The Highways Traveled

Purposes of this trip:
1. Finally drive through the Land Between the Lakes in Southwestern Kentucky
2. Finally visit Ste. Genevieve Missouri
3. Revisit two national park sites that before had only gotten to the entrance, both in the past year or so
4. Photograph the campus signs on two campuses in Tennessee

MISSOURI: Revisit the Ulysses S. Grant Farm (national historic site) that was too crowded to visit when I was there last year (and learned that the huge crowd that was there that early August day in 2017 was when kids were visiting the adjacent animals whereas in 2018 my late August day was after kids were back in school -- what a difference!).
TENNESSEE: Revisit Fort Donelson (I was there earlier this year and it was closed). Also, two college campuses to visit, Tennessee Tech in Cookeville and University of Tennessee-Martin (which my father took classes through it when I was very young)
KENTUCKY: Land Between the Lakes drive-through


MISSED VISITING:
--(none)

OBSERVATIONS: Some observations made while traveling in this area:

  1. Cape Girardeau area has more PT Cruisers (Ugliest Car Ever!) per capita (vehicle) than most places in the US
  2. Ste. Genevieve failed to live up to its "reputation" from all the bragging about it for years in the AAA magazine. Rather disappointing. Also, along with Seattle, it is an area that seems where a person must drive two miles in order to actually go one mile -- things just seem to take longer than most places. Weird, I know.
  3. Cairo IL, despite having the incredible view of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers when crossing the area where they meet, seems to be a town turning into a ghost town. Many abandoned building along the main highway coming into town from the north.
  4. I have noted this before in past trips and it is still true -- people may think that McDonalds and Pizza Huts are everywhere but one other business has them both easily beat -- Dollar General. They are even in very small towns where neither McDonalds or Pizza Hut would go.
  5. I have lived near the Missouri River at Kansas City for many years and have crossed it hundreds of times. Whenever I see the Mississippi River or Ohio River (incredible views at St. Louis and at Cairo IL), they seem several times wider than the Missouri. A person could probably fling a flat rock across the Missouri but not across either the Mississippi or Ohio.

The Bests:


The Worsts:

The Totals:


Just to list this as of September 2018: