Journey Through the Heartland: Kansas and Missouri Road Trip Highlights
Middle America Road Trip
Part 6 (Final Leg)-Kansas and Missouri
On our two-week road trip across Middle America from Phoenix to Kansas City, we realized how the landscapes and way of life differ from our home base in the northeast U.S. I've traveled through many regions of the country and often find myself amazed at what the U.S. offers.
To realize how great America is, seeing as much of it as you can firsthand is essential. But if exploring great distances isn't doable for you right now, explore your own state's riches. How often have you brought visitors to 'must see' museums, historic sites, or towns they've heard about and want to see, and it's your first time experiencing these places? Become a local tourist.
Final Days and Stops: Kansas and Missouri
This article covers our road trip into the southwestern corner of Kansas, our drive along the border of western Missouri, and Kansas City, our final destination before flying home. It is the last in a series including the below articles:
On The Road In Arizona: From Route 66 Pop Culture to Amazing Natural Wonders
How to Experience the Best of Santa Fe: Art, History, Culture, and Gastronomy
Crossing the Texas Panhandle: Embracing the Open Road and Endless Horizon On Our Way to Route 66 Roadside Attractions
Why Spend Time in Oklahoma City? How About Cowboy Culture, the National Memorial and Museum, Welcoming Locals, and More.
Exploring Arkansas: Stunning Landscapes With a Few Bumps in the Road
Kansas
Galena, Kansas, is a small town that relied heavily on mining as part of the Tri-State Mining District and, to a smaller extent, on Route 66 traffic. (Photo: Edie Kramer)
On our way to Kansas City from Arkansas, we stopped in Joplin, Missouri, for the night. The following day, we took a slight detour (just a 15-minute ride) into the southeast corner of Kansas to visit Galena, a small forgotten town in Cherokee County with a past.
Galena is famous for two things. First, it was part of the tri-state (Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma) lead-zinc mining district that began in the 1850s and 1860s and continued until the 1970s, when the mines closed. A 115-square-mile area, including Galena, became a heavy metal mining Superfund site with some uninhabitable regions. Clean-up efforts started in 1993, and it’s almost a ghost town. Second, Galena is on Route 66, with several Route 66 murals and attractions, and is home to the truck that inspired the character ‘Mater’ in Disney’s movie, ‘Cars.’
At its peak, Galena’s population was 30,000, but that number has dropped to 2,761 residents (2020 census).
Route 66, Galena, Kansas
Missouri
Large grain farms (soy and corn) own the plains landscape in western Missouri. (Photo: Pixabay)
The final leg of our road trip was driving along the entire western border of Missouri, heading north from Joplin to Kansas City. Combines and harvesters were running in virtually every field we passed. Some of these farms own acreage as far as the eye can see.
Smaller family-run farms become the norm once you are further north along the Kansas/Missouri border.
Another Option: If you want to see a broader (and likely more interesting) slice of Missouri, visit Branson, an Ozark town in southwest Missouri. It’s a vacation spot for good reason—there’s a lot to see and do there. I recommend reading Why Branson?, an article by Marge Dwyer on her Happily Ever Aging blog site. She’s got great insight, and I implicitly trust her judgment. If we had a few more days, we would have explored that area in addition to Kansas City.
Kansas City, Missouri
We spent most of the day in Kansas City and found that was enough to get a sense of the city. It’s a small city (population: 510,704 in 2023 census). Like Oklahoma City, it was quiet and clean and had little foot or car traffic mid-day. The big event while we were there was a seed convention.
Top things to check out:
Hallmark Cards Visitor Center. You’ll learn about the company’s impressive history. The center includes displays showing how cards have evolved over the years; a group of themed Christmas trees (trimmed with, of course, Hallmark ornaments) in tribute to the trees given to JC Hall, the CEO, until his death; a section focused on Hallmark media (family-friendly stories and channel); a bow-making machine; and a section for Crayola (Hallmark bought the company in 1984).
Union Station, touted as the city’s ‘visual voice’ (bottom two photos). It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and there are a lot of attractions under its roof, including Science City, Gottlieb Planetarium, restaurants, shops, a movie theater, a live theater, and The KC Rail Experience, which is an exhibit celebrating railroad history and Union Station itself. It is beautiful architecturally.
A taste or two of local BBQ. Ask for the burnt ends. Arthur Bryant’s BBQ and Joe’s KC BBQ are city favorites.
See (maybe buy) Chiefs football memorabilia (it’s everywhere!) When you see the size of the city and its surrounding communities, you understand why there is so much pride in the team that has done so well in recent years.
Heading Home
You’re not home until you pull into your driveway.
We saw one of the nicest sunsets the night before our morning flight out of Kansas City. Very calming. On the drive from Jasper and Kansas City, and while in Kansas City, clouds were beginning to form, but nothing looked threatening.
At the airport the following day, storm warnings came across our feeds. Thankfully, our flight was on time, and we were out of there before the weather came in and flights were delayed or grounded.
Summary of 2,200 Mile Road Trip Across Middle America
Arizona: Phoenix to Winslow, AZ with a few short detours (220 miles)
Hotel: The Winslow HotelNew Mexico: Winslow, AZ to Santa Fe, NM with a few short detours (436 miles)
Hotel: St. Frances HotelTexas: Santa Fe, NM to Amarillo, TX (280 miles)
The Barfield, Autograph Collection (Marriott)Oklahoma: Amarillo, TX to Oklahoma City, OK (260 miles)
The National, Autograph Collection (Marriott)Arkansas: Oklahoma City, OK to Hot Springs, AR with park road drives (348 miles)
The Waters, Tapestry Collection (Hilton)Kansas: Hot Springs, AR to Jasper, MO (292 miles)
Fairfield Inn, JoplinMissouri: Jasper, MO to Kansas City, MA with a few short detours (175 miles)
Springhill Suites Kansas City Airport
The car odometer clocked 2,222 miles for our entire trip. The extra 200 or so miles not accounted for in the above breakdown are due to a few wrong turns (oops!) and Route 66 stops that required exiting I-40 and driving a short distance to a small town’s Main Street (Route 66) to see the attractions.
