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.
The Johnson brothers visit The Blue Whale of Catoosa
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.
We visited The Golden Driller at the Tulsa Expo Center
We visited the National Route 66 Auto Museum in Sapulpa, Oklahoma today and each chose the car we would keep if we could take one home. My husband chose the ’57 Chevy, my sister-in-law chose a classic Jaguar, my brother in law chose the Stryker, and I chose a three-wheeled car with a sweet little face and a clear top so it feels like a convertible but isn’t. The little car I would choose to scoot around in if I could have my pick….I loved the old jukebox that played songs for free!
The World’s Largest Praying Hands in Tulsa at Oral Roberts University. Our husbands sat on the bench as I conducted a bird count in the state of Oklahoma.
Outside Tally’s in Tulsa
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!
We found The Outsiders Museum, but it was closed.
A friend recommended Sid’s Diner in El Reno, Oklahoma, so we stopped in to try it.
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!
Oklahoma weather is no joke. The clouds were fascinating to watch. I’m glad there was nothing severe, but the sky became almost a work of art as we made our way toward Texas.
Our Room at The Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, Missouri along Historic Route 66
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!
There’s an actual wall board where they hand you your room key!
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!
Postcards ready to mail!
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.
Lots of offbeat and quirky stops, but such release in good bathroom humor!
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!
On the road in Illinois
We’re traveling with my husband’s brother and his wife.
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.
Lincoln’s former hangout was near here.
My childhood bathroom had these same tiles in yellow hues – such a throwback with my feet on this floor!
I’m joining the ranks of folks old enough to know what it was like to make a call from a payphone. And that wasn’t so long ago.
House Sparrow in some day lilies
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.
Brothers in a sign
Our Lady of the Highways Monument reminds travelers of the dangers of the road and offers a prayer for a safe journey along Route 66.
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.
Illinois is the Sweet Corn Capital of the world, and corn fields line the highways. We stopped to snap a quick photo of some corn,
We made it to St. Louis!
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!
The Wagon Wheel Motel sports a wall board of room keys. Nothing digital here!
Brothers outside their motel room doors at the Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, Missouri (or “Missourah,” as some of the locals here say it)
Brothers on a train bench
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!
Reading Nick Doster’s new book Don’t Look, Ethel! on my Kindle in the Atlanta Airport
We’re sitting at Gate B20, ready to depart at 11:25 for Chicago-Midway. I hope to have more pictures this evening.
Landing at Midway in Chicago (Lake Michigan in view)
I love all the great stickers I’m seeing along the way!
The Gemini Giant stands tall in Wilmington, Illinois – the first of the “Muffler Men” we will see along the way.
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.
American Flag and Route 66 Flag flying over the Standard Oil Company Brothers on Benches in Atlanta, IllinoisIn Wilmington, Illinois
One of the reasons we bought a camper in 2020 was so we could enjoy weekend getaways without having to board our three schnoodles. We call them our four-legged sons. They have definite food preferences, and true to the Schnoodlehood, they are each loyal to their one chosen toy. Fitz has a green turtle he uses to self-soothe, Ollie has a pink Hartz ball he lives to chase, and Boo Radley has a Shrek blanket that of all the things in this world he gets most territorial over. It breaks my heart to have to board them when we take a non-camping trip, so much that I feel tears welling up just thinking about it.
Don’t get me wrong – – we love their kennel, they love their kennel, and they get to stay together in the same crate. They’ll have outdoor playtime with other dogs, but just like siblings, they’ll schnocker and schnortle around at each other in their play-fighting ways while at the same time bringing each other the reassurance of family togetherness while we parents are away.
They don’t dislike the kennel, but they whine and carry on and show their anxiety about leaving home unless they know we are pulling a camper. Fitz will whine like a baby once we get on Highway 362.
All. The. Way. There.
