January 6, 2026 [LINK / comment]

Happy New Year! (relatively speaking)

I just returned from a hectic overland journey to visit my brothers Chris, John, and Dan out in the Great Plains, sometimes referred to as "God's Country" -- but probably not in the winter months! Having grown up out in those hinterlands, I was prepared with the appropriate wool sweaters, heavy socks, a scarf, and long underwear. They came in handy more than once!

Time was of the essence on this trip, so on the day after Christmas I drove straight west along I-64 until St. Louis without any significant stops along the way. I arrived at my brother Dan's house in Kansas just in time for the Saturday night "Svengoolie" horror movie on MeTV. (It's sort of a family tradition.) As in the case of my road trip in August (see below), this trip was occasioned by a serious challenge of a private nature facing the family; hence the qualified "Happy New Year" above. John was still there, and we attempted to go birding on Sunday, but conditions were brutal, and we didn't see many birds. On Monday, I resumed driving, headed straight north toward the biggest city in South Dakota, Sioux Falls. It had snowed the day before, and some of the roads were still a bit iffy. I went birding a few miles east of Sioux Falls, but didn't do any real touristy things there this time. After a few nights at my brother Chris's house, on New Years's Day I headed back south to the Kansas City area, where Dan was awaiting. I had some success birding at Heritage Park in Olathe, Kansas.

Early on Saturday morning I headed back east again, with bright blue skies for virtually the first time in my entire trip. (It had been overcast and cold almost the entire time up until then.) I took advantage of the improved conditions to take photos in downtown Kansas City, Kansas, which I had never visited before, and then likewise in Kansas City, Missouri, followed by a brief stop at a motel on the northeast side of the Harry S Truman Sports Complex: Kauffman Stadium and GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Later in the day I drove along some back streets in St. Louis in hopes of getting a better photo of the city skyline. It was interesting, but I was not entirely satisfied. The next day I spent about an hour exploring downtown Louisville, Kentucky, and visited the minor league Louisville Slugger Field for the first time. After that it was just a straight shot along I-64 through Kentucky into West Virginia, and then my native state of Virginia. I got home just in time to see the fourth quarter of the Washington Commanders - Philadelphia Eagles football game. Somehow the former Redskins pulled off a victory, ending a terrible season on an upbeat note!

The skylines of (top to bottom) Kansas City, MO, St. Louis, MO, and Louisville, KY, on January 3 and 4. Larger-size versions of those respective skyline panoramas will be posted soon, with some sort of follow-up blog post including details of my trip. (NOTE: The Louisville skyline image has been retouched.)

Anyway, it was an enjoyable if somewhat stressful trip in which I was driving for the better part of six days total, and resting for four days. I chose to drive (rather than fly or take Amtrak) to maximize flexibility to coordinate arrangements with my brothers.

Road trip, August 2025

In early August, I headed southwest along I-81 toward Tennessee, rather than my usual route through West Virginia. I wanted to see Bristol Motor Speedway, where a baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds was being played. On the morning of Day 2 I visited Nashville for the very first time, then stopped briefly at Fort Campbell, Kentucky and Tennessee (home of the 101st Airborne Division), and finally made it to the suburbs of Kansas City late around dusk. There we had a reunion of the four Clem brothers. For the next two weeks I visited various sites in Kansas, including the capital city of Topeka, as well as parks and nature preserves in the suburbs.

On my return trip I stopped in Columbia to see the University of Missouri, and then went to Jefferson City to see the state capitol for the first time. Then I headed northeast through Mexico, MO (!), stopped for about an hour in Hannibal, MO, made famous by riverboat pilot and author Mark Twain. Late in the day I stopped at Springfield, Illinois for the first time. The next day I stopped in Indianapolis but was disappointed that the state capitol was being repaired, with scaffolding and a big crane. Passing through Charleston, West Virginia late in the day yielded a sixth state capitol!

The state capitols of (clockwise from top left) Kansas, Missouri, Indiana*, Tennessee*, West Virginia, and Illinois. (August, 2025)

* The state capitols of Indiana and Tennessee were being renovated, hence the scaffolding.

Football stadiums (clockwise from top left): Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis), GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium (KC), PayCor Stadium (Cincinnati), Memorial Stadium (Columbia, MO), (David Booth) Kansas Memorial Stadium (Lawrence, KS), Memorial Stadium (Champaign, IL), and Nissan Stadium (Nashville). (August, 2025)

To see some of the above photos in larger size, see the Chronological Photos, 2025 web gallery page, which is still "under construction."