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.
A lovely evening to enter TulsaHere it is! All the 66ishness we missed last time
The Circle (oval?) TheaterI think this is gonna be a great dinner!
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.
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.
Greenwood Rising MuseumInterstate bisects the black neighborhood
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:
The old train depot1929 Warehouse Market Building
Those Famous ’66 Murals:
Louie’s Most Requested Stop:
Tulsa Hallmarks:
The Golden Driller
The house from The Outsiders
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?
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.
Of course you have
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!
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Price Tower
Cholestorama!
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.
Big Bill (and Little Louie)
No, I’m not culturally insensitive
Got room for two more?
Having a swingin’ time
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.
A whale of a photo
Just call me Jonah
If you look carefully, there’s a pretty girl enjoying the view from the tail
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.
Toto, we ARE in 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.
It’s the one on the right!
You owe me $32,000!
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.
Take a car, leave a car
Vintage 40s diners in process
– 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!
Louie is so proud of his cookie cutter
Tim and Louie
– 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.
Gravy
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 19th 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.
It’s not Route 66 without a mural
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.
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.
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!
Gay Parita
Rollin’ with my homie
Louie also likes working the dinosaur pumps
A whole family of dinosaur friends
Louie rides the carousel
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
This is “rustic”?
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 thereLowell Davis created ‘Crap Duster’ – antique manure spreader fitted with biplane wingsLook at all these tropical-sounding delicious flavorsOur convenience stores at home don’t have this much fried food!
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.)
Must be a red townBlacksmithGeneral StoreService StationChurchRailroad Depot
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.
The magnificent Carthage CourthouseOne of the US’s last remianing manual elevatorsMinnie, our elevator operator
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!66 Drive-In Theater closed until weekend:(
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!
Elliott was excited to try this place.A quick milkshake break at Braum’s
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….)
Another motor court!Our “cabin” is so cute!Loving the ’66 decor.
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.
With Louie at Grand FallsI’m not sure I can *drink* this much Coke
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.
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 dayLooking downriver from Roubidoux Spring
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.
Old Ozark Trail marker
Ozark Trail obelisk
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 The cabins were supposed to be like a home-away-from-home
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! I was sure the underwater camera would scare this guy offOh, thank goodness. It’s been DAYS since we’ve seen a grain elevator1-4 scale model in Marshfield – Edwin Hubble’s hometown
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.
The neon sign is fantasticNumber 6 for Stephanie
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 hereThe sign really lights up at night
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!
Left: I think I’ll just sit here for awhile Right: Stephanie was upset to learn this is a toe-dipping fountain, not a rock-climbing mountain
Here are some of the sculptures and other fun stuff from around town:
We’d felt a little lost at first learning Missouri had no passport book, but as we started to make our way through the state, we found our EZ 66 Guide for Travelers, given to us by Dave at the Illinois Coal Museum, to be enough. We learned we that we were in the Ozarks – towering limestone bluffs, dense forests, pristine natural springs, and thousands of hidden caves. The Ozarks are not mountains, exactly – the highest point in the Ozarks in Missouri is 1772 feet, and on Route 66 is 1493 feet – but they are beautiful.
We also learned that while Missouri is officially the “Show-Me State,” it’s also known as “The Cave State.” We even found a brochure showing a map of Missouri and all of its caves – which gave me a great idea for our next road trip! If you’re curious, here’s why Missouri has so many caves.
Cuba, MO, the town we’d spend the night in, didn’t have caves. But it is known as Mural City, so the next morning, we took a self-guided mural tour. We also made quick stops at a beautifully restored 1932 Phillips 66 (now a Rich’s Burgers) and Spirals Gallery & Studio, a great local gift shop.
Meeting with the Osage IndiansCivil War murals
Left: Amelia Erhart made a forced landing in Cuba in 1928 Middle: Bette Davis’s visit to Cuba, MO Right: Al West, Cuba’s mayor from 1946-1958
History at the 4-WayThere’s Elliott in the back left corner, changing our car tire!
Even the utility boxes are painted
While we’re here, did I mention Missouri’s unique way of “numbering” its secondary state-level highway system (known as supplemental or farm-to-market routes)? Apparently we were on these farm-to-market routes the whole way through Missouri, because we never did see any numbers.
Zoom in and look very closely at the Highway sign – yes those are letters!
For all you grape and wine lovers, the next town after Cuba was Rosati, MO, which is famous for its vineyards and local winemaking. Not being wine lovers ourselves, however, and having grapes in our cooler, we simply passed through the town.
In Fanning, we had fun checking out this giant rocking chair in front of the huge general store.
This “tiny” general store must use the Undetectable Extension charmThis site rocks;)
In St. James we found a beautiful tree-lined(!) alignment of 66, and a Giant Big Hillbilly.
