-07-2010, 21:54
And don't forget all of the adult stores all through Kansas at the old Stuckeys buildings.
I guess that explains why it is a 12 hour drive for you........
[Stooge]
BlasterBob
10-08-2010, 19:42
Take the gravel pull off and park in the open area, I used to park against the bushes to the SW and use the picnic table about 10 yards into the bushes. It was still there a couple of yeas ago the last time I stopped.
I was stationed there too, in 78-80 and worked at the airfield when the old WW2 style barracks were still near the hangers.
Next time we take I-70 through the Ft. Riley area, I'll try that gravel pull off. I was stationed at Fort Riley (then known as Camp Funston) back in 1955 and we were in the old WWII style barracks. Thanks.
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