Wednesday, October 9
The Trip Begins
Before we left, we took Savannah to breakfast at Big Biscuit. Then we went back to the house and loaded the last of the stuff and headed off to the trailer. We hooked up and were on the road by 8:30 am down highway US-169 toward Joplin, Missouri with Lisa at the helm.
We stopped after a couple of hours for fuel and a personal break. It drizzled most of the way down.
Our next stop was the Blue Beacon Truck Wash. I had really hoped to find some opportunity early on in our trip to wax the trailer since I knew we were going to be going through some harsh weather. Unfortunately, it had drizzled most of the way but I had them put on some RainX anyway.
Downstream Casino RV Park
Our camping destination for that night, the Downstream Casino RV park, was about 40 minutes away from Blue Beacon. This was our first Casino RV park. It wasn’t much more than a concrete parking lot, but It had water and electricity at all sites. The best part was that we were able to stay here for free. All we had to do was get a Players Card from the Casino.
The casino was less than a mile away. It only took a couple of minutes to get the Players Card, and they preloaded it with $7 to spend apiece. We played some penny slots until the money was gone, and then decided to eat at their buffet for $8.99.
Kansas Route 66
We were both anxious to get our Route 66 adventure started. The Kansas portion of Route 66 is only 14 miles long. We first drove through Baxter Springs where we found a historical marker and a Route 66 roadside park. We soon found our first roadside Route 66 sign and a large Route 66 display at a traffic circle near Riverton.
Outside Galena, we stopped at The Rainbow bridge which has been bypassed but you could still drive across it. It was nicely preserved though some of the Route 66 decals painted on the roads were getting pretty worn.
We then visited the Riverton General Store which is considered a Route 66 landmark. It has been in continuous operation since before U.S. 66 came into existence and is internationally known as one of the most authentic, still working 75-year-old stores of its kind on all of Route 66. It is supposed to make the best sandwiches but I did buy my first Route 66 magnet there.
Galena, KS
We then went into Galena which definitely embraced its Route 66 history and had plenty of murals and static displays. They also had a lot of Halloween displays out so it made me excited to think of all the Halloween displays we might see on our trip. We stopped at a Cars the Movie themed gas station.
As we continued east, we found more Route 66 signs and “photo backgrounds” to include a large statue. We then went over an old viaduct that claimed to be an original Route 66 road and then it hit the end of Kansas Route 66.
So we turned around and went back to Galena to visit their central park and take some more pictures of various monuments and signs they had there, before continuing onto the SuperTAM in Joplin for some ice cream.
Joplin, MO
We ventured out of Kansas Route 66 toward Joplin, MO to visit the SuperTAM shop, but unfortunately, it was closed. Facebook said that the owner was currently sick.
We did visit a nice mural park and a quirky attraction of some giant praying hands. We then visited the Great Falls south of town.
Back to Kansas Route 66
We were not ready to give up so we ventured back to the rainbow bridge, and went west so that we could finish the route through Kansas.
Baxter Springs looked like it had a nice visitor center and museum that we should try to visit the next day.
Dairyette
When we crossed the Oklahoma border, we saw a Dairyette with a Route 66 sign on it. We knew it was not a Route 66 era ice cream parlor, but it looked the part so we stopped in for a Hot Fudge Shake and a Caramel Sundae.
Downstream Casino RV Park
It was getting dark and the sunset was very nice, so we decided it was time to head back. We registered our camp at the camp office located in the convenience store next to the campground. They gave us two free nights since each of us registered at the Casino for a player’s card, and told us that after 25 hours we could come back for another two nights free. What a deal!
Thursday, October 10
The weather forecast promised thunderstorms for most of the day, but we were still excited to get started exploring Route 66 in northeast Oklahoma. We connected with Route 66 in Baxter Springs and headed south.
Miami, OK
Our first picture spot was in Miami, OK at the 1960’s era Waylon’s Ku Ku Burgers joint with its vintage car and great neon sign, and a giant ku ku bird coming out of its front. As we continued downtown, we passed the 1929 Coleman Theater which was absolutely beautiful. As we wandered down their Main Street we were reminded that Route 66 went through many Main Streets of small towns and was often called the “Main Street of America”. There was a gateway arch at the end of Main Street.
