Day Seventeen: June 22, 2010

It was good to be on the Mother Road again! We needed to put a lot of miles on today if we are going to be in Saint Louis on Friday to drive across the Chain of Rocks Bridge, but there is still much of the Mother Road to explore! We got onto the National Trails Highway in Ludlow and found a great little diner near the Ludlow Motel with a memorial to the mining days of the area. This stretch of Mother Road that winds away from I-40 is one of my favorites; even it is really hot all the time! We did a bit more exploration at Roy’s (there are photo ops everywhere if you look for them!) and I showed Rich our deposit at the shoe tree.

We got back on I-40 in Needles and crossed into Arizona. We made plans to meet some friends of Rich, Erin and Dallas, in Oatman. They live near Las Vegas, and had never heard of Oatman so it was a good place to meet and check out some more of Route 66! Just south of Oatman are some very old ruins, one of which still contains a visible gas pump. Rich really loves those old gas pumps, and I promised him we’d see a few restored with the glass later in the trip!

We arrived in Oatman just in time to witness a gunfight. It definitely wasn’t a traditional gunfight, but it was cool and the actors inject some humor into the act. All the donations go to charity, so it was worth it! We met up with Erin and Dallas and told them all about our adventure. They are really cool people, and Erin found out why they don’t like people feeding the wild burrows! We ate a very forgetful lunch in Oatman and said goodbye to Erin and Dallas.

No one ever gets used to driving the Sitgreaves Pass alignment! Rich and I talked about trying to navigate this road back in the 1930’s! We found two sets of "ruins" near the top of the pass. One had what looked like a pipe coming out of the pavement and another contained a small stone foundation. At some point in time, some type of business rested on top of that foundation! We stopped by Ed’s Camp to snap a few photos and dropped by Cool Springs and got to meet George Chicago. He is another genuine individual who is passionate about the Mother Road and has a unique way of documenting where all the visitors to Cool Springs reside. You'll have to visit him to find out what that is!

As much as Rich and I wanted to explore more of the Mother Road, we were pressed for time and had to get back on I-40 near Kingman. We stopped in Seligman so Rich could see where the revival of the Mother Road all began. It would have been a pleasure to meet Angel in person, but he was not out and about. I am one among thousands who wish to say “Thank You!”

The forest fire near Flagstaff was much worse than it was when Mike and I drove by a week ago. You could see the smoke for miles in all directions. It was getting late and we needed to push forward, but we made time for Twin Arrows and Two Guns. We decided to stop for the night in Winslow, and took a gamble that there would be a room available at the fabulous La Posada Motel. Our gamble paid off and as we pulled in the parking lot, we were both amazed by the utter beauty of the historic landmark.

La Posada is a motel that everyone must stay at, even if it is just for one night. The structure was built in 1929 and the train still stops at the depot twice a day! We ate at the Turquoise Room, a dining experience many critics believe is the finest in the United States. It would be difficult to argue that point. The food was fabulous and our waiter was friendly as well as extremely knowledgeable on the history of the motel and the restaurant. We took out the tripod and Rich took countless pictures of the motel grounds. Pictures just can’t do this place justice! Tomorrow we need to make it to Amarillo if we have any chance of getting to Saint Louis by Friday morning!

Pictures from Day 17

Day Sixteen: June 21, 2010

I actually got to sleep in today! I also tried to catch up on the blog today, but that just didn’t happen. I know I'm going to fall so far behind that I end up posting when I get back. I did manage to re-organize/clean up the inside of the Jeep. The outside is filthy but that is what it's supposed to look like after 3,000 miles worth of driving! I checked out of the hotel around 10:30 and picked Rich up at the airport. He was in a good mood for someone whose plane broke down on the runway in Hartford, got put on a plane to Atlanta that didn’t land till nearly midnight, and got up at 5 AM to make sure he didn’t miss the connecting flight to San Francisco!

The drive to Barstow was long and uneventful, with the exception of the hundreds of wind turbines we saw on Route 58 on the mountain just before descending into the town of Mojave. We settled into the motel in Barstow and grabbed a nice dinner in town.

Tomorrow we are going to take Route 66 from Newberry Springs to Hickman via the National Trails Highway and the Oatman Highway. We have a lot of miles to drive in just a few days, so we will be forced to take the interstate for long periods of time. Hopefully we will have enough time so I can show Rich a good sample of the Mother Road!

Day Fifteen: June 20, 2010

Today was a day of transition. It marked the end of one adventure and the beginning of another. Mike and I really enjoyed our stay at the Wig Wam, and I managed to find a few more photo opportunities before we checked out. It was time to leave the Mother Road and on to Forest Lawn Memorial Parks & Mortuaries to pay our respects to the godfather of heavy metal, Ronnie James Dio. Unlike the “dark” image he portrayed as the singer for Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and DIO, Ronnie was a Christian who was a strong advocate against child abuse, cancer, and many other issues/charities. Ronnie is one of my all-time singers (my nickname at ECS is…….DIO!) and Rainbow Rising is my all-time favorite album. Visiting his grave and saying a prayer was my way of saying thanks for the music. Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll.

