Although the pathway of America’s legendary ‘mother road’ stretches 2,448 miles (3,940 km) from Chicago to Los Angeles, some of the most authentic and picturesque portions are to be found in Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma
BY DAVID GORDON AND MARY MOORE MASON
As I sat in my booth tucking into a very filling Hobo Skillet meal in Lou Mitchell’s diner, a Chicago and Route 66 fixture since 1923, writes David Gordon, I wondered how many other Route 66 journeys had started like mine. Certainly all around me were other diners pouring over maps and guidebooks as they planned their journeys ahead.
The first challenge, I discovered, is actually finding Route 66 as, over the years, it has been replaced by a series of other highways and roads – mainly in its 300-mile Illinois section by Interstate 55, although many of the historic attractions – vintage petrol stations, motels, drive-in theatres and museums – are on parallel or other nearby roads.
As I passed through Joliet, I regretted there was no time to take the walking tour of historic (1858-2002) Old Joliet Prison, where the most-famous, if fictional, inmate was ‘Joliet’ Jake (John Belushi) in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers.
Instead, I headed for Wilmington, home to the 30ft-tall, fibreglass Gemini Giant, his head in a space helmet, his hands clutching a rocket ship. Next came Pontiac, home of the Illinois Route 66 Museum, inspired by the artistic impressions of the places visited in his VW camper-van by ultimate road-tripper Robert Waldmire. The renowned artist and cartographer’s VW and unique two storey converted school bus are among its displays. I then headed to Springfield, where the majestic State Capitol and various Abe Lincoln-related sites called out for an overnight at the Inn at 835 (www.connshg.com/Inn-at-835) plus a visit to the picturesque Cozy Dog Drive-In, where I sampled one of its signature treats – a batter-encased ‘cozy’ hot dog on a stick – invented in the 1940s by Waldmire’s father.
On down the road I came to Livingston’s Pink Elephant Mall, where 50 antique dealers offer their wares in a warren of former high-school classrooms. Outside are a UFO and a huge Pink Elephant figure; inside the offerings are the epitome of kitsch – I couldn’t resist a few for my own collection.
Arriving at my final stop, Staunton, I visited Henry’s Rabbit Ranch. Founded by Rich Henry to house his collection of VW Rabbit automobiles, it is now equally known for his menagerie of real rabbits. As we stood by the shop counter, surrounded by bunnies, Rich told me stories of the ‘Mother Road’, which, he said, is such a great driving route because “it’s the road that dreams are made of”.
MAGICAL MISSOURI
Now we change drivers, writes Mary Moore Mason, and my travel companion and I cross the mighty, muddy Mississippi, following a somewhat convoluted route to St Louis’s stunning, 630ft-tall, stainless-steel Gateway Arch, set in a National Park and the symbolic entry point to the American West. I opt to visit the site’s museum with its interesting exhibits covering, among other things, the famous Lewis & Clark expedition westward from here to the Pacific Ocean rather than taking the tram up and around the Arch. Next on the agenda – a stop at Ted Drewes Frozen Custard, which has been dolling out this delicious treat to locals and Route 66 motorists since 1929. Then, an overnight at the historic Chase Park Plaza Royal Sonesta St Louis (www.sonesta.com), built in 1922 just before the launch of Route 66.
In Eureka, we stop to view Route 66 exhibits at the Route 66 State Park’s visitors centre, housed in a former 1935 roadhouse. Then, on to Stanton for one of Missouri’s most-famous tourist attractions – massive Meramec Caverns, where a guide tells us, among other things, about how it was once the hideout of famous outlaw Jesse James. In Cuba, we hop on a trolley for a tour of the colourful murals that depict local history and lifestyle and then – how can we resist it? – we take selfies in front of one of the world’s largest rocking chairs in Fanning.
A quick zip through Lebanon’s Route 66 Museum and Research Center before we join a jeep-drawn tram tour through the majestic stalactites and stalagmites of Springfield’s Fantastic Caverns followed by a visit to the Route 66 Car Museum.
Now on the last leg of our 289-mile exploration of Missouri’s section of Route 66 – and running behind schedule – we have to bypass the city’s reputedly marvellous Wonders of Wildlife Museum and Aquarium and a suggested 43-mile detour to Branson, known for its great array of live entertainment, stopping before we cross the Kansas border to take photos of ourselves in front of the mock red 1964 Corvette located just below the illustrations in Joplin’s Route 66 Mural Park.
THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF IT: KANSAS AND OKLAHOMA
Kansas may host the shortest portion of Route 66 – just 13.2 miles (21 kms) – but it’s one of the best-preserved stretches of the original route and a Designated National Scenic Byway. Roadside attractions between Galena, Riverton and Baxter Springs include Hell’s Half Acre, Cars on the Route, Nelson’s Old Riverton Store and Brush Creek Rainbow Bridge.
We stop in Baxter Springs to marvel at one of the Route’s newest attractions, the Decades of Wheels Museum, which exhibits around 300 vintage cars and motorcycles, from a Model T Ford and Hellcat Chargers to a ’71 Husqvarna motorbike once owned by Steve McQueen. If we had time to overnight, we could have stayed at the town’s charming Little Brick Inn (www.decadesofwheels.com/little-brick-inn-b%26b).
But now, we are across the state line into Oklahoma, which boasts not only the longest drivable stretch of the original ‘Mother Road’ – 367 of its 420 miles (675 kms) – but also much credit for the route’s heritage. Tulsa businessman Cyrus Avery assigned to it the highway number ‘66’, Oklahoma was the first state to post Route 66 signs, and Tulsa has been recognised as the Capital of Route 66.
The first memorable wayside site we encounter is a 90ft-tall, brightly-painted concrete totem pole signalling that we are passing Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park in Foyil. Next comes Claremore, home of the museum and mausoleum to/ of Will Rogers, one of the most-colourful and famous Route 66 characters. Part Native American and known as the ‘Cherokee Cowboy’, he was a great star of the stage and screen in the first half of the 20th century.
We stop for mandatory selfies in front of Catoosa’s landmark Blue Whale before continuing to Tulsa, which has two massive commemorative statues – the oil-industry-themed Golden Driller, located in the Tulsa Fairgrounds, and the new, 21ft-high, fibreglass Buck Atom Space Cowboy. We stay in Tulsa two nights at the Campbell Hotel (www.thecampbellhotel.com) to experience the Woody Guthrie Center and treasure-filled Philbrook and Gilcrease museums.
Then, a quick visit to Chandler’s interesting Route 66 Interpretive Center before we continue to Arcadia, home of the unique Round Barn, built in 1898, and a 66ft-tall, illuminated pop bottle promoting POPS, which sells a selection of about 700 soft drinks from around the world.
Now we are approaching attraction filled Oklahoma City, where two unmissable sites are the only State Capitol with an oil well on its grounds and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, overnighting at the 21C Museum Hotel (www.21cmuseumhotel.com/OklahomaCity). Then, just in case we forgot the significance of Route 66, there are two more places to remind us – Clinton’s Oklahoma Route 66 Museum and Elk City’s National Route 66 Museum – before we stop for a slice of delicious blackberry cobbler in Weatherford’s Lucille’s Roadhouse and head back to Chicago for our United Airlines (www.ua.com) flight back to London.
