Road Trippin': The Deep South and Missouri Mountains
Road Trippin' Results
Counties Visited (Excluding St. Louis City): 16 (Madison (IL), St. Clair (IL), Monroe (IL), St. Louis, Jefferson, Ste. Genevieve, St. Francois, Iron, Reynolds, Carter, Butler, Stoddard, New Madrid, Scott, Cape Girardeau, Perry)
Cities, Towns, and Villages Visited (Excluding St. Louis City and St. Louis County): Arnold, Pevely, Herculaneum, Farmington, Doe Roe, Pilot Knob, Ironton, Arcadia, Hogan, Lesterville, Centerville, Ellington, Poplar Bluff, Dexter, Sikeston, Cape Girardeau
Highways Taken:I-270, IL-3, I-255, I-55 (Merged with I-64, I-70, and US-40 in IL), MO-32, Hwy-W (St. Francois County), MO-221, MO-21, MO-72 (Merged with MO-21), MO-49 (Merged with MO-21), MO-34 (Merged with MO-21), US-60, US-67 (Merged with US-60)
Total Miles: 332.7
Total Time: 8h:57m
And now, ladies and gentlemen, The Charismatic Enigma presents another edition of Road Trippin'!!!
Well, this morning, the parents asked me to get some alcohol for them again, and you know me, I hate to be around those two when they drink the damn Crown Royal. So after I dropped off their goods, I hopped back in the Beastie and headed out for the day. First thing I did was drive to the Flying J in Pontoon Beach, IL for some breakfast. Got the breakfast buffet, samey same stuff, but I still enjoy it. Afterwards, an instinct took me over and told me to head southward, so I drove back on I-270 to IL-3 and drove it as far south as I-255, then took I-255 back into Missouri and went to I-55 and headed south from there. Initially, I was intending on just going down as far as DeSoto and turning around, but I ended up going farther southward than I expected. When I got into Ste. Genevieve County, I stopped at the first gas station I could find, filled up (since gas is for some odd reason cheaper outside of St. Louis City and County) and drove MO-32 right to Farmington. I was looking for a quick and easy way to get to MO-21 and take it north to DeSoto, so when I saw a sign that said the road straight ahead of where I was in town would lead to MO-21 in about 20 miles, I ventured off the main highway and followed a county highway to my destination. Riding on Hwy-W, I road through the city of Farmington. Nice town. Really. A little bit after I got out of town, Hwy-W ended and turned into MO-221 (a highway not marked on any map), and for some reason I thought this was like a spur to get to MO-21. I didn't realize that the highway was going south instead of west, until a few miles down the road (there was no directional signage above the route sign). As I followed the road, I thought I was lost, and was preparing to turn around and head back to Farmington, but my inner road instinct kept telling me to follow the road, and sure enough I found MO-21 as I crossed into Iron County. Now, here is where I was wanting to turn around and head back north, but I was wanting to find Wal-Mart to use as a checkpoint, so I turned south instead and drove into Ironton (because I know there was a Supercenter there somewhere...the Rand McNally atlas I got from the Owensville Wal-Mart last road trippin' has listings of every Wal-Mart store in the continent). As I ventured further southward, I discovered no such Wal-Mart and was trying to find a place to turn around, but I kept on going, further into Iron County, and into the mini mountains of Missouri. Yes, peoples, Missouri has mountains...not big mountains, persay, but for this region of the country, they're big enough. In fact, I was very close to Missouri's tallest point, the Taum Sauk Mountain (elevation 1772 ft.), granted I didn't go in the conservation park, but I wanted to (was going so fast I missed it). Further southward, and further southward, the scenery down the road was beautiful. The rocks, the trees, and forests...it was all too breathtaking for me. MO-21 is a scenic route going all the way down to the Arkansas state line. At that point, I was glad that I got to see it for myself. It truly was beautiful.
But anyway, before I get off track, I continued down MO-21 desperately trying to look for a checkpoint, never finding one. Before I knew it, I was in another county. Reynolds County to be exact. It surprised me that everywhere I looked, there was no Wal-Mart Supercenter anywhere. So at that point, I just gave up on looking for one, and decided to continue on southward, crossing into Carter County. One of the signs that I read stated that US-60 was a little bit ahead, so at that point, my decision was to drive MO-21 to US-60 and take it eastward back to I-55 and head home from there. All the while I had no idea how far south I actually traveled. So when I got to the first gas station that had the cheapest price, I stopped there and filled up again. Then I went inside the mini-store to see if I can find some sort of road map to try to get my barrings hence I forgot to bring my road atlas. I couldn't find where they kept them, so I asked the lady at the counter where they were and she pointed them out to me, then she asked me if I was needing a Missouri map, I told her yes and she handed me a free map. Fox on! So when I got back into the truck, I took a look at the map and found that I was miles away from the Arkansas state line. Wowzers! I've never traveled that far in a 4-wheeler before. That's an accomplishment for me. So I headed east on US-60 which was heading to Poplar Bluff. It was there that I found a Wal-Mart Supercenter, but I never stopped at it. I decided that I was good from there and kept going, passed Poplar Bluff, and passed Dexter in the next county. When I got to Sikeston, though, I stopped at the Supercenter there just before I-55. As I got out the truck, I couldn't believe my eyes. There were black people around. I've never seen so many black people in a small town in my life. I wonder what the population of the town is, anyway. The city limit sign didn't say a thing. Well, anyway, after I rested myself, I headed back on the road up north on I-55 and ultimately back home.
This has to be the longest road trip I've ever taken so far, and it was done totally out of instinct. Pure road geek instinct. I never saw this one coming, but the whole time I just kept saying "keep going...keep going...KEEP GOING!!!" And it ultimately lead me to one of my most exciting road trippin' I've ever had the pleasure of taking. To those that take the time to read, thanks.
