Illinois 2022 (Feb)
Canton & Moline, Illinois
Wednesday, February 2 through Sunday, February 6
We drove from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Canton, Illinois and Moline, Illinois, including an overnight stop at Salina, Kansas (northeast-bound) and at Merriam, Kansas (southwest-bound). The unpleasant primary purpose of the trip was to attend my father's burial at White Chapel Memory Gardens in Canton, Illinois. We also visited (drove by) several points of interest in both Canton and Moline (including former residences and schools in both cities). We intended to travel to Illinois via Joplin, Missouri, but a winter storm necessitated the detour through Kansas.
I tracked the trip with a Bad Elf GPS Pro+ GPSr (GPS receiver).
NOTE: the downloadable GPX tracks are the full GPX files, while those shown on the provided "view map" links are simplified (with minimal effect on geographic accuracy) for much faster viewing.
Original GPX tracks are unedited, except as noted.
Businesses are named below for reference only. No endorsement should be inferred. If you wish to see my opinion of the places mentioned, see TripAdvisor (for those that I have actually rated).
Overview
- Overview map—This is a composite map of all the GPS tracks on a blank US/Canada map.
- All GPS tracks / view map—The whole trip, including walking, driving, etc.
Wednesday, February 2
- GPX / view map—Driving from the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma area to the first night stop at Salina, Kansas. Much of the drive was rather slow, because of falling and drifting snow, particularly in southern and central Kansas. We stopped for dinner in McPherson, Kansas.
Thursday, February 3
- GPX / view map—Driving from Salina, Kansas to Canton, Illinois. This time, the roads were clear, until about 80 km west of Hannibal, Missouri. From there, road conditions deteriorated quickly, and remained occasionally “interesting” the rest of the way to Canton. Along the way, we stopped near Fort Riley to see the “atomic cannon” (a.k.a. “Atomic Annie”).
- GPX / view map—Driving to and from Monical’s Pizza (for dinner). I worked there more than 40 years ago.
Friday, February 4
- GPX / view map—Driving from the hotel to the funeral home.
- GPX / view map—Driving from the funeral home to the hotel.
- GPX / view map—Driving “all over” Canton, Illinois.
Saturday, February 5
- GPX / view map—Driving from Canton, Illinois to Merriam, Kansas. We stopped in Moline, Illinois at my two former residences, then at an ice cream restaurant. Later, in West Des Moines, Iowa, we attempted to go to a pre-planned restaurant, only to find that they close for mid-afternoon on Saturday. We instead went to another restaurant for dinner nearby. The hotel in Merriam is the one we were bumped from last year, despite having a reservation. We didn’t have a problem this time.
Sunday, February 6
- GPX / view map—Driving from Merriam, Kansas to the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma area. We stopped for dinner just off the highway in Moore, Oklahoma.
