What looked like a straightforward drive from St. Louis to Wichita became one of the most spontaneous days of the entire trip.
Road Trip Day 3: Why the Best Stops Were Never Part of the Plan
Buc-ee’s, a billboard-inspired detour, seven Springfield murals and an unplanned visit to Wonders of Wildlife completely reshaped our drive from St. Louis to Wichita.
By the end of the day: I had taken nearly 700 photographs and we had skipped several places on the original itinerary without regretting the decision.
What Happened on Day 3 of Our Midwest Road Trip?
Day 3 took us from St. Louis to Wichita, but several spontaneous Missouri stops completely changed the schedule.
We stopped at Buc-ee’s, followed the relentless billboards to Uranus Fudge Factory, photographed seven murals around Springfield and unexpectedly spent several hours exploring Wonders of Wildlife.
By the time we finally reached Wichita, much of the original Route 66 plan had been abandoned.
I wouldn’t change the day.
St. Louis to Wichita
Leaving St. Louis for Wichita
After two days in St. Louis, Craig and I loaded the car and started west toward Wichita.
On paper, the plan looked easy: make a few Route 66 stops, photograph some roadside attractions and arrive in Kansas with enough time to settle in before the next phase of the trip.
Tanganyika Wildlife Park was waiting for us in Wichita and had been one of the biggest reasons I built this road trip in the first place.
The drive between St. Louis and Wichita was supposed to be mostly about getting there.
It didn’t stay that way for long.
Day 3 carried us west across Missouri toward Wichita, Kansas.
A Buc-ee’s stop was already part of the plan before the day began changing around us.
One More Buc-ee’s Checked Off the List
Whenever our route passes a Buc-ee’s location I haven’t visited, I have a hard time driving past it.
One of my personal travel goals is to eventually visit every location, so Springfield gave me another chance to add one to the list.
We stretched our legs, stocked up on road-trip snacks and took the obligatory photos before heading back toward the highway.
At this point, the schedule was still mostly intact.
Yes, the Mascot Photo Happened Too
Not every stop has to be historically important or deeply meaningful.
Road trips are also about little traditions, inside jokes and the places you enjoy simply because they make you smile.
For me, Buc-ee’s has become one of those traditions.
Another Buc-ee’s stop meant another photo for the growing collection.
Curiosity Took Us Straight to Uranus
The billboards along Interstate 44 eventually convinced us to stop.
If you’ve driven Interstate 44 through Missouri, you’ve probably seen the billboards.
They begin long before the exit and become progressively harder to ignore.
My curiosity—and appreciation for ridiculous humor—eventually won.
We pulled into Uranus.
I expected a small fudge shop and found an entire roadside attraction filled with bright buildings, funny signs, souvenirs and a commitment to the joke that never seemed to waver.
The stop worked because it wasn’t pretending to be serious.
It was simply fun.
More Than the Roadside Joke
The Fudge Factory and General Store was packed with candy, souvenirs and enough deliberately silly merchandise to keep us laughing as we walked around.
The music playing throughout the store was every bit as committed to the theme as the signs outside.
The result was exactly the kind of unplanned stop that makes a long driving day more memorable.
We could have kept going and stayed closer to schedule.
I’m glad we didn’t.
Fudge, candy and intentionally outrageous humor fill the General Store.
Springfield turned into an unplanned street-art stop, and we photographed seven murals.
A Mural Hunt Replaced Part of the Original Plan
Our original itinerary included the Route 66 Car Museum.
Instead, we decided to spend part of our Springfield time hunting murals.
I already had several locations saved, but I didn’t realize how much public art we would find once we started exploring.
By the time we finished, I had photographed seven murals.
Springfield immediately landed on my list of places I’d happily revisit with more time devoted specifically to street-art photography.
The Ferris Bueller Mural Fit the Day Perfectly
Of the seven murals we photographed, the Ferris Bueller piece became my favorite.
Its familiar “Life moves pretty fast” message felt particularly appropriate for a day when slowing down and changing plans kept leading us somewhere better.
Exploring a city we hadn’t planned to spend much time in became exactly the kind of decision that made this road trip memorable.
The Ferris Bueller mural became my favorite Springfield street-art find of the day.
Wonders of Wildlife Completely Reshaped Day 3
We stopped at Bass Pro Shops and ended up changing the rest of the day’s itinerary.
Craig had wanted to see the original Bass Pro Shops for years.
Our plan was straightforward: walk through the store, stretch our legs and keep moving west.
Then we saw an admission offer for Wonders of Wildlife.
During our June 2026 visit, two combination tickets for the aquarium and wildlife museum were being offered for $66.
We looked at each other and decided to go.
That one decision changed the rest of Day 3.
The Best Aquarium I’ve Visited
I’ve visited aquariums around the country, and Wonders of Wildlife immediately moved to the top of my list.
The reason wasn’t simply the number of animals.
The environments felt immersive.
Instead of walking past one tank after another, we moved through spaces designed to make the animals, architecture and surrounding environment feel connected.
Every room seemed to offer another visual surprise.
I kept stopping to photograph what I was seeing.
The aquarium environments were immersive enough that our quick stop became several hours.
The route through Wonders of Wildlife felt more like traveling through environments than moving between conventional exhibits.
