Should You Take A Road Trip Across Middle America? Yes, And Here’s Why!
My only memory of ever taking a road trip across multiple U.S. states we hadn’t previously visited was as a child. I was about eight years old, and the trip was an adventure that still lives large in my mind. My parents loaded the car with three young kids, loads of coloring books, a styrofoam cooler with snacks, a TripTik from AAA, and one grandmother. In two weeks, we visited a grandfather in Milwaukee, a grandmother and uncle (from the other side) in Indianapolis, the Kellogg’s factory tour in Battle Creek, Michigan, Niagara Falls in upstate NY, and several other family-friendly stops.
Road Tripping From Phoenix to Kansas City
Recently, my husband and I took our first significant road trip across Middle America. We started in Phoenix, AZ, and ended two weeks later in Kansas City, MO. We visited six US states: Arizona, New Mexico, Texas (Panhandle), Oklahoma, Arkansas, a corner of Kansas, and Missouri.
In the early planning stages, the trip was much more straightforward: fly into Phoenix, AZ, to visit family for a few days; take a side trip to Santa Fe, NM, for a few days; and then return to Phoenix to fly home.
But as soon as we took an eagle’s eye view of the southwest and midwest regions of the country, the vacation became a road trip to see a section of Middle America.
Our Daily Drive Times
We drove 3.5 to 5.5 hours daily, making multiple stops. Some stops were significant, like a National Park, and some were minor, like a small town with Route 66 attractions (murals, statues, diners, and more).
Total Miles Driven: 2200.
Where We Stayed Along The Way
We pre-booked hotel rooms in major cities. After a day of driving, I knew we’d want a nice, relaxing meal and a clean, comfortable bed without hunting for one at the end of the day. After a fair amount of research, I could see that there aren’t many hotel or dining options between cities along most of this cross-country route. You can find virtually every fast-food chain near small population clusters, so grabbing a quick lunch en route is easy. However, decent dining and lodging options are available in the cities but not so much in the rural areas.
I spent a lot of time on various travel sites, reading through recent customer reviews of specific hotels we were considering. For this reason, we leveraged our Marriott membership and relied on their chains rather than smaller, family-run hotels. This was the right choice for us.
Although we stayed in clean yet basic SpringHill Suites and Fairfield Inn locations, we also treated ourselves to The Barfield Autograph in Amarillo, TX (if you’re a Yellowstone series fan, you saw it recently highlighted in an episode) and The National Autograph in Oklahoma City, OK—both exceptional hotels and better than I anticipated in these small cities. Their nightly rates were at the high end of local room prices but much less expensive than good hotels in Boston. The hotel bars were a lot of fun, and there were good restaurants in and around each.
Why Take This Particular 2,200-Mile Road Trip? Here Are 5 Reasons:
1. Feel the Vastness of Middle America.
The sheer size of some Southwest and Midwest U.S. states is hard to comprehend unless you have personally driven across them.
In Texas, we drove several hours and saw only windmills in every direction. During our drive to the Petrified Wood National Park and Painted Desert in Arizona, we experienced no other cars on the road, as far as we could see. (Full disclosure: this was due to a wrong turn that took us 45 minutes out of the way. Some sections of Federal Indian Reservations can be stunning but desolate.) In Oklahoma, we drove for hours and saw only cattle ranches—the dirt road entrances marked by tall iron gates.
You might say, ‘That sounds pretty boring.’ We indeed felt the monotony of the road, particularly in Oklahoma and Texas, but there’s something relaxing about driving these straight, flat distances while listening to a book on tape. Try it sometime.
2. Experience Route 66 and Small-Town America.
Route 66 plays a big part in American history and Pop Culture. We used it to guide part of our route, particularly in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
In the early twentieth century, when Route 66 was the main roadway between Chicago and Los Angeles, small towns along Route 66 survived (some even thrived) on truckers and tourists. Gas stations, motels, diners, small shops, and kitschy attractions like ‘world’s biggest’ statutes or painted murals depicting the West all brought money to small-town America. The Great Depression and Dust Bowl added traffic and business due to westward migration. Then, during wartime, Route 66 became a busy military transport route. It was a busy money-maker for many from 1926 to the late 1950s.
Its success was partly responsible for its demise. In the late 1950s, congestion triggered the building of the Federal Highway System, and once it was open, Route 66 was no longer a primary transport route. Since then, many of these small towns haven’t recovered financially. Some are desolate, with abandoned homes and empty storefronts.
Route 66 will celebrate 100 years in 2026. You, too, can take a section of the route and enjoy the reflection of simpler times. However, you will see some struggling towns and only a car or two stopping to see the same Route 66 site.
3. Connect With U.S. History And Regional Culture As You Road Trip Across Middle America.
Travelers with an enviable budget look to Europe, the Caribbean, or Asia for epic once-in-a-lifetime travel destinations. Domestic trips are often slotted lower on the consideration list, and a road trip is even further from the top. Why would you spend hours each day driving across Middle America? Nostalgia? Maybe. To get a close-up and personal experience? Definitely. To experience U.S. history and culture in a fun way? Absolutely.
On this road trip, we experienced:
Driving across Many miles of deserts, plains, and hills
A 1-mile-wide meteor crater
Petrified Wood National Park and Painted Desert
Artsy and historic Santa Fe
Indian Reservations and tribal histories
Bandolier National Monument Cliff Dwellings
Hot Springs National Park
Cattle ranches
A huge wind farm
Fields of grain
Small town rural America
Route 66 attractions
Live country music
Great regional food, including well-prepared steaks, BBQ, New Mexican fare, and TexMex.
In many ways, I felt like I could have been traveling in a different country because Middle America differs from where I live (the Northeast coast) in terms of landscape, pace, and so much more.
This road trip was educational and showcased America’s beauty. There’s something about driving the open road through grain fields, cattle ranches, and windmill farms or seeing the landscape slowly change from desert to golden plains to hills with fall foliage. On the road, you imagine what travel was like 50 years ago, 100 years ago, or 200 years ago.
4. Don’t Just Meet Locals. Get To Know Them.
Our favorite memories from this trip were the people we met (locals and other tourists) and our interactions with them. We started many conversations, but the locals we spoke with clearly welcomed the conversation.
Jim, who sold me a pair of cowboy boots in Oklahoma, spent an hour talking with us after the sale (and the store closed). We covered everything from bad knees to handmade cowboy boot production to family dynamics.
Locals in hotel service positions (front desk, bartender, parking attendant) talked with us about the average cost of rent, commute times, area weather experiences (wind storms, tornados), and more, giving us insight into their city, job, and life.
Our waitress gave us the real skinny on Will Ferrell’s visit to The Big Texan Steakhouse in Amarillo, TX, when he was taping his Netflix special, ‘Will and Harper.’ The bottom line is that not everything taped for a show makes the final cut.
We also had many conversations with other tourists, who shared their travel recommendations along the route and information about their home states.
5. Is Seeing All 50 US States On Your Bucket List? Cross Off Six States With One Trip.
As of December 2024, I have 13 U.S. states to see before I can check off one of my top bucket list items: See all 50 U.S. states in my lifetime. (Photo: Edie Kramer)
Like many, I’d like to visit all 50 US states during my lifetime, and I want most of my state visits to be meaningful. There are a few places where I’m okay seeing a small part of the state, such as a city, coastal region, or national park, but where I can, I want to experience both urban and rural areas and get to know the state’s residents and culture. Driving across Middle America gave us the latter.
I hope to replicate this road trip experience when we visit the northern states west of the Great Lakes.
Upcoming posts: Road trip details in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri. Stay tuned!
