Unfortunately, the trip is right on the verge of being a 2 day trip and adding even 1 hour to it would mean a night in a hotel and one less day with the kids so I suck it up and drive through the cities. I stay on I-44 so it could be worse. Trust me, I do the very best I can to avoid cities but sometimes they just aren’t avoidable.
Honestly, Joplin traffic has gotten almost as bad as Tulsa traffic but I’m thankful I exit before Springfield, MO.