Saturday 9/16/06 Into Texas

Today we drove from Weatherford Oklahoma to Amarillo Texas. The landscape is dramatically flat in many places; you can see a long long way! The difference from the green hills we went through in Missouri is extremely striking.

Much of the route, as previously, closely parallels an interstate highway (I-40 today) but of course the old road goes through small towns instead of avoiding them. But I have to say that many of those towns have suffered so greatly from being bypassed. Business after business--filling stations, motels, restaurants, shops of every kind--are closed. When you add in the competition from Walmart and its ilk, it is a devastating picture for those who value the small town life.

I was watching for "signs of the west," anything distinctive. In one restaurant we did see three cowboy hats, but they are much rarer than caps. It does seem that long pants (generally jeans) are universally worn, no matter what the weather apparently, and much of the time, long sleeve shirts as well. But on the whole it would be hard to know where you are. At one coffee shop, the young men sitting near us wore NY and LA caps, nothing "local."



However, back on old 66, we did find a large number of young women engaged in riding contests of various kinds. I believe there were 12 events. I don't think I've seen anything similar in the Midwest.

The weather has been warm, but what has been even more striking is the wind! Many trees are apparently bent over permanently by a prevailing wind out of the south.

And, in some areas, good use is made of the wind to generate power. We saw some very large windmill ranches, which impressed me.

Speed limits are impressive too, going at times as high as 75 mph on the interstate.

Friday September 15th

We made it to far western Oklahoma today, the town of Weatherford. The motel (a very nice Best Western) is at one of the many points where Route 66 and I-40 run in parallel. Previous stops included in the Rock Cafe, for a wonderful breakfast, and the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma State Fair in Oklahoma City.

The weather was really beautiful, although warm (hot). But nice.

There also was more noteworthy news, which I will let Connie describe.

-----
PS 9/16-- Well, the more noteworthy news, which hasn't gotten described yet, is that we exchanged "commitment rings." And we did so in a chapel at the National Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma City, where there is a realistic "mock" old western town.


Our commitment, of course, is not changed from what it has been for quite a while now. But the rings are an outward symbol, and we are both very pleased with this addition.

Thursday

We went a lot of miles today, and are spending the night in Bristow Oklahoma. That is just past Tulsa. We were in three states and travelled 12 1/2 hours. Deviated from Rt. 66 briefly to see the U of Ark in Fayetteville, where David's parents met and were married. Returned to the Mother Road to get to the Will Rogers memorial and museum in Claremore, OK. Ate good meals.

Yesterday we drove from Litchfield, IL to Lebanon, MO, between Rolla and Springfield. As usual, we got lost in St. Louis. Tried to go to a cafe that turned out to be a block from Busch Stadium, so they were just selling parking cause a game was about to start.

Weather today was the best we have had. Rained Tuesday, was cloudy yesterday. Car is great and we are both fine. Just a little beat tonight, since it was a long day on the road.

First day - Tuesday

We started out around 9:45 am, and got to Bloomington in time for lunch with Robert. Route 66 travels from Chicago to Bloomington, then Springfield, then Edwardsville, and then St. Louis MO.

The first thing to know is that there are multiple routes at some places. The national government designated some segments of highway with a U.S. number, but those segments shifted at various points in history. In certain areas there are three different routings, depending on the years. It was not unusual, for example, for the original Route 66 to go right through a town, and then a later alignment to skirt it. And then of course the whole thing was often later bypassed by an interstate highway. In the case of the Illinois segment of 66, I-55.

The "parallel" driving is pleasant, as there is less traffic, but it can be boring at times. The fun of course is in seeing historic sites and properties. But these grow fewer with every passing year. Illinois doesn't have a whole lot left, really!

But one of them is the Ariston Cafe, in Lichtfield, which is where we had supper. It is thought to be the oldest, or nearly the oldest, operating restaurant on 66. Another is the Cozy Dog, where we stopped too, on the south side of Springfield.


It has rained much of the day, as we knew it would. But, our adventure has begun! We are staying tonight at a Hampton Inn, largely because they have put some money into supporting Route 66 preservation. Good for them!

Odometer: 0.0

We left home at about 9:45 on Tuesday AM.

Route 66 through Bloomington IL

Bloomington-Normal, the home of Illinois State University, is where Robert lives. Historic 66 goes right through town. And Normal also is the home of the original Steak 'n Shake restaurant, established there in 1934.


We have been on Veterans Parkway, discussed below, many many times:

"One of the remnants of Route 66 is the highway now known as Veterans Parkway, east and south of Normal, Illinois, and Bloomington, Illinois. The two sweeping curves on the southeast and southwest of the cities originally were intended to easily handle traffic at speeds up to 100 miles per hour, as part of an effort to make Illinois 66 an Autobahn equivalent for military transport."

Probably we will hurry down to Bloomington, since we have traversed the Chicago-Bloomington segment many times already. But not at 100 mph! At regular highway speeds, it is about a 2 1/2 hour drive. But we seldom travel whatever is usual.

With luck, perhaps we will get to meet Rob for supper or for lunch.

The starting point in Chicago

Originally route 66 was located on Jackson Street. But now that is a one-way street going east. So the closest physical routing to the old road is on Adams. This photo (at Adams and Michigan) marks the official beginning.


I feel good about that, because my former IIT/Chicago-Kent office was at 565 West Adams. So I was working on a part of Historic 66 nearly every day!!

(That location also is near where US 41 runs through, making its way from Lake Superior--where we were this summer--and down all the way to Miami. And it is close to U.S. 12, which goes northwest past Arlington Heights (Connie's home) and all the way to near Seattle. I made that drive once by myself).

We won't actually start down in the Loop, though, for this trip. The drive through Chicago is one of course we have done many times, and which I consider basically boring. It is necessary to get out of town a distance before there is old pavement that has not been superceded by Interstate 55, which closely parallels old 66 all the way down to St. Louis, and which it was built to "by-pass" it and the many small towns along the way. Often when one is driving on 66 in Illinois you can see the big trucks moving along on I-55, just a few yards to the west.

From St. Louis on I-55 goes south (rather than southwest) through Memphis, Jackson, and New Orleans.