The trip from LA to San Jose was long and boring. The journey took us through some breathtaking mountain peaks and then hours of straight highway with farms on either side. At least we got to go through Gilroy, CA. Gilroy is the garlic capital of the United States. We even saw garlic ice cream signs…..

I got a call from Rich just as we were entering San Jose. His plane “broke” on the runway in Hartford and he wasn’t going to be landing in San Francisco until tomorrow morning. That was bad news, but I assured him it wasn’t going to affect our adventure!

The time had come to drop Mike off. It was hard to believe that 15 days had gone by so fast. We had such a great adventure and met so many wonderful people and we now have so many memories that will last a lifetime. I drove north and spent the night near the airport. Tomorrow Rich and I begin the return trip (Dudes on the Mother Road Part II) in Barstow and will be in Litchfield by the 25^th for the Route 66 Festival.

Pictures from Day Fifteen

Day Fourteen: June 19, 2010

What a day. The traffic in Los Angeles is insane! Mike and I vowed never…….I mean NEVER to travel to and from Los Angeles between the hours of 9 AM and 6 PM ever again. It literally took us over four hours to get from the beginning of Foothill Boulevard in Rialto to the Santa Monica pier on Route 66 and almost three hours to get from the pier back to the Wig Wam! Talking about the stress poster child!! I could have been the spokesperson for Mylanta!

Although Route 66 has lost most of the old-time charm approaching Los Angeles, many cities along the way take great pride in their stretch of the Mother Road, and many modern signs/shields and businesses exist along with many former gas stations and many old hotels. We drove by the Sycamore Inn and found the giant Aladdin lamp at the Magic Lamp Inn in Rancho Cucamonga. Mike managed to snap a photo of the Madonna on the Trail Statue and a really quick photo of the Foothill Drive-In Theater sign in Azusa. We also took the earlier alignment in Monrovia to check out the vintage station on Shamrock Avenue.

Once we got on Colorado Boulevard, traffic really picked up and slowed us down. There is plenty to see on Route 66, but we just didn’t have the time or there simply was nowhere to pull over at each vintage motel/café to take pictures, so we decided to push on through Highland Park to Sunset and Santa Monica Boulevards in time to make the pier and spend some time with Dan and Jessica at the 66 to Cali stand on the pier!

Jerry’s description of the end of 66 on the corner of Lincoln and Olympia is correct. It was truly unsatisfying. There is no “End Historic 66” sign like there is in Chicago. If one looks at the history of the western terminus, it changed a handful of times over the years. In recent history, one site near the pier did bring closure to the journey. Many people visited the Will Rogers Highway Marker in Palisades Park. It is an “unofficial End” of Route 66.

There is, however, an “Official End” to the Mother Road once again at the Santa Monica pier, thanks to people like Dan Rice and Jim Concle. Check out “The Story” http://www.route-66-to-california.com/the-story. We got to the pier, saw the sign, and thought it was great! Dan and Jessica were incredible hosts and are terrific representatives of the Mother Road. One can hear the passion of the road in Dan’s voice as he shares his 25 years of Mother Road experience. I had to buy the tee shirt Jerry was wearing when I got my EZ Guide autograph (I am wearing it as I write this)!

The drive back to the Wig Wam Motel was also excruciating. A drive that could take an hour and half took nearly three hours, even by taking the interstate. The drive was worth it. You MUST stay at a Wig Wam! The teepees are cool on the outside and the inside. The grounds are well maintained, and there is Route 66 ambiance everywhere. I cannot describe it in words……….JUST DO IT!

We were both hoping we had more time, as we would have spent another night, but the end of the “Dudes on the Mother Road” westward journey on Route 66 had reached a conclusion. Tomorrow we are going to visit Ronnie James Dio’s grave (RIP Ronnie) and then it’s on to San Jose to drop Mike off and pick Rich up for the return trip to Litchfield, IL for the Route 66 Festival!

Pictures from Day Fourteen

Day Thirteen: June 18, 2010

Well today was day thirteen of the “Dudes on the Mother Road” journey down Route 66, and the one thing that stuck in my mind was “HOT!!!!!!!!!” The desert in California is really hot. It is like Africa hot. Tarzan could not stand that kind of hot! I know I stole that line, and I know I am simply grasping the obvious, but did I mention it was hot today? It was also one of the great days of exploration on the Mother Road. Mike and I like ruins. I mean barely recognizable ruins, and we saw plenty of that today.

Needles is another town that has plenty of Route 66 history. We were impressed by the sheer size of El Garces. We decided to take the Pre-1931 alignment through Goffs. Goffs is a lonely place in the middle of nowhere and was a scene that Mike and I would come to recognize in other places on the road throughout the day. Fenner was the last outpost of civilization for miles, and consisted of a gas station/convenience store. While I was going inside to purchase some fuel (I could not fill the tank because we had to get gas at Roy’s!) a guy came running out yelling and screaming. He was running after a tractor-trailer truck that was leaving the parking lot………..apparently without him. I still wonder how that turned out in the end!

