Road Trip 2023 Day 21

September 14, 2023

Kind of forgot how awesome this day was until I got around to sorting the pics for here.

Made it through Missouri, then took US-50 across Illinois into western Indiana.

US-50 had long stretches they had graded to make it a divided highway, but never did.

Left the hotel west of KC at sun up.

I would end up sucking down a lot of caffeine over the next few days (unusual for me; usually my coffees are decaf)




Missouri loves their Interstate frontage roads.




Missouri...were tow trucks run red and blue lights.



Motorcycle cop



St. Louis!








Time to get off the Interstates.








So many former dairy farms that now just raise cash crops (corn and soybeans)




So there were several sections of US-50 that were graded and over-passed for becoming a divided highway

A quick Google says this was part of a 1974 legislative compromise between downstate Republicans and the Chicago Democratic governor.

But then the next year "budget" crisis and funding was cut off.

(There might have been other spurts and sections prepared over the years)













Right hand rural carrier postal Jeep.








Crude oil tank on the side of the road.





I don't think part of the widening (although maybe this side was planned for it); the original bridge bypassed.








Coal train. So last two days I've passed windmills, oil wells, and coal trains!



Mail Pouch tobacco. I like these old signs, but then again I like a reasonable number of billboards -- I don't find them unattractive.








So my hotel was in just a bizarre place, literally just in a field off a highway exit -- no gas station, no restaurants nearby (had to go about ~5 miles to another town for a Subway)




Couldn't figure it out until I continued down the road looking for dinner -- it is very close to one of the gates for a military base.

And unlike I first thought, "NSA Crane" is not the National Security Agency, but Naval Support Activity

Even more bizarre, while built in WWII for Navy munitions, and still nominally a Navy base, it is mostly occupied and run by the Army which took over all US munition responsibilities at some point.