Counties Visited (Excluding St. Louis City): 16 (Madison (IL), St. Clair (IL), Monroe (IL), St. Louis, Jefferson, Ste. Genevieve, St. Francois, Iron, Reynolds, Carter, Butler, Stoddard, New Madrid, Scott, Cape Girardeau, Perry)
Cities, Towns, and Villages Visited (Excluding St. Louis City and St. Louis County): Arnold, Pevely, Herculaneum, Farmington, Doe Roe, Pilot Knob, Ironton, Arcadia, Hogan, Lesterville, Centerville, Ellington, Poplar Bluff, Dexter, Sikeston, Cape Girardeau
Highways Taken:I-270, IL-3, I-255, I-55 (Merged with I-64, I-70, and US-40 in IL), MO-32, Hwy-W (St. Francois County), MO-221, MO-21, MO-72 (Merged with MO-21), MO-49 (Merged with MO-21), MO-34 (Merged with MO-21), US-60, US-67 (Merged with US-60)
Total Miles: 332.7
Total Time: 8h:57m
And now, ladies and gentlemen, The Charismatic Enigma presents another edition of Road Trippin'!!!
Well, this morning, the parents asked me to get some alcohol for them again, and you know me, I hate to be around those two when they drink the damn Crown Royal. So after I dropped off their goods, I hopped back in the Beastie and headed out for the day. First thing I did was drive to the Flying J in Pontoon Beach, IL for some breakfast. Got the breakfast buffet, samey same stuff, but I still enjoy it. Afterwards, an instinct took me over and told me to head southward, so I drove back on I-270 to IL-3 and drove it as far south as I-255, then took I-255 back into Missouri and went to I-55 and headed south from there. Initially, I was intending on just going down as far as DeSoto and turning around, but I ended up going farther southward than I expected. When I got into Ste. Genevieve County, I stopped at the first gas station I could find, filled up (since gas is for some odd reason cheaper outside of St. Louis City and County) and drove MO-32 right to Farmington. I was looking for a quick and easy way to get to MO-21 and take it north to DeSoto, so when I saw a sign that said the road straight ahead of where I was in town would lead to MO-21 in about 20 miles, I ventured off the main highway and followed a county highway to my destination. Riding on Hwy-W, I road through the city of Farmington. Nice town. Really. A little bit after I got out of town, Hwy-W ended and turned into MO-221 (a highway not marked on any map), and for some reason I thought this was like a spur to get to MO-21. I didn't realize that the highway was going south instead of west, until a few miles down the road (there was no directional signage above the route sign). As I followed the road, I thought I was lost, and was preparing to turn around and head back to Farmington, but my inner road instinct kept telling me to follow the road, and sure enough I found MO-21 as I crossed into Iron County. Now, here is where I was wanting to turn around and head back north, but I was wanting to find Wal-Mart to use as a checkpoint, so I turned south instead and drove into Ironton (because I know there was a Supercenter there somewhere...the Rand McNally atlas I got from the Owensville Wal-Mart last road trippin' has listings of every Wal-Mart store in the continent). As I ventured further southward, I discovered no such Wal-Mart and was trying to find a place to turn around, but I kept on going, further into Iron County, and into the mini mountains of Missouri. Yes, peoples, Missouri has mountains...not big mountains, persay, but for this region of the country, they're big enough. In fact, I was very close to Missouri's tallest point, the Taum Sauk Mountain (elevation 1772 ft.), granted I didn't go in the conservation park, but I wanted to (was going so fast I missed it). Further southward, and further southward, the scenery down the road was beautiful. The rocks, the trees, and forests...it was all too breathtaking for me. MO-21 is a scenic route going all the way down to the Arkansas state line. At that point, I was glad that I got to see it for myself. It truly was beautiful.
But anyway, before I get off track, I continued down MO-21 desperately trying to look for a checkpoint, never finding one. Before I knew it, I was in another county. Reynolds County to be exact. It surprised me that everywhere I looked, there was no Wal-Mart Supercenter anywhere. So at that point, I just gave up on looking for one, and decided to continue on southward, crossing into Carter County. One of the signs that I read stated that US-60 was a little bit ahead, so at that point, my decision was to drive MO-21 to US-60 and take it eastward back to I-55 and head home from there. All the while I had no idea how far south I actually traveled. So when I got to the first gas station that had the cheapest price, I stopped there and filled up again. Then I went inside the mini-store to see if I can find some sort of road map to try to get my barrings hence I forgot to bring my road atlas. I couldn't find where they kept them, so I asked the lady at the counter where they were and she pointed them out to me, then she asked me if I was needing a Missouri map, I told her yes and she handed me a free map. Fox on! So when I got back into the truck, I took a look at the map and found that I was miles away from the Arkansas state line. Wowzers! I've never traveled that far in a 4-wheeler before. That's an accomplishment for me. So I headed east on US-60 which was heading to Poplar Bluff. It was there that I found a Wal-Mart Supercenter, but I never stopped at it. I decided that I was good from there and kept going, passed Poplar Bluff, and passed Dexter in the next county. When I got to Sikeston, though, I stopped at the Supercenter there just before I-55. As I got out the truck, I couldn't believe my eyes. There were black people around. I've never seen so many black people in a small town in my life. I wonder what the population of the town is, anyway. The city limit sign didn't say a thing. Well, anyway, after I rested myself, I headed back on the road up north on I-55 and ultimately back home.
This has to be the longest road trip I've ever taken so far, and it was done totally out of instinct. Pure road geek instinct. I never saw this one coming, but the whole time I just kept saying "keep going...keep going...KEEP GOING!!!" And it ultimately lead me to one of my most exciting road trippin' I've ever had the pleasure of taking. To those that take the time to read, thanks.