Route 66 - Part II - The First Leg of the Journey

Start of Route 66, Chicago IL

Well, finally I’m getting to Part II of our Route 66 trip (crazy month, crazy life). 

Anyway, after a few days in Chicago, we fought the morning traffic and headed downtown to find the beginning Route 66 sign. Thus our Route 66 Trip officially started…

Illinois: Land of Lincoln, Gemini Giant and Cozy Dogs…
Our first stop and overnight on the route was Springfield, Illinois. Springfield is the home of Cozy Dogs, the Bearded Muffler Man, and Abraham Lincoln. Absolutely, the pride of Illinois is our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. There are statues, towns, monuments, museums and constant signs stating "Land of Lincoln" throughout the state. We visited the Lincoln Museum and Presidential Library in Springfield. This is a fascinating place that chronicles Lincoln’s life from childhood, to the Civil War to his tragic death. The museum is a tribute to a remarkable life and man. I can’t say enough about the museum – worth a stop if you're ever in the area.



Giant Catsup Bottle, Collinsville, IL

Route 66 is a piece of American history and a bit of a scavenger hunt. Part of the fun on the route was finding the various icons, “giants” and signs. In Illinois we found the Gemini Giant, the world's largest catsup bottle, a pink elephant drinking a martini and Betty Boop.

The best corn dog I’ve ever eaten was at the Cozy Dog Drive In in Springfield, Illinois. A Route 66 favorite and part of the inspiration for the Disney movie “Cars.” They claim that they created the original corn dog – not sure if this is true, but they have certainly mastered the recipe. The Cozy Dog opened in 1946 and has moved a couple of times, but now sits squarely on Route 66. They even serve Route 66 Soda!

After finding the giant catsup bottle in Collinsville we took the bridge over the Mississippi River into St. Louis.

Missouri: the Arch, Largest Rocking Chair, the Cardinals and Mini Stonehenge…
As you head over the bridge to St. Louis, you are greeted by the Gateway Arch. The arch is a beautiful piece of American engineering. Years ago we traveled through St. Louis and I was impressed by the arch and it was just as wonderful the second time around. Time and perhaps where you are in the moment makes you forget some past experiences. One thing I didn't remember was the amount of stairs inside the arch which was challenging. However, I’ve found

The Gateway Arch, St. Louis

throughout our travels people generally try to accommodate us when they understand Patrick’s mobility issues. So we were able to make the journey to the top without event.

We caught a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game at Busch Stadium. The stadium has the Arch as a backdrop, definitely one of my favorite baseball stadiums. I made the mistake of wearing my Wrigley Field shirt to the game and garnered a couple comments - apparently the Cubs are not loved in St. Louis. Ah, nothing like a good baseball rivalry.

Missouri is a lush green state and Route 66 wanders through some beautiful scenery. We continued our scavenger hunt with a mini Stonehenge on the campus of University of Missouri in Rollo, the world's largest rocking chair and a Hubble telescope replica, in Edwin Hubble's hometown of Marshfield.

Kansas: 11 miles of Route 66, Disney Inspiration, Tow-Tator, the Rainbow Bridge...
The state with the shortest road on Route 66 is Kansas - a total of 11 miles runs through it. The Kansas folks are a friendly group and we spent quite a bit of time on this short strip of the route. There are murals, signs, gift shops and information stops throughout Kansas. The scenery is not what you expect - it is very picturesque with a river and tons of greenery.

Rainbow Bridge, Outside Galena KS

We met some of the inspirations for Disney's "Cars" movie in Kansas. The story was told that Tow-Mater was actually a beat up old tow truck that the kids in Galena nicknamed Tow-Tator. We met, Melba Rigg, at the "Cars on the Route" gift shop. Melba is a quite a character herself – she proudly proclaims that no one can talk as much or as fast as her.  I don’t think I can argue against this claim. She was interviewed by Disney for the "Cars" movie and her half hour interview went three hours and the Disney folks missed their airline flights (she was quite proud of this). She is featured on the "Cars 2" movie blu-ray edition discussing Route 66 and impact on the local towns along the route.

There is a lovely bridge outside Galena, KS named the Rainbow Bridge. The locals believe it is the inspiration for the bridge that Lightning McQueen and Sally raced along in the original "Cars" movie. True or not it was a beautiful spot to stop and enjoy!

Oklahoma: the Blue Whale, a Memorial, Route 66 Museums...

Oklahoma City Memorial at Sunset

The route traverses through much of Oklahoma and includes Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Clinton. We were fortunate to arrive in Oklahoma City at sunset and spent time at the Oklahoma City Memorial - which was absolutely moving and we got some amazing photos of the memorial at sunset. It's worth a stop if you're ever in the area.

The scavenger hunt continued in Oklahoma and we found the Blue Whale in Catoosa, OK which was part of an old swimming hole. This was an anniversary gift to Hugh Davis’ wife, Zelta, built back in the 1970s. Pretty awesome gift, in my opinion, beats jewelry any day! This was a busy route attraction and there were plenty of folks fishing, taking pictures and walking through Big Blue.  Additionally, we found an old Conoco Station, the Kuku Bird and A Soda Pop Statue in Oklahoma.

There are eight states on Route 66– Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.  My original plan was not to write on all eight states, but I loved this trip, and I want the written memories… so I’ve decided to do a part III which should be out sooner than this one…(the next final four states: Texas, New Mexico, Arizona & California).

Check out the photos...
In the meantime, I’ve uploaded photos of our trip through Oklahoma… A picture in this case is absolutely worth a thousand words: Route 66 - Part I Photos