#19 best destination in the world

 

Silver Dollar City

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  • 1880s themed park opened in 1960
  • #16 of the top 25 best amusement parks in the world

 

Gateway Arch

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  • Monument of stainless steel and the world’s tallest arch
  • The arch is the tallest man-made monument in the Western Hemisphere
  • Built as a monument to westward expansion of the United States

 

Sight & Sound Theatres

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  • Entertainment company that produces Bible stories live on stage
  • Opened in 1976

 

Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis

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  • Roman Catholic Church completed in 1914, and designated a basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1997
  • The church is known for its large mosaic installation (which is one of the largest in the Western Hemisphere), burial crypts, and an outdoor sculpture to promote racial harmony

 

The Haygoods

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  • Rock concert featuring light-up cellos, harps, electric guitars, and saxophones, backdrops full of fiery explosions, and light up designs

 

Jerry Presley’s God and Country Theatre

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  • Professionally produced tribute concerts and shows

 

City Museum

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  • Museum whose exhibits consist largely of repurposed architectural and industrial objects, housed in the former International Shoe building
  • Opened in 1997

 

Ha Ha Tonka Castle Ruins

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  • State park encompassing over 3,700 acres on the Lake of the Ozarks
  • The ruins of Ha Ha Tonka, are an early 20th-century stone mansion that was modeled after European castles of the 16th century
  • The park also features caves, sinkholes, and bluffs overlooking the lake

 

Welch Spring Hospital Ruins

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  • In 1913, C.H. Diehl bought Welch Spring for just $800
  • Dr. Diehl believed that the spring water had healing properties and that the cool, pollen free air coming from the adjacent cave would be beneficial for people with asthma, emphysema, and tuberculosis
  • To utilize this clean air resource, Dr. Diehl built a hospital over the mouth of the cave
  • Unfortunately, access to the area surrounding the Current River was limited to just a few rough dirt roads, and patients never visited
  • After the doctor died in 1940, his family took no interest in keeping the site alive and the health spa was abandoned to nature 

 

Kansas City Workhouse

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  • Built in 1897
  • The local jail put its inmates to work for the local public works, the very first of which being the creation of the jail itself which was built by the first prisoners who mined the limestone building blocks right out of the ground
  • Prisoners in the jail tended to be petty offenders such as beggars and drunks from around the city
  • The medieval European design of the fortress was trendy at the time

 

Glore Psychiatric Museum

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  • Museum that depicts the 130 year history of the State Lunatic Asylum No. 2 and the overall evolution of the treatment of mental illness
  • Also includes art done by patients over the years
  • Building built in 1874

 

 

Costs

Number of Days: 14 days

Best Time To Fly: Sept-mid-Nov

Airline tickets: $217

Seattle -> Kansas City (round trip) = $217

Food: $36/day x 14 days = $504

Rental car: $746

$53/day x 14 days = $746

Gas: $54

Entertainment: $236

Airbnb: $189 x 13 days = $2,452

TOTAL: $4,209