This page last updated 3/14/07 Welcome to Pendemonium's 2007 LA Adventure Travelogue! We'll be departing for the Los Angeles Pen Show, Route 66 and points west on Sunday, February 18th. We hope you'll join us via cyberspace at the LA Pen Show as well as on our journey across the southwest, much of it via the Mother Road - Route 66. Our westward goal is to arrive in LA in time for the pen show! We'll stop along the way and hunt for pens and other cool writing things, travel bits and pieces of Route 66 and try to get some great photos of the beautiful southwest United States. On our return eastward bound trip, we plan to travel as much of the original alignment of Route 66 starting at the midpoint in Adrian, Texas. This was where we left off in 2006. We'll leave the big roads and take the scenic and less traveled path as far as we can until we have to turn north to return to Fort Madison. All of this, of course is somewhat dependent on Mother Nature this time of year, she can be a big part of our LA Adventure! We're sending postcards! If you'd like a real, live, handwritten postcard sent in the mail (not email!), we would love to oblige and help carry on the tradition of handwritten correspondence! Send us an email with your name and mailing address, then sit back and watch your mailbox! Don't miss our Special Edition LA Adventure Route 66 Blacktop Black Ink! Made especially for us by Noodler's Ink. Our Route 66 ink features a photograph of Hackberry's Store in Hackberry, Arizona that Frank took in 2006. There are only 144 bottles, when it's gone, that's all there is ... for this year! Stay Tuned! Day 1
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Snow covered farmland
just west of Fort Madison |
Des Moines River at Farmington, Iowa. If you look closely, you'll see the old brick remnants of the original bridge here |
First stop - Centerville, Iowa. A lovely little Victorian town and we were in search of lunch and an antique shop. No antique shops that we found were open but, we did find another treasure, the Bluebird Restaurant right on the south side of the square. The Bluebird Restaurant has been in Centerville since the early 1920s. The current owners have done a fabulous job of decorating with all sorts of cool retro collectibles. Excellent food, too! Be sure to stop by if you're passing though, you won't be disappointed!
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| The Bluebird Restaurant, Centerville, Iowa | |
Back on the road and back to pen hunting! We like the Welcome Center in Lamoni, Iowa - it's a multi-purpose place with the Iowa Welcome Center, a fairly large antique mall, an Iowa shop and all sorts of yummy Amish baked goods and foods. Something for everyone! This time it was one-stop shopping for 15 (yep-fifteen!) new old stock Parker 51s, fresh as the day they were made in pristine boxes. Not often we come across a good find like this, but they're out there in the wild, and just a matter of being at the right place at the right time. Wow, I was thrilled to start off the pen hunt like this!
We made a few more antique stops as we drove south across the Iowa line and into Missouri. Unfortunately, no more Parkers, but still decent finds. The temps steadily rose today which was a very pleasant change. We scooted past Kansas City and called it a day in Olathe, Kansas. We'll check with the weather gods in the morning and decide whether to stay on main roads to Oklahoma City and then west or take a shortcut through the rangeland of Kansas, a speck of Texas and on to Tucumcari. One way or another, we should reach Route 66.
Mother Nature is cooperating, the snow is melting as we head west across the Kansas range and we can actually step outside and not freeze! Made it into the low 60s today which is a real treat.
| We're traveling Highway 54 today, an old road that goes from Chicago to El Paso, bypassed by interstates decades ago, but a good diagonal shortcut and well maintained road. Plus, we don't mind stopping along the way in the small towns to explore a bit, you've probably figured that out by now! |  Wichita Skyline |
Our next destination was Greensburg a hundred or so miles down the road. Lots of little towns with great signage from the days when this road was more heavily traveled. Anyone remember Smorgasbords? From the days before the All You Can Eat Buffets?
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Greensburg is home of the Big Well, not to mention one of the largest Pallasite Meteorites in the world! We've been here before, but had never visited the Big Well, so today was the day - we paid our $2 and went into the well. Actually, Frank went down into the well, I watched from the top of the staircase!
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 Inside the Big Well |
It's pretty early on in the trip for too many kitschy tourist attractions, and we're not even on Route 66 yet, so across the street to the antique shop in the old church. Owned by a couple who fell in love with this town and moved from California to save the church in it's new guise of lovely antique mall Good finds here, too! The woman working here suggested we check out the old Rexall store downtown, they still made sodas the old way by mixing the syrup and soda water - that didn't take too much convincing, so off we went in search of the Rexall. Several wrong turns later with an extra trip around the block to get on the right side of the street (what is GPS???- LOL!), we found the Rexall. This might have been the high point of the day! Beautiful old soda fountain inside, old wall cabinets and a fantastic old Sheaffer Pen Case that was a little unusual - it had Pen Department across the top of it. The gent behind the counter was fascinated to learn we were from Fort Madison, home of the Sheaffer case and proceeded to tell us all about the days when pens were such an important part of his business, all while making our drinks. Vanilla Coke for me, Frank had a root beer float.
