Route 66-ty Percent Chance of Rain: A Wet and Wild New Mexico Drive

Posted on October 24, 2026 by MileHighBug

Day 50 cont’d: Tucumcari to Santa Rosa, NM 87 miles total

After weeks of temps well over 100 degrees, we’d been excited several times in Texas when the high for the day was “only” 97 degrees. We noticed it as well in New Mexico; the temps were no longer rising into the triple digits, and I finally thought to check the elevation. Yup, we’d been climbing alright! Much of Route ’66 in Texas was in the 2000 or even 3000 foot range, and in New Mexico we were getting even higher.

It was late afternoon when we crossed the border, and in addition to the slight relief from the heat, there was a bunch of excitement right away. After discovering the world’s largest flip-flop (unadvertised) and possibly the world’s tiniest post office (tinier than the one in Farmersville, IL? Not sure.), we admired the red hills as we dropped away from the Interstate and then saved a turtle we found on the road.

When we arrived in Tucumcari, we checked prices at several motels with cool-looking neon signs, and then booked a much cheaper hotel in which to stay. We ate dinner at Del’s Restaurant, where the menu offered the very FIRST Impossible Burger we’ve run across on this entire Route 66 trip! Vegetables were definitely worth celebrating.

Even at 4032 feet, Tucumcari still felt HOT, and we were now out of Braum’s territory. (So sad!) It was time to learn what Sonic had to offer in terms of milkshakes. Somehow our hotel room was SO hot, that even at 9pm it was actually cooler outside! And the next morning it was hot enough that when we arrived at the Railroad Museum, there was a sign saying it was closed due to the heat and not having A/C. It definitely made us wonder if we’d ever escape the heat.

We asked about a New Mexico passport book in several very tourist-oriented locations, and no one knew a thing. I finally searched online and found that New Mexico has a “rack-card and sticker program,” which people everywhere (including the Visitor Center) also seemed clueless about. We figured we’d ask in the next town.

Luckily, even though that sign on the train museum said it was closed due to the heat, the guy who worked at the train museum was there by chance and had just let some other couple in for free as long as they didn’t take too long, so we got in for free as well. We checked out a few exhibits and asked about a stamp for our blue Route 66 (National) passport book. He gave us a sticker, which we didn’t understand at the time, and later realized was for the very New Mexico Route 66 rack-card I mentioned above. Now why didn’t this guy *mention* the rack-card?

Left: An ACTUAL train outside the train museum in Tucumcari.
Right: Now I can be an engineer too!

We spent most of our time in Tucumcari taking Louie through the Mesalands Community College Dinosaur Museum – the world’s largest collection of life-sized bronze skeletons! But it was so much more – fossils, dinosaur tracks, feathers versus scales, even genealogy – Louie found out he’s the ancestor of the Bald Eagle!

Louie makes his own dinosaur footprint at the Dinosaur museum

Fossilized Ammonite with it’s Fibonacci shell
Louie the archeologist
Desmatosuchus
Will my teeth get that big?

The leg of 60-foot long Camarasaurus was twice as tall as me

That afternoon we stopped at Tee Pee Curios where we found a ton of stuff we loved, hit up Sonic for another milkshake, took some fun photos around town, and played outside the Convention Center. It was looking very dark and cloudy out and we could see rain in the distance, but not in the direction we were heading, so after we took photos with the Route 66 Sculpture, Louie and I ran through the sprinklers together.

Look at all that rain! But it’s not in the direction we are heading:(

Guess what? As we drove out of Tucumcari toward Palomas and Montoya, checking out an old ‘66 dead end spur, tight tunnels and some other weathered remnants along the route, it starting RAINING!!!! It was only the second time we had had rain on the entire 7-week trip so far.

Can we even fit through here?
Mining tailings (what’s left after mining)
Old ’66 continued here, in the DIRT – and thank goodness for RAIN!!

We’ve talked about how interstates bypassing Route 66 meant the demise of many formerly bustling towns; Cuervo’s fate came when I-40 divided the town into TWO. How sad! What’s left? To the north of ’66 there is a line of mostly empty buildings that hint at past commerce, while to the south, a stone chapel, old school, and a boxcar turned abode abut the ruddy slopes of Cuervo Mesa.

We pulled into the town of Santa Rosa late in the day but decided to drive the various ’66 alignments before calling it a day. We found the Blue Hole, a famous and popular natural-water diving spot, as well as a Wibit aqua park. But wait, don’t get too excited – sadly the Aqua Park had fully closed on Labor Day. We also managed to run STELLA over a cement block, which got wedged between the tire and the wheel well – we got stuck with one wheel off the ground, but eventually managed to back off of the block. (More on that to come in a future post.)

As if that wasn’t enough excitement in Santa Rosa, we found the Route 66 Auto Museum the next morning, and had a ton o’ fun looking through the 30 or so cars there! It turned out some of them were for sale. We loved seeing which ones were for sale, and figuring out why different ones cost different amounts, or weren’t even for sale. Unfortunately all of my favorites were not for sale.

The next day we had to make a biiiig choice – to Fe or not to Fe? Stay posted to find out!

Deepinaharta (Texas)

Posted on October 20, 2026 by MileHighMan

Day 47 cont’d: Weatherford, OK to Shamrock, TX 156 miles total
Day 48: Shamrock to Amarillo, TX 155 miles
Day 49: Amarillo to Glenrio, TX and beyond 127 miles

“The stars at night are big and bright.” Okay, so we weren’t really deep in the heart of Texas, we were in the panhandle. But since neither of us had ever been to that part of the state, I’m gonna count it.

Our first stop in Texas was the town of Shamrock. Although named by one person of Irish descent in 1890, you’d think the town was sovereign territory of Ireland. How could we not stay in the Blarney Inn? The town also has what is allegedly a piece of the original Blarney Stone. Who are we to argue? Besides all the Irishness, Shamrock offers one of the tallest water towers in the state at 176’ tall, and the fabulous, Art Deco U-Drop Inn.

The closest Louie’s been to Ireland

That’s a lot to pack into the first town in a state known for going big. Let’s see what else we can find that’s big in Texas. The tiny town of McLean with its population of 665 people is decidedly not big, but they make up for it in a big way at the Devil’s Rope Museum. This loving tribute to barbed wire has over 2,000 varieties on display, and the museum itself is housed in a former bra factory which gave McLean its nickname of “The Uplift Town.” (NOTE: Further “big” references have been omitted for being too obvious.) There was actually quite a bit of history about the origin and development of ladies’ undergarments. Honestly, it was more interesting to us than 2,000 ways to twist pokey wire together, but we had fun looking at all the kinds of barbed wire and playing the Bra or Barb game they created for us. There was also a great exhibit on the Dust Bowl where we learned a lot.

