50 State Journey- The Midwest to The Wild West

Our family is attempting to travel to all 50 states through creative road trips. We prefer to choose a route which may have several destination stops throughout the trip. This often results in spending a short amount of time in one city. We love to get the flavor of the place that we are visiting by experiencing dining experiences, seeing a well-known icon from that area or simply experiencing the understated charm of that particular area.

For our Spring Break 2026, we visited three new states as a family. There is a lot of dispute over what constitutes crossing off a state. Our family decided that we would count a state if we completed an activity or had a meal in that state. I should note that my husband and I have visited some of the states prior, but we are trying to achieve all 50 states as a family.

Indiana is our home base and we were traveling to the following new states : Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. We also spent time in Arkansas on our way home. Our time in Arkansas had been cut short due to flooding during last year's Spring Break so we were eager to explore more.

Here is how we did it!

Day 1: Indiana to Kansas City (lunch stop in St. Louis)

Day 2: Kansas City to Wichita (Stops in Topeka and Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve)

Day 3: Wichita to Oklahoma City

Day 4: Oklahoma City to Wildcatter Ranch (Graham, Texas)

Day 5: Morning trail ride at Wildcatter Ranch and Fort Worth Stockyards

Day 6: Explore Dallas and travel to Hot Springs

Day 7: Hot Springs and travel to Marion, Arkansas

Day 8: Marion, Arkansas to Indiana

Day 1: We started out by making the 7.5 hour drive to Kansas City. We broke up the drive by stopping in St. Louis for lunch and a a quick picture at the arch. We ate at Hi-Pointe Drive-In  which was a fun burger stop.

After this stop, it was back on the road again. Our next destination was Kansas City for the evening. We arrived in Kansas City around 5 in the evening. My girls had been interested in checking out Country Club Plaza for some shopping. We had dinner at Jack Stack Barbecue  and we were so glad that we did. We stayed nearby at the Hampton Inn and Suites Kansas City- Country Club Plaza.  We enjoyed the location of this hotel as it was close to Country Club Plaza as well as the restaurant.

The next morning, we began our drive to Wichita. The drive from Kansas City to Wichita is approximately three hours. We made some brief stops along the way to visit some sites in Topeka and a stop at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. 

Our first stop in Wichita was at Botanica for Tulipfest. We all enjoyed the breathtaking blooms!

After we left Botanica, we went to check in at our hotel. We stayed at the Drury Plaza Hotel Broadview Wichita.  We spent time exploring downtown Wichita and ended our evening with the lighting of the Keeper of the Plains. We had such a great time in Wichita.

Keeper of the Plains

You can read a more detailed outline of our time in Kansas by visiting Exploring Kansas.

Day 3: The next day we traveled from Wichita to Oklahoma City.

Welcome to Oklahoma!

On our way, we stopped to get an iconic "Welcome to Oklahoma" picture.

On the way to Oklahoma City, we stopped for lunch at Pops 66 Soda Ranch located on Historic Route 66 which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Pops Soda Ranch is a convenience store/ gas station/ diner with unique types of soda. It was a fun and unique stop.

Upon arriving in Oklahoma City, we traveled to Bricktown. We were excited to take a ride on the Bricktown Water Taxi to explore the area around the canal.

While in Oklahoma City, we visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial.

Once we finished at the memorial, we walked downtown for a bit eventually ending up at the Myriad Botanical Gardens. The gardens are free and beautiful!

For dinner, we had Tucker's Onion Burgers which are noted to be an iconic Oklahoma food.

We spent the night at the Holiday Inn Express and Suites Oklahoma City- Bricktown.  This was a great location and we were happy with our stay. Peace out Oklahoma City! It was fun!

You can read all the details about our time in Oklahoma on my Oklahoma City post.

Day 4: On this day, we traveled from Oklahoma City to Wildcatter Ranch. Wildcatter Ranch is a ranch and resort in Graham, Texas. Wildcatter Ranch made for a very memorable stay.

Wildcatter Ranch is located about an hour and half from Fort Worth, Texas. The ranch is located about 15 minutes away from a small Texas town called Graham. We made a quick stop in Graham to see the quaint town.

We stayed in a cabin suite while at Wildcatter Ranch. When we arrived, we explored the ranch. Later that evening, we enjoyed dinner at their steakhouse. Wonderful food and a beautiful setting! After dinner, we spent time in the pool.

Day 5: The next morning, we did a trail ride which took us down by the Brazos River. Our time at Wildcatter Ranch was so memorable.

We hope to be back and enjoy a longer stay! Read all the details of our stay at Wildcatter Ranch here.

