Want a quick 2020 getaway from Kansas City? Some road trip ideas for the whole year
Don’t be one of the American workers who contributed to the 768 million days of unused vacation left on the table in 2018, according to the latest data available from the U.S. Travel Association.
The group suggests Jan. 28 as National Plan for Vacation Day, but no matter when, set aside time to dream up vacations for the year. For inspiration, here are travel ideas for the whole year
100th anniversary of Prohibition
The 18th Amendment to the Constitution, prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcohol, was passed by Congress Dec. 18, 1917, then ratified Jan. 16, 1919, but the ban didn’t go into effect until January 1920. Bars across the country will no doubt honor the start of Prohibition with drinking events this month.
If the history of drinking is something you’re interested in, the country’s only dedicated American Prohibition Museum (AmericanProhibitionMuseum.com) is in Savannah, Georgia. If you need a staycation, Kansas City was known as one of the wettest cities during this dry period of our history. Learn the history of the city during this era on a Prohibition craft cocktail tour led by Taste of Kansas City, TasteOfKansasCityFoodTours.com
Other tours in town: Tom’s Town Distilling Co., J Reiger & Co. and Union Horse Distilling Company. Or head to Weston, Missouri, for the oldest distillery west of the Mississippi still on its original site, Holladay Distillery. In Dodge City, Kansas, Boot Hill Distillery also offers tours.
Arkansas: Crystal Bridges expansion
My first visit to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art was in 2014, three years after the beautiful Moshe Safdie-designed building sprung up surrounded by Ozarks landscape in Bentonville, Arkansas. “State of the Art” wowed me by introducing 100 artists not yet fully recognized on a national level. On Feb. 22, “State of the Art 2020” will present another 60 artists and is the inaugural exhibit in the Momentary, a multidisciplinary arts satellite to Crystal Bridges.
The new space, an abandoned cheese factory in downtown Bentonville, is within walking distance of the main museum campus and will be home to art exhibitions, culinary experiences, festivals and performing arts.
“State” runs through May 24. The year’s lineup of temporary exhibits at both venues highlights prolific photographer Ansel Adams, award-winning artists Hank Willis Thomas and Nick Cave, as well as an exhibit celebrating the importance of craft in American art. There is no admission to see the museum’s permanent collection, though some of the special exhibits have a fee. Check CrystalBridges.org and TheMomentary.org for programming details.
Oklahoma City: New contemporary arts center
Oklahoma City is opening the new downtown home of its Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center in March, and its exhibitions, performances and education should be a regional draw with space across the 4.6-acre arts campus that includes galleries in the new building, a renovated studio building and the adjacent three-block Campbell Art Park.
Look for internationally relevant exhibitions and programming starting with significant, large-scale works highlighting the use of light in “Bright Golden Haze” opening March 13 and “Jen Lewin: Aqueous,” an interactive light installation throughout the art park April 24-June 14. Admission to the exhibition is free. Learn more at OklahomaContemporary.org.
St. Louis: New aquarium and wheel
The 1.3 million-gallon St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station opened on Christmas Day with a 250,000-gallon shark tank along with 13,000 animals and 257 species across 44 exhibits. The city’s first full-scale aquarium will be a popular regional attraction year-round paired with the St. Louis Wheel. Built in Wichita by Chance Rides and completed on-site in fall 2019, the 200-foot high observation wheel has 42 fully-enclosed gondolas.
The two new attractions are redefining the historic train depot, which celebrated 125 years in 2019. Don’t miss the 3D light shows each evening in the depot’s Grand Hall. Find details at StLouisAquarium.com, TheStLouisWheel.com and StLouisUnionStation.com.
Go any time of year because it’s always 72 degrees inside the building and the gondolas are climate-controlled.
Branson and Oklahoma: New water rides
Branson’s Silver Dollar City is celebrating its 60th anniversary by opening an all-new Rivertown district by the summer season. Anchors of the development are a 450-seat barbecue restaurant and Mystic River Falls, advertised as the tallest raft ride drop in the Western Hemisphere at 45 feet. Video and other details can be found at silverdollarcity.com/theme-park/2020.
In Oklahoma City, White Water Bay, sixflags.com/whitewaterbay, is transforming to Six Flags Hurricane Harbor and also adding a six-lane water racing slide.