Top left: This doesn’t even scratch the surface. (Well, in a way it does)
Top right: Barb – the lady mascot of the museum
Bottom left: This barbed wire hat does not look comfortable
Bottom center: Bra or Barb
Bottom right: Bras go to war

I wouldn’t go as far as to call Texas the Water Tower State, but the second unique water tower in the state was just down the road in Groom, TX. Photos of the Leaning Tower of Britten are in just about every collection of Route 66iana. The tower was deliberately built at an angle as a marketing ploy for Ralph Britten’s truck stop, which apparently worked right up until the truck stop burned down in a fire. (If only there was some water nearby. What, too soon?)

On the way to Amarillo, we encountered interesting things such as the tallest cross in the Western Hempishere along with life-sized apostles and stations of the cross, a really nice Peace Park, and The Big Texan which offers you a free steak if you can eat the entire 72-oz piece of meat along with shrimp cocktail, a salad, a baked potato and a dinner roll with butter. Oh, and did I mention you have to eat all of that in under an hour?!

Amarillo was up next. Ooh, they have a train museum. Hey, we like trains, let’s go check it out. Except, no. This museum is only open for 45 minutes on the third leap day of the month while Mercury is in retrograde, so no trains for us.

It’s okay though. Amarillo had other cool stuff to offer, starting with The Nat. Lucas the manager gave us a tour of the Amarillo Natatorium, which started its life as an open air swimming pool inside a courtyard. It was then covered over with an enormous ballroom and converted into a dance hall where some big names played – names like Benny Goodman, Buddy Holly, Elvis, Ray Charles, Duke Ellington and countless others. Lucas told us all about the Supper Club and VIP Supper Club, showed us where the dumbwaiter and Prohibition escape doors were, and told us stories about scandals such as when Little Richard played there and was arrested for public indecency for taking off his shirt on stage. The pool was never filled in, and still lies dormant under the g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s dance floor. Yes, that does mean there is a dance floor over a pool, just like in It’s a Wonderful Life! The space is now an antiques gallery, but it’s not as much fun as a live big band, so we totally support Lucas in his dream to see The Nat become a ballroom again.

There’s a dance floor hiding under all those booths

Sixth street where The Nat is located is home to a whole slew of unique, artsy shops and eateries. We wandered into the Lile Art Gallery, and met Bob “Crocodile” Lile. He took a photo of us with Louie, and we agreed he could post it online. By the time we got to Texas Ivy Antiques at the end of the block, the person running it said “Oh, I just saw your photo on Bob Lile’s Facebook page.” Louie makes us famous.

And of course, Amarillo was loaded with awesome mural after mural…

Just outside of Amarillo is the famous Cadillac Ranch – one of the few places on Route 66 that I knew about before starting our trip. Rather than a place to go ropin’ Caddies, Cadillac Ranch is an art installation consisting of 10 Cadillac cars planted face-first in the ground. This is one of the few places in the world where you’re actually encouraged to graffiti the artwork. The paint is several inches thick in most places, and can be peeled off in huge layers. We didn’t know we were supposed to bring proper defacing materials with us, but there were several not-yet-empty cans lying around for us to borrow. Hooray!

In Vega, Texas, we stopped at the Milburn-Price Culture museum. We met Greg who created, owns and runs this totally free museum, and made several of the items on display including the world’s largest branding iron, and Hank – a friendly ankylosaurus. The first thing Greg did was put us to work on a printing press from 1896 where we printed our own souvenir postcards (still free). Aside from all the interesting 19^th century relics, the museum has a blade from a wind turbine that we could go inside. These fiberglass monsters are about 125 feet long and cost over $200,000 apiece. When you see them spinning in the air, you really don’t get a good sense of just how huge one of these blades really is. After spending time in this unexpected jewel of a museum, we were all too happy to make a donation to support it.

Top left: With Greg at the printing press
Top middle left: Hank, the ankylosaurus
Middle left: Up close and personal with a wind turbine blade
Top right: You almost can’t fit a Stephanie in there
Bottom left: Yee Haw!
Bottom right: New in the box

Nearby was Adrian, TX home of the Midpoint Cafe. As in MIDPOINT of Route 66. Six and a half weeks, and we were exactly halfway to our turnaround point! (Wow, that took a lot longer than we expected.) It was fun to see this milestone spot even if everything was closed by the time we got there. The sign said that we had come 1,139 miles from Chicago, but between doubling back to Philly to pick up STELLA, getting lost a few times, and driving e-v-e-r-y alignment of Route 66 that still exists, we had already driven over 4,000 miles.

And that wraps it up for Texas and its 178 miles of Route 66.

As I reflect back on the first half of this trip, it has been nothing at all that I expected. There were unexpected surprises – good and bad, wonderful people everywhere, and so much to see, learn and do. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the trip holds for us.

Sweating On the Mother Road: Vintage Relics, Ancient Bridges and a Lovely Lake in Western Oklahoma

Posted on October 16, 2026 by MileHighBug

Day 45: Oklahoma City to Weatherford, OK 147 miles
Day 46: Weatherford, OK 80 miles
Day 47: Weatherford to Texola, OK and beyond 156 miles

After visiting with Cousin Debbie and family in Oklahoma City, we entertained ourselves with little things like finding the huge metal globe and Route 66 Park in Bethany, discovering the grain elevator disguised as a flour processing plant and a strong Czech presence in Yukon, and learning the purpose of the squiggles that popped up along the road once in a while.

By the time we got to El Reno, most of the town was closed for the day but we wanted to press on. The next portion, from El Reno to Hydro, is considered one of the best drives of ’66. The road is curbed-concrete, straight as an arrow, and flows up and down over lovely hills as it bridges the deep gullies.

After Fort Reno we found three “flat” painted Giants which were actually facing Eastbound, but we were too intrigued to go by without checking them out, so we turned around to view them properly. Ya know what? It was hard to tell they were 2-D!

Next up was a super cool bridge, which is saying a lot because we’d already seen a lot of cool, old bridges on this trip. In the 1930’s the South Canadian River had wide and unpredictable flood plains, deep bedrock, and a quicksand riverbed, translating to the need for a very long, sturdy bridge. The winning design was made up of 38 identical pony trusses linked together, which used less steel that other designs and was therefore more cost-effective. In 1933 the (Bridgeport) Pony Bridge was the longest bridge in the Southwest, and is still significant in that it was built to carry Route 66 over a major river crossing.

