After a good night’s rest it’s time for another day on the road. We don’t mind, we’re up and ready in time and head out of Springfield, MO, heading ever South-West. The first leg of the journey, from Springfield to Carthage, is described as very scenic, with rolling hills and little towns. This description is pretty accurate.

It is on this part of the trip today that we find Gary’s Gay Parita Sinclair station in Paris Springs. Gary built this out from an original stone garage building, on the remains of a burnt out gas station. Sadly, Gary passed away but volunteers keep the station open and running as a point of interest for travelers. We meet George, who is very kind and bids us a warm welcome. It’s another one of those meetings with special people who – without any gain to themselves – spend a great deal of time and energy and money to keep Route 66 alive.

Directly past this station, we find a very old and small part of the pre-1940 alignment. It leads past Spencer, another gas station. Where we can again give the C70 a “Route 66 service”.

It might be fun to note at this point, that only in some places we encounter fellow Route 66 travelers. It is quite often that we travel alone on the road, or are amongst local traffic. I think it will be busier in Arizona, since many people drive only up to there from LA and back. But out here, even in July/August, it is very quiet and relaxed.

Just before Carthage, after a small side tour, we find Red Oak II, which is called “II” because it is a town moved. |Lowell Davis moved away from the town he was born in (Red Oak), and when he came back many years later he found it deserted. He couldn’t stand that and bought the whole town (what was left of it) and moved it all from Illinois to Missouri. It’s a strange thing, to see all those old buildings restored and standing together, but not really being a town. The travel guid mentions correctly that it somehow hints of desperation to cling to the past.

In Carthage we find the famous Boots Motel. It is still in service and being restored. Every room had it’s own covered car parking spot, and for a 1960’s motel, this looked VERY much different and futuristic.

And that about concludes our Missouri Route 66 experience. We drive on into the next srate : Kansas!

In Galena, the first town in Kansas, we find the “Cars on the Route” establishment, which has the inspiration for “Tow Mater” from the movie Cars. This was a must see for Jonathan!

Route 66 in Kansas is not very long. In fact, it’s pretty short! So our next pictures are from Oklahoma. Where we find a most wonderful theater in Miami. It used to be a Vauedeville theater and one of the biggest and finest in this part of the country. The interior is absolutely stunning, and the outside clearly shows Spanish influences on it’s architecture. The theater was finished just before the great depression hit. But luckily it still stands and is used as it was meant to be used.

Our route continues to another famous landmark along the Route : the Blue whale in Catoosa It was built by Hugh Davis as an anniversary gift for his wife, who collected whale statues. It was built in the 1970’s and is somewhat dilapedated, but it’s still there and well known amongst Route 66 enthousiasts.

Our final stop for the day is just a bit further, in Tulsa. Here we find the famous “Blue dome station”, an old service station with a very distinct blue dome as roof. It was used as an office building and recently was in danger of being destroyed but it looks like it is going to be restored.

We have dinner at Hank’s Hamburgers, an old diner (it exists sincce 1949. We order a Big Okie, a burger with 4 (!) layers of meat, amongst other things, which we share. And I have to be honest, it is the most fantastic burger I have had in my life. Only the burger we had South of Calgary in another old establishment in 2012 comes close. This was a WOW burger!

We are glad to see that today we start with a clear sky and sunlight. We’ll traverse into Missouri today, and aim to reach Springfield (not the one in Illinois, but the one in Missouri). To this end, we head South on Route 66 and encounter Mount Olive. Here we find an old service station where we manage to park the Volvo right in front for a nice picture.

The next location of notice we encounter is Henry’s Rabbit Farm. This is another of these spots you find along Route 66 where people who live here are passionate about the Mother Road and actively help make traveling it a special event. Henry is a pensioned guy who operates his bunny ranch as a hobby, and with passion. He takes care of rabbits from the shelter and also his “”Rabbit” Volkwagens (in The Netherlands we know them as “Golf”).

He also tells the story of Montana, the rabbit who ran for president in 2008. You can read more about that here : http://www.henrysroute66.com/montana.html

We stay at the Ranch for at least 45 minutes and leave with a smile on our face. This is what Route 66 is all about. Driving the road and finding all these special spots and people.

