A recap of last summer’s sojourn down, across, up, diagonally through, and then up again in Missouri. First up, a short report, on a day spent traveling.
Ava, Missouri, June 22, 2014 — I mostly followed US 65 down to I-44, with one small hiccup: It was closed between Lucas and IA 2, so I went via Chariton and Cambria. After Sedalia, I was on a part of 65 I hadn’t been before. It was relatively early by the time I got to Springfield, so I bypassed it on I-44 and MO 360 turned eastward on US 60. I got to Mansfield and turned south to add another county not just to duck in and out, but stay overnight.
Princeton MO, at US 65/136, has a really new Casey’s. A woman in front of me bought cigarettes and scratch tickets — “those numbers are the only thing I’m superstitious about.”
I entered four new counties, but not one of them had a name unique to my travels.
Guess what season it is.
Good ol’ Rocky Mountain Northern Ozark Oysters.
Although US 60 has been upgraded to four lanes across southern Missouri, at Springfield it reverts to being a lesser route, and MO 360 serves as the four-lane connecting it to I-44.