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| I want one of these! | |
I want one of these, too! |
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| By now, Greensburg had turned into a much longer stop than we had anticipated and we still needed to put another 150 miles or so behind us. We were in search of Dorothy and Toto and Liberal Kansas was the next good stop to find a motel for the night. Still no Route 66, we dilly-dallied too long on Hwy 54 today! |  Sunset in Kansas |
Our search for Dorothy and Toto took us just across the street from our hotel in Liberal, Kansas - amazing what you find after some sleep and daylight hits!
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| Here's the OZ Team, alive and well in Liberal! | |
It was International Pancake Day today and this is a big thing in Liberal, they were hoping to take back their title from their sister city in England which, had sent observers to view the race and join in the festivities. The race didn't start til noon, and we couldn't stick around. In celebration of Pancake Day, what else could we do but have pancakes for breakfast!
Southwestward we headed, leaving Kansas, and crossing the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas toward New Mexico. Quaint towns, near-Ghost towns, range, grain elevators, more range, huge stockyards, more range and yet more range!
 Does this mean you buy 'em and they cook 'em? |
 A Texas size Texas Cowboy! |
 Lots of Moo! |
 Warm Welcomes |
We're now approaching Tucumcari, New Mexico, home of a nice section of Route 66. Tucumcari Mountain is visible from about 50 miles away.
 Tucumcari Mountain |
If you look back to our 2006 Travelogue, you'll find a healthy dose of Tucumcari photos including some fabulous neon and the Blue Swallow Motel, still in business. One of our favorite stops, Teepee Curios was closed for the day (darnit!), so we made it a quick trip through Tucumcari on Route 66. Del's is a 1950s restaurant with excellent food, we've been there before and when our stomachs said it was time to eat, this was the place. To stop by, no disappointments at Del's! |
 We stopped! |
Next stop - Santa Rosa! |  Still thriving today! |
We found a short stretch of early ca. 1927 Route 66 alignment that we missed through here last year, so we had to drive that, not much more than a mile. I don't know how we missed this in 2006, but we did, probably because we were pulling into Santa Rosa late that day, a race against daylight.
 View of old bridge from 1927 Route 66 |
 This building dates to the early 1930s and started life as one of the original Texaco service stations on Route 66 |
Santa Rosa is small, about 3000 population, but seems much bigger and has a lot to offer. We had read about the Blue Hole, an attraction for divers here and thought we should take a peek. Pure, blue, very deep water nestled into the rocks. No one there but us today and quite peaceful.
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The building to the right is the Santa Rosa Courthouse - magnificent structure! It did not appear to still be in use, we hope someone is taking care of it. We could have stayed longer in Santa Rosa, but it was time to continue westward toward Albuquerque. We made a quick stop at Cline's Corner for afternoon people fuel in the form of homemade fudge. Cline's is a big, fun tourist stop in the middle of nowhere at elevation 7200 feet. |  |
 New Mexico Mountains | Lots of construction and accompanying accidents going through Albuquerque, we can't remember seeing this much traffic here ever, must have just been one of those days! I was quite relieved to have this behind us! I love driving through the New Mexico mountains, we've done it many, many times, but not something I ever tire of. You notice something different every trip. The light plays on them and changes the colors, just a very beautiful drive. |
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Our goal this morning was to find a post office and it wasn't long before we found the perfect one for mailing the first batch of Route 66 postcards at Fort Courage, New Mexico. Fort Courage is a combination local general store, post office and tourist trap! There are always strange things being towed on the road, anyone remember the plane from 2006? That was one of the strangest! This little car was nice, but in need of a bit of TLC. |
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We stopped in Holbrook, Arizona for fuel and a quick bite to eat at the Wayside Cafe, a fixture since the late 50s on Route 66. Holbrook has many Route 66 landmark hotels and cafes.
 66Motel & Hilltop Cafe |
 The Wayside Cafe |
We drove on by some of our favorites because there is only so much time in one day and we do have a deadline to get the LA Pen Show! We'll stop on our return trip in Winslow and at the Jack Rabbit because this trip would just not be complete without visits to these places!
 Flagstaff Mountain |
Even though there is a little snow in the mountains, it is a beautiful, warm day in the 60s and too nice not to make a stop in Williams to get out and wander the streets and shops for a little while. |
 The Welcome Committee |
Cruiser's Cafe 66 |
 Williams - the main drag! |
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Kingman is one of our favorite Route 66 towns and the place we'll call home for the night. We took a short drive around town, dropped off laundry with our favorite laundry lady and had dinner at the Hot Rod Cafe. Frank, with camera in hand got this shot of old neon at the Route 66 Motel. Neon is tricky - the arrow in this sign flashes perfectly, hard to captur the essence of neon |
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Our first stop this morning was just a short drive from our hotel in Kingman to The Power House. This is home of the Arizona Route 66 Assn., as well as several museums and an Arizona state welcome center. And gift shops! Most importantly the Route 66 gift shop that always has a good collection of Mother Road books for sale, managed to add a new one to my collection.
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| Neon inside the Power House |
Just across the street from The Power House is Mr. Dz Diner, this morning there was a pretty nifty car parked out front, too.