Dodge City, Kansas: Boot Hill Museum renovations
Dodge City Days, from July 23 to Aug. 2 this year, is in its 60th year of celebrating the history of the town and its Western heritage. The event that typically helps kick off the 10-day festival, the Kansas City Barbeque Society-sanctioned Smokin’ Saddle BBQ Contest, is celebrating 30 years by doubling to two days.
Not only can you join in the second-largest community festival in the state, this year during Dodge City Days you can see the major updates at Boot Hill Museum. Scheduled for a May 23 grand opening, the $6 million 13,000-square-foot addition includes a new exhibit hall with nine new interactive exhibits and an immersive experience featuring a thundering buffalo stampede video.
Find more info at boothill.org and dodgecitydays.org.
Colorado & Iowa: Olympic related attractions
Here are two new attractions worth a road trip while celebrating the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, which run July 24-Aug. 9.
Colorado Springs has long been the epicenter for Olympic organizational efforts and athlete training, and now the general public has a way to engage with Olympic City USA. Expected to open as early as April, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum will house memorabilia like the Miracle on Ice scoreboard, game-specific torches and medals and will tell the stories of Olympic and Paralympic hall of fame athletes. One-third of the 60,000-square-foot attraction will be filled with high-tech, interactive exhibits. Keep up with opening day at usolympicmuseum.org.
Opening in spring, the Lauridsen Skate Park in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, will be the largest of its kind in the country. Skateboarding makes its Olympic debut in Tokyo, and this Olympic-standard park is 88,000 square feet park with a 300-foot downhill snake run along with bowl and pool features for all levels. Learn more at dsmskatepark.com.
Omaha: Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium
If you haven’t been to Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in a while – even a year – it’s time to see what’s new. The zoo has been on a renovation and expansion spree over the past half-dozen years, and the newest exhibit area is expected to open by Labor Day: the 1.5-acre Owen Sea Lion Shores.
There will be 360-degree views of a 275,000-gallon seasonally heated and chilled saltwater pool holding seven to 10 sea lions, a training amphitheater that seats 170 people and interactive elements throughout the Pacific Northwest coast themed area. Track progress at omahazoo.com.
In 2019, the zoo completed Asian Highlands, an immersive journey through Asia, by adding habitats for snow leopard, sloth bear, tigers, among others.
Nebraska Panhandle: Chimney Rock National Historic Site
A new visitor center is expected to open in May at Chimney Rock National Historic Site near Scottsbluff in western Nebraska. The site attracts about 30,000 visitors a year, a figure expected to grow with the addition of modern, interactive displays, a series of six life-sized bronze sculptures honoring the state’s first settlers and improved viewing areas of the majestic formation.
The roughly 325-foot-tall slender spire atop a conical base makes the formation 480 feet tall. It is considered one of the most recognized landmarks along the Oregon Trail and has been a beacon for pioneers, inspiration for artists. The site is maintained and operated by History Nebraska, history.nebraska.gov/rock.
Elk Falls, Kansas: 25th annual Outhouse Tour
If you haven’t caught wind of the Elk Falls Outhouse Tour over the past 24, this is the year to see what the stink is about in Elk Falls, about 200 miles south west of Kansas City.
What started as a way to offer more to do for visitors during the open house at Elk Falls Pottery Works, the annual outhouse tour is celebrating 25 years. The tour is always the Friday and Saturday before Thanksgiving, which will be Nov. 19-20 this year.
Expect about 20 tour stops within five blocks and each is required to have a name and a story posted on the door. The top finishers in 2019 were “Wasteland,” “Super Bowel” and “Crop Duster,” which turned a yellow outhouse into a biplane. Flush out the details at elkfallsouthousetour.com.
Various Kansas sites: Smithsonian traveling exhibit
“Crossroads: Change in Rural America” is coming to six communities across Kansas through a partnership between Humanities Kansas and the Smithsonian. This is the newest Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition and explores how small towns have adapted to change over the past century.
Host sites are planning related exhibits and public programming to showcase local stories. The 2020 schedule: Iola, Aug. 29-Oct. 11; Greensburg, Oct. 17-Nov. 29; and North Newton, Dec. 5-Jan. 17. In 2021, stops are Independence, Jan. 23-March 7; Alma, March 13-April 25; and Norton, May 1-June 13. More details are at humanitieskansas.org.
This story was originally published January 5, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Want a quick 2020 getaway from Kansas City? Some road trip ideas for the whole year."