spend a day in kansas city and hit the nelson atkins museum, grab some barbecue, and camp at wallace state park. as an architect, eater, and adventure, i know you can't go wrong with this as a day plan.
nelson-atkins museum
this project is designed by steven holl, and it doesn't disappoint.
you can park at the museum.
be sure to plan time to walk around the museum to take in all of the exhibits, but also check out the grounds around the building.
the lighting inside of this space is incredible because of the translucent channel glass, allowing an opulent glow to filter over the artifacts.
the art itself is excellently curated. it's a relatively small, but very rich collection of paintings, sculptures, and furniture. the museum features, franz kline, jackson pollock, mark rothko, charles + ray eames, isamu noguchi, and more.
the outside of the building might seem underwhelming to some from a distance, but "God [really] is in the details" [mies van der rohe]
the building doesn't just sit on top of the landscape, it plunges into it with the most delicate reveal left around the crater.
the city
kansas city is filled with plenty of barbecue to go around, street art for days, and a sweet texture of new and old. we powered through the city on this trip, so we could soak up as much of the museum as possible and still make it to our campground before sunset, but when we go back, I'll be sure to add more details about what not to miss.
camping
wallace state park is one of our favorite stops we've made across the united states. it's green, lush, has spacious campsites, awesome facilities, like clean tiles bathrooms, and all for a great price. we really enjoyed our evening by the fire, watching fireflies, and would love to go back at some point. there's a lake on part of the campground that would be great for paddle boarding and kayaking. it's a great family place, for sure.
getting there...
it looks like you're headed to nowhere on your way there, and if you keep going it gets greener, thicker, and more beautiful by the minute. so, just keep going and camp! you won't regret it.
happy adventuring,
