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By Susan Breslow Sardone
MIDWEST
SCENIC DRIVE #4: Illinois/Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Route
For the ultimate scenic drive in the midwest, just add water: On the 57-mile-long Great Rivers Scenic Route, you'll travel to where the Missouri, Mississippi, and Illinois rivers meet in the heart of the USA.
Stretching from the midwest towns of Kampsville to Hartford, the route encompasses historic villages, islands, farmland, apple and peach orchards, and forests.
In spots where the route rambles between high bluffs and the rolling midwest rivers, you can see water for miles.
Two ferries on this scenic drive add to the sense of travel adventure.
Midwest towns to pause at include Kampsville, home to the American Center for Archeology and a favorite of Civil War re-enactors; Grafton, which has a visitors' center, museum, and antiques shops; 19th-century Elsah, on the National Historic Register and dotted with B&Bs; and Alton, site of the last Lincoln-Douglas debate and where traditional midwest food, drink, and lodging await.
At Pere Marquette State Park there's a stately circa-1930 lodge with a gracious dining room. Nature and hiking trails and prehistoric sites surround the midwest park, and visitors can horseback ride, camp, fish, and view exhibits at the Visitor's Center.
Along the route you'll also encounter the Mark Twain Wildlife Refuge, where you may spot an American bald eagle, pelicans, hawks, and perhaps an elusive owl. Picnic in Cliffton Terrace Park; five miles beyond, view the pictograph of the mythical Piasa Bird, a half-cat, half-bird creature revered by early Native Americans.
It's painted on the side of a tall bluff.
Other attractions along this scenic midwest drive include Camp DuBois, built by Lewis and Clark; The Clark Bridge, an engineering marvel that spans the Mississippi; the Melvin Price Locks and Dam Complex; and National Great Rivers Museum, which helps explain the effort that went into taming the mighty rivers.
SCENIC DRIVE #5: Indiana/Historic National Road
Allow more than three hours to take in the retro sights along the 156-mile-long stretch of Indiana's Historic National Road, the first federally funded interstate highway.
Get your bearings at the Old National Road Welcome Center, then head to historic Richmond, founded in 1806. In addition to its four National Register Historic Districts dotted with restaurants and shops, you can visit Hayes Regional Arboretum, Gaar Mansion, the Richmond Art Museum, and the Indiana Football Hall of Fame.
Centerville contains the world's largest antique mall, and the midwest's Antique Alley is just a few miles beyond. Huddleston Farmhouse Inn Museum in Cambridge City depicts the lives of early westward travelers and Hoosier families. Knightstown boasts several antiques malls.
Then travel to downtown Indianapolis, the state capital.
There's everything from the Indianapolis Zoo to Whitewater State Park to capture visitors' attention. At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, some 75 winning cars are on display.
Ten miles outside of Indianapolis, grab a cup of java at The Diner in Plainfield, a midwest roadside remnant of the 1940s. Then the road opens to wide prairie vistas and miles of farmland. To savor the wholesome fresh-picked produce of the midwest, pause at a roadside stand.
At the end of the drive, roll into Terre Haute, filled with cultural, sports, midwest historic attractions, and home to Flower Park Pioneer Village and the Sheldon Swope Art Museum -- featuring works from the 19th and 20th centuries to bring you back to the present.
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