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I also got another batch of Route 66 postcards into the mail today. We thought the mailbox at the Power House, right on historic Route 66 in Kingman was appropriate. |
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It was lunchtime as we approached Barstow, so we hopped off the interstate onto Route 66, pulled out one of guide books and started the search for a local cafe. All things pointed to The Palm and this sounded vaguely familiar. Sure 'nuff, we had dinner here last year. It was good, so what the heck, we'll try them for lunch. The Palm is old, and obviously does not get updated inside very often, but they have an extensive menu, great food and a friendly owner. She's more than just friendly, she's the essence of efficiency. It was fairly busy and she managed to wait about10 tables at once, no one ever had to wait, food served promptly and was delicious. I wish some of the fancier and more expensive restaurants could figure this out. Lunch was more than we could eat and put us back $10.
A little further down the road on Interstate 15 is what Frank and I call the Indy Raceway of the West, except it's a four lane, 6% grade down the mountain raceway! We've driven it many times, but discovered last year that a nice little stretch of Route 66 bypasses the whole mess and is so much more calm. We exited and enjoyed a little scenery from below the raceway, including the views of a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train making it's way east.
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Before we knew it we were driving into the greater LA area and toward Manhattan Beach!
Lest you forget the reason allowing us to do this little travelogue and have a good reason for an LA Adventure ... we're here for the LA Pen Show! We hope you will join us at the Manhattan Beach Marriott this weekend for one of the largest pen shows in the US. We'll be taking photos at the show and as time allows, we'll get those photos and a show report posted right here. Pen show days are usually long ones - that is a good thing, lots of people to catch up with and lots of pens to see. But it also means, we sometimes get a little behind on the travelogue. We hope we will see you at the pen show this weekend!
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Friday and Saturday are very informal days at the LA Pen Show, you can buy, sell, trade and see a lot of good old fashioned wheelin' and dealin' going on. Friday was quite busy as you can see from the photos above. Saturday was even busier and if you weren't there early in the day, it was tough to find a table to settle down at. Time to catch up with people you haven't seen in ages, wander the show a bit to see what's new, hopefully find good pens to bring back (we did!) and for us, Saturday is the lead in to Sunday when things get really crazy and cohesive, sensible conversations are pretty much non-existent.
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| Winding down on Saturday | |
Most of the photos below were taken on Sunday before the show started and after the show ended because while the show is in progress there is not a whole lot of time to snap photos!
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| The pen people queue waiting for the show to open | |
The LA Pen show is over and time to call it a day. Now it's time to look forward to the next pen show for us - Chicago in May!
After the show, a group of us went a few miles down the road to one of our favorite places, Capt. Kidd's Seafood. Not fancy, just excellent fish and seafood and good post-show conversation in Redondo Beach.
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| We had a few stops to make in LA before hitting the road toward Las Vegas. Just down the street from our hotel is Trader Joe's, I was hoping they had those wonderful fresh mandarin oranges again and I was not disappointed! They're a treat! |  A classic in front of Trader Joe's |
Our next stop was in Westwood, home of the Mystery Bookstore, one of Frank's favorite places. Frank is the book collector in our family. Great store, even if you're not a book collector, you should stop by! The exterior is deceiving, the interior is all old wood, mission chairs and shelf after shelf of signed first editions. Very impressive. Westwood is a nice area, too and we strolled the streets for a little while before getting back in the car.
 Fox Theatre |
 Mystery Bookstore |
We wound our way out of greater LA on the freeway maze, as you can see, there was a bit of smog shrouding downtown LA
At the top of Cajon Pass is the Summitt Inn, an old Route 66 diner, still operating like they always have and quite busy when we stopped for lunch
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Our destination today is Las Vegas where we are meeting up with 8 pen friends for a couple of days to unwind from the pen show. The journey to Vegas takes us through the high desert of California into Nevada. Stark, but beautiful.
 Zzyzx Road in middle of nowhere! |
 The BIG thermometer in Baker CA |
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Here are a few shots as we drove down the Vegas Strip on arrival |
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Today was play in Vegas day! First we had to figure out where everyone was going and and how they were getting there and what time we had to be back for dinner! Once that was resolved, off we all went into the streets of Vegas, well actually just one street since just about everything is on The Strip!
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We visited New York, Paris, Rio, Rome and probably a few other places all in a day! | ||
High Cute Factor! |
There was a brief stop at the M&M Store - cute and more M&Ms than most people can handle in a short period of time, probably more than I could handle in a lifetime! |
Back onto the strip past the peddlers, and yet more peddlers! We were headed to the Mirage to see the white tigers. There was only one tiger, and what a spectacular animal he was!
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Love, a Beatles production by Cirque du Soleil is also at the Mirage. Seeing the show didn't work into the schedule, but visiting the Beatles gift shop and the Revolution lounge did! Frank is a huge Beatles fan, so we were here awhile, which was fine with me, all the Beatles stuff was great and it took a bit of time to decide what trinkets we should take with us.
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Time for a little sitting break at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritavile for lunch. Excellent food, excellent service, the decor was almost as good a being in the Keys! Sorry, no photos, Frank put the camera down while we sipped margaritas. You didn't think we could go to Margaritaville without margaritas did you? LOL!