Now we were on the National Trails Highway. This is a very barren stretch of the Mother Road, but one that is full of history, ruins, and surprises!!!! We found Essex, Danby, and Cadiz Summit easily enough, and Mike did some serious exploration of the Cadiz ruins. It was a very large site and must have been impressive in its heyday. We drove through Chambless and made our way to Amboy. We snapped some photos of the Roadrunner Café and sign and made sure we left two pairs of “Dudes on the Mother Road 2010” sneakers at the shoe tree (though I believe we left them at the shoe tree whose trunk is damaged and not the “new” shoe tree closer to Roy’s”. If someone can confirm which tree is the real shoe tree, I would appreciate it!

We stopped at Roy’s for some fuel and a shirt and continued on to the tree that marks the former site of Bagdad. The site we enjoyed exploring the most was Siberia. We found an immense set of foundations and ruins on the south side of the road. Mike noticed that there were rocks lining the entryway into what was probably a gas station and other foundations which may have once been a café, as well as smaller foundation slabs that appeared to be cabins. About a mile down the road on the north side of the road we found the remains of a “modern” gas station, complete with the bay beneath the garage. It was filled to the top with old oil filters! This site also had the rocks lined up, and we noticed this same pattern along the modern road and other “dirt” roads that seemed to criss-cross the current road. Was this the original National Trails Highway? It seems that there were alignments dated to 1917 (known as the National Highway) and even prior to that (known as the Santa Fe Trail).

We found the remains of the Ludlow Café and the Whiting Bros station in Newberry Springs. We arrived at the current “Bagdad Café” but just weren’t hungry to eat. There is another detour east of Dagget that takes you to the north of town, but the detour ends at the intersection where the uniquely shaped former café sits waiting to be rescued. We made our way into Barstow knowing that tomorrow may be the end our western journey. The Santa Monica pier awaits!

Pictures from Day Thirteen

Day Twelve: June 17, 2010

Although we are still in Arizona, we mentioned the “end” of the journey for the first time today. There was still plenty of Route 66 to travel though, so were ready to hit the pavement early. As we crossed the motel parking lot for breakfast, we recognized a vehicle in the parking lot, and sure enough, Gene and his wife had spent the night at the same motel! It was great to see the reaction on the faces of some of the people in the restaurant. Two dudes in leather vests yelling, “Gene” as they got up from the table shaking our hands and giving us hugs. They invited us for breakfast, where Gene told more stories of their time living on Route 66 in Arizona. We also got our pictures taken together. That’s what the Mother Road is all about!

We had a nice drive through Flagstaff. It is a city rich in Route 66 culture. We found the last Bunyan giant on the west side of town and then headed toward Bellemont/Parks and the Brannigan Park Auto Tour signs. We found the entrance to the walking trail on the Post-1939 alignment and walked (hiked) all ¾ of a mile and back. We also found the remnants of the 1931 alignment. We stopped at the Parks Store for a refreshment before taking the Deer Farm Road alignment back to I-40 before making our way to Williams. Williams is a really cool place (Mike and I would have loved to stayed overnight) and is bustling with businesses selling Route 66 and Grand Canyon gifts.

There are signs of earlier 66 (some of which is now a bike trail) west of Williams as I-40 descends toward Crookton Road and Seligman. I had my heart set on meeting Angel, but there was no sign of him anywhere in town. Seligman was the busiest small town we’ve seen yet. There was a bus tour in town, along with countless other tourists in cars and on motorcycles. It was too busy for my liking. It is difficult to take in the experience when there are people everywhere!

From Seligman, we took old Route 66 through Peach Springs, Truxton, Valentine, and Hackberry, where we visited the Hackberry General Store. It provides many photo opportunities, and was a great stop before the stretch to Kingman. We ate a late lunch at Mr. D’s before taking the Oatman Highway. Our first stop was Cool Springs. We met the gentleman who did a majority of the restoration with Ned. He had some interesting stories for us! The road really is crazy after Cool Springs! For those of you familiar with the road to the summit house on Mount Holyoke (Skinner Mountain), that is nothing compared to this. The view at the top was worth it though. The landscape here is simply amazing!

Oatman may be a ghost town, but is now lined with every type of gift shop imaginable, and the burrows are wild but very friendly. We just had to watch where we stepped! There were also many ruins from the mining days on both the west and east sides of Oatman. The ride to Topock was uneventful and really kind of boring. Before we crossed the Colorado River into California, I showed Mike the Old Trails Arch Bridge, which used to carry Route 66 across the river. We decided to crash in Needles (we covered a lot in one day!) and continue the journey in the morning.

