I recently rode from St. Charles > McBaine, MO then took the MKT to Columbia, spent a day or so in COMO playing polo and riding around then rode south to Winona, MO (west of the Current River). If you'd like, you can read about the 350+mi. journey here
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/6924.
The KATY and MKT was such a joy to ride on. There are so many indigo buntings on the KATY!
If Justin (the cyclotourist I was leap-frogging with on the way to Columbia where we finally met up) is reading this, I want to reconnect with you somehow. I didn't get your contact info....FIND ME! I wanna chat more about the Alpaca farm!