My parents often refer to Missouri as “Misery.” This was particularly common when talking about its summer. Although they spent less than two years there, it made quite an impression.

I only lived there for about a year of my own life, a stint that started before I could walk. But I’ve been back. Now that I’ve been twice in June, I know exactly what my parents are talking about. This California boy does not care for 95 degrees and suffocating humidity. Nope. Not at all.

So why did I plan a road trip during the brunt of summer? Good question. I don’t know. I just did. There are sights to see, and the heat shall not stop us!

A Little Midwest Loop

We flew into St. Louis Lambert International Airport, staying the night at a cheap airport Quality Inn (I do not recommend it). Luckily, it made picking up our Hertz rental quite easy, since the hotel is literally next to the Hertz lot. That was about the only plus.

There were a few things on the list to do: visit the Gateway Arch, see the Cahokia Mounds, and check Kentucky off the states visited list. I figured it’d also be cool to see the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Add in a couple other quick stops, and I put together a 3-day multi-state loop.

We tried the Gateway Arch first, not realizing it is quickly at capacity most days. No matter. We’d visit on our way back through St. Louis. I made sure to buy tickets online for a specific time.

Instead, we headed down to Paducah, a Kentucky town along the Ohio River. It’s famous for its quilts, although that was an incidental realization, not a personal interest. We’d stay here for a couple nights, visiting the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.

The town of Paducah has a depressed feel, but there are a number of cool old buildings and storefronts. Being from earthquake-prone California, I always love seeing brick facades. We only spent one brief morning wandering around, which was more than enough.

a truck parked on the side of a street

a white building with red lettering and cars parked outside

a white house with columns and a bench

Land Between the Lakes

Our day at the Land Between the Lakes was a fun one. The boys and I spent a good chunk of the time at the Homeplace 1850s Working Farm, which I highly recommend. It’s an excellent educational opportunity, as the farm is still maintained how it would have been 170 years ago as a living history museum. There are only a handful of staff who work the farm. The boys really enjoyed watching the blacksmithing.

a wooden building with a roof

a man standing in a wood shed with a man in a hat

Cairo and Cape Girardeau

The following day included a drive along the Mississippi. Our first stop was the confluence between the Ohio River and Mississippi River at Cairo (pronounced KAY-ro, unlike it’s Egyptian analog), Illinois. I’ve been in the middle of reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Cairo is where Huck and Jim hoped to turn northeast up the Ohio.

The Mississippi mud is no joke. I thought I was going to have to wade in to haul my 11-year-old out.

two boys standing on a beach

a boy in a wet suit on a beach

The confluence is also the tripoint of Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri, which is sorta cool. I don’t think I’ve ever been to one, nor have I been to Four Corners.

Up the river on the Missouri side is the historic town of Cape Girardeau. This was our next stop on our drive back to St. Louis. It has a cool old town with a great ice cream shop and a decent Cajun restaurant. Here I tried alligator for the first time, which grossed out the boys.

a street with cars and buildings

 

a sandwich and fries on a plate

After lunch we walked down along the Mississippi River. A wall now protects the city from flooding. Having just been to Paducah, Kentucky, its location on the mural map drove me nuts since it is located *on* the Kentucky-Illinois border along the Ohio River. If you go through all this effort, at least get the details right.

a wall with a large mural on it

Arriving at the Arch

We made one pit stop at the Cahokia Mounds, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. It’s an intriguing pre-Columbian archaeological site and worth an hour if you’re in the area.

Our final stop was the Gateway Arch. It’s the smallest National Park in the United States, which is pretty cool. There is a great museum located under the Arch, which I didn’t allow enough time to enjoy. I also find the transportation system that takes you up into the Arch fascinating. It was quite the engineering challenge to create something that would navigate the Arch’s unique shape. The views from the Arch are lovely. You can see the St. Louis skyline and peer down into Busch Stadium.

a path with trees and a large arch with Gateway Arch in the background

a stadium with a parking lot and buildings

Overall Trip Recap

Here are all my other posts from our summer trip to the Midwest:

Final Thoughts

We’ll likely make it back to Missouri next summer. Hopefully we can make it happen right as the boys are done with school, as I’d like to avoid the worst of the heat. After our summer experience, they have expressed preferring to go in winter. I’m not sure whether that’s better or worse. It’s certainly different, and I mind the cold much less. So maybe that is in the cards for our next trip.