I-55 is a great big bore

For the record, I am not a fan of Interstate 55.

I had the misfortune of traveling this strip of highway over the weekend for a short trip to St. Louis to visit some friends. And as everybody knows, when you go to St. Louis (or Memphis, or Chicago, or New Orleans, etc.), I-55 is the way you go. And it makes for a lousy drive.

Basically, I-55 is boring. Is it fast? Sure. Is it efficient? Absolutely.

But as far as scenic drives go, it's a complete dud.

I've actually felt this way for years. I first got to know I-55 when I started college in Cape Girardeau, Mo. I'd travel from my home in eastern Iowa via roads like Interstate 380, Highway 218 and Highway 61, then pick up I-55 for the last couple of hours heading into Cape. And I-55 was always the worst part of the trip. There was nothing interesting to see. The curves are virtually unnoticeable, the scenery is pretty much invisible, and the hills are few and far between.

In the time since I've moved to Blytheville, some eight years ago, I've come to know a more southern stretch of I-55 — the Cape-to-Blytheville stretch. And it's no better. Considering the road is flat as a pancake once you dive into the Delta, this southern stretch is probably worse than its northern counterpart.

And heading south from Blytheville, toward Memphis, it's the same story. No hills. No curves. Nothing to see. It's been years since I traveled much of I-55 south of Memphis, and I've never utilized the northern St. Louis-to-Chicago section, but I can't imagine they're any better.

Oh, sure, there's a few things to see along the way. The area around St. Genevieve, Mo., is reasonably scenic. And at least when you pass Cape, you have something to look at. But these are such tiny amounts of flavor on an otherwise bland journey, that they are barely even noticeable.

Even the town names are bad. Near St. Louis, you pass through a town called "Festus." If you ask me, that sounds like something you need to head down to the local clinic to get a shot for. Then there's "Biehle," a hamlet with a name that looks to me like the sound you make when you toss your cookies.

Among interstate highways in this country, I-55 doesn't have a particularly bad reputation. That distinction goes to Interstates 70, 80 and 90, which cut across the prairie states of Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota, respectively. The highways cut straight through a swath of middle America, and they're so straight and unchanging, that legend has it that drivers can set their cruise control and take a little nap while at the wheel.

Now I can say that I've traveled all three of those Plains highways; and yes, they are boring. But in my opinion, I-55 is in the same league.

What probably makes I-55 worse is that in contrast to I-70, I-80 and I-90, where you know you're on your journey for the long haul, trips along I-55 are generally considered short trips. It's always a "quick trip up to St. Louis," or a "short jaunt to Memphis." In other words, from the second you get behind the wheel, you're ready to get there. And that's what makes travel along I-55 agonizing at times.

That was the case Saturday and Sunday on my trip. I didn't want to be behind the wheel all day; I just wanted to get there. It made for a long drive.

Perhaps next time I go to St. Louis, I'll take Highway 61. It will no doubt take a bit longer to get there, but if it helps me avoid the colossal bore that is I-55, it might be worth it.