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