Just a short walk from the Mirage, was the Conservatory at The Bellagio. Whoever is their gardener, I need them! The flowers are changed 4 times a year, the display we saw was Chinese New Year, the Year of the Pig.
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We sauntered through more casinos and shops than I can remember as we made our way back to the MGM, our home base. My very favorite part of Vegas on previous visits was the lion enclosure and I had been waiting to see them. Two cubs (each about 6 months old) were there and it's hard to find anything much more enjoyable to watch than the antics of two very large kittens!
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On our way to meet everyone for dinner, there was all sorts of excitement in the lobby, news people, flashing cameras, sexy ladies ... it was a press conference with Oscar de la Hoya. Good thing Frank was there to tell me who it was! |
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I find it fascinating how monster sized so many of these Las Vegas hotels are. The MGM had 5000 rooms and that could easily hold the entire population of Fort Madison! Vegas is a fun place, but it was time for our group to say our goodbyes and head in separate directions. Our destination today is to get back to Kingman, Arizona and Route 66.
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Our first stop, just a few miles down the road in Henderson was the Ethel M chocolate factory. Founded by Forrest Mars and named in honor of his mother Ethel M's is the gourmet chocolate division of Mars, couple steps up from M&Ms! The tour was self guided, the chocolate making equipment was spotless, but it didn't seem like we were there on a chocolate making day, maybe it was break time? Regardless not much to see in the factory. Let's call it a quick walk to the Ethel M store! Not a problem for this chocolate lover to find souvenirs! |
We're driving south on Hwy 95 through more beautiful scenery to Laughlin to meet up with a friend from Fort Madison who moved here recently. This is new territory for us. Laughlin is right on the Colorado River where Nevada, Arizona and California all come together. Cool today, but temps go off the charts here in the summer!
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It's a short 30 mile drive from Bullhead City to Kingman through the mountains.
Its a bright, sunny, chilly morning in Kingman! A quick detour to the post office to drop off more Route 66 postcards and we were on our way.
We found the elk! And a bear, too! There are multiple signs along the stretch of road from the Arizona-California line to well beyond Flagstaff to watch for elk. We never see any elk. But today we found them in Ash Grove!
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No elk in Winslow, but we did find the Standin' on the Corner wall to be on the upswing and looking very nice. Several years ago the building on the other side of the wall burned endangering the corner an it was uncertain whether the wall would remain. This seems to be sorted out and most of the chain link fence surrounding the park and wall has now been removed,and structural work to stabilize the wall is due to begin shortly. |  |
This pink car is for Michelle! It was on the corner, too.
Roadworks is the place to go in Winslow for all things Route 66
We stopped in at the Brown Mug, a local cafe for lunch. The Brown Mug isn't much to look at from the outside. Actually, come to think of it, the inside isn't very fancy either! The Mexican food is perfect though!
Moving on down the road, we stopped in at the Jack Rabbit Trading Post for shopping and chatting. The Jack Rabbit is a Route 66 landmark just west of Joseph City and one of those places not to be missed.
We made a few more trading post stops, one at Chee's which is local Navajo owned and had a very nice selection of not so typical Made in China India souvenirs! There was an extensive group of books here with info on the area, Indian jewelry, and more. Quite nice!
Gallup was our home for the night. We'd read about the El Rancho Hotel and Restaurant and driven by in the past, decided to try it for dinner tonight. The El Rancho was built in 1937 and served as home base for many movie stars over the years while filming Westerns in the area. Elegant wild west decor. I'm glad we finally visited the El Rancho.
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We had a short drive planned from Gallup to Albuquerque today to allow enough time to visit some favorite places in Albuquerque. But first, a visit to the local Gallup history museum maintained by the Gallup Historical Society. Located in the old Rex Hotel downtown and appropriately named The Rex! They've done a good job and there was a bit of everything on display, even Gallup historical items. Thanks Virgil, we appreciate your hospitality!
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 A parting shot of downtown Gallup as we left town to continue east on our travels |
Barely 2 hours later, we were rolling into Albuquerque and headed for the east end of Central Avenue aka Route 66 and a stretch of antique malls we enjoy poking around in. We usually manage to turn up old writing things in Albuquerque and we had good luck today, too. |
Heading west through the downtown section of Route 66 past the wonderful Kimo Theatre and others, we made our way to the Route 66 Malt Shop and Grill which resides in a nicely renovated old filling station. We'd taken some photos of their neon in the past, but today the timing was right to stop in for a bit of lunch. Good food, but better drinks since most of the beverages are homemade here - limeade for me, root beer for Frank. Nostalgic little place and well worth the stop.
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Our next destination was the Old Town shopping area. We decided to walk over from the hotel since navigating the Suburban through the narrow streets is not a joy and we both had been cooped up in the car for a couple days now. About a block from the hotel, the clouds rolled in, the winds turned brutal and the only good thing was that nothing wet came out of the sky!
We still spent a couple of hours wandering the shops and an especially enjoyable time talking to the owner of the local book shop - not just about books but about how interesting it is to be in a niche market these days. He carries 99% local books instead of trying to compete against the big chains. Easy for us to relate to the niche market!