Pictures from Day Twelve

Day Eleven: June 16, 2010

Today we said goodbye to New Mexico and hello to Arizona. Gallup was a good Route 66 town, and if I had thought about it, I would have gotten a room at the El Ranch Motel! On the way to the AZ state line, the main route takes a detour as a bridge is closed and we were forced onto I-40 at exit 8. We entered Arizona on the interstate and made our way to the 269 foot Querino Canyon Bridge (1930). The real prize of the morning was the ruins of the Painted Desert Trading Post. Isolated on a remote dead-end alignment, this fragile relic was once a main stop on the Mother Road. We took pictures, paid our respects to the past, and headed to the Painted Desert/Petrified Forest National Park.

Route 66 used to travel through the park, and of course it was well marked and provided a great photo op. There seemed to be this crow that followed us from stop to stop throughout the park (that’s what we told ourselves) but at least one didn’t follow us once we left. Much like in New Mexico, we were forced to drive I-40 almost all the way to Holbrook, where we ate lunch at Joe & Aggie’s Café. We also drove by the Wigwam Motel. Luckily, we will be staying at the one in Rialto later in the trip!

I wanted to pick up some gifts for the kids, and what better place than the Jackrabbit Trading Post. The two old dudes even climbed onto the big rabbit out front for a photo! We had to stop in Winslow for the “Standing on the Corner” statue, and of course, the business across the street was playing………The Eagles. It was cool to see it, and I will make sure that Rich and I stop on the way back. Our next stop was Meteor Crater. For me, it is one place that I had to see in my lifetime. Carl Sagan is still one of my heroes and to visit a place that he and some of the greatest minds of our age studied the mysteries of our universe was incredible. What made the visit even better was the fact that we ran into our friend Gene and his wife again! What were the chances of that. After we left, Mike and I said we should have gotten a photo with them.

We explored Two Guns and Twin Arrows from a far (Bill, the restored arrows look great!) and visited the old iron bridge on the Pre-1947 alignment in Winona. We called it a night on the East side of Flagstaff. Tomorrow it’s on the higher elevations of Arizona and maybe the Oatman Highway!

Pictures from Day Eleven

Day Ten: June 15, 2010

Today marked the 10^th day that the “Dudes on the Mother Road” have been cruising 66. We had a great night last night at the Blue Swallow. Mike and I spent the evening snapping some pictures of the neon signs in town and shared a conversation with Bill. He is awesome! We bought a few souvenirs before we checked out and hit the road. Our first major stop ended up being Santa Rosa, which has many relics from the heyday of 66. We stopped at the Blue Hole and ran into Gene and his wife, whom we had met in Amarillo. Next stop was Clines Corner. We filled up (not a good idea as they jacked up the gas prices) and continued on our way. I-40 is not the same as Route 66 and is very boring!

The ruins of the Longhorn Ranch are sad to behold, considering just how impressive it was back in the day. We drove through Moriarty, Edgewood, Barton, etc. toward Albuquerque, but decided to bypass the city. The one thing we learned from Saint Louis, Tulsa, OKC, and Amarillo is that they take forever to get through, and Mike and I are more interested in old/dead-end alignments than city streets.

West of Albuquerque and the Rio Puerco Bridge is one such dead-end alignment. We got off the interstate and found the entrance to the Post 1937 alignment on the east side of NM Route 6 (the Pre-1937 alignment). There are two old bridges on this alignment, and to the west of one of them lay the bridge abutments from an even earlier alignment.

Route 66 enters Native American land near Mesita, and it is important to know their laws concerning cameras, trespassing, etc. The land in this area is simply beautiful. We drove by Dead Man’s Curve and Owl Rock. We drove through Laguna, Budville, Cubero, San Fidel and McCARTYS before hitting Grants. Grants reminded me of Tucumcari in that one can see what it was like in the heyday of 66 and what the interstate can do to a town. New motel chains build along the western/eastern sides of town, and there are many ruins in between. At least there are some decent places still going strong in town that provide people the real Route 66 experience. We continued through Prewitt, Thoreau, the Continental Divide, Coolidge, and Iyanbito before calling it a day in Gallup. Tomorrow it is on to Arizona!

Pictures from Day Ten

Day Nine: June 14, 2010

Today may have been the best day on the Mother Road. We had four major destinations: Cadillac Ranch, The Midpoint Café, Glenrio, and the Blue Swallow Motel. We left Amarillo and headed to Cadillac Ranch. It was really crowded, but Mike and I had to leave our mark. Mike, thinking he was still 20, jumped up to the top of one of the cars to leave our mark and started losing his balance. When he jumped off, a kid from a school field trip got in the way, and Mike sprained his ankle while avoiding the collision. Did that prevent us from leaving our mark? Check the pictures to find out. We then drove to Vega to visit the restored Magnolia Gas Station and Dot’s Mini Museum. We did see the two old bridge abutments from the previous alignment on the way to Adrian.