Fitz
Boo Radley will likely lose control of his bowels for one small half second somewhere in the floorboard – usually around the gas station, and it will be like dime-size hail but will smell across three states. It won’t matter if he’s already taken care of this business this morning – – this is his way of showing me – proving – that his anxiety is higher than the St. Louis Gateway Arch and he is protesting being left behind. And Ollie, the most easygoing dog ever, will root his way into my lap just to inhale my exhales as we make our way there.
Their food is individually measured, bagged, and labeled for the week ahead. Their toys are packed next to their treats, and their shot records are all updated and entered into the system at their kennel. While we’ll only be gone a week, there will be no one playing morning tug of war with Briar’s jeans legs, no one putting his warm little muzzle up to my face to greet me first thing in the morning, and no one barking at one of us to throw his ball down the hall so he can run for it again,…and again….and again. No one reminding us about treats. No one waiting for one of us to crush an empty K-cup box with our foot so he can come steal it away, whisk it off to the couch, and chew on it in the living room until we take it away.
They’ve seen the suitcases. They’re suspecting something’s up, but not yet knowing exactly what.
Is it too late to back out? My heart can’t take leaving my babies!
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.
Angie Braaten is our host at http://www.ethicalela.com today for the final day of this month’s Open Write. She encourages us to write a poem about what we would like to be when we grow up. You can read her full prompt here.
Secret Badge
when I grow up I want to be a traveling food critic a descriptive writer of all things edible…. ….(or not)….. all expenses paid to go out into the world and live it up like a spy on a secret mission with an official foodie badge that I keep covered until the end of the meal…. ….(or forever)…… unless I want immediate preferential seating or my glass runs dry or I get bad service then I whip it out like some veiled threat of a viral review that might shut the place down ….(or something)……
oh and a hotel critic too I want to be one who jumps on beds to test the comfort rolls around in the sheets and fills the bathtub to overflowing with expensive bubble bath with little flecks of real gold dust and eats all the snacks that cost twelve dollars each for free in those presidential suites with corner windows on the top floor one who shows my badge at checkout
and I want an airplane badge, too so I can cut the line at security and go in my own private room where the rest of everyone all tired-legged and eyeing my complimentary plate of sugared grapes and chocolates whispers who is she?? but I play it cool never revealing my name like no one can know who I am a secret traveling critic as I take my seat in first class throw my feet up on the plush footrest whip out my review computer and write away into the clouds ….(or just dream about it all)….
then go home to the country and press wildflowers and read poetry and bask in full-face dog kisses with whole-body tail wags because I’m back where I belong …..(without a badge)…….
Today’s host for the Open Write at http://www.ethicalela.com is Angie Braaten, who inspires us to write On Turning….poems, modeling verse about a particular age after Billy Collins’ On Turning Ten, and then to take it a step further by trying to connect form choice to the foused age. I chose a nonet since I chose to write about turning nine. You can read her full prompt here.
Dr. Leilya Pitre of Ponchatoula, Louisiana is our host for today’s Open Write. She brings us a short form, the sevenling, which you can read about here.
Foxgloves at Gibbs Gardens in Ball Ground, Georgia
Foxglove Funeral for a Grandson
Foxglove bells chime joy, bring smiles on Mother’s Day in Georgia, painting gardens in blush colors: the female womb blooms
Foxglove bells toll grief, stir longing on Mother’s Day in Kentucky: a petal flips, a cradle rocks in heaven ~ the female soul cries
empty arms mourning a baby not born
Foxglove in Kentucky, symbolizing a baby in heaven
Jennifer Jowett of Michigan hosts today’s Open Write at http://www.ethicalela.com and offers us a compelling prompt about the future of our world today. Her prompt is one we dance along the periphery of in so many of our countryside drive discussions, wondering about the future of our county, heartsick over each new development, each new killing of droves of trees that were once home to birds, deer, foxes, squirrels, bees, chipmunks, raccoons, opossums…..it breaks my heart for the wildlife and for the future of our grandchildren.
Common Threads 