Day 2 – My Crazy Cross-Country Road Trip – Kentucky State Parks
On the 2nd day of the trip, I drove about 500 miles from Charleston, West Virginia to Cahokia, Illinois. I went through the states of West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois and landed just across the river from St. Louis, Missouri. It was about an 8-hour drive with a couple of short detours. I made a stop at the fort that I mentioned in Day 1 and since I haven’t spent much time in Kentucky I decided to visit one of the Kentucky State Parks that was near my route.
Leaving Charleston West Virginia
I left the wonderful Strawn Chalet Airbnb just before 8 am. I had enough time to head up the hill to check out the remains of Fort Scammon. (More on these in my Day 1 post here.) This indentation in the earth is all that’s left of the fort site. An untrained eye would likely never know that there was anything significant there, so it was helpful that there were signs.
After a quick stop at the “fort”, I drove downhill and caught this view of the misty sun streaming through the trees. I don’t do much driving in the early morning these days, but this reminded me that there’s something magical about those early hours when the world is still asleep. There have been seasons in my life when I had to be out the door before dawn, and I can appreciate the freshness of the crisp air in those early morning hours.
If I have the option, I don’t get up that early, but I can do ok in the morning if I’ve had enough sleep. On this trip, I had the chance to go to bed at a decent hour most nights and often woke up earlier than usual. One day I woke up at 4:30 am! I’m guessing it was because of the time change as I drove west across the country. The time difference in Arizona is 3 hours earlier than Virginia in the summer.
Grayson Lake – Kentucky State Parks
Since I was traveling in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, I wasn’t planning on making a bunch of sight-seeing stops, mostly for safety reasons. I did have a target lodging check-in time each day though, and I sometimes ended up with an extra hour or so to kill during the day. Today I decided to take a quick 13-mile detour south of Interstate 64 to see Grayson Lake State Park near Olive Hill, Kentucky.
The land in this beautiful 1500+ acre park is the former home of Shawnee and Cherokee Native Americans. The park offers a wealth of amenities including a tornado shelter and a golf course! (You know you’re in the center of the country when you find tornado shelters.)
You’ll also find fishing, boating, camping, hiking, swimming, picnic areas, and playgrounds. But most of all relaxation and fresh air. The park and golf course are open year-round. Campgrounds are normally open from mid-March to mid-November. There have been expected changes in some park and campground rules due to COVID-19, so be sure to check the Kentucky State Parks COVID Updates page for the latest information before you go.
See Fall Colors at Grayson Lake
Based on the types of trees I saw on this poster at the park, including red and silver maples, oaks, ash, and more, this looks like a perfect place to see the gorgeous leaves change color in the fall.
Since I was at Grayson Lake at the end of July I didn’t get to see fall colors. I did enjoy the blues of the water and the greens of the trees and grass. It was a warm day, but I took a nice walk by the lake to get some fresh air, stretch my legs and take a few pictures, then headed back north to my road trip route. This is a perfect example of a way to get out, but still safely socially distance.
If you’d like to learn more about the other 44 Kentucky State Parks on the map above visit the official site here. The parks are not all about nature either. Eighteen sites have historical significance. Some of them also have lodges and cabins to rent. And they’re always on the lookout for volunteers.
Or check out this “Complete Guide to Kentucky State Parks” Have you visited any of them? Which is your favorite?
End of Day Recap
I saw miles and miles of highways, farmland, and lush leafy trees driving through the heartland of America. The sapphire blue skies were dotted with cotton candy clouds. Sometimes they dropped a few sprinkles, but nothing to really slow me down.
All in all, it was one of my more uneventful days. I thought I’d rate the roadside rest areas since they can be a critical part of any road trip. The West Virginia roadside rest stops rate about a C+ since the restrooms weren’t as clean as they could be. The landscaping was nice and shady and there was plenty of open space to let kids and pets roam around though.
Cahokia Illinois Airbnb
My Airbnb in Cahokia, Illinois (just across the river from St. Louis, Missouri) was a quiet location, clean, cost-effective, and close to downtown St. Louis, but I’d rate it probably a B- at best (slightly above average). It was not horrible, but tiles were chipped, a seat cushion was torn and overall it felt like some things in the living areas could have been better. If you need a basic, clean 2-bedroom place to stay in that area it’s workable, but since I only recommend awesome places, I won’t mention the specifics of their listing here. If you’d like more info about it, feel free to send me a message.
Cahokia, IL Restaurant Experience
COVID-19 virus case numbers in St. Louis were trending up, so I was trying to avoid contact with locals as much as possible. Because of that, I decided to pick up a burger at a local drive-through restaurant. I ended up waiting literally a half-hour in the drive-through line on a 90-degree day, for food that was nothing to write home about. That wasn’t what I’d hoped for at the end of my long drive. I’m not including the full review here. If you’d like to read about my experience at Classic K Hamburgers, in Cahokia, you can see it on my TripAdvisor profile.
