Favorite Landmark on the Plains while Chasing?

[James Gustina]

So I was just thinking about this the other day, that a chase is not complete for me until I see one of my favorite landmarks of the state I'm in. It tends not to even be anything special, just an abandoned house or sign/shop I remember. For example, the Gray County rest stop in the Texas panhandle just west of Alanreed is one of my favorite landmarks in the panhandle. It's just in such a cool spot and I always go by it at some point while chasing out in the panhandle. Does anyone else have anything like that in the states they chase in?

 

[Sean Ramsey]

I've always enjoyed stopping by a place called "Big Basin" in Kansas about midway between Dodge City and the Oklahoma state line. There is a herd of free roaming buffalo and St. Jacobs natural spring, and there's really no one ever there so you can enjoy the peace and quiet and listen to the sounds of nature. I always try to stop by there early on chase days where the setup is in SW or Western Kansas and I have time to spare.

 

[Jacob Ferden]

The rest areas by Alanreed are awesome being right on the Caprock. Other favorites of mine are the Cadillac Ranch by Amarillo, the drive past the Wichitas between Lawton and Altus, the Gloss Mountains west of Enid, and the drive between Medicine Lodge and Coldwater through the hills.

But there are two at the top of my list.

1. Whenever I leave Norman on a chase for the Lawton / Wichita Falls / Altus / Childress area, I take Highway 9 west from Norman. You reach the top of a hill as you climb out of the Canadian river valley, right before the turnpike spur starts. There's something about the view from the top of that hill that says to me "It's a chase day. Life is good." Can't explain it.

2. The intersection of highways 34 and 64 in northwest Oklahoma. I've sat at the pullout there on more than one occasion while awaiting initiation and the long views and solitude are just incredible.

 

[Dan Robinson]

When I started driving to the Great Plains from West Virginia, the landmarks along I-64, I-44 and I-70 became welcome symbols of a chase trip getting under way. Crossing the Sherman Minton Bridge in Louisville, the flaming gas wells along the Wabash River, the open prairies of Illinois (which I almost always passed at sunset), the Oklahoma state line sign at Joplin/Baxter Springs, the over-the-highway McDonald's at Vinita, and even all the cheesy tourist trap billboards in Missouri. The biggest for me was the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, my halfway point to the Great Plains, and the defining symbol that I was entering 'chase country'. Passing this every spring on the way to the Plains to do something I loved played no small part in me choosing to live in St. Louis when I finally moved from West Virginia.

There are countless landmarks across the Midwest and Plains that are like meeting old friends on the road. Some are more obvious, some just everyday objects that locals pass by without a thought. I could probably sit here and list a hundred of them.

 

[Mike Johnston]

I guess it's probably the water tower in Lenexa, KS, along I-35 as you head southwest out of Kansas City. Kind of a sudden sensation of freedom as you're now beyond the clutches of the city and out on the open road. The land becomes flat and the trees more scarce. I realize it's not the exact place where the prairie meets the plains, but it sure feels like it.

 

[JeffGonzales]

My favorite is in Salina, KS. If I ever chase in central KS or on a drive to TX or OK I always make an effort to eat at The Cozy Inn. Best little burgers out there. I have had many a chase target choosen over the other based on if I can go to Cozy Inn it's that good.

 

[Adam Lucio]

Not really a landmark, or in the plains for that matter...but Iowa 80 holds a special place in my heart. More so for the fact that everytime I visit, it means Im heading out west to do what I love most. I actually time my gas fill ups so that we always need to stop there.

 

[Dan Robinson]

I do the same thing Adam, I've tried to time my fill-ups so I always stop at the same places on the way out west. When I lived in Charleston WV, I made a point to fill up at a station just on the west side of the metro area (the Teays Valley exit on I-64). This made my second fuel stop the Pilot in Warrenton/Evansville Indiana on I-64, every time. For many years, that Pilot had the cheapest gas between St. Louis and WV. Not so much these days. My third fuel stop would always be somewhere between Springfield and Joplin, Missouri, usually the Mt. Vernon, MO exit on I-44. Most trips, I also stopped to sleep in my truck/car for a few hours somewhere in that area.

Now that I live on the IL side of the St. Louis metro, my Missouri fuel stops aren't as consistent. If I'm below half a tank or so, I'll wait to fill up on the Missouri side of the river since gas is 30 cents cheaper than in IL. That gets me to Tulsa if I'm heading down I-44, or well into Kansas on I-70.

