The Western Frontier...Finally

Woohoo! We're finally heading somewhere new, and westernish. We're going to Arkansas. I'm hoping to see some real, live hillbillies.

Each state has a little different flavor, sometimes a lot different. Illinois is really pretty boring, meaning no offense to those of you who are from there or who love it there. There's not much to break up the monotony, but every once in a while you come across some oddity such as this

Highway 55 near Livingston, IL

I only captured half of the spaceship, to the left

and this...

Burning something off in the fields???

Once you cross the Mississippi River into Missouri, the scenery becomes quite a bit more interesting.

A lot of neat bluffs

I missed the gateway arch, cuz I was in the bunk trying, unsuccessfully, to sleep. Apparently there is a Six Flags St Louis, it appeared to be located pretty much in Eureka, MO, which is a really cool name, don't you think?

Six Flags St. Louis

We're driving from one side (Eastern) to the other (Western) of Missouri today, so we're running pretty hard. We plan to spend the night in Joplin, MO. 

Saw this in one little town, two water towers side by side, one says "Hot" in red, the other says "Cold" in blue

Matching hot and cold water towers

Here are some more kitschy Missouri sights

Who needs Branson when you can tour this place?

So...apparently Missouri has caves

I guess Jesse James and his boys hid out here

They must have 50 billboards for this place in a 30 mile stretch

Here's something we see in every state, not just in Missouri

Fireworks

There are tons of fireworks places, and they all appear to be thriving. It's hard to believe Americans buy enough fireworks to keep all these places in business. I think every state has one or two places that claim to be the "World's Largest" fireworks store.

More Fireworks

It's dark now and raining, with some pretty awesome lightning, so I'll sign off and leave you with

Today's Silly Sounding Place Name:  Kankakee, IL.