RIVER CITY JOURNAL: GOING TO THE LAKE? HERE'S A QUICK ROUTE

Real motorists prefer the thrill of meeting a timber truck on a blind curve (with a bridge, of course) on a two-lane highway.

To get to Brumley, you must take the road less traveled.

In the pursuit of highway facts, I proved last week how difficult it is to get from Cape Girardeau to almost anyplace else in Missouri that is west of here.

My destination was a meeting of newspaper editors at the Lake of the Ozarks. As many Cape Girardeans already know, you can't get there from here.

OK. You can get there. But it isn't easy.

And before I get too involved in our state's highways, let me say a word about organizations that schedule meetings at resorts. Resorts are places you should schedule vacations and weekend getaways. Resorts should never, ever be used for meetings. I am here to tell you that the four, windowless walls of a meeting room at the Holiday Inn at the Lake of the Ozarks look pretty much like those in meeting rooms at any of the fine hotels right here in Cape Girardeau. At the end of the two-day meeting, the organizer of next year's event asked for suggestions about a meeting place. I volunteered Memphis, which is an hour and a half closer than the lake (for us folks in Southeast Missouri) and has better highway access to boot.

Now, about those highways.

Much has been said and written recently about the need for a good east-west highway corridor. Trips to the lake or Jefferson City are excursions either into the unknown or along familiar -- but out-of-the-way -- interstates.

Everyone I consulted prior to last week's meeting urged me to take I-55 to St. Louis, I-70 across to Kingdom City and U.S. 54 down through Jefferson City to the lake.

Sure, I could have done that. But look at the map. Such a four-laned route looks like a big semicircle. I don't like going in circles, and half a circle is not much better.

My quest, then, was to find a direct route from Cape Girardeau to the lake. I think I found it.

Go north on I-55. At the Ste. Genevieve exit, take Highway 32 west to Farmington. A few turns later through what used to be Flat River you will find Highway 8. This will take you all the way to St. James, where you hook up with Highway 68. When you reach U.S. 63 you go to Vienna and head west on Highway 42. This takes you right to the lake.

Total elapsed time: Four hours.

By the way, that included stopping four of five time to look at a map, just to make sure I wasn't crossing the Arkansas border or headed for Kansas City. It's easy to get turned around on our beloved state's two-lane highways.

How easy?

Coming home, I retraced my route to St. James. But instead of heading east on Highway 8, I continued south on Highway 68 (yes, I know even-numbered roads are east-west highways, but look at the map) to Salem. East of Salem, I picked up Highway 72, which everyone knows goes all the way to Jackson. But it takes a few interesting turns along the way.

In past years, I have take a photo of road signs along this particular stretch of highway. At one point near Johnson Shut-Ins State Park, the signs inform you that you are going north (on Highway 21), south (on Highway 49) and east (on Highway 72). And this goes on for several miles.

Do we need a good east-west highway across southern Missouri? I think any state that uses one highway to go three directions at the same time is certainly stretching every penny of its road dollars.

I suggest a four-lane road from Cape Girardeau all the way west to Kansas City that goes past Fredericktown, Salem, Rolla, Eldon and Sedalia, hooking up with U.S. 50 on into Kansas City. This would provide good access to both the Lake of the Ozarks and Jefferson City without having to go through St. Louis.

When I was dating my wife years ago, I told her that Southeast Missourians had long ago accepted the fact that, to get anywhere, you had to go to St. Louis first. It didn't take long to convince her. When I went away to college (near Kansas City) in the early 1960s, my family took the as-the-crow-flies route. It took two days. Nowadays, you can stick to the interstates and arrive in Kansas City in under six hours.

By the way, Brumley is on Highway 42 just east of Lake of the Ozarks State Park. You can get there, but there are no interstates.

~R. Joe Sullivan is the editor of the Southeast Missourian.