Following the trail ride, we headed to Fort Worth which was about an hour and a half drive. We stopped for lunch along the way. We planned on exploring the Fort Worth Stockyards for the remainder of the day.

When we arrived, a local gentleman let us know that there was a commercial being filmed nearby. He shared that the actor in the commercial was from Yellowstone. We were able to get a picture taken with Forrie J. Smith (Lloyd from Yellowstone) which was such a cool opportunity. Our trip was giving us "Yellowstone vibes" so it came full circle when we got to meet a real Yellowstone cowboy.

We were arriving late afternoon so we had a bit of time before the 4:00 cattle drive. We explored the stockyards areas, met some of the drovers and petted their horses, checked out some shops and took some fun iconic Fort Worth pictures. There is plenty to see and do in the Stockyards. Then, we secured a spot for the cattle drive. It was a really fun experience to be there for the traditional cattle drive.

After the drive, we did a bit more sightseeing and were ready to head to dinner. We had dinner at Joe T. Garcia's which was so fun. Their restaurant looks like a lush garden.

After enjoying dinner, we knew that we wanted to check out Billy Bob's Texas which is described as the world's biggest honky tonk. We were in Fort Worth on a Wednesday which happens to be Ladies Night. On Ladies Night, ladies get in free after 6 and there is a free line dancing lesson at 7. This was perfect! Such a fun time!

After dancing, we called it a night. We opted to stay a bit further out from downtown Fort Worth. We stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites- Dallas near the airport.

Day 6: The next morning, we wanted to explore Dallas. We went to Dealey Plaza to see the location of JFK's assassination. We did not opt to do the museum tour as we didn't think our kids would be that interested. We took minimal pictures here, but I did snap a picture of Reunion Tower. We did not go to the tower, but there is an observation deck available if that is of interest.

We chose to spend our time exploring the Dallas Aboretum. The grounds are vast and beautiful. There is also a home on the property that can be toured as well. The home is called the DeGolyer House and is beautiful to tour and get a taste of the past. We had lunch at a food stand near the home. There is a restaurant at the DeGolyer House, but we did not have reservations or want a sit-down meal at the time. But, I am positive that it is a fun option.

After spending the afternoon at the Dallas Arboretum, we moved as we were staying in Hot Springs, Arkansas that evening.

You can read about all the details of our time in Fort Worth and Dallas here.

After leaving Dallas, we drove to Hot Springs, Arkansas. This is about a 4.5 hour drive.

On the way, we made a quick stop at Texarkana so my girls could stand in Arkansas and Texas at the same time. We also grabbed dinner at a Whataburger. Once arriving in Hot Springs, we stayed at Embassy Suites by Hilton at Hot Springs Convention Center. We had a great stay, and we always enjoy the extra space that an Embassy Suites provides.

The next morning we began our day by exploring the Bathhouse Row. We spent time at Fordyce Bathhouse. This is the bathhouse that has a museum in it explaining how the bathhouses used to be utilized. It was a very interesting tour. This bathhouse also offers the National Parks Service Passport stamps so my girls were able to add another national park. After exploring the Fordyce Bathhouse, we took a small walk behind Bathhouse Row on the paved Grand Promenade. It was a beautiful walk. There are hikes available as well if you are planning to hike on that day.

Following our walk, we decided to drive the scenic drive called the Hot Springs Mountain Scenic Drive. There is a historic gazebo at the top that offers some beautiful vistas overlooking the Ouachita Mountains.

Next, we took a quick detour to check out the Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo. (They are currently running a special on their website which gives you one dollar off admission per person so check the website for the coupon. ) This petting zoo is very basic, but offered for a bit of fun afternoon entertainment. The highlight was holding a baby alligator.

We grabbed some lunch at the Copper Penny Pub and then visited Garvan Woodland Garden.   Garvan Woodland Gardens was full of lush greenery. This garden is truly a woodland garden with interesting paths and fairy houses for children to discover. If you are hoping to take in some Arkansas beauty, I would highly recommend a trip to Garvan Woodland Gardens.

We enjoyed our day in Hot Springs. You can read the complete post about our day in Hot Springs here.

We continued on to Marion, Arkansas to spend the night at the Home 2 Suites by Hilton in Marion, Arkansas which is near Memphis. This gave us about a 7 hour drive home the next day.

We loved our Midwest to Wild West trip and made lasting memories!

We felt like this was a well-paced trip that allowed us to see many sights over our Spring Break.

Find more multi-destination road trips on our 50 state journey at the Middle of the Road Mindset.