Common Threads

Much of our day yesterday was spent driving from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Amarillo, Texas. We decided to press on farther west instead of spending the night in Elk City. We did stop there to see the Route 66 Museum, then kept on driving to Shamrock, Texas to kiss the Blarney Stone (I never knew there was a part of that stone anywhere in the United States until this week). From there, we decided to head on into Amarillo, Texas, where we will be visiting Cadillac Ranch today and The Big Texan Steakhouse tonight. I’ll update with the day’s pictures this evening.

At breakfast in the hotel lobby, I thought I saw a rabbit. Then another, and another. I got up to investigate and learned that they are prairie dogs. Their little house holes are all over the back lawn of the hotel, and from our room, you can see their whole playground and watch them playing. Cheap entertainment that could keep me amused for hours- – but we had to press on with our day.

We started the day before the brutal heat set in at Cadillac Ranch, spray painting and using our best criminal art skills to add to the graffiti. In the Wal Mart in Amarillo, there are locks on their spray paint shelves, so you have to get someone to help you get the paint that you request! We got five cans and passed on the extra to some incoming artists as we left. I saw a woman with a large camera lens and knew she was the one who should inherit our paint!

No iconic landmark visit is complete without a quick kiss, so we smooched right there in front of God and all those buried Cadillacs!

And then we drove on to see the Second Amendment Cowboy before going on to Palo Duro Canyon State Park, where we saw the largest Canyon in Texas, second only to the Grand Canyon in the United States. The landscape was gorgeous, and we saw one roadrunner, a kettle of barn swallows – including babies, Northern Cardinals, one live water snake, one dead rattlesnake (A Mohave rattler, I believe), and some Texas Longhorns.

I’ve started taking copious notes for a friend named Nick who just turned 66 last week and hopes to travel Route 66 this year to celebrate this year of his life. He asked me to “take notes,” so it gives me an added perspective to be thinking of someone else who might want to know some of my own observations of this journey down classic roadside America. Thus, look for daily ChroNICles, sidebar notes specifically with my friend Nic in mind. He’s recently published a book with slices of humor involving many of his longtime friends and acquaintances, so it only seems fitting to raise a glass in birthday cheers for his own ChroNICles that may melt as fast as the ice cream on his cake, but will hopefully be just as tasty nevertheless.

ChroNICle #1 – If you’ve never eaten “the special” breakfast in Tulsa, Oklahoma at a hole in the wall cafe with a waitress who’s the Queen of Bling and has a red tattoo of a Q and a Diamond right next to her left ear on her cheek to prove it to anyone who doubts it even after seeing the bracelets that line her arm from elbow to wrist and then, when you ask if she’s from Tulsa, she coughs the raspy smoker’s cough and emphatically says, “HELL no, I’ve lived here for 40 years, but I’m from Wisconsin,” as if you’ve offended her, you might want to try it.

Today’s journey along Route 66 will take us past the Golden Driller, the World’s Largest Praying Hands, and a quick sweep by The Outsiders House Museum. Then, we will head on over to Oklahoma City, visiting the Auto Museum on the way there.

Visiting The Blue Whale was unique. The story here is that a man gave this to his wife for their anniversary so that she would have something that no other woman in the world had. I told Briar that I never, ever want a Blue Whale for our anniversary. It was fun to visit, but I wouldn’t want to call this whale mine.

Eating is simply divine along Route 66. Retro diners line the whole stretch, and each has something a little different to offer. At Tally’s, we dug in to sandwiches and burgers, and shared desserts – a chocolate milkshake for us!

A word about Sid’s Diner: it’s amazing. The Coney Dog has a coleslaw relish on it that is outstanding. It makes a hot dog heavenly! My brother in law and I bought t-shirts from here!

After an amazing day at Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis yesterday, we made our way to Cuba, Missouri and checked in to the Wagon Wheel Motel. We are on Historic Route 66, where tonight’s iconic motel blinks in neon lights! Tomorrow, on to Fantastic Caverns and The Blue Whale of Catoosa!