Left: Calling all nature-lovers! This tree-lined sidewalk is in the middle of the two lanes on Route 66 here. Right: Hillbilly-rific
Rolla had a half-scale replica of Stonehenge! This was extra exciting for us since we’ve never actually been to Stonehenge…
Left: Elliott and Louie at a half scale replica of Stonehenge Right: Dad! We’re surrounded by henges!
One of the things that has been a bit depressing to learn about on this trip is the effects of the dreaded Interstate. Remember how we talked about early Route 66 connecting small towns and their dirt roads, all across the country? Building ‘66 created a rise in businesses that relied on passing drivers—such as motels, gas stations, and diners – and these business lost customers overnight when new interstates were built and drivers started taking the “super slab” instead of Main Street. These isolated rural areas then experienced severe economic decline, turning once-busy stops into struggling communities or virtual ghost towns. Two such example towns are Arlington and Jerome. People do still live in these towns, but it can be challenging to get to them. In general on ’66, we pass as many (or more) dilapidated and falling-apart towns and businesses, as we do rejuvenated and refurbished ones.
The town of Alrington was completely cut off by the Interstate. It’s now all privately owned
Vernelle’s Motel is now out of business and private propert
The abandoned log ruins are all that’s left of John’s Modern Cabins
This used to be the Stony Dell resortOld store at Stony Dell
The town of Hooker gave us some time to experience a “bigger ’66.” It was bypassed by Hooker Cut, the first 4-lane MO Route 66 built circa WWII in order to get soldiers to Ft. Leonard Wood.
0817-60 Hooker Cut – First four lane Route 66 in MO created to get soldiers to Fort Leonard Wood during WWIIAlso the deepest cut road in Missouri at the time
Devil’s Elbow, named for a sharp river bend that caused logjams, provided us with an old, fun bridge to play on. It also provided blank signs just so people can apply stickers to them, since it is apparently a big trend on ’66 to put your stickers on *any* sign!
1923 bridgeBig Piney River
Louie demands we find him some dino stickers he can use on the next sign
We’d started seeing signs for Uranus Fudge Factory & General Store about 100 miles back in St. Louis. At first Elliott didn’t think the connection between the site name (it’s not, in fact, a town) and the main item sold could be intentional, but over time he believed me that it was VERY intentional. Sign after sign along ’66 reinforced the connection (I’ll let you Google some of them). We arrived to much more than a fudge shop, so we stopped to check it out. There was a Sideshow Museum, fudge and popcorn gift shop, Giant Belt Buckle, graffiti bus, Giant Mayor, and more! (Elliott’s and my final assessment: You don’t need to bother!)
Louie’s not sure what to make of all thisI’m a cowboy!Kindred soulsThe side-show looks like funWorld’s largest belt buckleThe FunkyardInside the FunkyardMayor of Uranus
In St. Robert we found the long-awaited Neon Park we’d been hearing about from people along the Route! We went and read all about it and the signs during the day.
What’s better than a neon park by day? A neon park in the dark, of course! We returned that night with milkshakes from Sonic and parked for a 1950’s date. We were tempted to remain in St. Robert for days just so we could go back to the neon park night after night.
Day 22: Troy to St. Louis, MO 84 miles Day 23: St. Louis to Eureka, MO 75 miles Day 24: Eureka to St. Clair, MO 99 miles Day 25: St. Clair to Stanton, MO 17 miles Day 26: Stanton to Cuba, MO 41 miles
OMG! I thought we would n-e-v-e-r get out of Illinois! Not that there’s anything wrong with Illinois. The state, the people, the sights…everything was great. It’s just that after almost three weeks, I was ready to get a wee bit closer to Santa Monica.
The state very nearly didn’t let us go. As we pulled away from our hotel in Troy, IL, I said to Stephanie, “I think the car is making a weird noise.” A few minutes later, there were a bunch of warnings on the dash and the unmistakable sluggish thump of a flat tire. We pulled STELLA off the road, and for the second time on this trip, invoked our AAA membership. While we were waiting for them to come, I realized it would be faster for me to just throw on the temporary spare (aka the donut), and go get the tire fixed. On the other hand….that would mean getting dirty, and I j-u-s-t took a shower. I was anxious to get a move on, so I set about changing the tire while Stephanie canceled the AAA call and found a place that could fix or replace the existing one. Two hours later, we were on the road again. Mad props to Walmart Automotive in Troy, IL.
Less fun than it looks, but my wife thinks I’m sexy.
Since we had already dipped our toes into St. Louis via historical Route 66, we took I-55 in, and were rewarded with some great views of the Gateway Arch.
Gateway to the West
Our first stop was a visitors center to get the Missouri Route 66 passport. Uh oh…Missouri doesn’t have one like Illinois does. Could I be missing Illinois already? We’ve only been here for half an hour.
At least there’s fish at the Visitor Center
We headed further down Route 66, and eventually found the requisite inexpensive motel for the night. This one was right on the money! Cheap and a bit broken down, yes, but it was the site of the former Duplex Cottages Auto Court which opened in 1930, and more importantly, Stephanie loved it – right down to the interesting choice of orange for the inside walls.
