Mid-West Side Stops: Part 1

One of my favorite parts of a road trip is making the stop at that roadside attraction you might not ever knew existed! That was one thing I planned to do on my Mid-West trip. The only places I knew for a fact I was going on this trip was four different national parks and Clear Lake, IA. (More on this later.)

The first two side trips can be found on I-55 between Memphis and St. Louis.

For those country music fans, you can find the boyhood home of Johnny Cash not far from the Arkansas state line! It's about a 10 minute drive off the interstate, but it is well worth it. In Dyess, Arkansas you can visit the Johnny Cash home and visitor center.

The Visitor Center is located in the Dyess Theatre.

Cash family home

In Missouri, one can find the town of New Madrid. This little town is famous mostly for the New Madrid Earthquake in 1811 and the New Madrid Fault. The earthquake actually moved the path of the Mississippi river by about a mile and forced the river to flow backwards for a time. Realfoot Lake, in Northeastern Tennessee, was a byproduct of the river flowing backwards!

In New Madrid you will find the New Madrid Historical Society. (The New Madrid Historical Society was the reason for this side trip. I saw the sign of the earthquake and wanted to stop.) Located in this building is a history of the town as well as the earthquake!

The Mississippi River was in the flood stage during the trip.