Missouri doesn’t do as good a job with its Historic Route 66 marker signs. They are fewer and farther between. And their placement is odd, as I will mention below.
We figure out how to connect to The Road from our downtown hotel and cruise out westward along Chippewa Blvd. for a photo-stop at Ted Drewes’ Frozen Custard stand. It is closed, of course; it is too early on Wednesday morning.
As we leave the St. Louis area, the terrain becomes hilly and wooded. The old Road meanders alongside I-44 all the way to Springfield, MO. Every few miles it crosses over to the opposite side. Each time, if we make the correct turn, we see a familiar brown & white Missouri Historic 66 sign letting us know that we are still on the right track. Unlike Illinois, Missouri does not place these signs BEFORE the critical turn, but rather after it, sort of as a reward for having guessed correctly. We quickly learn that if a brown sign is not seen within a block or so after the fateful turn, we double back and try to pick up the trail again. We get used to doing u-turns during the day.
After a morning of this “treasure hunting” for Route 66 signs, we stop in Cuba at the Missouri Hick Restaurant for a barbecue sandwich. The atmosphere is great, but the barbecue beef is a bit dry.
The highlight of the afternoon is the Mule Trading Post in Rolla. The friendly proprietor is 70’ish, toothless, and has a broad southern accent. He has a wide selection of Route 66 curios, antiques, and souvenirs. This is a fun place to browse and marvel. Later on, we take a dog-leg to the 1923 steel bridge at Devil’s Elbow. Devil’s Elbow is a bend in the Big Piney River that caused logjams. It sits at the bottom of a 200 ft.-tall, pine-covered bluff. The view to the southwest is beautiful.
We finally arrive in Springfield at the Rail Haven Route 66 Motel just as a group of 20 Dutchmen riding SOLEX mopeds wheels into the parking lot. They are riding from Chicago to L.A. for charity. They immediately dismount and swap their riding boots for wooden shoes, some engraved on the toes with “SOLEX”. The SOLEX moped is essentially a beefy, motor-assisted bicycle with fat tires (fatter than a mountain bike) and with pedals and a chain. It is made in France and has a 49cc two-stroke engine perched above and directly driving the front wheel of the bike. It weighs 68 pounds. The group leader explains (in perfect English) that the maximum speed is 20 mph. Going up hills is much slower. What a contrast to the 100 Irishmen on Harleys that we saw two days ago.
We figure out how to connect to The Road from our downtown hotel and cruise out westward along Chippewa Blvd. for a photo-stop at Ted Drewes’ Frozen Custard stand. It is closed, of course; it is too early on Wednesday morning.
As we leave the St. Louis area, the terrain becomes hilly and wooded. The old Road meanders alongside I-44 all the way to Springfield, MO. Every few miles it crosses over to the opposite side. Each time, if we make the correct turn, we see a familiar brown & white Missouri Historic 66 sign letting us know that we are still on the right track. Unlike Illinois, Missouri does not place these signs BEFORE the critical turn, but rather after it, sort of as a reward for having guessed correctly. We quickly learn that if a brown sign is not seen within a block or so after the fateful turn, we double back and try to pick up the trail again. We get used to doing u-turns during the day.
After a morning of this “treasure hunting” for Route 66 signs, we stop in Cuba at the Missouri Hick Restaurant for a barbecue sandwich. The atmosphere is great, but the barbecue beef is a bit dry.
The highlight of the afternoon is the Mule Trading Post in Rolla. The friendly proprietor is 70’ish, toothless, and has a broad southern accent. He has a wide selection of Route 66 curios, antiques, and souvenirs. This is a fun place to browse and marvel. Later on, we take a dog-leg to the 1923 steel bridge at Devil’s Elbow. Devil’s Elbow is a bend in the Big Piney River that caused logjams. It sits at the bottom of a 200 ft.-tall, pine-covered bluff. The view to the southwest is beautiful.
We finally arrive in Springfield at the Rail Haven Route 66 Motel just as a group of 20 Dutchmen riding SOLEX mopeds wheels into the parking lot. They are riding from Chicago to L.A. for charity. They immediately dismount and swap their riding boots for wooden shoes, some engraved on the toes with “SOLEX”. The SOLEX moped is essentially a beefy, motor-assisted bicycle with fat tires (fatter than a mountain bike) and with pedals and a chain. It is made in France and has a 49cc two-stroke engine perched above and directly driving the front wheel of the bike. It weighs 68 pounds. The group leader explains (in perfect English) that the maximum speed is 20 mph. Going up hills is much slower. What a contrast to the 100 Irishmen on Harleys that we saw two days ago.
1 comment:
Another TechnoChic! This is such a great idea - makes me want to get in the car and go ~ Eileen :)
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