The Duplex MotelAnother vintage keyBigger than it looksIt’s so Orange
The one thing I never want to miss on our travels through St. Louis is the barbecue. This was our first time back to the Gateway City since Stephanie switched to a plant based diet. Fortunately for her (and me!) I found a barbecue joint called Smokee Mo’s that also offered vegan barbecue.
Left: Vegan menu for Stephanie Center: That’s a whole mess of food! Right: Can I have dessert too?
We heard through the grapevine (read: Google search) that there was a Wednesday night Swing dance in St. Louis, so we decided to check it out. Right before we left home, we had grabbed our dance shoes for just such an emergency. The dance was fun in that we got to dance, but very different from our scene back home. Most notably, not one of the obvious regulars came over and said hi. Usually social dances are just that: social. We did a couple of Swing variants such as Balboa and even a Foxtrot, but no one else did. Oh well, at least we got to knock the rust off some of our dance moves.
That’s totally us
The next morning, we had a tough decision to make. You see, we had already passed two critically important stops by about two miles. Doubling back was easy enough. The real problem was that these were both treat stops, and it was 10:00 am. Being the troopers that we are, we decided we’d just have to take one (or two) for the team.
The first destination was Ted Drewes Frozen Custard for a “Concrete.” Ted Drewes is where the concrete originated! Most of us know it as a blizzard or a flurry – basically ice cream with stuff blended in. Officially, a concrete is “a thick, blended frozen dessert made by mixing frozen custard with various toppings like candy, nuts, or fruit.” The legend is that the name was coined when a regular customer kept asking for his milkshake to be made thicker and thicker. Eventually, they left out the milk altogether, and just started mixing the ice cream. The end result was as thick as concrete, and the name stuck. They even hand you the cup upside down to show you how thick it is (except when we got ours, it was so hot outside that Keniya, our contact at the window, begged us not to do that). Louie loved it, Keniya loved Louie, and of course, we loved the concretes.
Next door we noticed a little place called Gooey Louie, and for obvious reasons, we had to check out these famous St. Louis butter cakes.
After we had had more ice cream than anyone needs first thing in the morning, we stopped at Donut Drive-In – a Route 66 staple since 1953. I couldn’t even look at sugar, but Stephanie took an in-depth tour of the display case, and took her time selecting the perfect treats. Another customer took pity on us when we said we were out of cooler space, and donated an ice pack so that we could get a red velvet cake donut with cream cheese icing for Stephanie, a blueberry cake donut for me, and an apple fritter for, um, Louie. (P.S. These were the best donuts we’ve ha din our entire LIVES.)
Left: It is a drive in after all Center: But wait, there’s more! Right: Ken and Louie making magic at Drive-In Donuts
Okay, It was time for the main event of the day: The National Museum of Transportation. We got there with only about four hours until closing. The girl behind the desk said “Oh, you have plenty of time to see it all.” Nope! We are very thorough. If you’ve been paying attention to these Route 66 posts, you can see that it took us two weeks to drive the 300 miles from Chicago to St. Louis. We are *VERY* thorough. After almost three hours, we had only seen half the trains, none of the planes and none of the cars. The Big Boy locomotive was amazing. We also met a volunteer named Gary who took us on a tour inside some of the sealed off Pullman cars. After that, we barely had time to hoof it over to the car building where I fell in love with a 1923 Moon Saloon Car before checking out Bobby Darin’s Dream car. This one-of-a-kind car would have been right at home on The Jetsons.
Louie rides the Big Boy
How to drive a train
Bed in the Pullman car
Moon 6-58 sport-touring car (1923)
Jane! Stop this crazy thing!
Further down the Route, Eureka, MO is home to Route 66 State Park. We were a bit worried about spoilers, but there wasn’t too much that we hadn’t seen already. We took a nice hike and learned about Times Beach, MO. Short version: This riverside town was so contaminated with toxins, that they closed it down and moved everyone out. They even partially dismantled the old bridge by removing the deck. Once this Superfund site was all cleaned up, it was donated to the State of Missouri for our hiking pleasure. Almost no trace of the town remains.
As we stopped by another Route 66 landmark, we learned that the town of Eureka was hosting a free outdoor screening of Disney/Pixar’s “Cars.” We had been meaning to re-watch it anyway since the whole plot of the movie revolves around a Route 66 town bypassed by the interstate. If this wasn’t enough of a sign to pause our trip for another night, there was free popcorn! When we got there, some of the staffers learned that we are actually driving Route 66, and they were so thrilled to have us there. We felt like minor celebrities. Oh, and if you haven’t seen “Cars” for a while, give it a re-watch. It’s a cute movie.
NO PHOTOS DUE TO A TECHNICAL ISSUE, BUT HERE’S MY FAVORITE CHARACTER
And we’re… movin’ on!
In Stanton, Missouri, we find Meramec Caverns. Stephanie loves caves, but even if she didn’t, it was 96 degrees outside, and only 60 degrees in the caves. Sold! The tour was actually really interesting, and we saw lots of neat formations just begging to be touched, but Louie and I kept our hands to ourselves.