Remember those silver spiny looking thingies we took photos of along I-40 last year? This year we caught this modern looking Totem!
Originally we had planned to have dinner in Old Town, but with the downturn in the weather, we decided we should best make our way back to the hotel before it got any colder. If there are taxis in Old Town, we sure did not see them! And the thought of walking back in the dark AND the cold wind was not appealing.
After adding warmer layers and relocating gloves, we drove west on Route 66 to the Western View Cafe for dinner.
Famous for steaks and chocolate cake, the Western View is a Route 66 landmark and has been serving up good food since the 1940s. Lot of photos of people who have visited over the years, including the one below which was autographed by Bo Diddley in 1991.
 Bo Diddley |
 Western View - Good Eats! |
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It is a clear, blue skied morning heading east out of Albuquerque and thankfully those winds have died down. As we toodle on down the road, still clear, but there had been some snow overnight between Cline's Corner and Tucumcari and the roads are quite messy in places. messy enough that the big trucks are throwing up a lot of salt, sand and other icky snow debris and oh joy, once we get the windshield clear enough to see well, we have a nice long crack in the windshield. Argh! |
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We pulled into Tucumcari mid day and it was time to be out of the car for awhile. Stopped in to Rubee's Diner for a bit of Mexican lunch. Neither of us remembered Rubee's, a new cafe, but in an old 66 drive in building. Quite nice! |
La Cita is now closed and up for sale. Hope someone saves this funky
roadside building |
We're on the main drag through Tucumcari, Route 66 and just a bit up the street is Tepee Curios. A favorite stop of ours, as much to look through the Route 66 books as it is to chat with the owner. Our conversation once again turns to niche markets as it did in Albuquerque yesterday. Even this fabulous landmark which has been well maintained over the years and carries a nice selection of merchandise is experiencing a decline in sales. Higher gas prices are definitely a factor nd are keeping people off the roads. We hope things will pick up for the Tepee, Route 66 just wouldn't be the same and Tucumcari would lose a long standing attraction. |
Today is the day we will pick up the old alignment of Route 66 again and we're looking forward to getting off the interstate. We cross into Texas and exit a little before Adrian, our mid-point to pick up the old road and we are also hopeful of catching the Mid-Point Cafe open today. Alas, we have arrived at the wrong time again and have yet to visit here! But we have an awful lot of photos of the place! |
We're now driving east on old Route 66 running adjacent to the interstate on the south side. Between Adrian and Bushland there are two late 1920s-early 1930s concrete bridges to spot that are a little further south on original Route 66, now a dirt road on private land, we can't drive it, but we can get photos!
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Bushland, Texas is quickly turning into a ghost town. There are two large buildings, a former gas station and a former cafe on 66 at the interstate exit, both standing very empty and up for sale. |
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According to the sign, Vega has a population of 936. Seems to be a healthy little town with a large modern grocery store and full parking lot, along with some nice old buildings, including the restored Magnolia Filling Station below. I mention the grocery store becuse I recently read an article about the demise of small towns in Iowa. The two main things that hold a town together are a grocery store and a cafe.
Magnolia Station, Vega Texas |
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 Wildorado seems to exist only for the huge stockyards | |||||
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The Cadillac Ranch isn't really on Route 66 and never was but many people are familiar with it. The photo on left, was taken from old Route 66 where we caught a decent view between a couple buildings and across to the north side of I-40 |
We're now on the western outskirts of Amarillo and we start seeing some relics of days gone by on the Mother Road.
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Up to now, we've only seen one historic Route 66 directional sign and that was back in Vega, but now a few are turning up as we follow the old road further into Amarillo, up to now, unless you knew where you were going or had a handy-dandy guide book like we do, you'd have no clue you were on old Route 66.
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We're approaching Old Town Amarillo where quite a bit of restoration has occurred, cute shops, restaurants and antique malls. It's getting late and the shops are mostly closed, but we've hunted for pens here in the past and have also eaten at J's Route 66 Cafe a few years back after finding it by sheer luck and a few wrong turns!
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Leaving Old Town and heading toward the downtown business district. The Santa Fe RR building is stunning!
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Stopped at a light downtown, we look to our right and there is one of the Painted Ponies! Very cool! We have a few of these from a collectible series, but it's so fun to see the real thing!
Now moving away from the Amarillo downtown business district
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More of Route 66 in Amarillo on Sunday, it's a long stretch through here and trying to stay on the old route is a little tricky. We're calling it a night and will finish Amarillo in daylight!
Taking Route 66 through and out of Amarillo involves lots of turns and lots of country roads, but was not as complicated as we were led to believe - always a good thing on the first stretch of the day!
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| Leaving Amarillo and heading through the country toward Conway, Texas | ||
Groom has BIG things to lure you into town! The largest cross in the western hemisphere (their claim!) and the tilting water tower that once belonged to a truck stop.
