Oregon Trail: Ames Edition

French lick & the midwest

03.23.26

After our Mothman adventures we made our way to and through Kentucky, southern Indiana, and then Missouri. Before hitting the road we fueled up and strapped in, and of course had to get our travel buddy ready to go.

I have an Appa. He is a well-traveled stuffy who routinely drives with me to Atlanta, GA each year, and occasionally to Orlando. Mostly for Comic-Cons. But now he can add a cross-country adventure to his travel journal.

On the road, much of Kentucky and southern Indiana looked like Western Maryland …

… there were also exciting bits like these signs:

Though I’m approaching 40, I still laugh like a teenager at signs like the one outside our hotel pool. Also, sorry not sorry to the town of French Lick for having such a hilarious name. I’m sure the people there are aware and they probably hate people like me.

And that’s okay.

The landscape started to flatten out after Kentucky and into southern Indiana and Illinois. No surprise there. I’ve been through both all these states before so a good chunk of it felt familiar.

I’d like to callout Louisville for having some fabulous bridges and their steamboat game on point. And of course, the fabulous St. Louis.

We took a few snaps here and there of the land flattening out, with Independence, Missouri as our destination for the night. I mean, what better place to stop on a journey westward than everyone’s favorite starting point for the Oregon Trail.

The last note – if you’re ever in Kentucky and see this jerky at a gas station stop, don’t sleep on it. It is bussin.

It was delicious and sadly didn’t make it past Kansas.

Keep it groovy,

Ames

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