We asked a local where to eat, and Dottie’s was the win. It’s at a truck stop near the interstate, and the breakfast was fabulous~ all except for the biscuits. We ate a bite before heading out to Fantastic Caverns in Springfield, Missouri. We’d skipped Meramec Caverns to buy more time in St. Louis, so we were looking forward to seeing some caves!

Before we arrived at the caverns, we saw an interesting stop on Historic Route 66, along with an Uncle Sam Muffler Man nearby. While we hadn’t planned this detour, we decided to go in and have some fudge and a Root Beer (Route Beer) in Uranus, Missouri. They had a vast array of interesting t-shirts ~ we resisted the urge to buy one.

In Fantastic Caverns, we rode a jeeplike wagon through the underground cave on a guided tour and learned fun facts about the history of the cave and the way the caverns are formed. It stays at around 60 degrees year round, so the cool temperature was appealing to us in this current midwestern heat wave. We even wore jackets! Turns out, a farmer’s bloodhound named Juno went missing in 1862, and the farmer, John Knox, set out to find him. He heard him barking and climbed through a small hole in the ground, where he discovered after a belly slide that he could stand up inside the caverns. He decided to keep it a secret for five years. And precisely five years later, he placed a newspaper ad for experienced cave explorers to come and help probe the expanse of what was actually below. Twelve older teenage girls showed up in their exploring gear and explored the caves, even signing in their names on the wall – those signatures are still right there today!

I was wondering if we’d missed out on Meramac Caverns, but I think we chose the right ones – – you can’t go wrong when a dog and a team of women are at the helm of an amazing discovery!

Our afternoon adventure took us a little way into Kansas to see that section of Route 66, and then into Oklahoma to see the Blue Whale of Catoosa on our way into Tulsa, where we will be staying at the Desert Hills Motel tonight – – another iconic motel on Route 66. The kind where your key is on a little plastic diamondy-shaped keyring and the doors open from the outside, the towels feel sandpapery, there’s 1970’s tile on the bathroom floor, and the lamp might not work.

Rockin’ on down Route 66 today in my cutoff denim shorts, tie-dyed t-shirt, and, of course, trusty Birks. My own exploring gear.

Here is the video with the place where the girls signed the wall of the cave ~

We enjoyed our first day on Route 66 on Saturday with stops at The Gemini Giant, the Standard Oil Station, and Bunyon with a Hot Dog. We got a good night’s sleep in Lincoln, Illinois, and are heading out to Gateway Arch National Arch and Meramac Caverns.

For now, we are on the road!

We stopped at the Rail Splitter Rest Area and found its retro decor fascinating – from the old telephone to the tiny tiles on the bathroom floor, everything seemed a step back in time. It took me straight back to my childhood in the early 1970s. I was feeling part-hippie, part-groovy.

I’ve been using my Merlin ID and eBird apps to do bird counts along the way. This is a house sparrow, and they were nesting in a pole outside the restrooms. I never thought I’d have the need to download the different bird packs for other regions of the United States, but here I am, loving it and seeing mostly the same birds I see at home . Later in the day, I did a bird count at the Gateway Arch National Park as well. My sister in law took the photo above.

At the Cozy Dog Drive-In in Springfield, Illinois, you can dance in the parking lot to the Route 66 song that plays on the kiosk. This is still run by the same family who made the first corn dog. We didn’t eat here, but we wanted to stop in and see the place.

The World’s Largest Catsup Bottle is a unique landmark. There was nowhere to park, so we snapped a photo from the road and kept right on driving.

We browsed the museum, and then we went up in the arch on the south tram. Views were amazing! We could see the stadium where the St. Louis Cardinals play baseball. Afterward, we took the Riverboat cruise to see St. Louis from the water on a paddleboat named the Tom Sawyer.