Now officially the William H. Murray Bridge – that’s one loooooong bridge!

We also came across a few different trading posts in the area. Some were named after particular tribes, some were still called “Indian” this-or-that, some were open, and some others were permanently closed due to the competition and/or advertising that could only be seen from the “new” Interstate, which of course bypassed 66.

Left: Cherokee Trading Post is visible from 66 and the interstate and still draws a crowd
Right Top and Bottom: Sadly, Indian Trading Post can’t be seen from the interstate and so is now out of business:(

There were both inside and outside treats at Hinton Junction. At the Hinton Historical Society we looked at all kinds of old stuff – typewriters, phones, phonographs and more. Art, the owner, even had a collection of metal items he’d found at pioneer era campsites using his metal detector. My favorite exhibit was the old carriages. There were many, and they were luxurious! No wonder so many people were against cars; some of those carriages were nicer inside than any car we’ve had.

This is where Stephanie would take her bubble bath

Outside the museum and just a short drive away is Red Rock Canyon, and Art from the Hinton Historical Society gave us a coupon to get in for free. Unfortunately that didn’t include admission to the pool (there’s a pool?!), and it was craaaaazy hot. But where there are red rocks, we must explore, so explore we did. We hiked for a little over an hour on the Canyon Ridge and Scissortail Trails – super sunny in many spots, lots of cedar trees in others.

In Hydro we were introduced to the memory of Lucille Hamons, the “Mother of the Mother Road.” For over 59 years, she ran her service station, diner and hotel, and was known for her friendly assistance to travelers, as well as great food and the coldest drinks in Oklahoma. Whether travelers from afar or local residents, she treated everyone like family, and it was one such resident that bought and restored her service station so people can still stop by and take a photo. He also still maintains a hotel and two restaurants in the area he named after her, and we got to eat at one of them in Weatherford! We were both thrilled with the food: there were fried pork chops and fries for Elliott, and Beyond Quesadillas and Thunder Chocolate Cake for Stephanie.

Above: Dinner and decor at Lucille’s Roadhouse Restaurant

In Weatherford, aka Space City (named after Astronaut Thomas Stafford who grew up there), we also found some fun things to check out outdoors, including an airplane, an astronaut, a wind turbine with a mural, and a miniature replica of the Vietnam War Memorial from Washington, DC!

Left: With Major Tom
Right Top: McDonnel Douglas F-4C Phantom II
Right Bottom: Smaller version of the Washington DC Vietnam Memorial in Weatherford, OK

The next day it was time for a Nature Break at Foss State Park. The hot hot heat was still hanging with us, and we needed to get in some W-A-T-E-R. There was a huge lake, and we were ready to swim. We found the shadiest area of the park possible, ate our lunch at a picnic table under a tree, and then tried not to get too squeamish about the squishy lake bottom under our toes as we got wet!

That looks like water from afar – we must get in it!

In the last few towns of Route 66 in Oklahoma, we got back to enjoying the simple yet unique roadside attractions.

When we passed a Braum’s, we knew it was time for some ice cream. Afterwards we looked at how Mother Nature reclaimed the old Route 66 lanes just to the North of us in Hext, played in the old jail in Erick, and stopped at the marker where Route 66 was rededicated as the Will Rogers Highway on June 26, 1952. We were ready for Texas!

In Hext, the ghost of the original Route 66 is haunting us

Between jail and Will Rogers markers, there’s always time for ice cream!

Will Rogers Highway marker on the OK-TX border

Oh Casey

Posted on October 10, 2026 by MileHighMan

Day 42: Edmund to Oklahoma City and back 39 miles
Day 43: Oklahoma City to Bethany and back 55 miles
Day 44: Oklahoma City, OK 36 miles

So what do you do when you get to a state capital? Why, tour the capitol of course. (I had to look it up, but the capitAl is the town, and the capitOl is the building.) Surprisingly, we neglected to do this last time we were there. We happened to show up 15 minutes before the start of one of only two free guided tours per day. Even better, we were the only ones there. Private tour for two, baby!

The building had a LOT of art. It turns out that Oklahoma mandates that 1.5% of the budget of any state project be spent on art, and they didn’t waste a dime of it. The art came with stories too. We heard all about Oklahoma legends like Will Rogers and Te Ata. One of my favorites was a piece called “Making her Mark” which features four noteworthy women in Oklahoma’s leadership: Astronaut Dr. Shannon Lucid, Nurse/healthcare advocate Opaline Wadkins, Chief Wilma Mankiller, first female chief of the Cherokee nation (bonus points for the badass name), and Senator Maxine Horner, one of the first African-American women in Oklahoma’s legislature.

Oklahoma has no shortage of signs – neon or otherwise – that fit right in with our Route 66 vibe. We started in the Uptown 23^rd District, a revitalized stretch of historic Route 66, anchored by the Tower Theater which was built in 1937. Then we drove around the city soaking up as much of that historic Route 66 feeling as we could.

Top left: The Tower theater is still in action today
Top right: The Gold Dome was originally a bank when it was built. In the 50s
Middle left: I never met a Will Rogers theater I didn’t like
Middle right: Struttin’ proud since 1960
Bottom left: Braums again!
Bottom right: If a person could wear the big red boot, their shoe size would be 1,215

And don’t forget the murals!

OK, now that we’ve scratched our Route 66 itch, there’s always something to learn in a new place, and Oklahoma city was no exception. Devon Oil and Gas Exploration Park is an outdoor collection of oil equipment going way back to the early days of oil drilling in Oklahoma.

This portable derrick could be folded down and relocated

There was also much science to learn at Science Museum Oklahoma! We were really excited for the Planetarium, because, you know, space! Uh oh – the planetarium was closed for maintenance and scheduled to re-open the next day! The thing was, we had other plans for that day. We talked to a wonderful supervisor named Kelsey who understood our plight, and put us on her personal guest list for the next day so we could slip in, catch a star show and be on our way. I wonder if she realizes how amazing that was for us.

On our full day there, we started doing our usual slow and thorough thing, but after spending a few hours looking at planes, we realized we’d better step it up if we wanted to see anything else. Highlights included an explosion show (always a crowd favorite), an exhibit on the science of gymnastics, an exhibit named Power Play where you can test your strength and agility in various physical challenges and, of course dinosaurs for Louie.