After frolicking in the caves, there was a riverboat tour, and then we had to figure out where to stay. There is a motel onsite at the caverns, but there’s also a campground. I wanted comfort, convenience and wifi, but I lost the vote 2-1 (Louie always sides with Stephanie) and we ended up camping for the second time this trip.
A cruise up the Meramec River
At least I got to feel like a manly outdoorsman by not only putting up our tent in about ten minutes, but helping our neighbors pitch theirs too. They were some young kids who borrowed a tent and had no idea how to put it up. This was one of those massive, 3-room, Queen-of-Sheba oasis palaces, so it’s not entirely their fault.
The night was hot and sticky, and we first cooled off by getting in the Meramec River and letting the current wash over us. (When I say current, trust me it is STRONG! Keep that in mind.) We couldn’t swim or even stand without getting knocked over so we just sat down. That night we opened the tent fly as much as we could, and ended up sleeping on top of a sheet on our sleeping pads. Sleeping bags, shmeeping bags! The next morning we got a little better at navigating the current.
The river was still calling. We had some floatin’ tubes, we just needed to get a few miles upriver so we could float back downstream to the car. We asked a few people at the endpoint if they could give us a lift to the start, but no one could. We even tried hitchhiking, but apparently we look like a couple of Natural Born Killers, and no one wanted to slow down for us. The only way to get up river and still have a car waiting for us at the end was to go with a local company who supplied your floating equipment, so we opted for a two person-kayak.
The float started out wonderfully. We saw some tiny caves, and a bald eagle. We even jumped in the water to cool off and float alongside the kayak.
But then…disaster! As we excitedly paddled toward some fast-moving rapids, the current took us past a partially submerged tree stump, and we realized it was a whole tree just under the surface lying perpendicular to the current. As we hit it, it spun us sideways and flipped us over. The current kept me pinned under the overturned kayak, and partially under the tree while it pulled my glasses right off my face. I started to panic as I realized I couldn’t fight my way to the surface. I let myself slip under the tree, and mercifully popped out the other side. If it had been a tangle of roots down there, I would have been trapped against it and not been able to fight my way out.
Stephanie meanwhile went over the top of the tree, and was hanging on to a rope that was snagged on the downstream side for what she thought was her dear life. She was disoriented, but I yelled to her to let go, and it suddenly got easier for her to swim to the kayak which I had caught up to. Now that we were safe, we eventually found and rescued various belongings of ours that were floating down the river. Even that was treacherous as Stephanie kept getting banged up by rocks and really struggled (uncharacteristically) to get back into the kayak.
Double thumbs up to my genius wife. She had placed the cash, IDs, credit cards and car key in double Ziploc bags with plenty of air inside them so they floated. She also had the good sense to tie our waterproof camera to the kayak.
It was time to inventory our losses: One water bottle, the water bottle carry strap we had purchased in Guatemala once upon a time, Stephanie’s cute purple sunglasses and a tank top of mine that she had been using to keep the sun off her legs. We also lost my glasses and clip-on shades, but I had spares back in the car.
What we DIDN’T lose: money, ID, car keys, credit cards, food, hats, camera and most importantly, our lives! It may sound trite, but it was really scary for both of us. For several days afterwards, I woke up grateful to be alive, and replaying the scene in my head with “what-if” scenarios in which it wasn’t so easy to get past that tree. And we were both left with some major bruises for a couple of weeks.
But hey, you didn’t come here to contemplate your mortality (you can go here for that), so how bout some photos from what was otherwise a lovely float? Note the lack of glasses in that last photo.
We rounded out or day in Cuba, MO with Mexican fare, and we spent the night at the historic/kitschy Wagon Wheel Motel which has been in continuous operation on Route 66 since 1938.
Day 16: Girard to Litchfield, IL 66 miles Day 17: Litchfield and Gillespie, IL 42 miles Day 18: Litchfield to Hamel, IL 57 miles Day 19: Hamel to Collinsville, IL 81 miles Day 20: Collinsville to Troy, IL 95 miles Day 21: Troy, IL 0 miles
Though most of our time in Girard, IL was spent fretting about MICHAEL, it wasn’t all bad. That Sunday evening when he was running smoothly after drinking the Blue Devil “Hail Mary” concoction, we did take some time to eat dinner and ice cream at the local Whirl-a-Whip before the fateful drive to Litchfield. We had so much fun meeting and talking with owner Brent! He gave us a very special pin that he had made. (And we may, just MAY have stopped there for more ice cream, later that week, after returning from Philly with our other car STELLA…)
I think Stephanie’s ready to move here
Whirled whips
The owner (Brent) was so excited that Stephanie was excited
The vintage Whirl-A-Whip machine
When we did finally leave Girard on Thursday, we headed to Farmersville to get the next stamp in our Illinois book, which was a retail store. We thought we’d just be in this tiny town for a few minutes, and so we explored the town square park, post office and library while we waited for The Rooted Home to open. Little did we know how well we’d hit it off with Cassie, the owner. Two and a half hours later(!), we finally left Famersville.