We were worn out by the time we left St. Louis, so we skipped Meramac Caverns and decided to visit Fantastic Caverns in the morning, after a “good night’s sleep” at The Wagon Wheel Motel – an iconic neon-lit motel “serving travelers since the 1930s.” Here, all my hopes and dreams of ever living in a tiny home were shattered. This country girl had a hard time sleeping with all the light coming in the window. I didn’t really think you could get a smaller shower than our 21 foot teardrop camper, but guess what?! We found one right here. Just enough room to turn around and rinse off.

But oh, the historic charm. The keys are kept on a wooden board, and you can buy a plastic replica room keyring with your number on it. So I did. That way, I will remember to be grateful for my comfortable bed, my shower, and room to stretch. I wouldn’t trade the experience of the Wagon Wheel for anything! Especially the tense moments when my brother-in-law and his wife forgot the doors were auto-locking and popped over to see us for a minute and locked their key in their room after hours when everyone had left the office. He had to break in. If you ever thought a country boy from Rural Georgia wouldn’t know how to use a credit card to get into a room, think again. We learned a thing or two last night!

Tomorrow, we’ll explore some caverns, see The Outsiders Museum, stop by The Blue Whale of Catoosa, and end our day in Tulsa, Oklahoma as we take turns driving along Route 66.

Today’s the day – – we are setting out on a journey halfway across America. Actually, more than half if you count the flight, too. June has already taken me across three states – Georgia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Beginning today, I’ll add Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico to the list of travel destinations for this month.

We’re packed, we’re ready, and we’re looking forward to the adventures ahead. I’ll be doing something a little different as I blog this week. I’ll begin the day with a short entry, and I’ll add photos and updates along the way. If you’re keeping up with our trip, evening will be a good time to see the whole day’s travels.

We’re still wondering whether anyone in our group will go for the 72-ounce steak at The Big Texan, where if you eat it in one hour (along with a baked potato, salad, and a roll), it’s free!

We’re sitting at Gate B20, ready to depart at 11:25 for Chicago-Midway. I hope to have more pictures this evening.

We saw the Gemini Giant in Wilmington, Illinois and were sad that The Launching Pad restaurant was closed for renovations. As we looked through the windows, we could see that the tabletops were maps of the United States with Route 66 logos, and an old jukebox stood at the back. We chatted with a man filling up has gas tank across the street, a local, and learned he’d been born in Valdosta, Georgia. My sister-in-law mentioned that we were married to brothers, standing on the other side of the street, and when the man yelled, “Go Georgia Brothers,” my husband raised his arm and gave the fisted power-arm flex, not pausing in his conversation, THAT’S one picture I wish I’d captured yesterday!

We moved along to the Standard Oil Company in Odell, Illinois, where a theme started to emerge – – brothers on benches. BOB is our codeword for taking pictures of these two brothers along the route. When I was in San Antonio the year before last, I saw little inviting benches and chairs and seating areas here and there and began taking photos of them, even with no one seated there. When we saw that our husbands seemed magnetically drawn to several benches yesterday, we decided that these would be moments to preserve in photos along the way – – not just the landmarks, but these special family moments.

I have a widowed friend who has a “travel tree.” She keeps a pencil-style Christmas tree up year round and adds a small ornament to it from all of her travels. There’s a fluffy little sheep from Ireland, a set of bagpipes from Scotland, and a vast menu of other cultural relics that bring back vivid memories. There’s even a penguin from Antarctica. To stand with her by the tree is to hear story after splendid story about “the time that….”

The most interesting souvenir, she keeps hidden. She once reached into the middle of the tree and pulled out a small, flat square wrapped package on an ornament hook.

A condom.

“They had them on the hotel counters in China. So I took one and made it my souvenir.”

She shares stories – more than photos – of her past trips.

I’m not one of those who wants to leave my Christmas tree up all year long, but….I’m thinking that when I return from Route 66, I might just begin a travel tree as part of my travel tradition.

What are all of your best travel traditions?