Top left: The Cricket – a 70s-era kit plane – is just the right size for Stephanie
Top right: First dinosaur on the moon
Middle left: Louie meets his cousins
Middle right: Zoetropic vinyl (see video below)
Bottom left: She made it to the top in a dress (!)
Bottom right: Finally! We built a working arch after many tries

There was also an exhibit about zoetropes – those old time-y animations where you look through the slits in the side of a spinning cylinder while a series of images on the inside fly by. Each image is slightly different, so it works kind of like a flip-book to create the illusion of movement. Modern zoetropes tend to use strobe lights rather than make you squint through a moving slit. Our camera caught the strobe lights in finer detail than the human brain can, but you still get the idea.

That evening we found Betty’s Plant-Based To-Go and shared a delicious pretzel bun MAC Burger with a side of Extra Katfish and fries at the nearby Will Rogers Park. We ate on a park bench in front of the lake, watching the geese and ducks. It was another HOT couple of days so when we were done we went back to our hotel to enjoy our own swim.

A pastoral dinner spot (complete with geese, ducks and a blue heron)

On our second day at the museum, we ended up catching not just one but THREE shows in the morning before we had to leave! Our favorite was called Beyond Our Horizon, an interactive live show about the stars, that apparently varies by employee and time in the month and year based on the amount of moonlight and star movement. We were in Planetarium Heaven!

Last time we were here we visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial in extreme detail, but it is absolutely worth mentioning again. (You can read about our visit here.) This time, we just stuck to the outside where the memorial chairs and the reflecting pool are. On either end of the reflecting pool is a large, square arch. One is marked 9:01 and the other 9:03 – the times before and after the bombing. It’s a sobering memorial that really makes you stop and think.

Remember those “other plans” I mentioned above? Well, those plans were lunch with family. Here’s the story as I understand it. Once upon a time, my grand great uncle (my great grandmother’s brother) came over to the U.S. from Europe, didn’t tell anyone he was Jewish, ended up in Texas, met a girl, and got married. And that, dear reader, is how my very Jewish family has very Christian relatives. I met my cousin Debbie (actually, I *think* she’s my 4^th cousin once removed) in the 80s when my family and her family all lived in Texas. Now that she’s relocated to Oklahoma and our paths were intersecting for the first time since 2012, a reunion was in order. We had a great time at lunch with Debbie, her husband, Bill, and her son Jared whom I hadn’t seen since he was about 6 years old.

Fambly (Jared, Elliott, Stephanie, Bill, Debbie)

After that, it was just a matter of a quick stop at Braum’s for the requisite ice cream, and we were….Movin’ On!!

Where the Bronze Buffalo and Blue Hippos Rome – The Middle of Oklahoma

Posted on October 7, 2026 by MileHighBug

Day 40: Tulsa to Stroud, OK 104 miles
Day 41: Stroud to Edmund, OK 78 miles

We drove into Sapulpa, OK on a Sunday afternoon which meant one thing – a lot of stuff was CLOSED, including the TeePee drive-in theater! But there was a giant bronze buffalo on the way into town, a vintage caboose and trolley in town, and a brick-decked iron bridge from 1925 over Rock Creek as we were leaving town. There were cool murals and paintings all around us.

We spent most of our time at a groovy place called Gasoline Alley Classics. Store owner Michael gave us a personal tour, showing off all the hard work he’s done in turning a former Model T dealership into his upscale automotive memorabilia shop, recycling and repurposing many different parts of the old building. He’s also got some really cool bathrooms! It was a perfect example of yet another person who turned their Route 66 dream into reality with creativity, hard work and perseverance.

These railing balusters are made from the old lath in the building

Louie’s favorite stop was the Bristow Toy Museum where he played with a lot of dinosaurs.

In Stroud we didn’t do much more than eat and look at neon, but the neon was a blast! Although it wasn’t the most or best-preserved neon we’d seen on Route 66, it was everywhere, even the places you wouldn’t expect, and that made it fun.

On the way out of Stroud the next morning we took the Ozark Trail Option, where we saw one of only two surviving original Ozark Trail concrete obelisks in Oklahoma (and one of seven left nationwide out of the original 21). When it was built in 1920, the obelisk was painted white with green directional lettering listing nearby towns and mileages. Today, however, it is all white, due to a combination of weathering, heavy vandalism, and the preservation choice to paint over the graffiti rather than try to remove it and potentially damage the marker.

When we got to Chandler later that morning, we were practicing saying yes, so we were disappointed to find out Route 66 Bowl is closed on Monday.

Left: Ooh, this looks like fun
Right: We’ll come back and play another time

We spent a few minutes at the Chandler Route 66 Interpretive Center, and then went in search of the home of the author of our EZ 66 Guide for Travelers. We drove around a few minutes until we spotted his house. No, we weren’t stalking him just for fun; he invited us to come visit! Jerry invites all readers of his book to stop by his art studio in Chandler, OK so we can meet him and he can autograph our books! He also marks up your guidebook with free updates on anything that has changed since its printing. In the meantime, you get to browse his original artwork and if something strikes your fancy, you can buy it and take it with you on your journey.

It turns out Jerry created the guy we saw outside the Interpretive Center this morning!

Before leaving town, we ate lunch at the highly famed Boomerang Café, and stopped in to the tiny flamingo gift shop and visitor center.

Flamingoes adorn the Chandler Visitor Center

In Warwick we made sure to stop in at the Seaba Station Motorcycle Museum, especially after hearing this is its last season. We talked with the guy who runs it, who said he has been running it for a lot of years and wants to do some other things with his time. He was raffling off a few bikes so we bought a raffle ticket and who knows, maybe we’ll have another ride home…

’70 Triumph Bonneville 750 – Never uncrated(!)

On our way to Wellston, we got to drive the original gravel Route 66, which was sadly bypassed already in 1933! Wellston marked our halfway point on Route 66 in Oklahoma, and has a new sculpture to show for it. Here we learned that Oklahoma has over 400 drivable miles of Route 66, which is the most of any state!

This original gravel Route 66 road to Wellston was already bypassed in 1933!

Bang in the center of Oklahoma’s Route 66

Luther, Oklahoma took us back to something we hadn’t seen much of since Illinois; the grain elevator! It was a little but like a shrine after all that time…

Arcadia is famous for its Round Barn, which we’d heard all about. But our guide book mentioned another stop we could make beforehand – John Hargrove’s place! We had no idea who or what that was, but we trusted our book author Jerry by this point (especially since we’d met him), and he said if the gate is open, John wants visitors. The gate was open so we drove on in.