There’s one in every town here – EVERY. TINY. TOWN.
Farmersville, IL
Look at the teeny, tiny post office in the middle!
Better than a free library, it’s a free pantry
We chatted with Cassie at The Rooted Home for hours.
Litchfield, IL was full of fun surprises. First we explored a big antique shop, and when we got into town we saw signs for a recreation area with a lake and campground. Why not? We had the camping gear for a reason.
Louie is psyched for his first time campingLovely Lake Lou Yaeger
Even better, as we explored further, we found the lake had something called The Wibit: A massive floating aquatic playground and obstacle course on the water.
We ended up staying at the campground for two nights. We did some morning hikes, played at the aquatic playground, spend some time at the Litchfield Museum, ate a yummy dinner and even better dessert at the Ariston Café, and went to an actual drive-in movie!!!
Tree lover!
Playing on the high diveMidair StephanieThat’s one way to slide downCatching our breath
Louie’s all ready to watch Spider Man and Terminator
We had tried to go to Gillespie, IL almost a week before, to explore the Illinois Coal Museum. This time, we were finally able to get in to it. Dave, the owner, had created the museum simply to draw more Route 66 travelers to his town! He gave us a personal tour, and then gave us a copy of the EZ66 Guide for Travelers. Until now, we had been seeing the sights that came up in our passport books, but THIS book lists absolutely e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g even remotely worth looking at on “The Route.”
In Mt. Olive we stopped at Soulsby’s Station, one of many restored service stations in Illinois. This one stood out a bit more due to all the other people, and vintage cars, that were there with us.
Left Top: Soulsby’s service station Left Bottom: We lucked out today – the Model T Club is out for a jaunt!!! Rihgt: A Pink Oak has grown up thrugh the service ramp
In Livingston, we visited The Pink Elephant, which consisted of a big antique/flea market, an expensive candy/souvenir shop, and a Twistee Treat! Most exciting for us, though, were all the giant things OUTside.
The Pink ElephantI’m an ice cream cone!Big Boy is everywhere
We didn’t do too much in Hamel besides stay the night and eat at a couple of local places! One thing stood out though – we had our very first concrete! What’s a concrete, you ask? Well, we weren’t exactly sure, but the employee’s description sounded sort of like a Dairy Queen Blizzard, so we decided to go for it. This may seem insignificant right now, but trust me when I say it’s not (more in a future blog post)!
We did not regret trying our very first concrete (or the chocolate malt!) at Route 66 Creamery – Andy’s Mint
The big draws in Collinsville, IL were a huge ketchup bottle and Cahokia Mounds.
The world’s largest ketchup bottle is a water tower
Cahokia Mounds is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is the largest and most complex pre-Columbian archaeological site north of Mexico. Flourishing between approximately 1050 and 1350 CE, the city covered roughly six square miles and had a population of 15-20,000 people at its peak! That means it was larger than many European cities at the time, including London.
Monk’s Mound in the distance I’ll bet I could rule that monud as T-Rex on high
Left: We’re only at the middle terrace as we climb Monk’s Mound Middle: The view from Monk’s Mound Right: St. Louis waaaaay in the distance (Missouri is teasing us!)
In Edwardsville we found a bunch of places we were interested in, but being Monday, many were closed, so we decided we will spend more time there on our return trip home.
Our big adventure later that day was in Mitchell, where we decided to seek out the very famous “Old” Chain of Rocks Bridge, which connects Illinois and Missouri. Why is it so famous, you ask? It has a 22 degree bend in it, which was necessary in order to build the bridge on solid rock footings!
The rocks under this bridge are infamous too, hence the naming of the bridge. During the last ice age(!), ice blocked the Mississippi River channel in this area, which forced the river to carve out a new route over bedrock. Even today, the rocks that remain in the river are still so large that it is too difficult and dangerous for boats to navigate through! (The Army Corps of Engineers built a canal for boats to use, that bypasses this part of the river.)
Since the bridge and the rocks are memorable stand-outs, we figured we’d make our visit/hike to and across the bridge a stand-out memory as well. It was already a 90 degree, hot and sunny day on which we were planning to hike 4 miles round-trip to get to and cross this bridge. In order to make it REALLY stand out, we decided to make it much harder. We started our hike from the NEW Chain of Rocks Bridge, turned around after a while and went back to the starting point, then began the hike all over again, which increased the total mileage by another 50%…. Okay, maybe we screwed up royally and thought the NEW bridge was the OLD bridge, and if it wasn’t for some random guy and his generous gift of two cold bottles of water, we would still be parched and sprawled out like a couple of dehydrated apricots on the side of the road somewhere… in the end we hiked SIX miles round-trip in the middle of that hot and sunny day.
