Route 66 is the legendary road trip route in the USA, bringing
back memories of the Stones in 1964 – the first track on their first LP being
Bobby Troup’s “Route 66”. We had driven bits of the route at its
western end over the years however had never made a specific trip to drive any
of the route. We planned to visit Chicago for a long weekend, and to visit
friends in Arkansas the following weekend before heading to Houston for a
week’s business, and it seemed a good idea to rent a car and drive the eastern
section of Route 66, from Chicago to Springfield Missouri, the idea being to leave
Chicago on the Tuesday morning, enjoying the road, visiting small towns and attractions
on the way, and make our way to Arkansas on the Friday from wherever we had
reached on Thursday night.
Chicago:
We spent our time in Chicago enjoying the architecture,
restaurants, and parks, visiting the excellent Art Institute, Museum of Contemporary
Art, and the rather more traditional Field Museum.
We also attended a concert
by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra: Bruch’s Concerto for 2 pianos (with the
Labeques on the pianos); and Tchaikowsky’s Manfred. One day we took one of the
Architecture tours by boat, which proved well worth while.
We also went out to
Oak Park by train and took in a tour to learn more about Frank Lloyd Wright.
Route 66:
We had booked a Mustang convertible for our trip southwest,
however on being offered a Mini Cooper convertible this seemed a better
opportunity, despite its being completely inconsistent with the image of a
Route 66 car, and it was a good decision.
Rather than provide a sequential list
of the places we visited on our way west, here are some reflections:
· The
route in Illinois and Missouri is generally well signposted, although for some
curious reason the signs are frequently after
a road junction (anywhere from 50 yards further on to 10 miles further on) so
finding the way is somewhat challenging, although it was not too difficult.
There are also many variations of the route, at different periods in its
history, so there are choices to be made on which to take. There were half a
dozen sections were the route has disappeared completely, and one has to take the
Interstate, although these are short sections, so most of the road is the
original route.
· It
runs through small towns and villages, although Springfield (Illinois) and St.
Louis are obvious exceptions. The scenery in Illinois was generally uninspiring,
being flat farmland, however once into Missouri it improved markedly, with
woods and fields in undulating countryside. Devil’s Elbow, in Missouri is a
particularly attractive spot.
· There
are occasional “original” Route 66
attractions, such as old filling stations, cafés, and motels. Some of these can
be seen below. We stayed one night at the Route 66 Hotel & Conference
Centre in Springfield (Illinois), which proved uninspiring, and where it had
proved impossible to eradicate the stale cigarette smell which no doubt was
typical of much of the life of the original motel. The Magnolia Hotel in St.
Louis retains some of its history, and the Munger Moss Motel, Lebanon
(Missouri) was a delighful place to stay, at least in terms of our
conversations with the owner and the neon sign on the highway (the room was
fine, although had it been any hotter the noisy air conditioning unit would
have impeded sleep – we chose to switch it off and live with the temperature).
· People
were friendly and helpful, all welcoming anyone making the “pilgrimage” on the route.
· Some
towns made the most of their location on the route with murals depicting the
old highway as well as local historical scenes.
· We
visited the excellent Pulitzer Art Museum in St. Louis, although unfortunately
the highly recommended Contemporary Art Museum was closed for installation of a
new exhibition.
Overall the trip along Route 66 was a little underwhelming.
Although it was interesting to see this part of the USA in a more leisurely
manner than from the Interstates, the past appears as occasional snapshots
rather than a continuous film reel, as no doubt one might expect. It was a
pleasant interlude, and we will plan on driving the remaining parts of the
route in the future, probably in similar chunks of a few days at a time.
Arkansas:
We left Route 66 at Lebanon and headed south, through attractive
hills, with little other than local traffic. The Mini Cooper was perfect for
the Ozarks, winding through green forest with few other vehicles.
We stopped
briefly in Mountain View for a look at the Arts Centre and a coffee, then
continued to visit Troy & Pat for the weekend, during which we explored Blanchard
Springs Cavern, which was impressive in its scale and beauty.
Following our
relaxing weekend, catching up on recent history, we headed off to Little Rock
for a flight to Houston.
Houston:
Abrazos
Alan and Marce
Photos may
be used for non-commercial purposes with credit to alanymarce@gmail.com