From here on it is unavoidable to encounter St. Louis if you drive further along Route 66. St. Louis is a bigger city, and although it has the lovely Gateway Arch, it does not come across as a nice city. We first try to find the Chain of Rocks Bridge (which we do) but we cant find the lookout point, the only way to look at the bridge would be to park the car in a shady location and walk for a mile or so, which we don’t see as a good plan. Once we are in downtown St. Louis and walk around the Arch (we don’t go up, Jonathan prefers to stay below), we get hit by nasty smells all the time. This city stinks! We move on.

Luckily, on the Western end of St. Louis, where we find Ted Dewes Frozen Custard, it does smell better so we can enjoy a delicious and famous frozen custard.

South of St. Louis we take another break just past Pacafic where we eat some lunch. Here we also see rocks again for the first time since we left Alberta.

Slowly, the landscape is changing. We no longer drive on the prairies, and are entering the Ozarks. Rolling hills with loads of forest. A totally different landscape, and feeling when driving.

We drive off and on the interstate here. At one of the stretches where we do not drive on the interstate we encounter a memorial for the Trail of tears. The man who lived here got someone knockin on the door often, but there was never anybody there when he opened the door. Eventually, a Cherokee Chief visited him and told him his house lay right on the Trail of Tears, and the knocking on his door was ghosts of the deceased natives who died on the trail and couldn’t move on because his house was in the way. So the house owner built a stairs over the roof of his house, and the knocking stopped. He got interested in the history of the Trail of tears and started working on a memorial around his house. After he passed away, the property was sold and now it stands empty.

The Trail of Tears was a forced move of thousands of Native Americans from their lands to Oklahoma, where they were forced to live in reserves. Many died on the march, hench the name “Trail of tears”.

The last stretch to Springfield we drive on the Interstate, but we work our way into the city to Steaks ‘n’ shakes, another classic Route 66 diner, where we have …well…..a stake and a shake!

Today will be our very first complete day spent on Route 66. And it’s going to be a beautiful day, even though we start out in a downpour. We leave Joliet after doing some necessary stuff like shopping for drinks and lunch, grabbing some cash at an atm and filling up the car with gas. Our first stop today is the Gemini spaceman at the Launchpad Drive-in in Wilmington. The drive-in doesn’t really exist in authentic state anymore but the spaceman is still there. It is a relic of a time when these statues were used in many places as a roadway sign and advertisement.

We drive on, past the Polka-dot Drive In, which is sadly closed, so we can only take a picture on the outside. With Jonathan included of course!

In Gardner, we take a quick look at the local oddities, like the 2-cell jail and the Streetcar Diner (no longer a diner, but the car is still there).

Our next stop is in Dwight, where there is a fully restored Ambler’s Texaco Gas station, one of the longest operating stations along the Route, it was open for 66 (!) years. We speak for awhile with Jerry, a volunteer who mans the station now and welcomes guests. We’re the only ones but we don’t mind. It makes for great pictures and Jerry is really nice! As a kid, he used to hang out at the station and look at the cars coming in to be serviced.

The next stop is Pontiac. And that name might ring a bell. Indeed. The car brand. So it makes sense that there IS a Pontiac museum. Its really nice, and free. There’s even a pontiac station wagon from the 60’s from Calgary, with original plate, on display!

This little town is very…I don’t know how to describe it. Imagine Back to the Future, the little town of the first movie. It is very much like that. Square with the town hall in the center. Shops around it. It is a typical, idyllic, classic American town. It gives a small peek in how the US looked and felt like in the 60’s.

Since we pass through it anyway, we stop quickly at the Chenoa Pharmacy in …well…Chenoa. It is open since 1889 (!) and is still located in the original building where you can see the original wooden chests with the white knobs, as well as the original ceiling and counters in the back.

Next up is Lexington, where we have lunch while sitting ON the original Route 66 pavement. A special experience!