Left: Here we are so proud of ourselves, at the (wrong) Chain of Rocks Bridge Right: Louie watches the barges go by, thinking we’ve finished our hike for the day. But he notices this bridge doesn’t look very old, or special in any way…
We were so happy when we finally arrived on foot to the correct bridge, we had to dance!
Left: We finally made it to the correct bridge – about to cross the mile-long Old Chain of Rocks Bridge Right: Taking a breather
Top: Can you see how the bridge turns 22 degrees? Bottom: Hi!
Granite City had some great murals and a great ice cream place, where I decided to get in on this Concrete ice cream thing.
We tried to leave Illinois that night, driving across the border into St. Louis, MO. Alas, it was not meant to be, as no Visitor Centers were open and we couldn’t find a hotel. So, after a lot of driving, and feeling hot and tired, we went back to Illinois to spend one last (at least we hoped) night.
At least back in IL we got to enjoy a hotel with a pool (and some amazing oasis paintings on the walls) that night
Note: This is a very special, emotional post for us. Special thanks to the so many people who helped us through this very tricky period of our road trip. Without their time, kindness and generosity, we could not have picked up and continued this amazing journey.
Benjamin Fried Maddie from Docs in Girard, IL Maddie’s mom Andrew Hagan, as well as his patient wife and children Greg Andrew’s dad Craig & Myrna Bomkamp Andrew’s mom, Helen Hagan
Day 12: Girard to Litchfield, IL 41 miles
Day 13: • MICHAEL Litchfield to Girard, IL 29 miles • Us Litchfield to STL 64 miles • Us STL-PHL 813.5 miles
Day 14: Devon to Girard, IL 930 miles Day 15: Girard, IL 0 miles
When we last left you, we were in Girard, IL. It was just after 3pm, we were full of delicious ice cream from Docs, and we had just taken a fun selfie at one of the iconic Route 66 signs, with the help of Girard’s ingenious little stand to hold your camera or phone. We got in the car.
That’s us in those 6’s. These signs are too much fun and they’re everywhere on Route 66!
“And we’re, movin’ on!”
Except, we weren’t. MICHAEL, our 21 year old car who’s very excited to be able to vote in the upcoming election, wouldn’t start. His oil and coolant were fine. He just wouldn’t start.
A few hours later, we were still sitting there in the little parking lot in the middle of the town square in the little town of Girard, IL. But all I could think is, “Traveling – the thing I love most in the world! It never fails to bring out and show us the best of the best that humanity has to offer.”
<Rewind the clock a bit…>
3:05pm We try to start MICHAEL, and he doesn’t start. “Hmmmm.” (As opposed to “Uh-oh,” because, well, let’s face it, MICHAEL’S already got a leaking head-gasket, and when it comes to him, we’re prepared for pretty much anything at any time.) Elliott and I try to diagnose what’s going on, given what we already know about his leaking head-gasket. Elliott comes up with a good-sounding hypothesis.
3:32pm We call our best friend Ben, who’s amazing at fixing pretty much everything (especially cars), to review Elliott’s theory. Ben has definitely had extensive experience fixing OUR car, MICHAEL, and starts giving us some instructions on how to test a few things, but we’re having trouble finding the parts under MICHAEL’S hood that Ben’s asking us to locate.
3:45pm Maddie, the daughter of the owner of Doc’s where we’d had that amazing ice cream, comes running outside to tell us she just noticed we’re still sitting here in the parking lot, and apologizes profusely for taking this long to figure out what that means. She’s already “texting her friend” to see if he can come help us! We later find out Maddie called her mom, who is the owner of Docs and is in Florida(!), to see if *she* could text the “friend” – the local town mechanic who is a regular at Docs.
4pm Andrew the town mechanic shows up and dives right in to diagnose what’s going on with MICHAEL. He tries starting MICHAEL, does several quick tests right in a row, and within minutes says he knows what tools he needs for further diagnosis and is going to run home to get them. Elliott is a little dumbstruck, asking, “Do you need anything from us, like a credit card?” Andrew assures him he doesn’t need a thing and we can settle up later.
Meanwhile, Greg, another local, comes by to see if we need help and stays to entertain us while Andrew continues working. When he mentions the local Whirl-A-Whip, he can’t believe the look on my face – these ice cream mixing machines faded out decades ago and after years of researching them and their whereabouts, the only one I found still in existence was in North Dakota! He asks if he can get anything for us, and when we say no, he insists on at least heading over there to confirm they’re open and get us a menu.
Greg has no idea this t-shirt is in my suitcase inside MICHAEL.
4:20pm Andrew comes back. It’s already drizzling rain, and he doesn’t say a word. When it starts raining harder, he pulls out a portable stand-up canopy to place over MICHAEL’S hood, and continues working.
The rain ain’t gonna stop Andrew from fixing MichaelFixing the car in the rain
He needs a part; the closest place that has it is 40 minutes away in Springfield. After a few calls to various people, Andrew tells us his DAD is going to pick the part up for us and bring it here.