We learned that John Hargrove is a guy with a love for all things Route 66s who began creating what he named “OK County 66” after he retired. He bought a piece of land just off Route 66 in Arcadia and began building things – starting with a huge warehouse – to allow visitors to experience miniaturized versions of major Route 66 attractions from across the country, all in one place. Inside his warehouse were replicas of a Route 66 diner, drive-in movie theater, the Santa Monica Pier, and more. There was a ton of stuff outside too, and we didn’t even take it all in, as we weren’t yet aware of all the attractions on ’66 that were still to come.

John spent a bunch of time with us, showing us around and offering us cold waters and encouraging us to play. He answered our questions about the cars he’s rebuilt (and is actively rebuilding) from the 1930’s, the 100+ marathon and ultra-marathon medals we noticed hanging, the VW Beetle hanging out of the wall of the building, and how he’s had time to build all of this. (His answer, by the way, was that he never watches tv.) It was definitely a fun way to spend the afternoon.

The Round Barn in Arcadia was sadly closed when we got there, but we did get to drive a really cool original stretch of Route 66 on the way. (Warning: Prepare for Route 66 Geeking Out.) The section of road features two different types of paving that meet where the concrete roadbed joins the asphalt paving with concrete edges. I know it may not sound like much, but it qualified for the National Register of Historic Places!

Arcadia did have Pops 66, a 66-foot tall giant LED soda bottle, accompanied by a gas station, diner, and “soda ranch” selling more soda flavors than I ever saw or knew existed!

This aisle was actually labeled “Sodagusting”

Edmond, just outside of Oklahoma City, has the first schoolhouse of Oklahoma, a history museum, a cute shopping street with fun murals and sculptures, and some nice thrift stores. But the thing that everyone comes to see here is Happy, The Blue Hippo! Although Happy’s entire history is uncertain, he supposedly came from an aquatic center that went out of business, and was restored by a man who took to him. He’s been hippo-napped and re-rescued several times over the past 30 years, and has become a loved town and Route 66 icon during that time.

Tulsariffic!

Posted on October 1, 2026 by MileHighBug

Day 38: Tulsa, OK 30 miles
Day 39: Tulsa, OK 35 miles

We had lots of fun the last time we were in Tulsa, but we’d avoided Route 66 as much as possible, counting on the fact that we’d take a Route 66 road trip someday. It was finally time to see the forbidden fruit! As is often the case with the bigger ’66 towns, we were greeted with some fun signs and neon.

Here it is! All the 66ishness we missed last time

Using our Oklahoma passport book as our guide, we decided to start with music. We opted for “stamps-only” at the Woodie Guthrie and Bob Dylan Centers, and took a guided tour of The Church Studio – built in a converted church – where we learned all about Leon Russell and Shelter Records. Our guide gave us more information than we could ever dream of about Russell, the studio, and some of the stars who recorded their music there, including Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Tom Petty. Elliott loved seeing the vintage mixing board and sitting behind the drums in the recording room. It reminded him of his days as a recording studio intern.

Left: Leon Russell
Right Top: You can see the old brick wall where they ran out of rock for the new facade
Right Middle: Records embedded in the conference room table
Right Bottom: The ultra-cool church-y loft

Above: Elliott and Louie get their grooves on!

That afternoon we met some of the giants who take up residence on Route 66 in Tulsa, including Meadow Gold Mack the Lumberjack, Cowboy Bob, Space Cowboy Buck Atom, Stella the Space Cowgirl, and Rosie the Riviter! There were fun murals and museum/shops like Decopolis – part museum, part gift shop where Art Deco meets retro/sci-fi. We amused ourselves looking at a ton of junk robots, vintage western wear, and art-deco themed aliens and dinosaurs.

Left: One of many robots built with metal junk parts
Middle: Louie’s found a new space pen pal in the Decopolis gift shop
Right: Stephanie wants to swim with a Mosasaur she found in the Decopolis Museum

That evening we explored the Mother Road Market, where we finally found some fun food for me – vegan chicken at a place called Chicken and the Wolf. We topped the night off with another double-feature – Coyote vs. Acme and The Sandlot – at our second drive-in movie theater on this trip.

This place has all kinds of great eateries and shops inside

Hot chicken for me, Vegan chicken for Stephanie

The next day we spent some time on a more serious note at Greenwood Rising, a museum about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. We’d never heard of the massacre before, and found the information in the museum extremely disturbing and educational.

That night we stopped at Andy’s (the same chain from Springfield, MO) for concretes and then lifted our spirits by attending our second swing dance of our Route 66 trip, right there in Tulsa. This time there was a lesson and a live big band, both of which we really enjoyed! We each met and chatted with a few dancers including the instructors, who encouraged us to come back to another dance on our way home from CA. On our way home that night we took a nighttime neon tour of Tulsa. It was incredible!

The next morning, we were getting ready to leave Tulsa, and we still hadn’t seen or done any of the things we did last time we visited! We took a couple more hours to enjoy some additional sites – some repeats as well as some new – including the house from the movie The Outsiders.

Some of that Art Deco for which Tulsa is famous:

Those Famous ’66 Murals:

Louie’s Most Requested Stop:

Tulsa Hallmarks:

As we drove out of Tulsa, we got delayed by two more things – a crazy Route 66 themed Goodwill, and a musical road! What’s that, you say? A musical road? Why yes! A musical road is a paved highway with engineered grooves or bumps that play a tune through vehicle vibrations when driven over at a precise speed. What a blast! Check out the music we played by driving over the grooves in Tulsa, over, and over (and over, and over) again.

Above: Even the Goodwill is getting in on the ’66 fun!

Goodbye, Tulsa! Can you figure out the song the road is playing for us?

Looks OK to Me (Eastern Oklahoma)

Posted on September 29, 2026 by MileHighMan

Day 32 cont’d: Baxter Springs, KS-Miami, OK 77 miles total
Day 33: Miami, OK 0 miles
Day 34: Miami, OK to Quapaw and back 42 miles
Day 35: Miami to Bartlesville, OK 91 miles
Day 36: Bartlesville, OK to Vinita and back 108 miles
Day 37: Bartlesville to Tulsa, OK 133 miles

In 2021, our visit to Oklahoma meant that we had visited all 50 states, so it felt a bit special to be returning. Route 66 in Oklahoma begins with the towns of Quapaw and Commerce, where virtually everything we wanted to see was closed.

We did see a few things including Mickey Mantle’s childhood home before moving on to Miami, OK – our home for the night.

