Houston To Chicago and Back !!!

Hi.

I've conference to attend in Chicago and planning roadtrip with my Family from Houston To Chicago. I need to make stop in Moline, IL on the way to Chicago. So, my planning is to take,

1. I-45, I-35 and I-80 on way to Chicago going through Moline, IL. I'd be going through major cities like Dallas, Oklahoma City, Wichita, Kansas City, Des Moine etc. I'd love to hear your suggestion on what could we stop and see on the road. Our family interest is to Visit major attractions on the way. Please help me with that. Also any other comments on roads ahead would be much appreciated.

2. On way back, I'd be driving through route suggested by Google Maps. It takes me through Memphis and Little Rock. Any suggestions on attractions on way back too would much appreciated.

Thakns

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Mapping programs such as Google Maps and others will invariably suggest as close to all-Interstate routes as they can, since these roads were built expressly for the purpose of tying together the different major cities and areas of the country with a high speed network of roads. But therein also lies the rub. Because they were built to tie together cities, that's where they go. But that may not be what you and your family find a great RoadTrip adventure, Since even by Interstate, the drive to Chicago is going to take 3 days, I might start looking at using some of the 'old' US highway system and maybe another day, and making an adventure of it. For example, after putting down a few miles to Dallas, you could strike out on US-75/US-69 (often of freeway quality anyway) up into Oklahoma and Arrowhead State Park and Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge on the Arkansas River, to I-44 through the Ozarks and St Louis where a visit to the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial would be in order, You could then head north along the Mississippi to Hannibal, MO and Nauvoo. IL on your way to Moline.

On the way back, there are plenty of sites in central and southern Illinois associated with Abraham Lincoln, Mud Island in Memphis, and Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas that you and yours might find interesting.

AZBuck