The Midpoint Café was amazing! The ugly crust pie was the best I’ve had in ages! We had a nice conversation with Fran, who is originally from Westfield, MA. My dear friend and mentor at ECS, Dan Knapik, is now the mayor of Westfield. Fran remembered Dan and his brother Mike, and when I told Fran I had a Daniel Knapik for Mayor bumper sticker on my Jeep, we both knew we had a great photo opportunity! I can’t believe I am 2,000 miles from home and met someone who is a Route 66 icon, inspired one of the characters in “Cars”, and she was born and raised in Western Massachusetts!

As great as the Midpoint was, Glenrio was everything I thought it would be. Seeing the ghost town in pictures is not the same as being there. The only thing that would have been better was meeting Roxann, the last resident from the heyday of Route 66, but she did not come out at all today. Her parents ran the Texaco Station and the Little Juarez Café. We also found the foundations of the Deep Rock Station and the Ranch House Café. Mike found an electrical service box near the station and we also found the Deep Rock Station sign frame.

We took many pictures on the Texas and New Mexico side of Glenrio, then took the Pre-1952 dirt alignment for 18 miles through Endee to San Jon. San Jon is loaded with old gas station and motel ruins, not unlike countless towns we’ve seen along the road. We continued on 66 into Tucumcari, but we were too early to check into the Blue Swallow, so we continued on to Montoya, Newkirk, and Cuervo before backtracking back to the Blue Swallow. Cuervo is a real ghost town that can be seen right off Route 66 and it was almost eerie being there.

What can I say about the Blue Swallow besides it is an incredible, vintage Mother Road Motel! Bill has been a Facebook friend of mine for about six months, and he and Terri welcomed us with open arms. They still show the room to each customer like motel proprietors did in the old days. The motel is incredible (we have a vintage rotary phone in our room, and it works!) as are the murals. We are going to grab some dinner and take some photos tonight of the neon signs in Tucumcari. It really is “Tucumcari Tonight!” Tomorrow we will explore more of New Mexico’s Route 66!

Pictures from Day Nine

Day Eight: June 13, 2010

We started our eighth day on the Mother Road in Oklahoma. That original concrete pavement is the best! All those suckers driving I-40 just don’t know what they are missing. The one thing that is clear about Oklahoma is that nothing is open early on Sundays. The Route 66 Museums in Clinton and Elk City were closed, though there were many people like us checking out the exteriors and taking some photos. We met a group of guys from Rome who are travelling 66 on motorcycles from Tulsa to Las Vegas. There are some real ghost towns (or nearly ghost towns) near the border of Texas. Canute was virtually deserted, as was Erick, but Texola is truly deserted, except for the only modern building in town, the church. Everyone still living there had to be at Sunday morning church service.

Welcome to Texas! It was cool to see that sign and know I am getting closer to Glenrio (we visit there tomorrow) but we have many Route 66 towns to visit first. The U-Drop station in Shamrock does not disappoint. McLEAN is also a virtual ghost town, although there are definite signs of life if you know where to look. We also visited Alanreed then it was on to the infamous Jericho Gap.

Jericho became famous in legend and folklore after Congress authorized Route 66 in 1926. Its passage through Jericho added prosperity with several gas stations, stores and a motel built to serve the travelers. The stretch of highway between Alanreed and Groom which went through Jericho became known as the "Jericho Gap" because any rains caused the dirt roads to turn into black-gumbo-mud becoming almost impassible to the vehicles of the time. Nearby farmers made a good living with their teams of work horses pulling the travelers from the mud holes. Legend has it that the enterprising farmers hauled water at night to dump in the mud holes to prolong their source of income.

In the 1930s, Route 66 was moved one-half mile north, by-passing the town and spelling doom for its future. Today, Jericho is a ghost town, with one occupied home amid scattered ruins, cement foundations and piles of junk and the “Jericho Gap” is not recommended as part of any main Route 66 tour.

We are the “Dudes on the Mother Road” and we weren’t going to let anything stop us from driving that stretch of dirt road! There was no rain, and the dirt alignment was in good shape. I do not recommend this alignment for the casual explorer, especially if the road is wet. Mike and I saw plenty of ruts in the road and one can still get stuck in two to three feet of mud!!

We travelled through Groom and Conway before making our way to Amarillo. There are so many former/current motels, gas stations and cafes in Amarillo. We briefly drove by the Triangle Motel, but I could not tell how the restoration is going or if it is still being restored. It would have been cool to stay at the oldest motel on the Mother Road! We ate dinner at the famous Big Texan Steak House and watched someone beat the 72oz steak challenge!!!! Tomorrow we hit Adrian and the Mid-Point Café, as well as Glenrio and then New Mexico!

Pictures from Day 8

Day Seven: June 12, 2010

All I can say is Tulsa has a ton of Route 66 history! We drove by countless old gas stations, motels, etc. on 11^th Street. We snapped a shot of a tiny old station, and it turns out it is owned by a friend of one of my Route 66 Facebook friends (kudos to Eric). We also saw the famous Gold Meadow sign. Thank goodness it was saved for future generations to view. It is too bad the Cyrus Avery (11^th St) bridge is closed, even to pedestrian traffic. It would have been something to walk across it. We found the Happy Burger in Sapulpa, as well as the 1925 Ozark Trail alignment over the Rock Creek Bridge.