Left: Now to find Dairy Jack and Dairy Ace
Top right: Half a service station is better than no service station
Bottom right: Micky Mantle’s Childhood home

We found a place to stay in Miami, OK – pronounced Miamuh by the locals (or, more accurately, Me-YA-mi-uh by the native peoples). Before we get into the cultural offerings, let’s take a look at the murals and neon signs that Miami has to offer, shall we?

At the visitors center we received our Oklahoma Route 66 passport book, and holy bananas – it’s even bigger than Illinois’s! We’d better get started. We visited the historic Coleman Theater – built in 1929 and fully restored. We were treated to a free tour for two that showed off the vintage theater, the green room and dressing rooms, the remarkable organ and the restored ballroom. Where there’s a ballroom, there must be Swing dancing, right? I half-seriously offered to host a dance on our way home, and they said if I was willing to, they would make it work. (Tempting! Let’s see what kind of time we have on the way home.)

Top left: The historic Coleman theater built in 1929
Middle left: The main lobby
Top right: The ushers would touch her foot for good luck
Bottom left: Original hand-painted scrim on the main stage
Middle right: Looking out from the stage
Bottom right: The star’s dressing room

Miami has it’s own Route 66 Gateway Arch as well as a disused, gravel section of Route 66 which, of course, we had to drive. The Myaamia Heritage Museum focused heavily on ribbon work done by the Miami tribe. This is where ribbons are carefully folded and stitched to make intricate patterns. We also stumbled on a splash pad, which in this heat, was just what we needed. I was fine to just get a little splished, but Stephanie went full bore.

Our big destination for Eastern Oklahoma was a slight detour off Route 66 to Bartlesville where our Philly friend Vince relocated a few years ago. Naturally, this is Route 66, so there was all kinds of stuff to see on the way. Buffalo Ranch in Afton was a must see. They only have a handful of bison, but we love them, so we lingered for a while taking eleventy billion photos and videos. (Stephanie is currently banned from taking any more photos of bison, grain elevators or sea lions.)

Cross Star Flag & Tag was closed, but there was no shortage of good photo ops outside.

It was great to stay with Vince and catch up on lost time. His hometown of Bartlesville boasts the only skyscraper designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. We doubled back with Vince to Clanton’s in Vinita for their world-famous chicken-fried steak. How can something so terrible for you taste so flingin’-flangin’ good?? Stephanie stuck to her plant-based diet, so her arteries got out unscathed, but Vince and I reveled in fried goodness smothered in country gravy!

On the road again we were back to Vinita to pick up Route 66, and right away, the Route delivered more nostalgic fun. At the Hi-Way Cafe, we met Big Bill – a 21ft tall muffler man. Next door at the Western Inn, an equally impressive Indian Chief was waiting to greet us. We also came across a time capsule scheduled to be sealed in November. All of this however paled for Stephanie one she saw the swing set.

The tiny, free Eastern Trails Museum in Vinita was packed with so many interesting historical displays.

Left: Louie rides a highwheel
Center: Storefront circa 1920s
Right: The first TV in Vinita (1940s) had to face Tulsa to get reception

The town of Chelsea is worth mentioning for a few reasons: First, it used to be so busy that there is a pedestrian underpass beneath Route 66 so pedestrians could cross the road safely. It’s now filled with murals. The second reason is the Rolling Sweets Bakery. Initially we weren’t going to stop, then we were only going to look, then we ended up going hard on fantastic baked goods.

Chelsea, Oklahoma is also home to the self-proclaimed World’s Largest Totem Pole. (It’s actually the world’s largest concrete totem pole.) Sculptor Ed Galloway wanted to honor the Native American story, and so the totem pole was born. In addition, he hand-carved over 300 fiddles, each one in a different wood. I’m not sure I knew there were 300 different types of wood. (You know the difference between a fiddle and a violin, right? A violin has strings, a fiddle has strangs.)

Our last stop before Tulsa was a repeat from our Oklahoma trip of 2023. We absolutely L-O-V-E-D the Blue Whale of Catoosa. Quick recap: This 80 ft. concrete whale was built as an anniversary gift for the a local zoologist’s wife who collected whale figurines. At first it was private, but it was then expanded into a park and swimming hole and became a local favorite. Since we last visited, the city of Catoosa, OK purchased the crumbling whale, and refurbished it adding a visitors center with the full story of Hugh and Zelta Davis and their whale. Our friend the Blue Whale of Catoosa was the perfect cap to Eastern Oklahoma before we moved on to the middle of the state.

If you look carefully, there’s a pretty girl enjoying the view from the tail

A Half-Marathon of Fun in Kansas

Posted on September 26, 2026 by MileHighMan

Day 31: Joplin, MO to Galena, KS and back 49 miles
Day 32: Joplin-Baxter Springs, KS and beyond 77 miles

13.1 Miles. That’s how long a half Marathon is. Kansas has only 13.2 miles of the Mother Road, but man, do they own it! Kansas has their own passport book with a whopping 47 stops to make along the way. It seems like everyone along The Route is totally into it. Beginning right at the state line, the border is marked by a yellow-brick stripe to let you (and Dorothy) know that you HAVE returned to Kansas.

First is Luigi’s Pit Stop. Not much to do here but take some fun pics. We got our kicks, and let Louie drive Stephanie over the border (as far as he knows)

On the edge of the town of Galena (named for the raw mineral from which lead is mined), is a stop called Cars on the Route – a restored service station with a few cars on display – one of which is the tow truck that inspired Mater from the movie Cars. For even more obscure Cars trivia, right across the street is a building that the Pixar guys used as a model for the backdrop in the scene where Mater tells Lightning McQueen that he owes him $32,000 in legal fees. What? You don’t remember that scene?? No problem, I found it for you.

We met so many people in Galena who were psyched to be on Route 66 and psyched that we were driving it:

– We met Brian at the Hot Rod Hangout – a combination diner, hot rod garage and Hot Wheels museum, all of which are in various states of readiness for the general public. By now we’ve all seen those little take a book / leave a book libraries. Well, the Hot Rod Hangout has a take a car / leave a car kiosk for Hot Wheels collectors, and apparently it’s very popular! Part of his dream includes restoring the diner his grandfather owned (and he frequented) when he was young. He’s been working on his dream for fourteen years and hopes to be ready for his grand opening in August 2027.

