GOODLAND, KANSAS

Saturday, June 29^th – It was a sunny morning in Salina, Kansas.  Any seasonal traveler knows that when hotel advertise “hot breakfast” included, it has various interpretations.  One look of what was offered in the hotel’s fine dining room, we decided to get coffee and fruit for the road.  We stopped for breakfast in Hays, KS.

We could not resist seeing the “Big Easel”, the 80 foot tall painting of Vincent van Gosh’s “Three Sunflowers in a Vase”.

We always make time to stop and see roadside attractions in small towns.  It is what makes our road trips fun, interesting and memorable.  Each little town has its own charm.  I especially like the homemade pies!

Could you see the “tiny” people in front of the “Big Easel”?

2011 WESTWARD ROAD TRIP

(In a blink of an eye, the month of September flew by. It is Friday, September 30th and here I am trying to catch up with postings that will be in reverse chronological. To all my adoring fans and faithful readers, thank you for your concern. I am fine, just got off the blogging tracks and it took awhile for geezer like me to get back - haa haa.) Our 2011 Westward road trip began when we left St. Louis around 1:00 p.m. on Friday, September 2nd. We stopped for an early dinner in Hannibal, Missouri. After checking in at a hotel in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, we walked across the street to a local diner for homemade pies. The next day, Saturday, September 3rd we drove a fairly straight line across the vast land of cornfields of Iowa. At around 5:00 p.m. we crossed the state line into Nebraska.

Sunday, September 4th - we woke up to a beautiful day in downtown Columbus, Nebraska. After 8:30 a.m. Mass at St. Bonaventure Church, we got back on the road continued following Lincoln Highway. Exactly as written in the Lincoln Highway Companion guidebook by Brian Butko, trains were a constant companion as we drove across Nebraska. Giant grain silos, cows and horses dominated the landscape. On Monday, September 5th, we could not wait to get on the road to get out of Nebraska. Nothing against the good people of Nebraska or the State, just a negative experience in Sidney, NE that almost ruined our vacation. I promise I will explain later what happened. We cross the state line into South Dakota at 10:50 a.m. After visited Crazy Horse Memorial and Mount Rushmore, we drove to Sturgis. I was tempted to get a tattoo and a Harley to drive around town with the boys! After dinner at Easyriders Saloon, we were ready for a night of rest in a room with clean bed and no extra charge for soap and towels - haa haa.

Tuesday, September 6th - It was a sunny but a bit cool morning when we arrived in Aladdin, Wyoming. After a good breakfast at Cindy's Diner, we felt strong and ready to face Devils Tower National Monument. After Devils Tower, we took I-90 straight into Montana. It was a nice surprise and a learning opportunity at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. We arrived in Gardiner, Montana around 9:30 p.m. only to be told that our room reservation was cancelled. Fortunately, we were able to find another hotel nearby. Another not-too-pleasant experience but when we spoke to that hotel the next day, the matter was resolved to our satisfaction. I promise to share the details in future post. We spent the following day, Wednesday, September 7th, at Yellowstone National Park. It was most memorable and definitely one of the highlights of our trip. Old Faithful was as young and energetic as ever!

Thursday, September 8th - We drove thru the Grand Teton National Park. After exited the South Entrance, we proceed on US-191 and stopped for a night in Rock Springs, Wyoming. The next day, Friday, September 9th, after breakfast we decided to visit Dagget County, Utah before heading toward Vail, Colorado for a niece's wedding on Saturday, September 10th. JP was one of the flower girl at our wedding 23+ years ago!

Sunday, September 11th - We did not leave Beaver Creek, Colorado until after a 10:00 a.m. brunch. I did most of the driving heading east on I-70. CP took over when it was getting dark. We stopped for the night in Hays, Kansas. The next day, Monday, September 12th we got up around 6:30 a.m. eager to get on the road. We had a wonderful time but after 10 days on the road, we were happy to be home.

We pulled into our driveway around 5:30 p.m. After we unloaded everything from the Mustang, I took off to a city council meeting scheduled at 7:00 p.m.

I spent the next two weeks washing, cleaning, putting together a spreadsheet of expenditure, organizing items we collected from places we visited and sorting thru all the photos. Then my home laptop was attacked by virus. The "computer guy" was busy so it took a few days before I got my laptop back. Fortunately I saved all my correspondence and photos on the flash drives. I only had to put back all the favorites websites and re-connect the printer. It feels good to return to normal routines. I look forward to sharing photos and stories from our trip. Thank you for visiting and please come back again soon.

ROUTE 66 - AMERICA MAIN STREET

Above - Waylan's Ku Ku Burger in Miami (pronounced My-am-uh), Oklahoma. The famous restaurant and its 1965 neon sign still welcome travelers wishing to try an "Okie burger" or a buffalo burger. It is hard to believe that back in the 1960s there were more than 200 Waylan's Ku Ku Burger restaurants throughout the Midwest. This is the last and only Waylan's still standing.

Above - Items on displayed at Galena Museum, used during the early mining that made Galena, Kansas, a lead mine boom town.

Above - Tickets booth, closed for the season, 66 Drive-In, Carthage, Missouri.
Below - A neighborhood bar in Nilwood, Illinois.