Much like yesterday, the distances between towns seem to increase, but there were some great early alignments in between. The tank farm loop was pretty cool. We took a wrong turn after the northern Bellvue alignment, and ended up driving north on OK 48 for about 20 minutes! We figured out our mistake and turned around. The southern Bellvue alignment (which is used as a dump as described in the EZ 66 Guide) now dead-ends but is worth it if you have the right vehicle!

We made it to Stroud and the Rock Café too early for lunch, so we continued on and found the Ozark Trail dirt alignment and one of the few Ozark Trail Makers remaining. In Chandler, we stopped at the gallery of Jerry McClanahan, author of the EZ 66 Guide. Jerry is another great individual with many interesting stories about the Mother Road! Jerry and I had a nice conversation about Glenrio and he showed me some items from the First/Last Motel and Texas Longhorn Café! He was gracious enough to autograph my copy of the EZ 66 Guide!

We made our way to Arcadia and the famous 1898 Round Barn and headed into Oklahoma City. It took forever to get through OKC! I wanted to see the now boarded up Owl Courts, and to get there and then out of the city, we followed the Beltline option. This 66 alignment seems to take you back and forth around the city. Eventually, we made it to 23^rd, May Ave., and the 39^th Expressway out of town.

While, Bethany, Yukon, and El Reno were cool, we really enjoyed the old two-lane alignment west of El Reno to Weatherford. You can almost close your eyes and find yourself driving the Mother Road in the 1940’s or 1950’s. We were running behind schedule, but we had to try (and we tried like crazy) to find the remnants of the Key Suspension Bridge on the south side of Bridgeport, but we realized too late that the original alignment on that side was obliterated and there are no trespassing signs posted everywhere! We did stop at the original Lucille’s before hitting Weatherford where we are staying for the night. Tomorrow we finish Oklahoma and enter Texas!

Pictures from Day Seven

Day Six: June 11, 2010

Day six on the Mother Road! We left Joplin and headed toward Kansas. Even though there are only 13 miles in Kansas, they are worth the visit. I hoped we could visit the 4 Women on the Route, but we got there well before they opened. We did stop at Eisler Bros. in Riverton for something to drink and drove through Baxter Springs on the way into Oklahoma.

While it was nice to see Quapaw, Commerce, and Miami, Mike and I were on a mission to find the 9 ft sidewalk highway. It was really cool to drive that alignment! We had to stop in Afton to visit Laurel at Afton Station, but it was her day off. Marly was there though and he showed us around. Mike and I saw a Studebaker on American Pickers the other night and they had one very similar at the station. Hopefully I can see Laurel on the way back!

The distance between towns really seem to increase in Oklahoma but there are some great old alignments of 66 along the way! We ate lunch at Clanton’s in Vinita (good food!) and went across the Pryor Creek Bridge in Chelsea. We drove down Andy Paine Boulevard in Foyil and saw his statue. In Claremore, we took the Pre-1958 alignment to catch a glimpse of the Adobe Village Apartments then it was on to the Blue Whale and some early dead-end alignments. At some point during the day I pulled a muscle in my upper back so we decided to call it in a day in Tulsa to get a good night’s rest. Tomorrow it’s on to Western Oklahoma!

Pictures from Day Six

Day Five: June 10, 2010

We left Rolla and needed to see some 66 relics on some dead-end alignments. We found Vernelle's Motel, John’s Modern Cabins, and Arlington then were forced onto I-44. It is sad to see what has become of the Mother Road due to two different I-44 alignments. Back on the Mother Road, we visited the remains of the Stony Dell Resort and the Trail of Tears.

We continued to Hooker to see the Hooker Cut, the Elbow Inn and drove over the Devil’s Elbow Bridge. The Mother Road follows the landscape through towns like Waynesville, St. Robert, Hazelgreen and Lebanon, where we got to see the Munger Moss Motel and Wrink’s Market. In Sampson we found the Abbylee Court. It still looks like it is in good shape and people are living in the cabins. Unfortunelly, we saw many more motels/cabins that weren’t as lucky. We couldn’t find the replica of the Hubble Space Telescope in Marshfield and then headed for Springfield and ate lunch at Steak ‘n’ Shake.

West of Springfield we drove through Plano and Halltown to the original alignment in Paris Springs and the Gay Parita Sinclair Station. Gary Turner welcomed Mike and I to his station with some 66 Root Beer and we spent over an hour talking with Gary and a few other visitors. Gary is truly a real Route 66 legend.

The restoration project in Spencer is coming along. I have seen some photos of the site before the restoration and what a difference! We made our way to Carthage to see the Route 66 Drive-In theater and finally called it a day in Joplin. Tommorrow it’s on to Kansas and Oklahoma.

