Paducah KY to Kansas City KS

Great nights sleep!  A good hotel breakfast, buying gas before passing into MO and we were on the road again!

Today was going to be 100% interstate driving.  Yesterday we drove 450 miles - about our max for comfortable driving.  Today was going to be about 400.  We are anxious to get to the good part of our trip!  The weather was clear and sunny.  We crossed the Ohio River and headed out on I24 then at Vincennes I57 and then I64, finally just to the west of St. Louis we joined I70.  We crossed the great Mississippi in St. Louis and viewed the arch.  Having been there several times we kept on truckin’ – at 11 AM the traffic through the city was not bad.

Missouri River

Today was field upon field of corn, soy beans, and nice looking farms here and there.  The corn crop seems to be great this year.  Much harvesting was in progress and it was interesting to see the huge machines blowing the bright yellow corn into the collection vehicles.  Can you tell this city gal is not too good at the names of the various farm machinery!  I certainly appreciate the hard work of these American farmers -  today was not cool as we expected.  Temperature was in the 90’s !

Typical Farm with Jerusalem Artichoke in foreground

We have been enjoying ragweed and various purple asters along the roadside. Today the wildflower dominating the roadways was Jerusalem Artichoke - a high yellow daisy type flower. I took a closeup of the Jerusalem Artichoke this afternoon at a rest stop. 

Jerusalem Artichoke

St. Louis Arch as we cross the Mississippi

We are listening to a Patterson mystery today to help pass the time.  Lunch was at a rest stop along  I70 – that was when we discovered how hot it was - 94.

We arrived in Kansas City and stopped to buy gas in MO for $2.08 before heading into the city and Kansas.  It was 3:30 and there was LOTS of traffic.  The two largest cities of our trip and Ben made it through both today with great skill.  GPS is truly a modern marvel for getting around in cities.  I still love following maps but finding the best way to a specific motel is not my idea of fun.

After a short rest we headed out to find our Kansas City BBQ.  After scoping out the 3-4 best BBQ restaurants on Trip Advisor I hope one will be near where Ben makes hotel reservations.  This time it worked out – 3 miles to Woodyard BBQ.   The owner has had a wood yard selling wood to most of the BBQ spots in the area.  A few years ago he added a small BBQ stand that has grown into a full restaurant. 

Potato Salad, Burnt Ends and Ribs

"Carolina Pulled Pork" and beans

Sprinter parked at WoodYard BBQ

Well Kansas City BBQ is not TN BBQ or NC BBQ or even TX BBQ but I take everyones' word that it is good.  We liked the ribs very much, the burnt ends were OK, but the Carolina BBQ sandwich did not measure up at all!  The meats had a very smoky flavor.  The sauce was too “tomatoey” for us.   Ben thought it needed more vinegar and I thought it should have been a bit sweet….  All in all we succeeded in finding out about another type of BBQ. 

They still sell lots of types of wood

Now to watch the first NCIS of the season and get to sleep early – tomorrow we cross most of Kansas. Colorado here we come!