Andrew works tirelessly to get the old crank shaft position sensor out of MICHAEL. Apparently it’s really jammed in there.
They really bury that crank position sensor
Eventually he gets it out and he and Elliott have time to shoot the breeze while we all wait. Andrew has four kids – 9, 7, 5, and 1 – and a wife at home, making chili for him for dinner. And he’s giving up his Saturday afternoon, to crawl into our 21-year old, 2005 Honda Accord.
🎵 Getting to know you… 🎵
5:45pm The new part arrives and Andrew goes to work for another hour and a half. After Andrew puts the new crank shaft position sensor in MICHAEL, he still doesn’t start. Andrew never shows any sign of giving up. After cleaning and then replacing the spark plugs (which he and Elliott have to go pick up at another auto parts store), Andrew finally does succeed in getting MICHAEL to start.
We’re all so psyched! Andrew has fixed the problem with the engine starting!
BUT – now there are huuuuuge clouds of white smoke coming out of the tailpipe.😔 Oh yeah, there’s now another, newer, terrible symptom of that leaking head gasket issue. We hope for the best, but the smoke doesn’t clear up. MICHAEL’s tailpipe continues emitting clouds of smoke for twenty minutes. Things are beginning to look REALLY bad, not only for our trip, but for poor MICHAEL.
We all agree there is only one thing left to try, which Andrew calls a Hail Mary.
It is too late to go anywhere anymore, and there are no hotels in town. Remember Maddie’s mom, the owner of Docs who is currently in Florida? She has already arranged with some locals to allow us to stay for free at their VRBO rental overnight! Maddie invites us back into Doc’s even though it is closing in 15 minutes and insists on feeding us dinner at no charge.
MICHAEL’S story, and the kindness of others, does not end there. That night after we ate, when we tried to leave Doc’s for the VRBO, MICHAEL would not start again. We were so sad.
Craig and Myrna, the kind VRBO owners, came and picked us and all of our stuff up, and took us to the HOUSE that they were going to let us stay in, until Thursday if needed (it was Saturday)!
On Sunday Andrew met us back in the parking lot at Docs, to clean the spark plugs again and try his Hail Mary: BlueDevil Head Gasket Sealer. It’s a chemical liquid sealant designed to permanently fix leaks in blown head gaskets, warped or cracked heads, and heater cores without clogging the engine. The problem is, it’s very hit-or-miss as to whether it will help, and even if it does help, it is just a temporary patch that might last a few months or a year, nobody seems to know.
We spent about two more hours on Sunday working on MICHAEL, got him running again, and all believed a mini miracle had occurred. He wasn’t smoking, he was starting up smoothly, several times in a row! Andrew said we’d need to drive a bit to see if our Hail Mary had worked.
We drove about a half hour more, to Litchfield, IL, before we started having even bigger problems. MICHAEL would randomly lose some power and start to slow down, all on his own. I kept thinking Elliott was downshifting while driving him, but he wasn’t.
Luckily we made it to a hotel – barely – where we called Andrew, who said he couldn’t think of any more ideas to extend MICHAEL’s driving life that would be worth the cost at this point. Maybe find a young engine from an old, totaled Honda Accord, and replace MICHAEL’s engine. But it would take time to find someone who could do this, to find an engine, etc.
We were sad, but knew we had to act quickly to avoid spending tons of money on lodging. The next day, we called AAA and had MICHAEL towed back to Girard, where he is currently residing at Andrew’s house. There were tears for all of us.
Andrew’s mom picked us up and drove us to St. Louis, 80 miles each way for her. We booked a flight using miles and flew home to Philly that evening and got the last train into the city. When the last bus for the night decided to pass right by us, Ben (that awesome guy we called when MICHAEL first wouldn’t start the day before) came and picked us up and took us home.
Louie prepares for his first flight.Louie’s got the hang of things already
The very next morning, we left super early and drove ALL THE WAY BACK to Girard, IL in one shot in our other car, STELLA. It was very late when we got there, so we took Craig and Myrna up on their offer to let us stay at their VRBO house for another two nights. The next day we went to visit MICHAEL at Andrew’s house, and transferred all of our stuff from one car to the other.
We know we’re leaving MICHAEL in good hands with Andrew
Stella, Louie, and we say goodbye to MICHAEL as we prepare to continue our journey on Route 66
We’ll see MICHAEL again on our way back East on Route 66, but we’re not sure if we will be able to drive him home again. As we continue with STELLA on this Route 66 trip, we’ve thought and talked about all the amazing adventures we’ve had with him: our first cross-country road trip back in 2012, our eclipse road trip, trips to National Parks like Acadia and Great Smoky Mountains, our Great Lakes road trip (where we only *thought* his life was ending), our 50th state road trip right after the pandemic, at least four trips to Florida, and probably more we can’t even remember right now! It’s been an amazing 21 years and he’s been the greatest car ever.
