Day 80 (August 2). Midwest Interstate

From: Bethany, MO

To: Springfield, IL

Miles today: 296

Total miles: 16523

OK, here is one nice thing about the scenery in this region: they have great clouds, often with striking results at sunset. Here is the view over my motel parking lot last evening.

Thunderhead at sunset over my motel in Bethany, Missouri

I left Bethany, MO, this morning on the small road MO 13 south, in order to get to US 36 and across Missouri. This was a pleasant two-lane road, and I enjoyed the ride.  But it was muggy, and the temperature was already in the high 80’s. I knew when I planned this trip that I would be end would involve this kind of weather – it is August, and I live in Virginia – and those chickens are now roosting. 

Roadside view of northwest Missouri (north of Kansas City) from Route MO 13.

I had hoped that US 36 would be more two-lane, like US 34 had been yesterday, but it turned out to be four-lane divided highway – essentially Interstate.  You don’t see much from these roads, but oh well.  I hauled across Missouri in the heat and humidity, cruising at about 70 (the posted speed limit), and pulled into Hannibal around 2 pm. Diana and I had been here in 2009, when we were looking at colleges for her to attend, and the place looked exactly the same.  It is the boyhood home of Mark Twain, and a major part of the town is set up to celebrate this fact.  For me, though, the key feature is that Hannibal is on the Mississippi River, which I crossed shortly thereafter.

The required Mark Twain Steamboat in Hannibal, Missouri.  That's the Mississippi River.

After another hundred miles of Interstate (I-72 – official this time), I arrived in Springfield, Illinois. I found an affordable hotel in the downtown section (this is a pretty big city, with a lot of sprawl), and looked forward to a walk around in the evening when things cooled off.  I did this, and what I saw seemed quite nice (see the pix below).  But there was something odd – almost no people!  I had been in other cities where the downtown emptied out at night, but the buildings there were all hi-rises. There were large sections of neighborhood here that looked like there ought to be hundreds of people out for an evening stroll, or a bite or a drink, but there were not.  Granted, this is a Sunday evening, but still, it struck me as odd. I also have the feeling that I am the only guest tonight in this fairly large downtown hotel. 

Downtown Springfield, Illinois, at 8 pm on a Sunday evening.  Nice, but no people!

After finally finding an open food joint, on my return walk, one of the few locals out saw me looking around and half-muttered, “If you are a tourist, what the heck are you doing in Springfield?”  I chose to engage – “Why, I’ve never been here.”  He went on to say that all they had was “Lincoln this, Lincoln that,” and lamented that they drummed this into everyone all the time. At one point, after I made a comment about the TV show “The Simpsons,” he quickly informed me that the legend that every state had a town called Springfield in it was false; there are only seven such states. 

Of course, there is something in Springfield – it is the State Capitol.  But what I think may be missing from this town is a major university.  U of I has a branch here, the former Sangamon State University, but it fairly small and on the outskirts.  There are two private colleges as well, but the big university towns in Illinois are Chicago and Champaign-Urbana. I think Springfield feels this absence.