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The Donley Cty Texas Route 66 Safety Rest Area, a must stop to see this tribute to Route 66 with lots of neon and deco style | ||
 Alanreed has two fun things to visit and one is quite a doozy! |
 The 66 Super Station was built in 1930 |
And then there is the Post Office-Grocery Store-Souvenir Shop-Beer-Gas Station building all rolled into one and worth taking the time to go inside because while small (the sign on the door suggests 10 cowpokes at a time!), it is lovely inside and filled with creative displays of tasteful souvenirs and local made beers and wines with a tiny post office in one corner. |
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McLean is home of a beautiful restored Phillips 66 station, plus the combined Devil's Rope and Route 66 Museum. It's Sunday and sadly the museums are closed. I'm told they are quite nice inside.
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We love stopping in Shamrock but will keep photos to just a few here since in 2006 we took many, check out our 2006 LA Adventure for more of the U-Drop Inn!
 U-Drop Inn |
 Magnolia Station |
 Diner on east edge of Shamrock |
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About 8 miles east of Shamrock, there remain good long stretches of the original Portland concrete Route 66. Plus the CRI&P RR bridge. Looking below there is NO sign of tracks remaining, but you can tell where the rail bed once was. CRI&P was the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific RR |
Texola, on the Texas-Oklahoma line is tiny! No names on the streets, but after a few wrong turns, we found the Territorial Jail -very old, very small! |
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We passed through Erick, home of Roger Miller. We would have stopped in their museum, but still Sunday and it was also closed, We've actually come across a few antique shops, no pen hunting though on a Sunday morning. | |
Between Erick and Sayre, OK near Hext are these original abandoned Route 66 lanes to the north of the current Route 66 alignment which is pretty old itself!
Sayre was a busy little town. We liked the art deco post office and the neon sign at the Western Motel on the east edge of town
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Elk City promotes Route 66 heavily and has a wonderful museum, but no visits today, it didn't open until 2PM.
 US Route 66 Museum |
 Elk City RR Depot |
 T33 USAF Jet |
We've driven on old and many original alignments of Route 66 all morning, but following it is a bit of a puzzle since I-40 intersects it at many points. So we have criss-crossed above and below I-40 over and over and now are very well trained in navigating around exit ramps and frontage roads! The photo below shows a long stretch of original alignment Route 66 made of Portland Concrete, this stuff is sturdy and in great shape 70 years later. Far better shape than many of the new asphalt roads we all use today. So, my question is, why are we using asphalt which needs to be constantly repaired instead of the old concrete which holds up very well?
| Clinton, Oklahoma is another big Route 66 town. On our way through town and to the Route 66 museum, we saw these trains named Farmrail, a new one on me! |  |
The Route 66 Museum is splendid here! Frank took oodles of photos, so I had to narrow it down a little bit. Note the fountain pen and pencil on the Motel registration desk!
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Just east of Clinton is the Cherokee Trading Post. We've stopped at these before (there are several), and for whatever reason, we always feel obligated to get a buffalo picture!
We're heading into Weatherford, OK via the old road and the steel truss bridge below. On the west edge of town, you see the closed twin Drive In Theatre (up for sale and no longer in operation) and the old filling station.
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Finally, we found an open antique mall in Weatherford, and one of our favorites to shop at, too. Lucky us, we found a few nice things to bring back. Weatherford was home away from home for the night at the Mark Motor Hotel, always a good stop.
Today was perfect for traveling, low 70s, just a hint of a breeze and lots of sunshine. Gets me to thinking about Spring which is still a few weeks away in Fort Madison.
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We're headed east out of Weatherford, Oklahoma this morning, down an original stretch of Route 66 past Lucille's. Lucille's is closed due to the passing of Lucille in 2000, but the new owner is restoring the building and a replica of Lucille's is being built in Weatherford as a road house. |
Hydro is a cute little town and home of North Side Drug which has an old soda fountain. door wide open, 3 women inside chatting, we walked on in. Things seemed a little bit in disarray and when Frank asked if he could take photos, a woman told us they were closed, but more than welcome to explore. So we did!
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The Pony Bridge, built in 1933 has 38 "pony" trusses. Located between Hydro and El Reno. This bridge still carries motorists like us across the South Canadian River
El Reno has a quaint downtown, we've visited here in the past and had another enjoyable visit today including a stop at the Opera House Antique Mall. We took a little stroll around town to wok out the car kinks.
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There was more Roadside 66 remnants and a restored main street area in Bethany that was worth stopping for amidst quite a bit of modern roadside clutter. Lake Overhulser was beautiful, I read where it was used as a seaplane base during WWII. The bridge shown below was built in 1924.
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The Mother Road's route through Oklahoma City changed many times over the years, so we had to pick one. We decided on the ca. 1931-1953 route which doesn't go directly through downtown, but did have a bit more roadside flavor to it. Frank is a great navigator, we followed 66 through without a missed turn, amazing!
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By the time we arrived in Edmond, we knew we'd have to juggle time a little bit in order to navigate Tulsa in daylight. So, we sadly passed by what looked like a nice old stretch of Old Town style shops in Edmond and headed down the road to Arcadia.
