In early August I headed up to southeast South Dakota from Tulsa for a family reunion on my dad’s side of the family.
I love the drive up there and the fastest route generally keeps me off the freeways most of the way. That kind of suits me. Lots less traffic and lots more to see. I love the big skies in the Midwest.
I also enjoy the small towns. Lots to see there. I like to see old infrastructure of almost any kind. The Midwest has lots of agriculture infrastructure to look at and photograph.
I also love their county courthouses. Nice big solid buildings for the most part.
Something I noticed on this trip that I don’t remember seeing much before is the plethora of barn quilts. In eastern Kansas it seemed like everybody had a barn quilt, the county courthouse had this one on the grounds. Doing the google thing I find out that barn quilts are kind of folk art that has been in the Midwest states especially for a long time. They are designs painted on wood that are then hung on barns originally. Kind of cool is what I think.
Getting close to my destination as the sun started declining I pulled off the freeway to get this shot.
Anyway it takes me a while to get anywhere and I enjoyed myself. When my wife goes with me she doesn’t put up with that kind of nonsense. I don’t blame her. But I enjoyed my drive up through America’s heartland of Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota.
I am linking with Skywatch Friday
Barn quilt describes the art form well. Also, love the creative town signage and needed a second look to spot the initiative taken by the new-to-me presidential candidate. 🙂
…I like the Burlington Kansas sign, but it isn’t easy to read!
Beautiful sky shots! The courthouse and gazebo reminds me of the one in a nearby town.
I like the welcome sign and the photo of the sky and field is very peaceful!
Big sky. Pioneer courthouses in town squares. “Collecting ” interesting signs …. three favorite things from our roadtripping days. After 60 plus years, I’m pretty sure either one of us could give you a whole list of nonsense we won’t put up with about each other. And of course we don’t blame each other either! But one thing we agree on completely is our favorite kind of road trips are just like what you show today — on back roads with plenty of stops. I’ve told more than a few people that we enjoyed RVing through the center of the country; I’m sad for those who dismiss it as ‘flyover country’.
The buildings are very different to here, please share some more of the scenery.
Those blue skies seem to reach right up to heaven. Beautiful photos
Lindo s cielos, genial viaje por carretera. Te mando un beso.
I enjoyed these pictures. On Skywatch, you asked about fairs. I posted some night pictures of the local county fair. I don’t bother to go to them anymore. After you’ve seen a couple, you’ve seen them all.
By the way, Skywatch has a link for SWF fans on Facebook, but it does not work.
Look pretty flowers.
Coffee is on, and stay safe.
Hello,
I love a road trip! Great photos. The last two are my favorites.
Take care, enjoy your day and happy weekend.
Instant love for that Burlington welcome sign. Catfish capitol? Who knew? But seriously, I always liked seeing how Kansas small towns were constructed when I lived in Wichita, with the large town squares. We don’t have anything quite like that in NY, but we do have the quilt blocks, especially in western New York.
Beautiful clear blue skies!!!!
It is fun to travel and stop and take photographs isn’t it? Trip is longer but……. Enjoy the family get together. Be safe.
Gorgeous sky shot. I like how you turn your travel time into a road trip with lots of stops along the way!
We love to travel the back roads when we travel. So many interesting places to see. Beautiful sunset.
I don’t know if I will ever have the chance to do a road trip in America’s heartland so I’m really happy to armchair travel with you.
Love the Welcome sign and the amazing sky of that sunset photo. When we start RVing, we’ll definitely pay a visit to America’s heartland.
I like smaller roads too. Highways are so boring.
Spectacular colors on the last one. Great shot!
Great photos of the Midwest. As someone who has been to Kansas and Missouri, I loved your photos.
Happy WE!
WOW!!! I love these big skies in the Midwest too! They do something relaxing with me. The small-town images are so narrative and moody and the last sky photo is breathtaking! Have great Sunday Yogi! And enjoy your family time.
Big skies and straight roads! Courthouses in smaller towns are nice to see. My town seems to have a motto of “newer is better,” and they replace anything old. We do have a Carnegie library, but it’s not a library anymore.
Wide open spaces! I love the twisty sign.
Love that glorious sky.
Big skies, interesting buildings with small towns to explore. What is there not to like.
Getting off the main roads and see what the country is really like is a wonderful adventure. A few years back my wife and I took a drive through Texas Hill Country. We left the interstate just south of Waco and drove through some awesome country, saw some great court houses and interesting small towns. We want to do it again. Nice images along the way Yogi.