So, it's the end of day two and time for a few notes and clarifying comments.
Much nicer today.
Meramec State Park is incredibly beautiful. The pictures do not do it justice. Went for a longass hike this morning.
Alright, fine, one more piece of flair. Bought it from the man at the Bunny, er, Rabbit Ranch the day before.
I wonder what this used to advertise?
The Wagon Wheel Motel. The spoked wheel motif was the inspiration for the design of the Wheel Well in the movie Cars. For those of you with children, there will be more Cars references as the trip goes on. For those of you without, SPEND ALL YOUR MONEY NOW. THEY WILL TAKE IT FROM YOU.
Hicks?! Dans Le Missouri?! Jamais de la vie!!!
In the spirit of Kelly's LobbyPimpCam, here is the DashCam. This is just for road video of course, the main camera is a "real" one.
This would be the, uh, largest, eh rocking chair, in the, erm, world.
Another cool rusty sign for stuff nobody buys anymore.
Vroom vroom.
Ah yes, the good old days.
Vernelle's Motel. This motel used to be along Route 66, and used to have a restaurant out front. So, they replaced Route 66 with I-44, and eminent domained the owner out of his restaurant to make way for it. But that was not enough, they then ripped up I-44 and moved it north a couple of years ago, and yes, they took the back of the lot for that. No exit though, so the motel, a more recent relic than most, is just sitting there falling to pieces on a spur of 66 like the "modern" cabins that once sat alongside it. The grass you see in the foreground is actually former I-44 roadbed, the little strip in front of the motel is 66.
Arlington MO - once a Route 66 resort town - now mostly deserted on a dead end stretch of the old road several miles past Vernelle's.
Witmor Farms Restaurant, home of some kickass potato salad and yesterday's blog post. I will NOT tell you where I am writing from today. The shame!
Random rusty bridge.
Detail of another classic wreck.
Gary Turner's Sinclair station in Ash Grove MO. Gary is the nicest guy you will meet and gave me lots of new places to put on my must-visit list, as well as a picture of his service station to deliver to the Happy Burger when I pass by there tomorrow. The service station is a new wood structure similar to the original, the stone garage dates back to the 1920s. The tractor in the garage was his dad's.
Some abandoned storage tanks.
Purdee horsee. This is actually a couple of miles off 66, I was trying to find Red Oaks before sunset and failed.
This, presumably, is by the same guy that created the Red Oaks art.
De Soto!
The (operating!) Route 66 Drive-In in Carthage.
First of all, the posts on this blog are going to be fairly long and are meant to be read top to bottom, but will be posted chronologically with the most recent at the top. That means scrolling halfway down, reading down, and then scrolling up, and then reading down. Hey, blogs were meant for brevity and it's not a skill I have mastered.
Secondly, I should take a moment to thank Ron of http://rwarn17588.wordpress.com/, a very comprehensive Route 66 site which provided me with inspiration, some to do list items, and an exceedingly useful list of campgrounds along the Route. If your interest is at all piqued by this travelogue be sure to visit his site.
There was a thirdly, but I just had three Heinekens and the most miserable quesadillas in the universe; I am not in possession of 100% of my mental faculties right now.
At the end of yesterday's post (posted today, again please remember my brain doesn't work) I mentioned having set up camp by the light of my headlamps in drizzle. Whoever manages the weather around these parts saw the error of their ways and corrected the situation overnight; today dawned crisp but clear.
Six AM. This is how REAL MEN MAKE COFFEE. And those are REAL MAN CIGARETTES too.
Much nicer today.
Meramec State Park is incredibly beautiful. The pictures do not do it justice. Went for a longass hike this morning.
Alright, fine, one more piece of flair. Bought it from the man at the Bunny, er, Rabbit Ranch the day before.
I wonder what this used to advertise?
The Wagon Wheel Motel. The spoked wheel motif was the inspiration for the design of the Wheel Well in the movie Cars. For those of you with children, there will be more Cars references as the trip goes on. For those of you without, SPEND ALL YOUR MONEY NOW. THEY WILL TAKE IT FROM YOU.
Hicks?! Dans Le Missouri?! Jamais de la vie!!!
In the spirit of Kelly's LobbyPimpCam, here is the DashCam. This is just for road video of course, the main camera is a "real" one.
This would be the, uh, largest, eh rocking chair, in the, erm, world.
Another cool rusty sign for stuff nobody buys anymore.
Vroom vroom.
Ah yes, the good old days.
Vernelle's Motel. This motel used to be along Route 66, and used to have a restaurant out front. So, they replaced Route 66 with I-44, and eminent domained the owner out of his restaurant to make way for it. But that was not enough, they then ripped up I-44 and moved it north a couple of years ago, and yes, they took the back of the lot for that. No exit though, so the motel, a more recent relic than most, is just sitting there falling to pieces on a spur of 66 like the "modern" cabins that once sat alongside it. The grass you see in the foreground is actually former I-44 roadbed, the little strip in front of the motel is 66.
Arlington MO - once a Route 66 resort town - now mostly deserted on a dead end stretch of the old road several miles past Vernelle's.
Witmor Farms Restaurant, home of some kickass potato salad and yesterday's blog post. I will NOT tell you where I am writing from today. The shame!
Random rusty bridge.
Detail of another classic wreck.
Gary Turner's Sinclair station in Ash Grove MO. Gary is the nicest guy you will meet and gave me lots of new places to put on my must-visit list, as well as a picture of his service station to deliver to the Happy Burger when I pass by there tomorrow. The service station is a new wood structure similar to the original, the stone garage dates back to the 1920s. The tractor in the garage was his dad's.
Some abandoned storage tanks.
Purdee horsee. This is actually a couple of miles off 66, I was trying to find Red Oaks before sunset and failed.
This, presumably, is by the same guy that created the Red Oaks art.
De Soto!
The (operating!) Route 66 Drive-In in Carthage.
4 comments:
since when were marlboro mediums real man cigarettes?
LOL! Since they got rid of Lucky Strikes of course...
Uh, far out! What's going on with this trip dude? You plan on staying in cali? I'll be in San Diego May 4, 5, 6 ... then to Santa Monica until May 10. Will we cross paths??
Here's an update on The Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, MO. cubamomurals.com/wordpress/?p=3889
Call to check for updates/ details if you are thinking of staying there.
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