Since I'm a fairly picky coffee drinker, the few exits with Starbucks along the way have also been regulars. Hurstbourne Ave in Louisville and Range Line Road in Joplin have been my most frequent coffee stops.

It's interesting how ingrained the trip *to* the Plains, and the associated stops/landmarks, are in my overall fondness for chasing. So much so that if I lived *in* the Plains, I'd really miss that aspect of it.

 

[Jeff Smith]

The old Artesian well on Hwy 11 northeast of Cherokee, OK. My dad used to stop there with me as a child. Bring your water jugs!

 

[Bob Schafer]

I still like to drive by the Dairy King building in Last Chance CO. My first ever *real* chase in 1999 included driving past that, while I was so high on adrenaline I was completely unable to use the clutch/shifter in my car properly. Anybody know when the Dairy King went out of business? It seems like it was about 5 years ago at this point.

 

[Scott Sims]

Mine are similar to Dan and Adam's. I have two main routes for plains excursions, so the gas and sleep stops are different for each one. Typically if the target is Central KS or northward I am on I-70 and stop at Oak Grove MO(just East of KC) for gas and to grab some quick car sleep at the Super Wal-Mart. For Anything south of Wichita, I take US 60 from Sikeston to Springfield, MO and grab gas between Springfield and the last free exit at Baxter Springs to hop on US 166 along the OK-KS border. On this route my favorite sleeping spot is the Coffeyville KS Super Wal-mart. Both of the Wal-Mart's are new and on the edge of town, so they have low night traffic and relatively quiet corners of the parking lot.

On I-70, I do also love to see the wind farm near Ellsworth, KS. That's when I know I am mostly beyond the trees and into the real plains.

 

[Mike Johnston]

Mine are similar to Dan and Adam's. I have two main routes for plains excursions, so the gas and sleep stops are different for each one. Typically if the target is Central KS or northward I am on I-70 and stop at Oak Grove MO(just East of KC) for gas and to grab some quick car sleep at the Super Wal-Mart. For Anything south of Wichita, I take US 60 from Sikeston to Springfield, MO and grab gas between Springfield and the last free exit at Baxter Springs to hop on US 166 along the OK-KS border. On this route my favorite sleeping spot is the Coffeyville KS Super Wal-mart. Both of the Wal-Mart's are new and on the edge of town, so they have low night traffic and relatively quiet corners of the parking lot.

On I-70, I do also love to see the wind farm near Ellsworth, KS. That's when I know I am mostly beyond the trees and into the real plains.

Actually, you're almost exactly correct. As documented by Walter Prescott Webb in his book "The Great Plains", the 98th meridian (line of longitude) defines the boundary of the Great Plains. The Great Plains are characterized by 1) a level surface, 2) a treeless region, and 3) a sub-humid or semi-arid climate. As it turns out, the line of 98th longitude runs in between Salina, KS and Ellsworth, KS.

 

[James Gustina]

Sorry all, I didn't mean to keep it restricted to the Plains! Force of habit when I typed that I guess. I forgot to add on, this wild flower field on the Northwest Passage roughly halfway between Watonga and Seiling and the Flint Hills on I-70 between Junction City and Topeka. I love the transition from rolling prairie to the gradually flatter terrain just west of Salina.

 

[StephenHenry]

Oh jeez, is this thread making anyone else feel SDS as much as me??

Climbing up onto the Llano Estacado driving east on I-40 out of New Mexico is what officially marks the start of a chase for me. Such an exciting feeling of freedom and wide-openness as the desert is left behind and the plains open up. I also love the sphere-on-a-pole style water towers in central/eastern Kansas. Always makes me think of the 1973 Salina tornado (something I drew as a kid over and over). My favorite spot is probably the miniature statue of liberty along highway 9 southeast of Gaylord KS. Such a random landmark, but a great spot to wait for initiation.

 

[Matt Ashworth]

Not really a landmark for chasing but whenever I go through Kansas I almost always pass through Salina. Seeing that massive grain elevator off by the I-135/I-70 junction has always marked a trip half-over for me whenever I visit relatives in Oklahoma.

Since I've only just begun chasing last year my experiences are limited, however there is a small farm road just south of Moline, KS that holds something of a special place in my memory. It was May 19th and my partners and myself had just fled Wichita as a tornado-spawning hail storm passed through the city. We traveled east until we got to KS 99 and headed south to Moline where we sat and watched the squall line for few hours. As we left our spot I noticed that the road marker for that farm road simply read 'Cyclone', and now every time I pass through the area I stop by that same spot and just think about that day.