– We met Kathy & Tim at Sightings on Sixty-Six – a kitschy-cool shop focusing on Route 66, aliens and other cryptids, and their own Sightings Coffee. New to the main street and Route 66 in Galena, they also have a fantastical rubber-duck bathroom nicknamed “The Duckpond.” We introduced them to Louie, and he showed them his cookie cutter from the National Cookie Cutter Museum in Missouri. They all hit it off so well, Louie was featured in their next post!

– We met Gravy at Gravy’s Place – the happenin’ bar in Galena where they didn’t mind at all that we were only there for a passport stamp.

Remember the cola wars of the 1980s? Galena does! Coke and Pepsi still battle for eternal domination on opposing street corners.

And all of that was within two miles of the border! The next day we stopped at the Galena Mining and Historical Museum. It was closed when we got there, but there was a phone number to call. We did so, and the curators came by in a golf cart to open the museum just for us. The building itself is housed in an old railroad depot hat once belonged to the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (also known as the M.K.T., or simply The Katy as referenced in this song by the Blues Brothers). Stephanie even got to toot the train horn which made us all jump out of our skin.

Besides trains, there was all kinds of history: Items from an original one-room schoolhouse, handwritten letters from parents giving permission for their sons to miss school in order to work in the mines, an early wooden cash register, a 19^th century hearse, and, naturally, a few cars. We even learned how different and complicated it is to drive a Ford Model T.

Top Left: Actual layout of the town’s one-room schoolhouse
Top Right: Wooden cash register from the 1800s
Bottom left: Chief Stephanie in a leather fireman’s hat
Middle right: Ford Model T
Bottom Left: 19th Century Hearse

Across the road was a little cafe called the Sweet Creek Bakery which bears mentioning for one main reason: The pie in a can. We picked up a cookie butter (aka speculoos) flavor because it sounded like a neat way to support a local business, and didn’t think much of it…until we popped the top. OMG, this is worth the trip to Galena from wherever you are.

Maybe you didn’t hear me. I said Pie. In. A. Can!

Next up in Riverton, KS was the historic Rainbow Bridge, built in 1923. It is a single-span concrete bridge called a Marsh Arch bridge (named after its designer), and it is the only one of its kind left on Route 66. There was another sticker wall, and Louie was ready with dinosaur stickers on which he wrote ESL for the three of us. We also stopped at Sunflower Park (Kansas’s state flower, dontcha know) before driving on to Baxter Springs.

In Baxter Springs, we learned about Fort Blair – one of the few Kansas forts attacked by Confederate forces during the Civil War, and checked out some more Route 66 grooviness in the downtown area. Baxter Springs was a true cow town which means their economy was once centered on the bringing of cattle to market.

After that, we let Louie drive us through an old, barely-used alignment of Route 66 before we quickly (yet not surprisingly) found ourselves at the Oklahoma border.

Rounding Out Missouri – Springfield to Joplin

Posted on September 22, 2026 by MileHighBug

Day 29: Springfield to Carthage, MO 112 miles
Day 30: Carthage to Joplin, MO 42 miles

As fun as it was, it was time to leave Springfield, MO. The drive from Springfield to Carthage was special in that it was an “I-44-free drive”; that is, we weren’t on a frontage road right next to the Interstate, as we are at many points on Route 66. It was filled with pastoral settings of rolling wood hills and green fields, peppered with churches, barns, and roadside remnants.

This part of Route 66, away from 44, is green and gorgeous

In Ash Grove, Gay Parita Station was a must-see stop with all kinds of old timey fun stuff to look at and explore. Barb and her husband George (who stepped in a few years ago to fill the late Gary Turner’s shoes) are there just hanging out, waiting for you to come drink cool beverages on them and chat a while!

Louie also likes working the dinosaur pumps

Avilla was tiiiiny but noteworthy for its cool murals and “rustic old structures.”

This may be the most quaint little post office we’ve ever seen

Carthage, MO was one of our favorite little towns. We opted to stay at the Best Budget Inn to suit our budget, but it turned out to be a gem! It’s a 1955-era motel all decked out with 50s-blue décor. There’s even a rotary phone! There’s a little oasis out back including a pool, porch swing, plants and gardens! Trust me when I say that due to the hot temps every day (and not using the A/C in the car to more closely simulate driving ’66 in the 1950s), we were in heaven getting into that pool and later eating dinner on the patio and relaxing in those lounge chairs! In the morning we got a phone call from management inviting us to a delicious homemade breakfast including chocolate chip banana bread. Just, YUM.

Across one street from us was beautiful Kellogg Lake Park and Spring River; across another street was the “Crap Duster” (flying manure spreader) and the Flying W Store offering tropical smoothies and fun snacks.

Beautiful, but they won’t let us swim there

Look at all these tropical-sounding delicious flavors

While in Carthage, we took in several different sites. Remember in my last post when we were talking about towns that disappeared due to diminishing business? Red Oak II is a recreated 1930s-style rural village. Painter/sculptor Lowell Davis created it after having grown up in Red Oak, MO, which became a ghost town after WWII. He relocated and restored a bunch of 1930s-style old buildings including homes, stores and two gas stations originally from 66. People liked it so much, some are full-time residents! (Apparently it is part of the deal that if you live there, you have to get used to tourist rubbernecking.)

Before we left the next day, we visited Battle of Carthage State Historic Site where we learned about one of the earliest Civil War battles, and toured the local “castle,” aka the Carthage Courthouse.

Deputy Bridges shared a lot of local history woth us

After visiting a couple stores, it was unfortunately time to say goodbye to Carthage. We promised our hotel owner we’d be back on our way home from CA.

We waved goodbye to the mailbox in the middle of the street!

Our last town in Missouri was coming fast! As we got closer, we checked out “mining scars” – traces of the previously heavy mining industry – dotting the countryside on the way into Webb City and the giant Praying Hands in Miner’s Park once we got there.

And then, before we knew it, we were in Joplin, MO, the border town! We learned there was something going on when the road ahead was literally blocked. Elliott decided before forging ahead we’d need to stop for ice cream at some chain called Braum’s that he’d seen once or twice. What a nice surprise – it was so cheap and delicious we assumed they’d made a mistake!

Refreshed with ice cream, we made our way around the closed streets and found ourselves talking with owner Donna Miller of Route 66 Roadside Welcome, who explained it was Third Thursday, and the main street was shut down so everyone could come and enjoy local artisans, music, entertainment, and food. How perfect! We headed out the other side of her store and into the fun.