TOTA, WE ARE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE!

I finally completed organizing more than 1,000 photos from our Route 66 Adventure in October. It took a lot of time to review the photos, write down the images based on locations (Oklahoma, Kansas or Missouri) and themes (gas stations, bridges, cafes etc.) or funny signs along the road for appropriate postings.


It was a wonderful trip as it was my first time to Oklahoma, seeing, learning and enjoying America along memory lane on Route 66. We left St. Louis on Thursday, October 22nd and took West I-44 all the way to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. We stayed one night in Bricktown. The next day, Friday, October 23rd, we spent the early morning visiting the Oklahoma City National Memorial honoring the 168 Americans who died from the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in 1995. I was sad and angry at such senseless destructions.

After a few turns around as we were not sure exactly where the Route was, we began the first of many stops on Route 66 visiting the restored 1898 Round Barn in Arcadia. The next stop was the 66 foot tall Pop Bottle at POPS (see photos in December 5th post). After Luther and Wellston, we stopped at Country Kitchen in Chandler for lunch. We spent a few minutes at Seaba Station, a former 1924 machine shop in Warwick. We saw many cast-off remnants of US66 in Depew, Bristow, Kellyville, Stroud, Sapulpa, but we did not see much of Route 66 in Tulsa. We probably missed a turn and did not have time to back-track - perhaps next time! We saw the Blue Whale in Catoosa, stopped by The Nut House near Verdigris for pecan fudge, encountered terrible slow traffic due to construction in Claremore and completely missed the World's Largest Totem Pole in Foyil. We did spent time taking many photos of the T-bird at the 1926 iron bridge over Pryor Creek in Chelsea. After White Oak, Vinita, and Afton, we decided to spend the night in Miami (pronounced My-am-uh), Oklahoma. The next morning, Saturday, October 24th, after breakfast, our first stop was Mickey Mantle boyhood home in Commerce. Waving goodbye to Quapaw, Oklahoma, we crossed the state line into Kansas. We spent the entire morning exploring the 13.2 miles of Route 66 in this charming corner of the Sunflower State. We took plenty of photos of the T-bird at the Rainbow Bridge, at a 1930s-era Phillips 66 Station now serves as Visitors Center and 4 Women on the Route cafe. Galena Museum was full of historical artifacts and a real nice person took the time to show us around the museum. We only wish we had more time!

The above sign welcomed us back into Missouri on Saturday afternoon. We drove into Joplin, then stopped for lunch in Webb City and took photos of the Praying Hands off Macarthur Highway 171. Our next stop was the 66 Drive In, a restored roadside theatre in Carthage. Of course, my husband took many photos of the T-bird at this Drive In. Precious Moments Park and the Chapel were closed when we finally got there early evening. After a drive around the Historic Square, saw the murals of The Battle of Carthage, the classic 1939 Boots Motel (where Clark Gable stayed in Room #6), we decided to take a room at Best Western Precious Moments Hotel. The next morning, Sunday, October 25th, we attended Mass at St. Ann Catholic Church, then took a scenic drive along the Spring River thru Kellogg Lake Park, passed the Gay Parita Sinclair Station at Paris Springs, spent a lot of time there and finally got back to Springfield, just in time for a big lunch. After that we took I-44 East all the way home since we were so overwhelmed with all the wonderful experience on Route 66, yet exhausted after four days of constant getting in and out of the T-bird, taking photos, meeting and sharing Route 66 memories with so many friendly and helpful people. We already planned our next Route 66 during Spring-Summer 2010 and will try to get as far to Arizona.

WHAT'S IN THE NAME! ON ROUTE 66

Quapaw, Oklahoma - "Quapaw is named for the Quapaw Indians, who were removed from Arkansas to Oklahoma, then known as Indian Territory. Quapaw is derived from "Ugakhpa", a tribal term for "downstream people". In 1926, the year Route 66 was officially established, peak production of zinc reached 423,000 tons and 912,117 tons of lead were produced from the town of Quapaw."
(Bottom Photo) Catoosa, Oklahoma - "Catoosa is named for the nearby Catoosa Hill, just west of the town. The name is supposedly derived from a Cherokee word meaning "on the hill". During the days of castle drives, Catoosa was a wild place. The town was rebuilt after a tornado ripped through in 1993." Oklahoma Route 66 Association Trip Guide www.oklahomaroute66.com

Orongo, Missouri - "The name, according to local tradition, came about when it was found that the previous name, "Minerville" was already taken. At a public meeting to change the name, after considering many possibilities, a man in the back blurted out "its Ore or no go", referring to the mining operations. Elaborating on that, Colonel J. M. Young, suggested substituting the Spanish word "Oro" for ore, and the dropping the "or" to make the word euphonius. He pronounced it "Oronogo" and the audience accepted the name.[1]" - Wikipedia

Niangua, established February 1888. The name Niangua, probably so-called for the Indian phrase "Ne anoga" which translates "water that runs over a man". Locals say Niangua comes from another phrase meaning "I won't go away" or "I won't go farther", suggesting that this is the site where one would settle. Page 108, "Why'd They Name It That? A Look At Some "Peculiar" Missouri Towns" by C.H. (Skip) Curtis.