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Our "most excellent adventure" continued today in driving rain. It has rained each day but that has not dampened (yes a pun) our enthusiasm for this road trip. Each day seems to get a bit better. According to all the forecasts, after today, the weather for the next several days will be sunny, hot and beautiful.
We arose at 5:15 to get an early start west.
The Wagon Wheel Motel was comfortable and we slept well. Of course, it was raining early in the morning, so we made a short trip to Bob's Country Café in St. James, Missouri. We were looking for a place to have a good breakfast, and saw Bob's. It didn't look like much, but the parking lot was full of pickup trucks. It had to be good, and it was. The breakfast buffet was $6.95, which included all the coffee we wanted. We ate a healthy breakfast and got back on the road.
We then took Route 66 through Hooker Cut, one of the deepest rock cuts in the country at the time. Shortly thereafter, we drove Devil's Elbow, a narrow, winding part of Route 66 that paralleled a now swollen river. There has been a lot of rain in the mid-west and it is apparent every time we cross a river.
We proceeded through Cartage, Missouri and over to Joplin. Crossing the Kansas state line, we drove through Galena, Riverton and Baxter Springs, Kansas. I have to say, there wasn't much to see in Kansas so we didn't stop.
As we entered Oklahoma, we drove into Commerce, the boyhood home of Mickey Mantle. "The Mick" grew up in that small town and we figured we would find some sort of monument to him since he was one of the greatest baseball players ever. And we did. We found a statute of Mickey outside of Mickey Mantle Stadium. Seeing his statue brought back memories of the first time I saw him play in person. My Little League team went to Cleveland to see the Indians play the Yankees when I was about 11 years old. There he was! Mickey Mantle standing right there! Live! In person! There was Roger Maris, Whitey Ford also. What a dream come true for a kid of the 60s. I can vividly remember that day. Ah, the wonder of it all.
From there we continued our journey west on the "Mother Road". In Miami (pronounced Mi am eh) we found a very nice town with many shops and especially an old theater restored to their original condition. West of Miami, we drove through the back roads and countryside to find a portion of the original pavement of Route 66 that is just 9 ft. wide, which was its original width. That is the photo at the top of the page. We were out in the middle of nowhere to find it. Some call it "The Sidewalk". I suspect it was all that was needed when Model As and such drove the road in the 20s.
As we headed west, we have made a note to stop in Claremore to eat at Pit's Barbeque restaurant, but it was closed and another business had taken up in the old building. We had received a strong recommendation to eat at Cotton Eyed Joe's Restaurant. We did and we weren't sorry. The business was off the beaten path and the building wasn't much to look at, but we went in and sat down. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. We had a very filling and wonderful tasting lunch. Vance had a pulled pork sandwich with creamy coleslaw and baked beans, while I had a shredded beef barbeque plate with green beans and Tater Tots. More than we could eat, but every bite was worth tasting.
The day finally cleared and the sun started to come out for the first time in days. Hooray! We figured we would stay somewhere around Oklahoma City and on the way there, we came upon the Round Barn of Arcadia. It is round and it is red! Very unique. After stopping and making some images, we drove to Edmond and are tucked in a Comfort Inn & Suites for a relaxing night of laughter and conversation. We have some good wine and some snacks (some healthy and some not).
Today we drove through Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. The mileage covered was 454. Great day! Enjoy!
Thanks for looking.
Dennis Mook
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