Midwest Wanderer explores history, nature, and culture through road trips along scenic and historic U.S. highways, byways and trails

Driving through the Wild Animal Safari

Driving through the Wild Animal Safari park near Springfield, Missouri, I never expected the animals to run right up to the car, but that’s exactly what they did.

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Midwest Wanderer

The Midwest Wanderer blog focuses on travel and tourism attractions and events throughout the Midwes

Midwest Wanderer

1 hour ago

On our second (and final) day exploring the southern section of Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway, we had big plans. We were heading first thing to the end of the 1930-40 alignment to walk on the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge. Then, we’d cut over to the 1940-77 alignment to see The World's Largest Catsup Bottle. Finally, we’d work our way back up to several of the places we missed our first day due to lack of time. Best laid plans…After starting our day a little later than planned, we got stuck in construction traffic in Edwardsville. Then, we missed a turn and ended up going over the McKinley Bridge (1926-30 alignment) into St. Louis. That was okay, because we had never crossed that bridge before. But then we got stuck in more construction traffic.It was past noon by the time we arrived at the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge. Do we just take a quick picture and be on our way? Heck no! We’re here, let’s do it right. So, we walked all the way across the bridge to the Missouri side and back (two miles total).By now, it’s 1:30 p.m., so we’re on our way to the catsup bottle. It took a while to get there, photograph the bottle and start heading back north.A late lunch at @Weezy's Route 66 in Hamel, and then back to The Pink Elephant Antique Mall, our last stop for this trip. (We arrived there after hours the day before, so we went back to browse inside the shop.)There is so much to see and do in the southern section of Illinois Route 66, we didn’t have time for it all in two days. Which means we’ll just have to plan a return trip. ... See MoreSee Less

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Midwest Wanderer is at World's Largest Catsup Bottle.

21 hours ago

Carmela loves water towers, especially unusual ones. We've talked about Brooks Catsup - the World's Largest Catsup Bottle water tower on Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway for years. We finally made it!#route66 ... See MoreSee Less

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Midwest Wanderer

2 days ago

Today we explored a lot of the southern section of Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway. Some highlights.Docs Just Off 66 The Uptown Tavern The Pink Elephant Antique Mall #route66 ... See MoreSee Less

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Midwest Wanderer

2 days ago

We're taking our granddaughter on a mini Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway road trip. A few highlights from Day 1.#route66 ... See MoreSee Less

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Midwest Wanderer

5 days ago

The World's Only Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota, had been on my bucket list for years. We finally made it there in the fall of 2019. Although today this is the world’s only corn palace, it wasn’t the first. The first was in Sioux City, Iowa, which opened in 1887. It was so popular that over the next half-century at least 34 grain palaces were built across Midwest towns. However, the only one that lasted into the 21st century is the one in Mitchell, and it’s a-maize-ing to see.Each year the World's Only Corn Palace is redecorated, using at least a dozen natural colors of corn, plus other grains and natural grasses. Travel South Dakota Visit Mitchell! #cornpalace ... See MoreSee Less

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