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I've been waiting to go to Arcadia. There resides an 1898 round barn that was fully restored almost a 100 years later. There is a Route 66 and local history shop/museum and info on the first level, the top level is used for weddings, dances and local events. The barn is just amazing, made all by hand with local white oak. It's hard to get a perspective from photos, but the height is 60 feet from floor to the top of the roof. |
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More scenic driving down Route 66 through Luther, Wellston, Chandler and Davenport to Stroud. We'll have to make time on or next trip through for stops in these towns
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In Stroud, we stopped in at the Rock Cafe and Mamie's Store, they're right next to each other and we had to go into the cafe to get someone to unlock the store so we could look around inside. Great gift shop inside! Back over to the cafe for a bottle of Dr Pepper and a milkshake - if you're going to drive a vintage road, vintage beverages are appropriate, too!
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Depew was pretty barren on the route through town, but we did catch the neat sign below
Toodling on down the road, we drove through Bristow, Bellvue, Kellyville and on into Sapulpa. Sapulpa was hard not stop in, all sorts of things to explore, but there was that darned daylight problem.
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As we approached Tulsa, we decided on the Route 66 post-1932 alignment through town, not quite as involved as the earlier route, still lots of things to see and it got us to the other side of town just as the sun was setting.
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Unfortunately it was pitch dark when we passed Catoosa, home of the Blue Whale, we'll have to come back to that on a future trip, it's a very old Route 66 landmark. Claremore, home of Will Rogers was our home for the night.
We started out the morning in Claremore, Oklahoma, the home of Will Rogers. Shown below is the Will Rogers Hotel, now restored and converted to senior living. Dot's Cafe was our stop for breakfast - more than we could eat and less money that it should have been!
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Foyil (no, I am not sure how to pronounce it, but suspect it is like the aluminum stuff!) has all sorts of cool stuff. Home of Andrew Hartley Payne who won the 1928 Transcontinental Foot Race from LA to NYC - my feet ache just thinking about it! The Top Hat Cafe is still up and running and I'm told they have excellent food.
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Decisions, decisions, do we drive 10 mi down the road and back for Totem Poles??? Sure, what the heck. Very glad we did, too. Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park is a treasure, even if it is pretty far off the beaten path. Ed built his totem poles, along with an accompanying building from 1937-1948 and it was all done by hand and mostly by himself. The largest totem pole is 90 feet tall and 54 feet in diameter at the base, there are 200 different carved pictures on this one totem pole alone. Inside the building is more of his work - violins, furniture and more totem carvings.
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 | We love seeing the large modern windmills as we cross the country, especially the larger wind farms. This truckload of windmill blades was having a bit of trouble negotiating the turn onto west Route 66 south of Chelsea. And speaking of windmills, Fort Madison will shortly have a Siemens factory up and running, they will be manufacturing blades just like those on the truck to right. |
Vinita is a tidy little town in eastern Oklahoma. We caught a few nice signs on film The EAT sign belongs to Clanton's Cafe, an old Route 66 cafe still in operation. Packards, anyone?
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Time to get a little more adventurous, pay attention to the odometer and head into the country on 9 foot wide road paved in 1922 and used through 1937 when Route 66 was re-aligned. Range and farmland in every direction. This stretch of road is still in use by locals, but not much!
 This section of old road has had lots of gravel added to widen it, but the original road is visible, look to the left n the photo and you'll see a dark shadow which is the edge of the road. |
Kansas has only 13 miles of Route 66 and the Kansas Route 66 Assn and their supporters tend it very well. The photos below were taken in Baxter Springs
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The Rainbow Curve Bridge over Brush Creek is the last remaining Marsh designed bridge on Route 66. Built in 1923, it's a beauty!
The Eisler Bros Market in Riverton, Kansas is a must stop. The store is a wonderful mix of museum, Route 66 souvenirs, Deli and a general store. Every nook and cranny is filled.
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The Carthage Drive In is NOT for sale! It has been fully restored and is operational in non-winter months.
This old filling station near Paris Springs is beautiful! We were pulled over on the opposite shoulder to take this photo and out of the front door, walks a man waving at us. We exchanged greetings and he jokingly asked if we would like to buy some cheap gas!
Springfield has eye-catchig arhitecture and many restored buildings along Route 66.
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The Best Western Route 66 Rail Haven Motel was our home for the night. Rail Haven dates back to the 1930s when it started as a Motor Court. It has been lovingly cared for and tended to over the years. Many additions and improvements have been made over the years while still retaining the original flavor of the Motor Court. They have won awards for their historic preservation |
| We had dinner at this Steak and Shake we spotted on the way to our motel. An oldie to be sure. Turns out this is the original one in Springfield and the first built on Route 66. Privately owned, not a franchised restaurant, it has maintained it's original character. |  |
Our stay at Rail Haven on Route 66 was over and time to leave Springfield for points east. On the way out of town, we drove by a Solo cup building and the old Rest Haven Court
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In Strafford, there was Dan's Route 66 Cafe
The Exotic Animal Paradise is now closed and going by a new name - the Animal Paradise Fun Park. Most of the signs with the new name have been changed, but we spotted this one off of Route 66, an oldie.