We drive through many more small places but the next real stop is in Atlanta. The above pic shows the C70 in Main Street, with Route 66 sign on the road. It is here that Jonathan faces a very difficult choice : which license plates to buy? He found about 20 he likes, but that’s simply too much. Eventually we settle on 3, which makes the total 5 plates bought so far (he bought 2 in the Pontiac museum too).

The picture below is taken at a gas station we encountered which isn’t in any of the guides we have with us. It is in Elkhart or Sherman, I forgot the precise location. But we could drive the C70 in front of it which makes for a fun sight!

And that brings us to Springfield IL, a bigger city which we traverse until we encounter the Cozy Dog Drive in on the South side. It is the perfect place for an early dinner. This establishment is run by the Waldmire family. One of the Waldmires, Bob, traveled along Route 66 and drew murals and post cards and is the inspiration for the Cars character Fillmore.

And that about concludes this day! We push on towards Litchfield, because initially we had hoped to go to an old Drive in theater there but it only is open on Friday and Saturday. Our alterntive, the famous Ariston cafe, is closed on Mondays. Luckily, Jonathan has his plates…..

Today we head out from Eay Claire with destination : Chicago. We’ll make our first few miles on the Motherroad today and we’re excited about that! The morning is the same old : miles and miles of Interstate 94 and later on 90. But on these interstates we make splendid progress and we find ourselves in the vicinity of Chicago around 2pm. It takes us another full hour and some searching to find a parking garage right underneath Milennium park. Having parked the car safely (we hope), we first walk around the Millennium park a bit, specifically to the Cloud Gate sculpture.

This is a truly remarkable piece of art and it’s great to have seen it with our own eyes. We wander on and look at the famous rail system above the streets, known from many movies and novels.

And then it is time for our main goal : the start of Route 66! We find the locations but really any signs or other special items. Except for a type of hotdog stand with the R66 logo.

A bit disappointed we head back to the car, and after some turning left and right manage to come right to the same point, the start of Route 66. And lo and behold! This time we see a (small) sign on the OTHER side of the road as from where it was supposed to be, marking this as the start of Route 66. I manage to take a (maybe unclear) picture with my phone. It is actually strange and a bit sad that the start of this iconic road is so…. unmarked. Just a very small sign on a street corner. But maybe, if I think some more about it, that is perfect. Route 66 is special, in every way, this included. Not many people will venture all the way to the start with their car anyway, I guess.

Jonathan is driving, straight from the very center of town, on Route 66. With a smile he sits behind the wheel and we soon leave downtown Chicago behind us. We travel along Adams Street and then Ogden Avenue. Initially we had planned to go by train to the starting point from the outskirts of town, and we would have missed all of this, so we are very happy that we took the car! We even find the famous “Castle” carwash building, and can take a very nice picture with the car in front! Rumor has it that Al Capone himself hid here when he was on the run for the police.

After that, it’s on to Joliet (these names might sound familiar if you’ve seen the Blues Brothers movie. I think we drive past the prison where Jake or Elwood was released (I think I recognize it, should have taken a picture but oh well, will watch the movie again :-). We sleep in Joliet today, and tomorrow will be our very first day on Route 66. Looking forward to that!

Route 66 – Day 1 & 2 : to Eau Claire, WI

It’s been a long while since I wrote anything but we have a good reason to send in another update. Jonathan and I have started out on a very special road trip. To celebrate his graduation for High School, we aim to fulfill an old dream (ever since he saw “Cars – the movie” as a kid) of Jonathan : To drive Route 66. And not only that, we’ll drive it in our imported, 17 year old Volvo C70.

These first 2 days – to be honest – have been rather boring. But that’s ok, we’re not ON route 66 yet. We are driving towards the start of the road, in Chicago. This means we have now driven about 2150km through Central Canada and the US. From Alberta through South Saskatchewan, North Dakota, Minnesota and now Wisconsin. Not the most beautiful drive, but it’s necessary, and also best to do this at the start.

It made me think of the words “Magnificient Desolation”, spoken about the moon by I think Buzz Aldrin, but in a lesser way those apply to the plains too.

Tomorrow we’ll head for Chicago and the start of Route 66, and the real work will start!

PS, this is Jakko’s writing, but due to issues with the Internet he asked me to post it!