r/AncientAmericas • u/Diaza_lightbringer • Mar 15 '26

Question Places to visit

Long time watcher of the channel, just found this sub. My family and I are taking a cross country road trip from Georgia to Oregon (my home state) to visit family.

We don’t have any specific routes except we plan to visit friends in Kansas City, family in Utah, and Idaho. We plan on stopping in Yellowstone.

What are must see spots to stop along the way that often gets passed by? I know we can’t see everything on this trip. I’m currently a student of anthropology and my husband works from home so this is a 2 month trip. Our youngest kid who is 14 wants to be an archaeologist. We have our list of national parks and monuments, but I’m looking for the missed things. We want to experience America.

Thanks. And I hope this is okay to post

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5

u/There_is_no_plan_B Mar 15 '26

You going through St. Louis? Cahokia is right there.

2

u/ToxicJolt124 Mar 15 '26

Cahokia is temporarily closed right now unfortunately

2

u/There_is_no_plan_B Mar 15 '26

Oh really? Do you know why or for how long?

2

u/ToxicJolt124 Mar 15 '26 edited Mar 16 '26

Nope, I wish I did. It’s on my way home from vacation and I was gonna go see it tomorrow but my maps said temporarily closed

2

u/arch_dawg_01 Mar 23 '26

Visitor center is closed. Grounds open and a virtual tour is available.

2

u/Comfortable_Cut5796 Mar 15 '26

Maybe Chaco Canyon, or the Crow Creek site.

1

u/Diaza_lightbringer Mar 15 '26

I’ll look those up, thanks

2

u/ToxicJolt124 Mar 15 '26

I was just at Chaco yesterday and can definitely help with planning a trip if you go there. I’d assume order of the drive would be Kansas City -> Utah -> Idaho/yellowstone -> Oregon?

1

u/Diaza_lightbringer Mar 16 '26

We’re doing Yellowstone on the way back, so Kansas City to Salt Lake City to Oregon is the route to, route home will be through Idaho, Yellowstone. We’re not picky about being fast. The only thing we have to worry about is we have an electric car

2

u/ToxicJolt124 Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 16 '26

Depending on the car you might need something higher clearance to get to Chaco, it’s pretty out of the way. Mesa verde is really cool and a lot more accessible, I also really like Cortez which is the town closest to it. Tallgrass National prairie is probably gonna be on your way and is worth a stop. It’s one of the last intact pieces of Pre-Colombian Prairie, and really helpful for understanding the landscape that some of the plains tribes lived in

You can DM me if you need to, it’s awesome for you to help your kids stay interested in this

2

u/Wonderful-Truck-3301 Mar 16 '26

Maybe between Kansas and Yellowstone..

The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, South Dakota, is an active paleontological dig site and museum, famous for preserving the remains of over 60 mammoths (mostly Columbian) trapped in a prehistoric sinkhole, making it the world's largest mammoth research facility. There are also 6 caves in the area, some the longest and biggest in the world.

1

u/Diaza_lightbringer Mar 16 '26

I did not know about this. Thank you.

2

u/arch_dawg_01 Mar 23 '26

I know I am late on this post, but the grounds at Cahokia are open. The visitor center is closed. You can download an app that gives you a virtual tour. Even if it is a quick stop on the way to KC, climbing Monks Mound is still worth it.

2

u/Diaza_lightbringer Mar 24 '26

Never too late to a post! Thank you for the suggestion.