Next on the Itinerary
Did you know there’s a town named Manhattan, Kansas? I didn’t before this road trip. Tomorrow, on Day 3 I’ll be heading there for my next stop. I’ll share about discovering Lavender Latte in St. Louis (say that 5 times really fast). You’ll also get to know a little about the quaint town of Manhattan and the wonderful Airbnb where I stayed, plus a few other fun tidbits. BTW, none of these lodging options were comped. I wanted to help support these small businesses during the pandemic.
Many of my friends and family said I was brave to undertake this 5000+ mile road trip. Would you do a solo road trip? Have you done one? What was your favorite part? Do you have any concerns about doing a cross-country road trip? Let me know your questions and I’ll try to answer them.
More About My Road Trip
USA Cross-Country Road Trip – Day 1
The Best Road Trip Songs and Artists
Missouri’s Best Foods, Parks & Road Trip Fun
Road Trip Destination – Manhattan Kansas – Day 3
Eisenhower Presidential Library – Abilene Kansas – Day 4
Americana Street Art in Abilene Kansas – Road Trip – Day 4
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Category: Kentucky, Southeast States
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I do love a road trip and this one looks really lovely. I have done two in California with lots of stops along the way but never solo, I think I need someone to talk to along the way. I have done road trips around Australia and the mileage blew me away! Here in the UK, you can drive from the England to the top of Scotland in just 830miles!
I’ve only done a few solo road trips. This one wasn’t a “normal” trip in many ways, but I enjoyed the freedom to stop where I wanted and explore some small towns I’d never heard of before. I LOVE that the UK is so easy to get from one place to another. Except, of course, the driving on the other side of the road. That’s a tough one to get used to. We’ve been to Scotland and Ireland, and England is still up near the top of our list. I can’t wait until we can get there.
I love when you have time on a road trip to take some time to stop for a visit. It looks like the Kentucky State Parks was a good choice for some space when travelling during the pandemic. It does look like this would be great in the fall with the changing colours of leaves. Getting food on road trips is often a bit of a challenge for us too. The long line ups often make us think if it is worth it. Sometimes we just hit a grocery store and picnic.
Right, Linda. I had a small cooler and a good variety of snacks in the car. Thankfully I only needed to make one stop each day for a meal when I was on the road. Since I do like to try local restaurants I wanted to see what options I could find and still safely distance. This one was the only big disappointment of the trip. Reviews on Yelp and Google usually steer me in the right direction, but not so much this time.
Road trips are definitely the way to travel right now. It looks like Kentucky offers plenty to see and do along the way! I would imagine the fall foliage would be beautiful!!
What an epic journey! I have taken a few solo road trips & enjoyed them just meandering & stopping where I fancied. But my recent one was great to be able to share the load of the driving with a friend in Scotland. It meant that we got a break to just enjoy the scenery! I also agree with you about being an early riser, when you don’t have to it can be a really special experience to see the start of a new day. Feels like a privelege. Good luck with the rest of your journeyz
Thanks Sue! I definitely enjoy having someone to share the driving so I can pay more attention to the scenery. We loved our trip to Scotland – and such gorgeous scenery.
I do love road trips and yours is a beautiful one. 500 miles and 5 states is awesome. I have done a few in the US – from Cincinnati, Ohio to Smoky Mountains, and then there was one to Niagara Falls in Ontario. We did one for Thanksgiving one year and the fall foliage was absolutely breathtaking. Haven’t explored much of Kentucky yet but you have certainly given me ideas to explore.
Hi Georgina, This was just the first day of my cross-country trip. I traveled over 5000 miles in just a couple of weeks. I agree that road trips are the best. Thanks for stopping by.
I respect women who feel the call to take a drive, or relocate interstate or internationally own their own. Having spent most of my life prior to relocating elsewhere in the world, I had many solo drives around Australia. There’s a sense of personal freedom and fulfillment that brings heightened levels and greater understanding of the world we live in. A humbling peace of mind that is felt at a personal level and is very personable. It’s for you…no one else! Enjoyed reading Day 2.
Thanks Marilyn, I agree wholeheartedly. There’s just something magical about the total freedom of traveling solo.
I would love to see state parks in US as they are very huge, green and amazing place to hike around. Grayson Lake Reservoir at Kentucky state park is very photogenic and also a good place to relax and enjoy nature. I would love to see fall colors here as to see all those shades of oranges must be really a unique experience.
I agree Yukti, Fall is my favorite season. The colors are amazing!