A wide swath of Missouri got nailed by bad weather and a horrible ice storm a few weeks ago. We spoke with one woman who had been without power for 13 days. Almost everywhere we drove today, we saw devastated trees, piles of branches that had been trimmed out, people working on removing trees and branches. It's just hard to imagine how much damage this storm did. Unreal!
Marshfield is the home of Edwin Hubbel, astronomer and namesake of the Hubbel telescope. A model of the telescope is in the town square. We also caught the mural below
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This odd colored green bridge took us over the Niangua River
We've been to Lebanon many times and always enjoy antiquing and traveling Route 66 through town. Usually we just hit a brief stretch of Route 66 here headed west, so our route was a little different this year taking us eastbound past the Munger-Moss Motel. We found a new antique mall, too! A few pens *were* there which we hope to find new homes for in the future. We also found Lucy and Desi's 1940 Cadillac on display! Michelle - check it out! It wasn't for sale, doubt we could afford it if it was, but we did get to take photos for you!
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The old route is fairly well marked along long stretches of road in Missouri
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This 1923 bridge over the Gasconade River was at Hazel Green
Devil's Elbow was good for getting the heart racing in days gone by! A fierce curve in the road, immediately after a bridge with a little stone wall between you and a very long drop. Beautiful views at the top.
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Rolla is a bustling little city. Home to many Route 66 landmarks including the Uptown Theatre shown below and the Mule Trading Post on the east end of town. The Mule was a great store with antiques (yes, we found some things here, junque, cheap souvenirs and nice souvenirs - a little bit of everything you'd want to find in trading post!
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Cuba, Missouri was another great town to drive through. Full of murals, with more being added all the time, plus lots of roadside treasures.
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Except for a few short stretches around St Louis and Springfield, IL, almost all of our trip is on virgin Route 66 for us today!
We started out at Sullivan, Missouri and headed straight to an antique mall down the street from our motel. Sadly, they were having a going out of business sale. It must have been going on for awhile because the place was pretty empty and nothing even remotely writing related here!
At St. Clair we crossed back over the interstate where I promptly turned the wrong way (It's early still!), but found a short stretch of now closed Route 66 (I think!)
We decided to opt for the pre-1932 alignment of Route 66 heading toward St Louis. This takes us through Gray Summit and on toward Ellisville on a nice winding rolling hill stretch of road.
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Around Ballwin, we start hitting the urban sprawl of St Louis and it goes on and on through once small towns that now all blend together. Lots of shopping malls and traffic lights. Route 66 has lost much of it's identity in this area. We did note a few interesting signs and buildings
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We crossed the line into St Louis (where was the Welcome sign? LOL!) on Chippewa where a lot of the architecture reverts back to an earlier day and we pull in to Ted Drewes.
This means a stop for frozen custard. No matter that we haven't had lunch, we'll have ice cream first since this stuff is decadent! Yum! Our timing was just right, too. As we were standing in line, 2 school buses filled with about 80 or so middle school aged kids tumbled out to make one long line behind us. Not to mention the decibel levels shot up! Great stop, be sure to visit the next time you are in St Louis, yes, go out of your way to visit Ted Drewe's Frozen Custard stand!
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We now have directions firmly in hand in order to try and stay on Route 66, minimize my wrong turns and try for a few photos as we make our way across St Louis.
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Leaving the road maze, but still in St Louis on Riverview Drive, we can see *our* river, the Mississippi to the east. We were headed to the little park for a walk out on to the Chain of Rocks Bridge. I made my blind turn to go into the lot and slammed on the brakes being met by chains across the entrance. Bummer! This is a favorite stop for us and the park was closed. We learned later in the day that there have been a lot of recent problems with vandalism here. Not of the bridge, but of cars parked in the lot. Sad. Trailnet which tends to the bridge is trying to figure out what to do about this. All volunteer ops don't have lots of money for parking lot monitors.
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You have to get on the interstate here to cross the river to IL.
We're nicely out of the city now and back on the old road through the IL countryside through Edwardsville and beyond to Hamel.
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Somehow we missed getting any good photos of the Meramec Cavern signs painted on barns. So, we made a slight detour across the interstate to take a photo of this one headed west.
Here we are in Staunton. Nice little town. You would think we could navigate a small town by now, but I had wrong-turn-itis and so we had a grand tour of Staunton on the way to Henry's Rabbit Ranch and Route 66 Emporium. Henry's is unique! This was one of our very favorite stops of the trip, most enjoyable to learn about the real rabbits and take a peek at the metal VW rabbits, too!
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 Henry and Anna |
 Montana "autographs" our brochure! |
 Cute sign |
 And Hare We Are at the Pumps! Thanks for taking the photo, Henry |
 Just in case we got lost in Staunton again (we made it out!) |
 Soulsby Shell in Mt Olive |
Ariston had some nice Route 66 landmarks
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We drove on into Springfield for the night, found a motel, dropped our bags off and headed straight to The Cozy for Cozy Dogs and dinner in a most nostalgic Route 66 restaurant.
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The Cozy was a very fitting end to our last day on Route 66 for this journey.