Pictures from Day 5

Day Four: June 9, 2010

We made it to Missouri! After a poor night’s sleep in a crappy motel (I know how to pick them), the “Three Amigo’s” headed to Saint Louis to visit the Gateway Arch. The EZ Guide is correct about City 66 in Saint Louis. It is very confusing and I actually ended up on I-70 West heading to Kansas City! Luckily we got off at the next exit and made it to the Arch. I am deathly afraid of heights, but even I couldn’t pass up on the Arch. The view was unbelievable. It was getting late and we still hadn’t had breakfast, so we got back on the Mother Road to grab a bite to eat. Unfortunately, Tim had to get back to Tennessee so we said goodbye on Chippewa just east of Ted Drewes Frozen Custard.

Mike and I continued down 66 to Times Beach and the Route 66 State Park. We had a great visit with one of the workers at the visitors center (the former Bridgehead Inn), Ken. His grandmother owned property at Times Beach in the 1930’s, and he and his family visited when he was growing up. It is great to hear the history of the Mother Road from people who lived and worked on it.

The Mother Road west of Times Beach to Gray Summit is really changing. They are widening the road and business and commercial developments are popping up everywhere. Eventually, we found the real “Mother Road” on the frontage roads that wind through towns like Villa Ridge, Saint Clair, Stanton, Sullivan, and Bourbon. There are many, many old motels along the route, most converted into private residences. A few are still open, or are renting to people on a weekly basis, while others are simply abandoned.

We arrived in Cuba and visited the famous Wagon Wheel Motel. Connie Echols purchased the Motel in 2009 and has been restoring it ever since. She was gracious enough to allow us to take a look around the entire property. The Echols are great people and I recommend that anyone travelling the Mother Road stop in at the Wagon Wheel. Hopefully they will have the rest of the cabins done soon.

Mike and I had our heart set on eating some official Route 66 fudge in Cuba, but we found out that the business on Washington Street had closed/moved and we were out of luck. Mike's still asking "Where's our darn fudge!" We saw the world’s largest rocking chair at the 66 Outpost in Fanning, but couldn’t find the A & W hamburger family west of Saint James. If anyone can verify that they are still there or where they have moved to, I would appreciate it. We saw the Route 66 Motor’s and Gift Shop and the Mule Trading Post before arriving in Rolla. Our last site to visit today was the half-scale replica of Stonehenge (Stonehenge rules!) and now we are chilling out for the night before hitting the road tomorrow!

Pictures from Day Four

Day Three: June 8, 2010

What a day on the Mother Road! We left Springfield and decided to follow the 1926-1930 alignment through Chatham, Auburn, Thayer, Virden, Girard, Nilwood, Carlinville, and Gillespie. It is not the popular alignment, but Mike and I really love the old alignments and the “dog legs” referenced in Jerry McClanahan’s EZ 66 Guide. They did not disappoint! We drove the original brick alignment on Snell and Curren Road, found the “Turkey Tracks” on Donaldson Road and drove the famous “Deerfield Loop” between Carlinville and Gillespie.

We had to be at the Ariston Café in Litchfield for noon because I had a little surprise for Mike. One of our best friends, Tim, who lives in Tennessee, drove out to meet us and it was a wonderful surprise for Mike. It is hard to keep a secret, but worth it! “The Three Amigos” had a great lunch at the Ariston! It was pouring when we reached Mt Olive and the Soulsby Shell Station, but it let up by the time we got to Henry’s Rabbit Ranch. Rich Henry is a class act, and friends with many people who have helped me plan this trip (that especially means you Joe and Josh!). We spent almost an hour there and we met a rabbit named Elvis…….Thank you very much!!! Rich told me there is a good chance I may be able to DRIVE across the Chain of Rocks Bridge on June 25! Thanks to Rich for keeping the spirit of the Mother Road alive!

We took 66 from Staunton to Mitchell and the Chain of Rocks Bridge. Pictures just don’t do it justice. While on the bridge, we met a family going cross country on bicycles. They started in Texas and are going to Washington DC. I thought we had a long trip! We finished the day with some pork sandwiches at the Luna Café on Chain of Rocks Road. Although the Luna is more of a bar than a café, the hosts and the regulars were very friendly and the food was good. Besides, Al Capone used to hang there!!! Tomorrow it’s on to Saint Louis and Missouri 66!

Pictures from Day Three

Day Two: June 7, 2010

Day two was really great! We had breakfast at the Dixie Truckers Home and drove back to Funks Grove to get some sirup. Debby Funk was a gracious host and even let me behind the counter for a photo. Then it was off to Atlanta and the second Gemini Giant. Downtown Atlanta is beautiful. The murals are amazing, as is the library and the famous clock tower.