We had first been introduced to Girard, IL on Friday. It was now Thursday, almost a week later. And it looked like we were finally… movin’ on.
MICHAEL’S little sister STELLA, getting cleaned and debugged after the 16+ hour drive from Philly to Girard, IL.
Day 10: Springfield to Carlinville, IL 50 miles Day 11: Carlinville to Girard, IL 55 miles
It had taken us quite a while to traverse the First and Middle Hundred Miles of Illinois. Since there was nothing left in the bigger town of Springfield, Illinois that 1) we wanted to do, 2) was open that day, or 3) we would have enough time to complete before the closing time, we decided to head out around 6pm and get some driving in. As we drove along following our Illinois passport, we were really starting to feel like we were getting into a rhythm. We started a cute little saying together, whenever we finished with a stop, a site or a town. One of us would say, “And we’re…,” and the other would fill in,”movin’ on!”
We were right back to traveling through some more rural, small towns, appreciating the scenery. Now that we had been schooled about grain elevators in Atlanta, IL, we were able to recognize more modern grain elevators (as opposed to simple silos).
A grain elevator… so that’s what this is!
I’ve mentioned the different alignments of Route 66 that we’ve been traversing. What are those about, you ask? An alignment is just the actual roads designated as Route 66. As these changed over time, there were two or even three alignments passing through the same town. U.S. Route 66 was one of the original highways approved when the U.S. Numbered Highway System was established on November 11, 1926 but rather than being built from scratch as a brand-new road, it was completed by linking existing local and regional roads into a continuous highway. Many of the roads that were connected in the beginning, were dirt. After the Depression, more people had cars and were driving, and wanted straighter, faster roads and to bypass towns in some areas. ‘66 was not fully paved end-to-end until 1938, and by then, parts of it had already been bypassed by faster alignments in parts of Oklahoma and New Mexico!
So, back to the older alignments – some of them are solid concrete or even brick! We were especially psyched to drive on some of these old cement and brick portions of Route 66 in Auburn, IL.
Solid – well…patchy – concrete!
Left: Solid brick, baby! Top and Bottom Right: Louie and Michael are just as psyched as we are to see concrete meet brick
And we’re… movin’ on!
We passed through two different towns that evening, each with a destination we wanted to visit. Sly Fox Bookstore in Virden already closed for the day, and Docs Just Off 66 (ice cream!) in Girard closed early after only serving ten sets of customers the entire DAY. Bummer! We were quickly learning to adjust on the fly when things didn’t go as expected. The employee at Docs gave us a stamp in our passport book even though she couldn’t serve us dinner.
And we’re… movin’ on!
We continued driving, looking for places to eat and bed down for the night. We never found a place to eat that had food for me, which meant leftovers from the cooler for dinner! But we ended up finding what we thought was a cute little hotel in Carlinville, IL.
Left Top: It’s the CarlinVilla! Left Middle: There’s wallpaper in here and our furniture looks like it did in the 80’s Left Bottom: We’ve got a couch and comfy chair! Right: This type of thing makes even your shower fun!
It’s our bathroom / kitchenette!
The next morning we checked out of our adorable little hotel and started driving south toward Gillespie, IL and Coal Mine Museum listed in one of our passport books as being open Saturday, closed Sunday. We arrived there 15 minutes later, only to find a sign on the door saying they were temporarily closed on Saturday, and open Sunday instead. The irony! Remember how I was *just* talking about adjusting on the fly? This is exactly the type of thing one learns not only to live with, but anticipate on this trip.
And we’re… movin’ on!
We reevaluated, turned around and headed back north toward the two places we had missed the previous day. Luckily, we were rewarded with some fun experiences.
On our way back through Carlinville we come across an outdoor market that pops up once a month. Hooray!
Monthly market in the town square
Stephanie wants a pig, Elliott wants an outhouse-slash-birdhouse-bathouse
And we’re… movin’ on!
We made it back to Sly Fox Bookstore, where everything was half price. We get to talking to the owner and learned he’s 82, just found out he has cancer and is about to start chemo treatments for it. Just, wow! Another reminder of how precious every moment of life is. We purchased a few gifts, told him to stay strong and take care. And as he thanked us, and I could hear the sincerity in his voice.
Wishing healing and good health for the owner
And we’re… movin’ on!
Back to Docs which was now open. We had some leisurely ice cream at the counter. This place was great! We looked around, ordered, took some photos, and watched a young girl make Elliott’s S’mores milkshake. We laughed at how she *didn’t* intentionally make a skull design out of the hot fudge. I slowly ate a dish of Malt 66, malt-flavored chocolate ice cream with chocolate chunks that was just DIVINE.
Right: How is that NOT a skull milkshake??
We headed outside, got excited that this town’s Route 66 photo-taking sign also has a little stand to hold you camera or phone, and took a great selfie.
Feeling full of ice cream and HAPPY!
And we’re… movin’ on!
It was just after 3pm, and we had no idea the adventure that lay ahead of us over the next few days, but trust me… it’s coming!