After we’d had our fill of free music, treats, doo-dads, and memberships including several church invitations, we figured we’d better get a room for the night and explore Joplin some more the next day. Boy were we excited when we found there was a cute little motor court in Joplin, and it was one of the most reasonably prices places in the area! We were 3-for-3 on great lodgings! (And that was saying a lot when you consider some of the places we’ve stayed on this road trip….)

Joplin was great! The next morning at the official Visitor Center in City Hall, we got our passport book stamped and had a nice surprise when they handed us a free Route 66 tote bag (oooooh, my favorite). Then we went exploring, and there was so much to see! There were 3-D murals on sidewalks, waterfalls, a Big Crayon and a Big Coke bottle.

We then spent a good portion of our day at the Joplin History & Mineral Museum, which also contains the National Cookie Cutter Museum (who knew?). We learned about the history of cookie cutters, old pedal cars and planes, and the massive tornado that hit Joplin in 2011. We mostly skipped the stuff on Bonnie and Clyde and headed into the mineral museum to check out the world-class collection of lead and zinc ores and see fluorescent glowing rocks.

Left: Louie got a free cookie cutter. (He thinks it’s a dinosaur.)
Center: This cookie cutter map of the US was hand-made.
Right: Meticulously restored pedal cars – I wish I had one as a kid!

That’s a lot of minerals we each use in our lifetime!

After the museum we went to check out some more 3-D murals in and around Schifferdecker Park.

Relaxing before we hit the road again tomorrow

We were officially ready for Kansas!

Cool Waters, More Murals, Marvelous Motor Courts and Groovy Sculptures – St. Robert to Springfield, MO

Posted on September 18, 2026 by MileHighBug

Day 28: St. Robert to Springfield, MO 133 miles

The Neon Park in St. Robert had set our standards pretty high, but the very next town of Waynesville did not disappoint! I mean, how can you be disappointed when you’re greeted by a giant frog on the way into town? When the hill was excavated, they couldn’t get rid of the giant boulder, so they had a local artist paint it up as a mascot. Much of what we wanted to see turned out to be closed when we were there, but we had a fun, self-guided walking tour to follow.

W.H. Croker
The main drag of Waynesville
Check out this 1911 post office building tucked behind the false front and awning!

It was H-O-T HOT though, so we were excited when we finally found the Roubidoux Spring Park and Splash Pad, and even more excited to find there was a Roubidoux Spring! There was some sad history on the way to the spring, about the Native Americans who stopped there overnight during their journey on the Trail of Tears. I thought about how this very spring might have been one of the brighter spots on their journey. It certainly was for us. The 60° water felt great on this 90°+ day.

The cold water feels so good on this hot day

As we were heading out of Waynesville…

Left: Row, row, row your boat
Right: It’s like they knew Elliott was coming

We passed a whole chain of towns after Waynesville in which a couple of things stood out:

Buckhorn:

I’m not sure my bowling ball will knock that down.

Lebanon:

Route 66 has no shortage of Route 66 Museums, and we stopped at this one in Lebanon. The trick is to learn about what we’ve seen without giving away things we haven’t. One of the things we learned more about in Lebanon was the Ozark Trail. Before there were numbered highways, early drivers relied on “auto trails.” The Ozark Trail was one of the most prominent in the Mid- and Southwest. Much of it served as the direct blueprint for Route 66 through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and into New Mexico. Many of the original marking posts were then uprgraded to stone obelisks of which only a few remain today.

Boswell Park has some cool Route 66 murals and a preserved cabin from former Camp Joy, a historic 1920s tourist camp on Route 66. Tourist camps were originally tents where travelers could spend the night in a rustic setting all set up for them. The tents soon became cabins which eventually transitioned into the motor courts and motels for which Route 66 was known.

In 1927, a tent for the night was only 50 cents

Conway:

The locals are getting in on this whole Route 66 thing

Marshfield had Hidden Waters Nature Park, and boy was it hidden. We had to turn around a few times before we gave up and GPS-ed it, and even the GPS was having a tough time. Eventually, we were able to take a short hike to a cabin from the 1800s and dip our toes in another natural cold spring which was already occupied by some good-natured cray fish. In the town square, we saw the1/4-scale model of the Hubble Space Telescope on display; fitting since this was Edwin Hubble’s hometown.

Rare survivor of 1880 tornado; the Callaways raised 13 kids in here!

Oh, thank goodness. It’s been DAYS since we’ve seen a grain elevator

That evening we found ourselves in a second Springfield on this trip – this time in MO. When we came upon the Rockwood Motor Court, we just knew we wanted to stay there. It is a historic, fully restored 1929 motor court and recognized as the oldest continuously operating motor court on Route 66! The rates were even reasonable. Our room was decorated in memory of the owner’s dad who fought in WWII.

It was late and Elliott was hungry, so after searching unsuccessfully for places with decent vegan options, we decided to eat at the Steak n Shake with its nostalgic look. I knew it wouldn’t have much for me, but I was excited by the fact that this particular location is listed on the National Register of Historic Places since it preserves the vintage 1960s architecture and original signage. No it’s not the first one – that’s in Normal, IL, no longer a Steak n Shake, and we were busy eating at Carl’s when we were there anyway!

Unfortunately for me even the fries are cooked in lard here

We made up for the fact that I could eat nothing other than a kid’s grilled cheese at steak n Shake, by getting me some french fries elsewhere, and then taking a nice walk to Andy’s Frozen Custard for dessert.

Left: Stephanie’s been waiting all night for Andy’s Frozen Custard
Right: Bootdaddy concrete (vanilla w Oreo, caramel and hot fudge)

We absolutely loved our room at Rockwood Motor Court, and when the internet connection wasn’t super speedy, we sat outside on our Love Seat rocker/slider. It was hard to leave, but the next morning we hit the ground running. Springfield had a lovely town square, and was filled with murals, fun signs, and enough sculptures that we took a self-guided sculpture walking tour.

On the way back into town we saw the Giant Hamburg sign and the Springfield Get Your Kicks on Route 66 mosaic wall.

Owner Sheldon “Red” Chaney ordered a T-shaped sign for his restaurant that turned out to be too tall and threatened to hit overhead utility power lines, so he cut off the bottom and the restaurant became Red’s Giant Hamburg.

The town square has a lovely fountain which was very exciting on such a hot day. We also learned about our nation’s first one-on-one pistol quick-draw duel which took place right there! “Wild Bill” Hickok shot and killed Davis K. Tutt over gambling a debt and Tutt seizing and publicly wearing Hickok’s watch as collateral. If you think that’s crazy, consider the fact that Hickok was acquitted!