Afton, OK
In Afton, we passed an old gas station and a Packard museum but we did not go in. We did pull over and Google Packard images though. We also passed a painted run that looked like a gas station. All of these small towns have lots of buildings that were over a hundred years old, so it was fun trying to imagine what a traveler might have seen as they drove through these towns.
Vinita, OK
The next photo-worthy town was Vinita, OK. Some of the highlights were Route 66 murals painted on the street, a “breezeway” which was nothing more than a sign above a picnic area set up in an alley, and the Hi-Way Diner with a nice wall mural and neon sign.
Vinita was also near the “Worlds Largest McDonalds building” on I-44 which was built on a bridge over the highway. So that we did not have to go on the toll road, we found an access parking lot that allowed us to walk through the chain-link fence surrounding this rest stop. It was really disappointing though as we found that the McDonalds itself was just a little counter inside this building that included a Subway and a gift shop. We also learned that it was no longer the world’s largest Mcdonald’s building having been replaced by one in Florida. It was a nice bathroom stop anyway.
Chelsea, OK
The next stop was an old 1926 bridge near Chelsea that was bypassed but you could still go over it and travel the old road for a short distance.
In town, we found an underpass that had a nice Route 66 mural and a facing wall that they encouraged people to sign.
We then drove by the 1912 mail-order Sears house. We watched a YouTube about this before we left. It is fascinating that this house was ordered by catalog and shipped as a kit from Chicago.
Foyil, OK
In Foyil, we saw a couple of memorials to its hero, Andy Payne, the winner of the 1928 Intercontinental footrace along Route 66.
We then wandered up to Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park and saw the giant concrete totem poles. Most were in really good shape, though you could see they were actively restoring the largest totem pole that was finished in 1948. There was an open gift shop on the property so we went in and looked around. A nice woman greeted us when we entered and told us about the place, the restoration, and some other trivia about the place. There was also a big display of fiddles made from over a hundred different types of wood that was fascinating to look at and compare.
It was lunchtime so we decided to stop at a diner we had seen. It was quaint with lots of small sayings on the wall. I had the special of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, black beans. Lisa just had the black beans and cornbread. We were both too full when we left.
Catoosa, OK
Our next stop was The Blue Whale of Catoosa. Though only built in the 1970s as a personal waterfront structure, it is featured in about any Route 66 attraction list you can find. While we were there we met some people from England and heard several other foreign accents as tourists stopped by to take pictures. It had a small gift shop, but it did not have much in it.
This was as far south as I wanted to go today, so we headed back north. Near Verdigris, we stopped at a park where some bridge sections of a twin bridge that had been replaced on Route 66 now stood mounted.
Port of Catoosa, OK
I then wanted to go see the Port of Catoosa which is the largest and most inland river port in the United States. Located on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, it runs 445 river miles from Northeast Oklahoma to the Mississippi River. We found a sprawling 2,500 acre complex of warehouses. We drove down to the main dock and took some pictures of the dozens of barges and tug boats we found.
Claremore, OK
In Claremore, we stopped by the Will Rogers Memorial. Though we did not go in, we wandered around the beautiful overlook and saw his tomb.
Commerce, OK
As we passed through Miami again, I saw the Ku Ku Burger neon sign lite up and snapped a picture.
In Commerce, the birthplace of Micky Mantel, we got out and stretched our legs by walking the curvy sidewalk to the Micky Mantle statue.
We then went downtown to get some ice cream at Dairy King. At one time this was also a gas station, but now it was a small diner. We went inside and order a Route 66 cookie, a Route 66 cream soda, and a banana split. What a dinner! The owner chatted with us and told us that she had owned it for 39 years. She also shared some stories with us about the place and about the town, especially its link with Bonnie and Clyde. Her son was the cook, and during a break, he came out and share some pictures of the place with us.
Across the street was a strange gas station that looked like it was sinking into a wall.
Quawpaw Bison
As we got closer to our RV park, we found a large herd of bison grazing along the road in a field marked as part of the Quapaw Reservation, so we stopped and took some pictures a safe distance away.
Severe Weather
That night, we had some severe weather with rain that sounded like it was going to come through the roof. I brought in the slide as that had the thinnest walls. A little water blew into the window by the kitchen sink. It only lasted about 30 minutes, but we heard plenty of police sirens afterward.