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!
No comments:
Post a Comment