Nearly 700 Photographs Tell the Story
By the end of Day 3, I had taken nearly 700 photographs.
Most came from Wonders of Wildlife.
That number says a lot about how visually engaging I found the attraction.
Water, reflections, wildlife, textured environments, changing light and unexpected viewpoints gave me something new to photograph almost constantly.
Photo tip: Aquarium lighting can be difficult. Keep your lens close to the glass, turn off the flash and watch for reflections from people and overhead lights before taking the shot.
The Wildlife Museum Surprised Me Too
After the aquarium, I wasn’t sure the wildlife galleries could make as strong an impression.
They did.
Instead of feeling like rows of traditional displays, the galleries recreated large-scale habitats from around the world.
The craftsmanship and scale made the animals feel connected to a larger environmental story.
The lion display became one of my favorites, while the polar bear exhibits were among the most impressive spaces we saw.
For us, Wonders of Wildlife was no longer a quick detour.
It had become one of the day’s defining experiences.
The wildlife galleries used large-scale environments rather than simple rows of displays.
The Route 66 Stops We Saved for Another Trip
Spending several hours at Wonders of Wildlife meant we could no longer fit every planned Route 66 stop into Day 3.
Route 66 Car Museum
This had been part of the Springfield plan before murals and Wonders of Wildlife took priority.
Cars on the Route & Galena
Several Kansas Route 66 attractions, including Cars on the Route and Galena murals, had to wait.
More Roadside Stops
Luigi’s Pit Stop, Gearhead Curios and additional roadside attractions remained on the list for another drive.
You Don’t Have to See Everything in One Trip
Changing the itinerary didn’t ruin the road trip. It improved it.
I had spent weeks researching the route and knew exactly which stops I hoped to photograph.
Letting several of them go could have felt like a failure to follow the plan.
Instead, it reminded me that a good itinerary should create opportunities, not become a set of rules.
The places we skipped didn’t disappear.
They simply gave me another reason to return.
Hotel at Old Town became our home base for the Wichita portion of the trip.
Finally Reaching Hotel at Old Town
By the time we reached Wichita, we were tired in the way that comes from a day filled with far more than expected.
Hotel at Old Town immediately gave us a comfortable place to slow down before the next part of the trip.
The historic industrial character caught my attention almost immediately, and the multi-story atrium quickly became one of my favorite hotel photography subjects.
More importantly, we had arrived at the destination that would serve as our base for two days at Tanganyika Wildlife Park.
Build the Itinerary—Then Leave Room to Change It
Research still matters.
I want to know what is along my route, which places matter most to me and where I need reservations.
But Day 3 reinforced that the itinerary shouldn’t become more important than the trip itself.
We followed a funny billboard, stopped for murals and said yes to an attraction we hadn’t planned to visit.
Those choices created several of the day’s best memories.
If I were planning the route again, I wouldn’t try to force the original itinerary back into place.
I would keep the revised version—and probably give Springfield even more time.
The unplanned stop at Wonders of Wildlife became one of the day’s defining experiences.
What I Would Carry Forward From Day 3
Know Your Must-Dos
Separate the experiences that truly matter from the ones that would simply be nice to see.
Don’t Fill Every Hour
Open space in the schedule gave us permission to follow curiosity without immediately feeling behind.
Expect Good Stops to Take Longer
If a place turns out to be much better than expected, consider staying rather than leaving simply because the spreadsheet says it’s time to go.
Keep a Return List
Skipped attractions are not failures. They can become the foundation for the next road trip.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where did Day 3 of the Midwest road trip begin and end?
We started in St. Louis, Missouri and ended the day in Wichita, Kansas, where we checked into Hotel at Old Town.
What were the main stops between St. Louis and Wichita?
Our major Day 3 stops included Buc-ee’s, Uranus Fudge Factory, mural hunting in Springfield and an unplanned multi-hour visit to Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium.
Was Wonders of Wildlife planned?
No. We originally stopped because Craig wanted to visit the original Bass Pro Shops. Seeing the admission offer convinced us to add Wonders of Wildlife that day.
How many murals did you photograph in Springfield?
We photographed seven murals during our Springfield stop, including a Ferris Bueller mural that became my favorite.
How many photographs did you take on Day 3?
I took nearly 700 photographs during the day, with most of them coming from Wonders of Wildlife.
Did changing the itinerary mean missing Route 66 attractions?
Yes. We skipped several planned Route 66 stops, but I did not regret the decision. Those places remain on my list for a future road trip.
Day 3 Brought Us Into the Wichita Chapter
After St. Louis and an unexpectedly busy drive across Missouri, Wichita became our base for the wildlife experiences that originally inspired the trip.
Hotel at Old Town
See why our hosted Wichita stay quickly became one of my favorite hotels from the road trip.
Next: Tanganyika Wildlife Park
Continue into the wildlife experience that inspired the entire road trip.
See the Complete Journey
Return to the nine-day itinerary and see how Day 3 fits into the full eight-state route.
About Angela
Angela Addington is the travel photographer and writer behind Lenses & Latitudes. She shares firsthand destination guidance and practical photography advice for independent and solo travelers, women over 50, road-trippers and weekend explorers. Learn more about Angela.
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