The Wanderings of busman7

Including these 3 states in one posting all 3 are basically plains states & pretty similar in scenery.

While Kansas can only claim 13 miles of the route on an early alignment, it should not be bypassed as it clearly shows the hard times facing this section of the country, with more business’s being closed than open.

The 4 Women Cafe is period but was closed when I passed by & The Tow-Tater (haven’t seen the movie so don’t know the attraction), while a nice nostalgia piece is merely a 50’s model 170 International with a set of gin poles, nothing extra special.

The Marsh Arch bridge is unique & apparently the last of it’s kind which makes it kind of neat to drive over. Also the route directions painted on the road surface are a sure way to keep vandals/tourons from stealing them.

Moving on to Oklahoma, basically it sucks, only old road I found was a couple short pieces where curves had been straightened out which is hardly surprising considering there is only about 3 signs for the road in the whole state & one is in the middle of Oklahoma City. Did try to find a section of the old road west of the city but the lack of signs caused me to take a 50 mile tour out of the way, never knowingly traveling the road, so just got back on I-40 & hauled ass for Texas.

Things must be tough in Oklahoma as every road in the state seems to be under construction, taking advantage of Obama’s infrastructure (non)incentive!

Always had a thing for Texas but just crossing the border one can feel the change in the air + see the Historic Route 66 signs again. Spent the nighi in Shamrock, visited the Route 66/Barb wire Museum in McLean. Took the Interstate through Amarillo, stopped for a piece of heavenly chocolate cream pie at the Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, the 1139 mile mark & halfway mark on Route 66, finally drove through what’s left of Glenrio on the NM border.

So far 4 of the 5 states traveled have done a superb job of promoting Historic Route 66, too bad Oklahoma couldn’t do the same.

Giving TomTom Tommy a timeout in my briefcase, will give him one last chance to see if he can find the Citi Bank branch in Albuquerque, if not—–Tommy es Muerto!!!!!

Having made the halfway mark + a tad, it’s time to take a bit of a break from the mother road to check out Roswell NM!

Once west of the Mississippi I always found the country/people more to my liking & it held true this trip. Had only briefly visited Missouri briefly in the Kansas City area before so this trip through the southern part of the state was really cool with the rolling hills & forests.

Spent time driving on/off Historic 66, off around the cities + where if paralleled I-44. However once off the Interstate the country more resembled that of the Eastern Townships of Quebec with it’s small towns & villages with their tree lined streets,  country hills & dales + the friendly inhabitants. Also the fall colors were at their prime, though lacking the brilliant scarlet’s of the Quebec maples, the Sumacs kind of made up for them, with the awesome golden yellow & brown shades of others contributing to the magnificent forest colors.

And then came Cuba, a town on old 66 where Connie has restored the historic Wagon Wheel Motel to surpass it’s former glory, right next door is the Missouri-Hick-BBQ featuring great meals at extremely affordable prices, not to be missed. The town is littered with a cacophony marvelous murals, featuring scenes of the towns past & should be visited if in the area.

Took a wrong turn at one point & ended up 20 or so miles out of the way however that proved just an opportunity to see more of the amazing state while showing what a moron Tommy was by insisting I was going the wrong way so just ignored him the rest of the day.

At another point the signs pointed down a narrow country road for a couple miles then an arrow (some touron had stolen the sign) showing a right turn down an even smaller road, where after crossing a one lane bridge, one was rewarded with the sight of a derelict Phillips 66 station, complete with the original orange sign.

It’s these small things that make a trip down the mother road such a unique experience & I urge anyone who has the opportunity to do even a hundred miles of it anywhere to take the time to return, for a couple hours to a kinder gentler time.

Oh did I mention that Diesel was running around the $2.98/gal mark??

Leaving Missouri for Kansas one is in for a whole new ball game

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