Then it was off to Lincoln and the old/dead-end alignments. We found one end of the one lane alignment on Kickapoo Street and could see that it headed west toward the 66 Bypass, but we couldn’t find the western end on the bypass. Off of the 66 Bypass south of Lincoln, we found an original brick alignment that led to a cemetery on the west side of the road. We climbed over the road closed sign and followed the old alignment on foot to the “Ghost Bridge” that once carried 66 over Salt Creek. The supports are still there, but the road bed is gone. We also found the alignment on the south side of Salt Creek.

We stopped at the Pig Hip Restaurant Museum in Broadwell, but it looked like no one was home. Frank was at Die Cast Auto Sales in Williamsville, and we got to hang out with him for a while and get a photo with him. Then it was on to Sherman and the old alignment on Old Tipton School Road and the other “Ghost Bridge” in Carpenter Park. We hopped another road closed sign and walked the old alignment to the Sangamon River.

Route 66 followed many different alignments over the years through Springfield, but Mike and I managed to hit most of them. We drove by Shea’s Route 66 Museum, but it is closed on Sunday’s and Monday’s. We found the Lauderbach Giant on Wabash Street and visited President Lincoln’s Tomb, then made it back to South Sixth Street and ate supper at the Cozy Dog. We are spending the night at the Route 66 Convention Center (the former Holiday Inn on South Sixth Street. Tomorrow it’s on to Saint Louis!

Pictures from Day Two

Day One: June 6, 2010

What a first day on the Mother Road! We made it to Jackson Street in Chicago to eat breakfast at the famous Lou Mitchells Restaurant. We were able to get photos of the End Historic 66 sign on Jackson and the Begin Historic 66 sign on Adams. The traffic in Chicago was already picking up so we decided to head out of the city. In Cicero we saw Henry’s Drive In and in Berwyn we saw the Robin Hood muffler sign and Route 66 Beverages. We also stopped at the western side of the Joliet Road detour around a quarry mine that is cut a little too close to the Mother Road. We also made it to Dell Rhea’s Chicken Basket and White Fence Farms for some great photos.

Joliet was great. We checked out Route 66 Park, saw many of the replica gas pumps throughout town, but the Joliet Museum was closed. I nearly got us lost on the old Elwood alignment, but Mike saved the day. We had to have a shake at the Lunching Pad in Wilmington and check out the Gemini Giant! We drove through Braidwood and Gardner (the Riviera is still there but it looks like it’s in rough shape) and found the 1906 Jailhouse.

In Dwight, we found out that a tornado had touched down in town last night on the old 66 alignment. We met some great folks at the Ambler Becker’s Marathon Station. The 1932 Standard Station in Odell was really cool and we almost missed the Meramec Caverns Barn sign (I drove by it then took a wrong that led us to a dirt road). We also saw the Old Log Cabin Restaurant (it was closed) and the Route 4 North Creek Bridge (Route 4 became Route 66) in Pontiac. We stopped at Memory Lane in Lexington and the Walking Tour in Towanda. I was hoping that we could get to Funk’s Grove Maple Sirup before it closed but we were 20 minutes late. We are going to head back tomorrow morning so I can pick up a jug! We ate supper at the Dixie Truckers Home and are crashing in McLEAN for the night.

Pictures from Day One

Two Days Till Chicago

Wow! So much has happened since my last post, but having said that, the "Dudes" are ready for a road trip! I have every Route 66 book I own packed and hope to get a few more during the trip. Perhaps I can even get a few of them signed by the authors if I see them on the road! We have wireless internet service through my cell phone so we can post pictures and video in real time and the GPS with the Route 66 programs should be ready tomorrow. Kim and I worked feverishly today to set up the webcams but they still don't work (I think it's a D-Link firewall issue) and I just finished packing. Mike is ready to go and got us a great room in Chicago! Rich is also ready for the return trip, he just needs to download some software onto the laptop so we can can track some severe weather and maybe catch a glimpse of a tornado.

I'll post something tomorrow night then let the journey begin!!!!!!!

Three weeks to go!

I leave for Chicago three weeks from today. I pick up Mike at the airport in Chicago three weeks from tomorrow. Mike and I get to spend fifteen days on the road, visiting all the people and places that make Route 66 what it is. I will drop Mike off in San Francisco, where I will pick Rich up, who, just recently, graciously offered to fly to California just to accompany me back home. We plan to visit the highlights of Route 66 and hopefully track a tornado along the way! I couldn't ask for two better people to share this adventure with.

I can't recall every step that led me to this point, but at some point about two years ago I became fascinated with Route 66. I still don't quite know how or why, but the old road has touched my heart in a way that I can't explain, and yet, there are thousands of people who know what I mean. People like Joe Loesch. Joe was my first Route 66 friend on Facebook, my first friend on his 66 website, www.route66people.com, and has been an inspiration to me in planning this trip from day one. It will be my pleasure to meet him in person at the Route 66 Festival in Litchfield, Illinois on June 25. I have met so many other wonderful people who live on or visit the mother road, all of whom I have yet to meet in person. You all have been incredible, gracious, and inspirational. Mike, Rich, and I plan on posting photos and video every day so we can share this adventure with you.